Career and COVID-19 FAQs

Find your answers to questions about programming, student employment and more on our Career and Covid-19 page.

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.

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.
      

• 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.

As we continue to navigate the current climate, our main mode of contact for our services will be virtual.

We remain open online and our office hours are 8:00AM-5:00PM Monday-Friday in the Union.

You can set up one-on-one-appointments with one of our experienced career professionals on Handshake. Click to visit the Career Center.

You can also access our online career programming content (Career Steps) on BB Learn. Send questions to Career@nau.edu.

Yes, we have moved all of our appointments on Handshake to offer virtual options via Zoom, phone or email. We have also added additional appointment times throughout the week to ensure availability for students. You can set up an appointment on Handshake by clicking on the Career Center tab. To discuss other modes of consultation, please contact us at Career@nau.edu or 928-523-1087.

We have multiple ways of providing content to the Lumberjack community and are excited to support and collaborate with our on- and off-campus partners. We can deliver content via virtual platforms like Zoom if a group is meeting virtually.

Otherwise, our online career programming content (Career Steps) is available for FREE on BB Learn. Send questions to Career@nau.edu.

To discuss options with one of our team members, please submit a workshop request here and contact us at Career@nau.edu or 928-523-1087.

On June 19, 2020 President Cheng shared NAU’s Return to On-Campus Work plan. Updates to the plan will be loaded to the Return to Work website.

No, student employees’ employment status should not be affected by their decision to return or not return to campus.

Student employees who are not able to work on campus are welcome to apply for unemployment benefits through the State of Arizona.

Student employees are eligible for PEPST leave at a prorated rate. Learn more about PEPST on the Human Resources website and submit a PEPST request here.

PEPST FAQs

• For purposes of PEPST eligibility, a state-wide order (such as Governor Ducey’s “Stay Home, Stay Well, Stay Connected” order for the State of Arizona) does not meet the requirement detailed in Reason 1 on the HR PEPST Resources Page.
• PEPST is different than unemployment leave.
• Students impacted by federal, statewide or local closures who are ineligible for PEPST leave are still permitted to apply for unemployment benefits through the State of Arizona.

Supervisors of student employees can find instructions about PEPST leave and approving PEPST time on the Human Resources website.

PEPST FAQs

• For purposes of PEPST eligibility, a state-wide order (such as Governor Ducey’s “Stay Home, Stay Well, Stay Connected” order for the State of Arizona) does not meet the requirement detailed in Reason 1 on the HR PEPST Resources Page.
• Student employees have to meet very specific criteria to be approved for this leave. The eligibility criteria laid out by HR is as follows:
  “An employee must be unable to work or telework for one of the qualifying reasons… Employees are not eligible for PEPST if there is no work available for them to do either on campus or through the telework option.”
• PEPST is different than unemployment leave. Students impacted by federal, statewide or local closures who are ineligible for PEPST are still permitted to apply for unemployment benefits through the State of Arizona.

All information was pulled from an email from the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid on Monday 4/20. 

The Federal CARES Act has authorized NAU to pay those FWS students who are no longer able to work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because we have no way of knowing which students left their positions as a result of the pandemic and which ones simply chose not to return, we identified students for this payout in the following manner.

First, we identified FWS students who had spring semester earnings through the pay period ending March 8, 2020, one week prior to spring break, and who also had no earnings in the pay period ending April 5, 2020. This was our indicator that the students had not returned to work. If a student was terminated prior to March 8, 2020, they were excluded from the payout group because they were no longer an active FWS employee. We then calculated students’ average earnings through the first 5 pay periods of the spring semester, and multiplied that by the remaining 3.5 pay periods through the end of the semester. “FWS payout” students will receive a lump-sum payment on April 24, 2020 of these earnings, up to their remaining FWS eligibility based on year-to-date earnings. These funds will be paid at 100% FWS funding so your budgets will not be affected by these earnings. ERE for these students will, however, be charged to your department. All students who will be receiving a lump sum payment will be notified via email early this week. Their existing position numbers will be terminated to prevent any additional clock-ins.

At the end of the spring semester, we will evaluate students who had earnings immediately after spring break. If they subsequently stopped working before the end of the semester, and they have remaining FWS eligibility, we will do a similar calculation of earnings for the remaining pay periods following their last pay check. These students will then receive a lump-sum payment for those earnings.

To summarize, FWS students will receive a “payout” if they:

• had spring earnings through 3/8/20,
• were an active FWS employee after 3/8/20,
• did not have earnings in PPE 4/5/20, and
• had remaining FWS eligibility.

Please direct questions about this program to FederalWorkStudy@nau.edu.

All student employees, including Federal Work Study-eligible student employees, are eligible to work remotely based on each department’s discretion and if:

• their tasks and projects are suitable for remote work and
• if work is available.

Transitioning on-campus jobs to remote work is decided at the department level. Departments should consider the factors above when deciding if remote work is available for student employees.

This is determined at the department level. Student Employees are still held to the 29-hour Work Rule (meaning that they cannot work more than an average of 29 hours/week over the period of one calendar year).

Follow the guidelines described for supervisors on the COVID-19 HR FAQ website, under “Preventing the Spread of Illness.”

Student employees should clock in/out as they normally do in LOUIE. The HR website has specific instructions about how to clock in/out.

All on-campus (and many off-campus) jobs are still being posted on Handshake. Both Handshake and LinkedIn have posted lists on 4/16/2020 containing employers still recruiting on their platform across the US. USAJobs also has a filter for federal jobs which are open right now.

All on-campus jobs are still being posted on Handshake.

Yes, international NAU students can continue working remotely from their home country as long as NAU keeps their immigration records open, the student maintains a US bank account, and the department regularly communicates with both the Center for International Education (CIE) and Human Resources’ Payroll Department. Visit the HR website to learn more about specific policies for international work.

All student employees, including FWS-eligible student employees, are eligible to work remotely based on each department’s discretion and if:

• their tasks and projects are suitable for remote work and
• if work is available.

Yes, student employees are still held to the 29 hour work rule. You can find more answers online in our Student Employment Handbook.

Student employees should reach out to their supervisors to discuss options for returning or not returning due to health concerns.