ALLENDALE, MI — Junior Kelly Jones applied for a job on campus, which she assumed would be easy: Helping people edit papers. She thought, “Okay, I’m good at all of this. I might not be super outgoing, but they do mention that they train students!” Excitedly, she went ahead and submitted an application.
A few days later, Kelly received an email from Lanthorn Editorial, and a manager requested documents related to her work from her. She decided to submit previous law assignments from her classes at Nashville State Community College. Kelly said, “Professor Christie Ferguson has taught me so much about legal issues. Although these assignments aren’t related to journalism, I’m sure this would look really good and make me stand out to the employers.” A few days after Kelly submitted her documents, she was invited to attend a Zoom meeting for an interview. She prepared and was just sure she would get this job.
“Hello Kelly, my name is Lee, and this lady Jean will be interviewing you today. Please tell us more about yourself.” For some more information regarding these people, the employers were the ones to cancel the interview more than once due to struggles with studying abroad. Lee was noticeably shaking! Kelly was like, Why are they shaking? They are acting as if they are the ones being interviewed!
Anyways, back to the interview, “My name is Kelly, I’m a junior studying Public and Nonprofit Administration. Relevant experience? I help my mom edit papers all the time,” Kelly said. “I’m also organized, hard-working, and quick to learn.” Kelly continued to answer all the questions from the employers the best way she knew how to. “Do you have any questions for us”? Kelly replied, “What does a typical day look like working here?” Lee and Jean both gave more in-depth information about an average day working as a Lanthorn Editorial Assistant Editor. They all said their farewells and met Kelly with a warm smile. Kelly smiled in return. She left the meeting feeling excited and just knew the job was hers.
The next day, Kelly received an email saying, “Hello Kelly, thank you for taking the time to interview. Unfortunately, we have decided to move to other candidates.” She felt distraught and even somewhat angry. “I can’t believe this! I did so well at the interview.” This experience caused her to apply to more jobs. And then BAM! Rejected. Rejected. Rejected.
Advisors mentioned that the school jobs are highly competitive, especially for front desk jobs. Other students report similar difficulties. Junior business major Amanda Wu described the interview process for a dining hall job as “a Hunger Games-style battle royale where only the strong survive.” Meanwhile, campus employers continue to insist they are simply looking for candidates who are reliable and available to work weekends, qualities no college student has ever possessed.
