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Binghamton University created a new initiative to grow the number of student positions on campus and improve learning and career development outcomes for student workers.
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On-campus work can prepare students for future careers and get them engaged on campus.
Binghamton University, part of the State University of New York system, created the Student Employment Initiative in 2017 to create additional and more impactful experiences for students to help them launch into future careers.
“By ensuring the student employment experience is of a high-impact nature, we can help a student feel more career ready for the world of work after graduation,” says Kelli K. Smith, assistant vice president for student success at Binghamton.
The background: The initiative launched in fall 2017 but slowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting staffing changes, Smith says. The program relaunched in January 2023 and is led by Kelli Smith; Brandy Smith, senior associate director, student employment and operations; and Kathie Boice, assistant director of student employment.
How it works: The Student Employment Initiative has two main functions: enhance existing job opportunities with career competencies and trainings and create additional staffing roles.
As of 2018, the university launched a campaign to offer all student employment opportunities on Handshake, making opportunities more accessible and equitable among students. On-campus postings increased by 132 percent and off-campus positions by 675 percent in the first year.
Students can participate in workshops or one-on-one appointments with staff to learn more about career exploration and how to prepare for a job search or application. Student supervisors can also receive training to better manage employees and improve their career outcomes, including best practices in job posting, training assistance, performance issue management and effective evaluation process feedback.
What’s different: The program pools grant funding to create new positions on campus without pulling from a department’s operating budget. Grant funding from the career center helped establish 32 new student employment positions, and funds from the strategic planning process created seven student roles for those who had no prior work or internship experiences.
The new positions are in a variety of departments, including research, counseling, marketing and design. Each student will complete a career-readiness evaluation and reflection assignments to ensure the experience was meaningful in their development. Binghamton uses iCIMS for its SkillSurvey software to collect survey data, assessing students’ career readiness and employment experiences.
The biggest challenge in launching the new initiative was getting supervisor buy-in to assess and evaluate their student employees’ experiences, but staff have been able to show supervisors the benefits of evaluation for students.
The student employment office is also using student workers to help promote the program. Four student workers lead a social media marketing campaign to engage their peers in education, new opportunities and how to make the most of their experiences.
Next steps: The program will be evaluated by the growth of positions available to students and students’ individual career-readiness levels throughout their time at the university. “A good opportunity will allow them to practice the skill sets they would use in the real world and provide them feedback on their performance and how they can continue to improve,” Kelli Smith says.
Binghamton staff hope to continue to ensure all student employment opportunities are available online and to add opportunities through donations and external funds.
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