By Suzanne Zionts
Summer in the city may not be the most desirable place for some people, but for New York University students in the Village, the summer is the best time to earn some cash and even get ahead in the race towards a future in the city.
Jeffery Lockhorn, a senior, found his job as a theater usher for “The Lion King” using an industry Web site while searching for job openings. He also found his other job assisting at The Signature Theater Company on his own. He feels these jobs are stepping-stones on his way to staying in the city after he graduates N.Y.U.
“N.Y.U. had nothing to do with me finding my job,” said Lockhorn. “I went to an internship fair, and the only thing I found was a retail internship at Macy’s men’s formal-wear department. They were ready to hire me on the spot.”
Unlike Lockhorn, Aubrey Sitterson, also a senior, found his on-campus job as a residential assistant, R.A., through the university.
“N.Y.U. had sign-up sheets in my dorm sophomore year for an R.A. leadership institute. It’s a four-week course that you go to twice a week,” said Sitterson. “They evaluate you, and I had a high score. I was picked as an alternate and called last semester for the position.”
Sitterson said he felt lucky to be picked. In the past two years, N.Y.U. has cut down on the number of R.A.’s. They do not really publicize openings as much. This year Sitterson did not even remember seeing it advertised at all around the dorms or campus. He only saw one flyer this year advertising the position.
“I tried using CareerNet, N.Y.U.’s job search engine, and the only things on it were babysitting jobs. I also saw some pretty well-paying full-time jobs; so it did run the gamut,” said Sitterson.
For finding jobs outside the university’s networks, some find it as easy as pounding the pavement for an afternoon, while others search tirelessly on Web sites, and even seek career advisors to stay employed in the summer.
Aiah Wieder, a junior, found her job at the new Village store, Crepe Creations, just by watching the store open next to her former job at Tasti-D-Lite.
“This is a really good summer job that is really fun. It definitely beats being a camp counselor,” said Wieder.
Lorraine Robinson, senior, is a lab technician in N.Y.U.’s physics department. She got her job from a friend who was leaving the position. Robinson looked for a job on CareerNet but found mostly internships. She posted her resume, but has yet to hear any responses.
“I went to a career advisor. I also design Web sites through a professor who asked for my help,” said Robinson.
While some students find no luck using the search engine that N.Y.U. provides, Cris Meienvez, a senior, found his dream internship at Gucci posted on the site.
“I basically just applied from the job posting,” said Meienvez. “Not a lot of people applied for the position because they were intimidated by Gucci and thought that more people would be competing for the position. I sent over my fabu resume and now I work on 54th and Fifth in the P.R. department above the Gucci store.”
Paula Lee, associate director of N.Y.U.’s Office of Career Services, said that N.Y.U. students secure summer jobs through various sources including N.Y.U. CareerNet, newspaper classifieds, trade publications, Web sites, N.Y.U. instructors and academic departments, job fairs (sponsored by N.Y.U. as well as other organizations), N.Y.U.’s On-Campus Recruitment Program, employment agencies and list serves (a kind of Internet bulletin board), as well as networking and contacting organizations directly.
“N.Y.U. is such a diverse college, which means diverse career interests for our students,” said Lee. “We encourage students to consider all of their options, especially if they have varied interests.”
“I got my job through idealist.org,” said Senior Caitlin Henry. “Check it out for nonprofit idealist stuff.”
Henry works at the Center for Constitutional Rights as a development intern. She is extremely happy with her internship, and it has inspired her to look into law as a future career.
Van Scott got his job as a waiter at the Maritime Hotel, at 16th St. and Ninth Ave., in the restaurant La Bottega when he went for an open call for Park, B-Bar and the new restaurant. He feels he got the job because of his looks and his resume rather than through his serving skills alone.
“I never got a job for the spring because I relied on search engines,” said Scott. “I think the interview where two people meet face to face is the key in getting a job.”
