5 great places to start your student job hunt at Concordia

There are career-track positions and there are jobs — you know, work that pays the rent while you pursue your academic passion.

Concordia can help you find employment, no matter what your current need.

Enter the CSU Off-Campus Housing and Job Resource Centre’s (HOJO) job and housing bank. Plus, there are three other places to seek help with your job hunt: the Career and Planning Services online job bank; work-study programs run by the Financial Aid and Awards Office; and the John Molson School of Business Career Management Services.

Here is an overview of the five main resources for students seeking extra income or a new home.

Have you heard about HOJO?

What’s your first port of call for a non-career-related job and an apartment? Enter the CSU Off-campus Housing and Job Resource Centre (HOJO) — a drop-in service and classifieds website for apartment rentals and jobs. It has a physical office as well: room H-224 in the Henry F. Hall Building mezzanine. 

For apartment hunting tips, visit the off-campus portal, linked to HOJO. (Tip: Montreal apartments aren’t sized by the number of bedrooms — for example, a two-bedroom apartment. They’re sized by the total number of rooms, with the bathroom counting as a half room. For example, a “3½” is typically a one-bedroom apartment with a kitchen, bedroom, living room and bathroom — not a three bedroom apartment, as you might assume.)

For full access to the job bank, students must register first. You can do this online by uploading proof of your student status, or by visiting the HOJO office with student proof. Graduate students are welcome. Next, browse the classified postings. Anyone can see the job listings, but you won’t be able to access the employer’s contact information if you aren’t registered.

Jobs are searchable, categorized as off-campus, on-campus, summer or “other.”

“Most of the work is entry-level, part-time and summer jobs,” says Leanne Ashworth, the HOJO manager. “We pre-vet all the jobs. It’s not the Wild West. We make sure students aren’t being taken advantage of by telling them about things like minimum wage and employment regulations.”

TIP: Don’t forget about internal CSU student job postings on the CSU home page.

Get to know CAPS

It’s never too early to approach CAPS, Concordia’s Career and Planning Services, a part of the Student Success Centre. As its name implies, CAPS helps students find their career path and learn effective strategies to land a job in their field. CAPS offers students tools and strategies to reach these goals, including help with résumé and cover letter writing and practice interviews.

“We’re like travel agents for your career,” says Robert Taliano, manager at CAPS. “If you want to go to Rome, we show you how to get there. That’s advising. If you don’t know where you want to go yet, we help you figure that out first. That’s counselling. We want students to see us as soon as they can, in first year, to find out about paid internships, career workshops, interview coaching, company information sessions and all the things we do.”

CAPS has many tools to help you find career-related work, including the CAPS online job bank. 

“You can target your job search by many things — your degree, faculty of study, paid internship, summer job or permanent position. CAPS advisors can generate a list of companies who’ve posted jobs for Concordia students with your academic degree,” says Taliano.

TIP: Students have access to the CAPS online job bank for one year beyond graduation.

Why not apply to the work-study program?

The work-study program helps fund part-time jobs on campus for students who are in financial need.

“This is a great program for eligible students to gain work experience, often in an area related to their field of study,” says Maria Safos, manager of Client Services in the Financial Aid and Awards Office. “There are some eligibility requirements: students must have applied for government student aid or be an international student experiencing an unforeseen financial difficulty. They must be full-time students registered in a degree program and have a GPA of 2.0 or higher.”

Jobs are posted online by various departments inside Concordia — the Department of Recreation and Athletics, for example, or the Milieux Institute for Arts, Culture and Technology. 

“This program really helps students with their budget and financial plan, while still allowing them to focus on their studies,” says Safos. 

To find out more about the program and available positions, visit the About Work Study web page.

TIP: Apply early and be mindful of the deadlines. Check the website, under notices, for deadlines.

Contact the Career Management Services (CMS) at JMSB

The John Molson School of Business has its own career centre. Career Management Services (CMS) provides specialized services for business students, as well as a student career portal, called ConneXions.

CMS is dedicated to educating students about opportunities that will help them grow professionally while in school and after graduation. They specialize in career jobs, including entry-level, experienced and part-time positions, internships, rotational programs and more.

Students can access the easy-to-use ConneXions career portal by entering their Concordia netname and password (same login credentials as the Student Hub).

“ConneXions is really the key to linking business students with companies and alumni who are seeking talent from JMSB. It allows students to register for recruitment events, gain access to valuable resources for the job market, and search for jobs and internships,” says Mai-Gee Hum, director of CMS.

Students can search the ConneXions job database by geographic region, academic discipline, paid internships, short-term positions, permanent positions or part-time work.

“Opportunities for all business majors are posted on ConneXions and typical jobs can include supply chain specialists, financial analysts, marketing assistants, junior corporate accountants, talent acquisition coordinators and more!” says Hum.

TIP: Students’ access to ConneXions never expires. Additionally, for up to a full year after graduation, JMSB students can meet with a career advisor for a free advising session.

Check out Jobprepper

YES is a community-based English-language service provider that has been helping Quebecers province-wide find employment and start and grow businesses for 20 years. Recently, the organization launched a new interactive job search tool, called Jobprepper, that promises to speed up the process of finding gainful employment.

Jobprepper contains real-life scenarios where you help two characters navigate through different challenges, from writing a good cover letter to choosing what to wear to an interview. YES also provides one-on-one career counselling, workshops and webinars. 

NOTE FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS: You are welcome to take advantage of all job-seeking resources on campus, but don’t forget the professional development workshops offered through GradProSkills. Contact them at gradproskills@concordia.ca.