Hire a Student Employee
Hiring a student employee follows the same basic steps for hiring a new employee at any business.
Keep in mind that an on-campus job is in addition to a student’s primary goal to earn a degree. You need to tailor the job responsibilities and work schedule appropriately for a student employee.
Advertise Job Openings
All student employee supervisors must adhere to Minnesota State Policy 1B.1, Equal Opportunity and Nondiscrimination in Employment and Education.
Under this policy, you must advertise positions in a way that provides all students the opportunity to see and apply for all positions open on campus.
The preferred method for advertising campus job opening is through Handshake, WSU’s online job board for on-campus jobs, internships, part-time jobs off-campus, and full-time positions upon graduation.
Contact the Career Services team to learn more about Handshake and how to post a position.
It can be time-consuming to find the best candidate, but well worth the effort in the long run.
Clear communication during the hiring process will help you hire someone who truly is a good fit for the job.
In the job application form, you can acquire details to help make your hiring decision by comparing applicants’ qualifications, experience, availability and more.
A sample application form (PDF) is provided.
You should design the questions to best fit the requirements for your open position.
It is highly recommended that the potential employee be required to submit a resume. This, along with the interview, provides a great experience for the student.
An interview is an opportunity to better understand candidates’ skills and experiences, as well as clarify your expectations for the position.
An interview should generally cover these topics:
- Review student’s resume or job application
- Discuss candidate’s past work/volunteer experience
- Describe the job duties and expectations
- Explain any experience or skills that are needed to perform the job
- Discuss start date, work hours, pay rate, student’s schedule
- Briefly talk about how training will be provided
- Describe most important employment policies (confidentiality, dress code, etc.)
- Tell candidate the expected date by which a hiring decision will be made
A sample interview form (PDF) is provided.
All student employee supervisors must adhere to Minnesota State Policy 4.10.1, Nepotism.
Under this policy, you cannot hire or supervise members of your family or household, defined as:
- Employee’s spouse, child or stepchild
- Ward of the employee or employee’s spouse
- Parents of the employee or employee’s spouse
- Brother or sister of the employee or employee’s spouse
- Grandparent or grandchild of the employee or employee’s spouse
- Nephew or niece of the employee or employee’s spouse
- Brother-in-law or sister-in-law of the employee or employee’s spouse
- Other members of the employee’s household whether or not related by blood or marriage
Complete Hiring Paperwork
Once you have made your hiring decision, you’ll want to extend the job offer to the student.
If they accept the position, then you’ll create Work Authorization Request through the Student Employment Management portal.
The student must have an I-9 and W-4 on file with WSU for the work authorization to be created. They cannot start working until the work authorization is complete.
All work of WSU student employees must also be completed within Minnesota. The student payroll system cannot properly withhold taxes from states other than Minnesota.
You may want to hire a new employee for a probationary period to ensure that the student can learn the job and demonstrate that they can meet expectations. Let the employee know that they will be reviewed after this period.