Welcome to Career Development

Our Student Affairs Offices are available virtually. We encourage you to access these services online or by phone.

While we have suspended our drop-in hours at this time, we have added additional time blocks for online appointments – please schedule on Handshake. Also, our Career Steps online learning modules are here for you 24/7!

In light of the fluid COVID-19 (coronavirus) response situation, the following recommendations are detailed for supervisors of student employees and student employees themselves. We recommend checking the NAU Coronavirus and the Human Resources guidelines websites for additional information and support regarding NAU’s response to the pandemic.

Working On-Campus

• Each department should work with its student workforce to make sure that the department can still perform its essential services.
• Student employees are allowed to return to campus and work in-person/on-campus at the discretion of each department.
  • Student employees are still held to the 29-hr Work Rule (meaning that they cannot work more than an average of 29 hours per week over the period of one calendar year).
  • More information about guidelines, best practices, and answers to other frequently asked questions can be found online in our Student Employment Handbook.
• If student employees decide not to return to campus, at the discretion of each department, they may be allowed to work remotely if: a) their tasks and projects are suitable for remote work and b) if work is available.
  • Student employees should clock in when they begin working and clock out when they stop, including any breaks that last longer than a few minutes.
  • Suggested remote work could include required and recommended online trainings found on the Student Employee Onboarding, Training, & Professional Development website, such as Harassment & Discrimination Prevention, Accommodating Disabilities, Information Security Essentials, FERPA, CERT: Conduct, Ethics, Reporting and Transparency Disclosure, Loss Prevention Training, Lynda.com, Kognito, and more.
• If a student employee has any concerns about being in-person/on-campus for health reasons, please have them contact their healthcare provider.
• A student’s employment status should not be affected if they chose not to work during this time.

Finding Work Off-Campus

Known employers who will remain open during the closure are grocery stores, pharmacies, and product distribution centers (like Amazon). Online job postings have also rapidly increased for workers with skills in health care, community response, crisis management, and cleaning. If students ask about opportunities, we advise referring them to these establishments. Check out this list  of Arizona companies who are hiring now.

What Else To Do During The COVID-19 Situation

We encourage student employees to take advantage of this time and build themselves professionally! We recommend considering the following:

• Strengthen your resume by seeking out remote professional development opportunities.
  • This includes online, self-paced lessons like our Career Steps and high-quality, online courses that focus on software, creative, business, and other professional skill development (available on LinkedIn Learning); there are even digital/virtual volunteering opportunities as well!
• Update your resume, cover letter, and Handshake profile.
  • You can still make appointments with our Career Development team! We will continue to offer career advising appointments via phone, email, and Skype/Zoom.
  • When students schedule an appointment in Handshake, they should look for the phone number, email address, or URL to meet with their career advisor.
• Prepare for virtual and video interviews.
  • Many hiring processes have moved into the digital sphere, so take a moment to familiarize yourself with online interviewing best practices.
  • Some tips include:
    • Make sure to prepare a quiet and neutral space with good lighting
    • Have your notes in front of you
    • Practice talking to the camera, and
    • Ask specific questions about hiring timelines
  • Use this time to invest in expanding your professional network.
    • Now is an excellent time to explore going virtual with networking your efforts, so try out resources like the LinkedIn NAU Alumni Finder or the Explore Students section in Handshake to invest in your future.

Additional guidelines for supervisors and employees can be found on the Human Resources website. Please let us know if you have any questions, clarifications, or concerns via email: StudentEmployment@nau.edu

• Avoid the common challenges of remote work. Newly-remote workers often cite a lack of access to information, social isolation and distractions as pitfalls to remote work. Here’s how to tackle and avoid those concerns:
  • Accessing information: Ensure that student employees have access to the physical equipment (computers, monitors, etc.), software and VPN they need to be successful. If internet connection is weak, encourage them to find wifi hotspots on campus, such as the one near the Fieldhouse parking lot.
  • Social isolation: When you have meetings, save the first 5-7 minutes just for catching up. This encourages social connection across groups and keeps student employees engaged with their work groups across the distance. Embrace icebreakers and fun in the online setting.
  • Distractions: Encourage student employees to set aside a dedicated workspace, where they can minimize distractions and focus. Be flexible in the first few weeks – this is new to everyone!
• Communicate openly and frequently. Whatever methods of consistent communication you were using before moving remotely should be continued, and add in other check-ins with your employees. These daily check ins could take the form of a phone call or Zoom session, either as a group or individually. The check-ins should be set at regular and predictable intervals. Explicitly state how staff can get ahold of you (text, Skype, etc.) and ensure they are set up to communicate with you in that way. Maximize the efficiency of your virtual meetings with these tips for online meeting success!
• Lead with trust and encourage others to do so. As a supervisor, you need to demonstrate to your online student employees that you trust they are getting their work done. Fight any impulses to micromanage processes and praise student employees for work well done. Working remotely can sometimes lead to conflict because people feel less connected. Modelling good behavior is key to minimizing these conflicts.
• If conflict arises, give the benefit of the doubt. Encourage employees to focus on common ground and stop emailing. Picking up the phone or videoconferencing is likely to help people reconnect and eliminate the ambiguity of email communication.

We regret that we had to cancel our Spring 2020 Part Time Job Fair. Our next Part Time Job Fair is scheduled for Friday, August 21st. We are still determining the date for our Fall 2020 Career & Graduate School Expo. We will announce when we open both events for registration.

We encourage our employers to continue recruiting via Handshake.