Being a student in Toronto can be expensive. With inflation on the rise, campus employment is a great way to not only cover those additional expenses, but also to gain valuable experience. There are a number of different opportunities available to U of T students seeking employment. Whether you want to earn money or to pad up your résumé, here are some of the jobs that you can consider applying for.

Work study program

From research to administrative positions, this program offers a variety of jobs centred around student learning. Recruitment for the work study program occurs twice a year — in April and August — with employers at U of T offering paid on-campus positions to students.

These opportunities are designed to develop essential workplace knowledge and skills, as well as to help students explore potential career paths. 3,500 students participate in this program yearly, making it very popular. These opportunities also appear on students’ co-curricular records, making the opportunities valuable for graduate school applications.

Work study program is lucrative, paying a minimum of $15.90 per hour of work. Students typically work 10 to 15 hours a week — the maximum number of hours that they’re allowed to work per week is 15 — making it perfect for balancing with heavy course loads.

In order to be eligible, students must be enrolled in at least 0.5 full course equivalents (FCEs) in the summer, or a cumulative two FCEs in the fall and winter terms. Graduate students are also eligible and must be registered by their college or faculty.

The best way to go about applying for jobs under this program is reading the description of each job posting carefully and tailoring your application to best suit its needs. Cover letters and résumés should show that the student ticks all the boxes that the employer is looking for.

A tip from a former work study student: addressing the cover letter to the job supervisor is an excellent way to make it seem as though you are truly interested in the job. You should also approach writing your application with an idea of the kind of job you are looking for, so you can outline those skills and stand out to a future employer.

A common mistake that applicants make is applying to many jobs with a weak or generic application. If you send in fewer applications that are tailored to job postings, you are more likely to receive offers for interviews.

Interested students can find out more about the work study program by watching the information session recordings or browsing on U of T’s Career Learning Network (CLNx) website. To use the website, sign in with your UTORid and navigate to the section that explains the program.

Library student jobs

U of T’s Library Student Jobs site includes postings for the student jobs available within the U of T libraries at the UTSG. These are covered by the Canadian ​​Union of Public Employees Local Full-Time and Part-Time Collective Agreement.

Applicants should tailor their applications to the specific posting requirements. Some questions to answer include why you are interested in this particular position and why you’d like to work in that particular library. Applicants should also emphasize their transferable skills.

Other opportunities

The University of Toronto Students’ Union — a union that represents all undergraduate students at UTSG — hires students for both administrative and leadership positions. Jobs can be found on its dashboard.

You can further leverage CLNx to find on- and off- campus jobs, as well as jobs through the casual job board. These opportunities, unlike work study jobs, are updated on a regular basis, and allow students to work above the $15.90 hour a week maximum of work study jobs.

U of T’s colleges and faculties also offer a number of different jobs and these can be found on their respective websites.