Platform Provides Jobs

College Labor resource available for students Sophie MattsonTHE SANTA CLARAMay 15, 2014[dropcap]R[/dropcap]ather than scouring bulletin boards for job listings or incessantly searching the internet, college students looking to make extra spending money now have a tool that enables them to find odd jobs in the Bay Area.San Francisco native Justin Ohanessian founded College Labor in September 2012.College Labor consists of a database of 190 students screened and hired by the company.Ohanessian said that when people submit a potential employment opportunity to the web site, they pay a down payment.When a student takes a job, they pay the equivalent of 15 percent of the cost of the job to prove that they are serious about doing it.He was inspired to launch the company because of his own experience as a college student looking for summer employment.“I was a freshman in college during the summer, and my friend and I we bounced around a bunch of restaurants looking for jobs, but nobody wanted to hire college kids for the summer,” Ohanessian said. “We asked around for employment and found random jobs, such as moving, and we found out that people liked to hire college students for them.”After hearing stories about college students swaddled with tremendous college debt, coupled with the lack of employment opportunities following graduation, Ohanessian  and his childhood friend were finally spurred into creating College Labor.“If a student wants a job, the student will pay a finder’s fee on the job,” Ohanessian said. “They do the job, and the customer will pay the student the remainder of the job’s price in cash or check.”Sophomore Jeffery Wu first heard about College Labor on craigslist, and has worked about ten jobs since he was first hired by the company last summer.“The coolest job was catering a wedding with four other people,” Wu said. “The food was already prepared so we held the reception, set up the tables, put all the plates and silverware out, got all of the menus ready and served them food. It lasted about eight hours.”Although the majority of the jobs advertised through College Labor are located in San Francisco, Ohanessian said that he has expanded many job offerings to the East and  South Bay.According to Ohanessian, about ten Santa Clara students are currently signed up on College Labor, and students are often paid at least $20 an hour for jobs. Contact Sophie Mattson at smattson@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.