Getting hired by the MSU

By Tanoy Biswas

As the new carries on, so does a new round of hiring both inside and outside of the

university. The McMaster Students Union in particular hires its employees and volunteers

throughout the year because of the demand for the various services and resources offered

by the school.

With departments such as the Silhouette, TwelvEighty, the Union Market, Campus Events,

Compass Information Centre, the Underground Media + Design Centre and over 30 services

to hire for, the MSU is responsible for employing individuals for over 300 part-time positions, hundreds of volunteer positions and multiple full-time positions.

The vast majority of employees in the MSU are either students working part-time or recent graduates working full-time, with a few exceptions for some of their permanent full-time staff.

The MSU’s hiring cycles differ from one another based on the time of the year and are usually contingent on the hiring board’s availability.

“The November 2017 hiring took two to three weeks with the jobs posted, reviewing applications,

conducting interviews, selecting successful applicants etc. In November, we filled positions

for SWHAT coordinator, Horizons coordinator, Creating Leadership Among Youth

coordinator, Welcome Week Faculties coordinator, Mac Bread Bin director, Shinerama

coordinator and Farmstand director” said Preethi Anbalagan, MSU vice president (Administration).

The interviewing process is standard for all positions to ensure the MSU

maintains equitable hiring practices.

“We typically allocate 30 minutes for the interviews and provide the set of interview

questions ahead of time, albeit we ask two to three additional situational and job-specific

questions that are not provided in advance,” said Anbalagan. “Providing questions ahead of

time provides accommodations to those that may have extreme nervousness or general anxiety in interviews.” The MSU website also contains information on how to prepare for job interviews.

The various hiring boards of the MSU’s hiring process include the outgoing part-time

manager to assist and guide the selection process. Additionally, the MSU invites campus and

university partners as guests to sit on hiring boards to provide insight and guidance for

decision making for the niche positions at McMaster.

For example, the MSU may ask McMaster’s sexual violence response coordinator to sit in on the hiring of the Women and Gender Equity Network coordinator’s hiring board as a content expert.

This is consistent with hiring practices within the institution. For example, McMaster

University also attempts to use more inclusive pronouns during interviews.

The hiring cycle for summer jobs is currently underway and all sorts of work opportunities at McMaster University can found through the McMaster Students Union website, OscarPlus and MOSAIC.