Training
"What am I supposed to do, and how should I do my job?"
After an initial orientation and training session for the student worker role, further training will be intermittent and on an as needed basis. Training may take place in informal sessions during scheduled work time.
Supervisors are responsible for providing adequate training, so if you have questions or are unsure of what to do, always ask your supervisor for this training. Everyone wants the student worker to be successful and to gain valuable experience in handling the public and in handling specific assignments. Yes, it is often busy work, but it is essential busy work for the smooth operation of the department. The student worker fills a vital role in making the office work flow run well.
Public Relations
"Hello, how may I help you?"
Often the student worker is the first person people see as they come into the department. As this first contact person, the student worker is the face of the department, or even the university, community. Being friendly, helpful, positive, and polite are essential to carrying out this important responsibility.
Be aware of this first contact person role and always be alert to the arrival of someone in the office, whether it is another student, a faculty or staff member, or a visitor. If you are engaged with another person, excuse yourself briefly to greet the newcomer. If you are engaged with a task, interrupt what you are doing to greet the newcomer. Ask what you can to do help and if you cannot answer the person's question, check with the Graduate Assistant or with the Admin Asst for help with the answer.
Appearance
Remember the "White House Flip Flop Flap" in which the championship Northwestern University women's lacrosse team received a lot of negative publicity for going to the White House wearing flip flops instead of more formal shoes? What this furor says is that what we wear and how we look do get noticed, frequently at the cost of undermining what we are supposed to be doing. This unwanted notice usually takes place if appearance is inappropriate, as flip flops were deemed to be inappropriate for meeting the president of the United States.
The number one "dress for success" rule is to dress similarly to those with whom you work. While the department does not expect dressy wear, we do expect clean, conservative student apparel. Tee shirts and jeans are appropriate; tank tops, bare midriffs, shorts or skirts that are too short, and torn clothing (even if it costs far more than untorn clothing) are not appropriate. The number two "dress for success" rule is to be well groomed and to present a clean, neat appearance.
Attendance
"90% of success is in just showing up."
Attributed to Woody Allen, the truth of this saying is unavoidable, especially in its reverse. If you do not show up, you cannot succeed. Being a student worker is like being an employee in any work situation. The work unit depends on the worker to carry out his or her assigned tasks in the scheduled manner. This translates to be at work when you are supposed to be there and be on time or early.
But we all know stuff happens. If for any reason, you cannot get to work when you are supposed to be there or if you are running late, call your supervisor as soon as you know of the problem. If such a policy exists, follow the procedure for finding a substitute worker. The possibility of making up excused absences is at the discretion of the supervisor. The bottom line is to establish a good track record so that being late or absent (with prior notification) in an emergency situation will be accommodated.
Efficiency
"This job is so boring; I don't have anything to do."
What a lack of imagination! With attention and proactive thinking, we can always find useful work to do. The student worker is expected to be working on assigned tasks or to be available to work on whatever comes up. When there is a lull, student workers should consult the "If there seems to be no work to do" list of routine tasks that is posted near the front desk. Student suggestions for ways to increase the efficiency of the routine work or new ideas about what could be done are always welcome, just let your supervisor know what you are thinking.
If there is genuinely no routine work to be done (plants can be killed if they are over watered), student workers may read or do routine school assignments, with the understanding that if the phone rings or someone comes in or something comes up, that call, person or task gets immediate, polite attention.
Confidentiality
"Guess what I heard today?"
While that question is human, it is not professional. Student workers may be in a position to hear or see material that is sensitive. Like lawyers, priests, and doctors, professional people know to behave discretely and to keep confidentiality at all times. This means that no one should discuss confidential departmental or student related issues with anyone, even if that person is someone in the department. If something comes up and you are unsure about how to handle it, confer with the IDS Administrative Assistant.
Along with this respect for confidentiality of information, student workers should not remove or reproduce files for use outside the workplace or access confidential information without express authorization from the IDS Administrative Assistant or the Graduate Assistant. If a faculty member or another student requests such work, ask that person to route the request through the Graduate Assistant or through the Admin Asst.
Time Sheets
Boring paperwork, right? Right! However, the world runs on boring paperwork.
Student workers are expected to be complete and accurate with their time sheets.
To keep with a decimal system, time work is calculated in 6 minute increments (i.e., 0.1 = 6 minutes, 0.2 = 12 minutes, etc.).
To round up your time worked to a 6 minute increment, you must have worked at least 3 minutes.
Be timely with this since time sheets that are not submitted by the due dates will result in pay being delayed by one pay period ~ who can wait for the money?
This is university policy, not some departmental whim, so realize that we are under the same constraints.
Thou shalt nots (or how to get fired from a student worker position)
While everyone wants them to have positive, productive experiences, student workers can be fired! Here is the list of the obvious reasons for dismissal:
- Unexcused lateness or absence.
- Breach of confidentiality.
- Misreporting hours on the time sheets.
- Inappropriate, unprofessional behavior that remains uncorrected after having it brought to the student worker's attention.
Student Worker Information | To Do List | Graduate Assistant Information
