Office of Career Services

Jobs and Internships

Handshake

“Handshake” is the online portal managed by Career Services that will allow you to participate in most of the services that our office provides. This system provides information relating to career fairs, special events, career announcements, and job/ internship national and local postings. Students and Alumni are highly encouraged to utilize “Handshake” for all of their present and future career needs!

You may log-in or register by inputting your information in the space provided on the right of this screen under the Handshake title.

On-campus Employment

On campus jobs fall into four different categories: federal work-study (FWS), regular student employment (RSE), graduate assistant (GA), and other on-campus employment. In all cases, you may look for available positions in our online job posting system, Statesmen Connect. You can log-in at the top right of this screen. Below are additional details about each position type.

Federal Work-Study (FWS)

Federal Work Study provides jobs for students with financial needs, allowing them to earn money to pay education expenses. The office of Financial Aid provides each student their eligibility. You can view your eligibility status by referring to your Financial Aid Award Letter that you will receive before the beginning of the semester. You may also view your eligibility status via your online student account by logging into DSU Online Services.

If you are unable to find your Federal Work Study eligibility status, you should contact the Financial Aid office at 662-846-4670 or email them at finaid@deltastate.edu. All federal work study positions will be posted in Statesmen Connect. The letters (FWS) will be indicated the position titles of these student employment positions.

Regular Student Employment (RSE)

Regular student employment is the opportunity to work in a department on campus. Eligibility is not based on the incomes of the student or the family. You must be a fully admitted student to apply for these positions. Visit Statesmen Connect for these positions. The letters (RSE) will be indicated the position titles of these student employment positions.

Graduate Assistant (GA)

Graduate Assistantships offer graduate students the opportunity to work for Delta State. Most assistantships offer free tuition and sometimes pay a small monthly stipend. Graduate assistantships are competitive. Graduate students must register with the Office of Graduate and Continuing Studies Office prior to seeking employment or being re-employed at the onset of each academic year. Once you have notified by the Office of Graduate and Continuing Studies of your status, you my visit Statesmen Connect for available positions. The letters (GA) will be indicated the position titles of these positions. You may also visit on campus departments to inquire about available positions.

Other on Campus Employment

There are several other on-campus employment opportunities available to all students. These positions are usually offered by the outsourced companies that service our campus, such as Aramark/Delta Dining, Ellucian/OIT and Barnes & Noble Bookstore. The opportunities range from full-time to temporary and will be posted in Statesmen Connect as well as other locations. You may also visit these departments to inquire about available positions.

Internships

The importance of internships and other forms of experiential learning (e.g., co-ops, externships, clinical rotations, student teaching, etc.) in today’s job market cannot be overstated!

An internship is a wonderful opportunity for individuals to gain skills and knowledge about organizations and job sectors of interest. Further, internships make you much more marketable to employers looking to hire full-time employees, as they are designed to help students develop work experience that is closely correlated with their course of study. Great deals of employers seek and recruit candidates who have some degree of experience relating to a particular job. College graduation can be scary and not having appropriate skills and experience can be even more frightening.

Some internship programs compensate students while others do not. Whether paid or unpaid, internships are a great investment to any student’s future. The job market is extremely competitive and it is important for graduates to have acquired some skills and knowledge related to the career they intend to pursue. Work experience is just one benefit of receiving an internship. In addition to on-the-job training, recipients have an opportunity to network with corporate leaders, potentially receive scholarships to further education and travel to interesting places.

Increasingly, employers are utilizing internship and manager trainee programs to assist them in recruiting future employees. Thus, deciding to participate in an internship program could (and often does) result in your first post-graduation job.  The numbers are impressive! In a recent report, 75.2% of employers surveyed indicated that their primary goal in hosting interns was to funnel participating students into full-time employment positions; additionally, employers reported a 51.3% “conversion rate” of interns to employee status (source: 2017 Internship & Co-Op Survey Report | National Association of Colleges and Employers).

If you are looking for an internship position, you can log into Statesmen Connect to view the current internship opportunities posted. Additionally, we have provided a few links targeting internships in the “Helpful Links” tab above to assist you in your search. You may also stop by our office to inquire about additional internship opportunities, and discuss how to get started with your search.