Post a Job & Candidate Selection
Employers should follow the requirements below before hiring any federal work-study eligible student employee. Direct hires are not permissible and may be found to be in violation of Equal Employment Opportunity regulations. See the Jobs webpage for additional regulations.
Post A Job
Based on your department's or organization's needs,
- Review official HR Job Titles and identify one that fits your position
- Complete the online Job Posting Form
- Include a job description that fits the position and responsibilities to be performed and desired skills. Balance informative information pertaining to the position and responsibilities without being too lengthy. Refrain from abbreviations or unfamiliar language.
- Supervisor contact information is required for each job posting. Students are instructed to contact employers directly to apply for or express interest in open positions.
Positions may be submitted and posted throughout the academic year. We will send a confirmation email once the job is active on the jobs board website.
Once all your positions have been filled, please submit a request to Remove Job Posting from our website.
All jobs posted on the Federal Work-Study job board are open to any eligible federal work-study student. Non-eligible students may use Northwestern Career Advancement's QuadJobs, a job portal for all other part-time student job opportunities at Northwestern and in the local area.
How can I attract students to the job?
In a typical year, there are usually more job openings than students to fill them.
If you have difficulty filling a position, consider how you might make the job description appealing to undergraduates. Might the position provide valuable professional experience? Can the work be completed remotely or outside of traditional business hours? Are there other aspects to the job that could be specifically mentioned that might be of interest (e.g., creative/original content, outreach to other students, conducting independent research, etc.)? Can you give examples of interesting work or projects that other student workers have completed in the past?
If there are students with interests or backgrounds you wish to recruit, you could consider reaching out to related academic departments or campus offices to see if they can advertise your opportunity to their student populations. Classified advertisements in The Daily Northwestern and campus video billboards are other options.
Evaluating and Selecting Candidates
It is critical you confirm student federal work-study eligibility before hiring! If you hire an ineligible student, their earnings will be charged back to your department at 100%, without the federal wage subsidy.
Common hiring practices may include any of the following:
- Application
- Resume
- Cover letter
- Interview
Individual employers determine the appropriate methods to evaluate candidates based on the methods above.
If interviewing candidates, all interviews should be conducted under reasonably similar circumstances and all candidates should be given similar opportunities. Questions may pertain to job fit, communication, critical and analytical thinking, customer service, team work, etc.