In today’s world it seems that almost everyone feels that finding a job, at any skill level, is nearly impossible. Career searching is extremely competitive and challenging amidst our economic status and evidence suggests that teens and young adults in college are among the hardest hit. The brutal reality is that major cuts to public higher education have been carried out over the last several years, while the majority of the available jobs in today’s economy are low-wage. Then, to accompany such undesirable traits, the official unemployment rate of sixteen to twenty-four year olds has progressively risen up to a discouraging eighteen percent, according to the Huffington Post. People of all ages and generations are all desperately competing for the same, low-wage jobs in their communities, and much like them, struggling college students nationwide are constantly competing for the only accessible jobs on surrounding their university campuses. Since having a job is crucial for most undergraduate and graduate college students who are concerned with raised tuitions and heaps of student loans, they may be inclined to settle for any job they can get their hands on, no matter the aspects or conditions that can correspond. Around the Arizona State University campus, there is a multitude of job opportunities. Whether you are looking for a work study to help cover this year’s tuition, or an actual paycheck, to help you fork over the cash to those already looming student loans, the university offers job opportunities in both of those categories with major-specific options as well as community service or just basic hourly pay .
The map I have created below explores just a few of the numerous diverse places on the ASU campus that can be
deemed “good workplaces” for those who are looking for something that is not
necessarily major specific. Each of the places on my annotated map is located
within walking distance of the middle of the Arizona State University’s Tempe
Campus and follows evaluative criteria which I have both observed and
researched. I use the following criteria to evaluate each workplace and
determine their value:
The amount of pay and the potential of increases, the
ability to exercise personal skills, the work place’s environment, and finally
the connection each work place has with our lively surrounding community.
Pay:
o Amount of money/hour
o Opportunities to increase pay
oAdditional incentives e.g. tips or overtime
§ http://www.ica.state.az.us for minimum wage standards
© Ability to Apply one’s personal skills
o Skills required
o Levels/ability to advance
o Skills important to a current/future resume§ Primary resource: business lecture in W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU& Harvard Business Review: http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2011/09/the-twelve-attributes-of-a-tru.html
©Workplace Environment
o Ambiance
o Employee attitude
o Effectiveness/Productivity
§ American Journal of Health: http://www.ajhpcontents.org/doi/abs/10.4278/0890-1171-17.6.390?journalCode=hepr
§ Personal observation/interview
© Community Connections
o Role the workplace plays on the campus
o Fundraising opportunities
o Off campus? Connections available
o Employee connections/options
§ Employee Help Source Social Network: http://employeehelpsource.com/rooms/after_hours/benefits_of_community_involvement_in_the_workplace.en
I have researched the importance of each of my evaluative criteria in order to demonstrate both credibility and a better understanding of how these criteria accurately judge a healthy workplace. The amount of pay is a straight-forward criteria and potential of increases refers to the opportunity to advance in position, thus advance in pay. Through the ability to exercise personal skills, I evaluate the types of skills that the job requires, as well as the different options that employees have regarding other skills that they can acquire or improve amidst their work experience. The work place’s environment also plays a major role, as it produces happier, thus more productive employees, which, in turn, contributes essentially to the effectiveness of a business. Overall, a healthy workplace creates a circle of success and that can be pushed into full swing by a number of positive attributes. Conclusively, the connection that the workplace serves with its community is important for college level students as they venture down a path which will lead through the rest of their lives.
College students are strongly encouraged to make connections throughout their years studying at a university, as it may serve to help them further down the road in whatever they may achieve. Workplaces that are involved in their communities allow students to make connections that can help they succeed and advance, whether it be within their job, or among the outside world. Along with these criteria, I have already taken into account the flexibility of schedules that university employment and surrounding businesses obviously offer. To support my assertions, I include references from various reliable resources, including government websites, major newspaper articles online, prestigious university journals, and information obtained from primary sources like observations, interviews, and research amongst the businesses websites.
View RSkorka, Wp2 in a larger map
