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Division of Human Resources

Preparing to Hire a Student

The following is a general overview of things to consider when preparing to hire a student employee. Your department may have additional requirements or guidelines that you will need to consider and abide by when hiring a student employee.

As a hiring representative, once you’ve received a request to post a student job or hire a student employee, best practice is to request that the supervisor provide a written description of the position, including job responsibilities. This will enable you to ensure the correct job code is utilized and provide guidance to the supervisor on pay structure associated with the job code.

 

Determine Type of Job and Job Code

There are several types of jobs for undergraduate and graduate level students. Utilize the Student Job Codes [pdf] quick reference guide to assist in your job code selection.

Once the appropriate student job code is selected, several key data elements will default including the FLSA status of exempt or nonexempt and whether the employee will be paid on an hourly or salaried basis.

 

Pay Rate

All student employees must be paid at least minimum wage.

Each department generally establishes their own pay scale for the frequently used job codes such as research assistants or teaching assistants.

 

Student Benefits Eligibility

All USC students must have health insurance.

Proof of Health Insurance applies to:

  • undergraduates taking six hours or more and paying the student health fee,
  • graduate students taking six hours or more,
  • graduate students with assistantships,
  • USC School of Medicine students enrolled in 1 or more hours, and
  • all international students.

Information on the Student Health Insurance Plan is available on the Student Health Services webpage.

 

Recruitment

Advertising student jobs happens in many ways at USC.  It is best to check with your department, college or division regarding specific recruitment recommendations, including email listservs, flyers, etc.

While there is not a designated student employee job board at USC, depending on the nature of the position, you may be able to have it posted on other existing job boards.

The USC Career Center has ample information for students looking for jobs both on and off campus. Visit their website to find out more about advertising through Handshake.

Review sample student job applications [pdf] from various colleges. 

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