Adventures in the Part-Time Underbelly: Finding a Job as a University Student
Written by Euan MacDonald
Thumbnail & Banner Image by Brian O'Halloran in Clerks (1994) on Miramax Films
If we were defined by our earliest mistakes in adulthood - or our suffering as victims of cruel circumstances - “penniless in my early twenties” would be engraved on the headstones of a vast majority of university graduates. It’s normal as a teenager. You’re figuring things out, and a job isn’t vital to your existence. But with newfound independence comes newfound responsibility, and responsibility is usually chained at the hip with a sudden yearning or need for currency. You want it, and getting it is an ordeal because you’re faced with either the pain of finding a job, or, even worse, finding one and hating it. This work seeks to make a chooser out of a beggar so to speak: Elucidate the vaguer aspects of seeking a maximum-20-hour-a-week employment. We’ll go over the signs first: First, those jobs that you should be warned about, and after those that exhibit good omens. To end, some specifics for the unsure applicant. Keep yourself from the millennial adage of job loathing that inspired a generation of complaints, all of which wryly parody a Clerks line - where a wise man once said, “This job would be great if it wasn’t for the customers”.
Hazards, occupational and otherwise
Is there a right answer? It’s hard to say. Working a job between university and dealing with life’s many nuisances can make any student feel like Atlas holding the sky on their shoulders. But in my experience, there is a wrong answer, and if you’re unfortunate enough to step into one of them it may indeed feel similar to an eternal, mythological punishment. First to cross off your list is the “flex” job. This one lurks in the shadows of Indeed.ca applications, and may only reveal itself if an applicant has the good sense to ask about their hours before onboarding finishes. It’s the schedule that bites back: A mercurial conundrum that erodes the act of pre-planning as the bi-weekly released timetable begins to control your every move and confine you within it. The trap is simple: You give them days you’re available and within those days they move your shifts around like putty. It may seem nice when you told them you need Sundays and Mondays off, and they know you’re a student, but make no mistake: A monkey’s paw curled when you signed that contract. University itself is an unpredictable thing, and when that test lands on Thursday next to your shift on Wednesday evening, the other shoe will come down hard. Be wary. This predicament can also go hand-in-hand with another quintessence of regretful work in the shape of the “big-box” store. Now, this is a generalization - and on the surface, I have nothing against the Walmarts and Costcos of the East Coast. But along with the constant revolving door of part-time, high school employees that these institutions deal with comes two things: The flexible schedule and the call-in. The call-in is a tenet of most entry-level jobs and is unavoidable. Somebody is sick, preoccupied with an emergency, hungover, or about to be hungover. The real victim - the floor manager or supervisor on duty - has to go through an unreliable list of phone numbers to see who can replace them. It’s happened to all of us. The key here is the rapidity with which some of these jobs subject you to them. At my current place, I can count on my fingers how many times I’ve been called during a tenure of eleven months with only two other people rotating within my position. When I worked at a big-box retail store during high school, I would need another hand just to calculate the weekly missing person that I or some other sucker doing their midterms would have to take the place of. Eventually, they may call you less - and at the same time, schedule you less. The final red flag paradigm is one of “equilibrium”, and will be clarified within two of the most common tropes: The night shift and the commute. Equilibrium - defined as a state of balance between opposing forces or actions - is all about keeping the peace between your many lives: Academic, working, social, et cetera. Some jobs are so undesirable that their properties almost enact allergic reactions onto regular people’s hours. The night shift is the most obvious: Even with the use of copious amounts of caffeine (not recommended), working nights completely wrecks a sleep schedule. And it doesn’t matter if it’s just for Saturday, because you’ll spend all of next week trying to wrench your brain back into place. It just isn’t worth it - even with witching hour classes. The commute is a less hostile example but reads similarly: without a reliable source of transportation, you lose an entire day attempting to make the trek from home to work or from campus to work to home. It is a routine similar to a half-marathon, and even with a bus system, you may not be promised consistency; I’m brought back to shifts ending at 10:30 or 11 pm with three busses promising me a route home, none of which were either operating at that time on a Sunday or on schedule in the slightest. The result was a long walk, and no energy for studying.
Possible winners & hedging your bets
Those are the blues. The depths of employment, an abyss that promises a paycheck. Entering may be a deep trench one finds hard to return from, especially with the summer ending: Nobody is hiring anymore. Even if you wanted to leave, could you afford it? Don’t open that door. Instead, here’s what to keep on your want list while you leave your resume across the regional municipality. The “rigid” job is arguably the most important; bad news is never as bad when you can see it coming. If they let you pick your days, pick your hours, and they don’t fluctuate? It’s hard to be surprised. But the counterpoint still stands that university can be just as unpredictable as work. So another great investment is the “non-business day”, also known as working weekends. It doesn’t have to eat up your evenings - a 9 to 5 is so common it’s cultural vernacular, and it usually keeps you out of trouble concerning university. It’s not foolproof, because sadly one of the unavoidable pitfalls of having two gigantic commitments like work and school is that they will clash. But it’s the best chance of minimizing the risk. Lastly is “Proximity”. Almost a direct antonym of the commute, it’s nice to have something that molds well with what you already have planted; like a home, residence, or campus. An immediate suggestion for finding something close to Saint Mary’s would be to use the Career 360 portal, which can lead you to career-related opportunities directly related to SMU. Keep an eye out, as it’s a good practical application for finding jobs where there’s no travel involved. If you have a disability, the SEI (Student Employment Initiative) has an excellent program to assist. Similar to living on campus, getting to work on time and leaving at a reasonable hour is half the battle. That polishes off the bullet points for desirable part-time job standards, but some things hold a subjective quality as well while still being worth mentioning. One is the concept of policy. Every job has them - don’t pick your nose, check your phone, wear sweatpants - but their levels of strictness and the job’s amount of independence may vary. So what suits you? Certain jobs, like kitchen hand and gas station clerk, are more about the work you get done than the downtime in between. These can make for a more lax experience. But other more regulated positions - think grocery cashier, sales associate, fast food worker - can make time pass quicker (even with the more liberally given write-ups). So how do you like your workplace? Liquid or stone? It may make the difference. Another similar query is FoH (Front of House) or BoH (Back of House). These terms are specific to restaurants, and mark the divide between people working in the kitchen and people working in the dining room. But for our purposes, they symbolize jobs that require customer service and jobs that don’t. Evidently, being a dishwasher is not a very social position; and it can be very attractive for somebody who doesn’t enjoy service interactions. But for others, it may seem isolating, and time will pass quicker if they can talk to people. It’s no different than someone asking if you’re an introvert or otherwise. Does social activity drain you or leave you fulfilled? For those who find themselves on more extreme ends of the social spectrum, this could mean the difference between a long-term tenure or a short-lived paycheck.
Brian O’Halloran in Clerks (1994) by Miramax Films
The lonesome, crowded job market
Those are the perimeters. What about specifics? We’ve set our scale, and now numbers are to be inserted. There are probably no surprises in my suggestions - but they are usually always available for someone looking hard enough in the Halifax area, either through a website deep-dive or a sign in a store window. Keep some resumes on hand, just in case. Anyway, here’s a definitive list of some usually great jobs. No promises, though:
Cigarettes & coffee
Cafés are usually a strong recommendation. Independent, local ones more than chains. Starbucks can be a nightmare. Besides being a barista, I know some who hire dishwashers and other roles; if it’s a specialty place waitress and/or baker may also be available. Usually not a high-stress environment that can be very welcoming. Also an abundance of them in Halifax.
Mall retail
Unfortunately, the mall is an outdated relic of past consumerism. They’re slowing down, but still hiring on the downward incline. If you’re okay with your life being a nightmare for the holidays, these may fare better than an average retail position.
Lone parking lot cart ranger
For those who enjoy alone time. Yes, the odd customer doesn’t understand you’re not hired for question-answering capabilities. Yes, older people will need help getting things to their cars. Is this such a high price to pay? Being inside is so, so much worse. Trust the process. Take the harshness of Nova Scotia weather. When it gets cold, hide an airpod under the hoodie.
Drug stores
When was the last time you saw a large crowd at Shoppers Drug Mart? How about at Lawton’s? Think hard. Depending on your manager, for a busier degree, this is the job to get some work done on that chemistry paper or thesis assignment.
Reception
This is for the people who despise leg work and have immense social patience. You stand and answer calls for the most part. Once a day - maybe more - a family of twelve who’ve just been on the road for a fortnight will enter your domain. Getting them checked in will be a Sisphysian struggle. Recommended for the resilient talker.
Local
A favorite part of Halifax/Dartmouth is undoubtedly the amount of local storefronts. An endless list: Taz Records, Bookmark, The Narrows, The Canteen, the establishments built here by and for Haligonians are very much elements of pride for the city, and lucky places to work. Keep an eye out for open spots, or ask a friend or parent who may know someone. The first lesson of business is connections, right?
On campus
A more obvious addition, but when talking about convenience nothing beats going from class to work in a minute or less. There’s nothing easy promised about the work, but it offers a different kind of breathing room. Residence also has an employment program for on-campus-specific opportunities.
A part-time university occupation, to conclude, will very rarely exceed initial positive expectations, no matter how minor. The part-time gig you routinely arrive at two times a week eight months of the year will likely not fulfill you. I hope this article never promised that. They are here to provide you with minimal monetary gain, and you should, in return, work as hard as your good will and conscience allows. Maybe a little less so. What’s been written here should act as anesthesia: Making the process (but not the profession) nearly painless by going over - in order - the traps, the treasures, and the specifics. A final piece of advice is that you need at least one, preferably two people ahead of you in the food chain (to say, a boss) that you can put on your resume when you leave within a year or two. And sometimes, the meager hours you hold for two-thirds of the year can transform into a full-time job over a lucrative summer period. So it’s probably a smart idea to be a good employee. The fruits of your labor are not generally expansive beyond payment, but the jobs with the ability to metamorphose may surprise you. Dishwasher to line cook? Line cook to sous? The possibilities aren’t endless, but the 40-hour workweek is. It should be a universal experience, I think. A little humbling couldn’t hurt anyone.