Work for Dining
88% of Dining Student Employees said they made new friends while working for Dining.
When you work for dining, it's more than just a job. It's also about friendship. Join our team and create life-long connections with other students from various majors across campus.
7 Reasons to Work for Dining
1. Move-In Early: Residence Hall Students
Start early before the semester begins! If you plan on living in the residence halls, you will be able to move into your room early in August when you start training. Dining will cover the move-in early costs as well as provide food before the semester begins.
2. Flexible Schedules
97% of Dining Student Employees said that Dining is very accommodating to working around their class schedule. You’re on campus to further your education and that should be your priority, so we will work around your busy schedule. There are over 180 shifts available daily. We make sure to ask for your availability before scheduling. We can offer this by altering the start or end time of a shift accordingly, or you can get someone else to cover your shift if something comes up.
3. Free Meals
4 out of 5 Dining Student Employees use their free meal with every shift. Enjoy the perks of working for Dining! Each time you work a shift that is more than three hours long, you can get a FREE meal! You could eat before or after your shift, or if you work more than 5 hours you can eat on your break.
4. Great Pay
Starting Fall 2021, all of our positions will start at $12.30 an hour! Positions offer the opportunity to move up as a student leader, which offers an increase pay.
5. Variety of Positions
There are over 15 different positions available! Everyone is different, and we have a variety of positions to offer that accommodate different skills. If you’re looking to make a guest's day as a friendly cashier, stay behind the scenes and help keep our spaces clean, or assist guests and serve food, we have a position for everyone.
6. Convenient
All of our positions are located on campus! You’re already going to be on campus for class, so it’s easy to use the free time between classes to earn some extra cash. If you work in the dining centers or some retail locations, nothing beats not having to go outside in the winter to make it to your shift!
7. Grow As A Leader
Each semester, we look for new leaders to move into student leadership positions! We need experienced leaders to help keep our operations running. We rely heavily on students to help us do this. There is always an opportunity for students to grow into student leadership positions! Usually once or twice a semester, we request applications for promotion.
Student Testimony
Job Locations
Dining Center positions usually open in early summer and as needed throughout the academic year.
There are two dining centers on campus: Wilkerson and Squires.
The dining centers offer a wide variety of position types. You could be serving food, stocking food to serve, preparing food with the chef, helping clean dishware, or greeting people as they enter the facility. Doing one job all the time can get mundane, so there is flexibility in the tasks you may do in a shift.
Wilkerson Express Convenience Store & Stomping Grounds Coffee location offers unique opportunities from stocking products on shelves, making specialty coffee drinks, collecting payments, or helping to keep the space clean.
The brand new Memorial Union will be home to exciting, new dining locations! This includes:
- Chick Fil A
- Panda Express
- Starbucks
- 1883 Grill
- University Ave Pizza
- Dakota Deli
- Express Convenience Store
Catering is also a part of the Dining Services operations. This unique area has a lot of needs that are different from the others. This could be setting up and serving at the many catered events that take place across campus. Events include big days like weddings at the Gorecki Alumni Center, celebration banquets for student organizations, or fun programs for students, staff, and faculty in the BRAND NEW Memorial Union!
"The best part of working for dining is the people you work with, the experiences you gain, the practical skills you learn - it is a hugely rewarding first job for many. The diversity of campus is reflected in the workforce because of how it brings together people from so many different backgrounds." - Jishnu Basu, Senior
Frequently Asked Questions
Catering
You are guaranteed to work in multiple positions in catering. Catering is good for someone who likes variety and flexibility. A shift is usually for a whole event, from setting up, serving food, and cleaning up tables or dishes. You will never be bored in catering!
Dining Centers
Doing one task all the time can get to be mundane. With this, students can work more than one position. Some students will do both line serving and dishwashing so they don’t get burned out.
Memorial Union, Wilkerson Express & Stomping Grounds
When you work for Retail Operations, you will always be doing a wide variety of tasks. You could be greeting customers at the register, stocking product, cleaning the store, or making food or drinks. As well, there are many different retail locations across campus, and there is an opportunity to cover shifts across all of them.
Catering
Event schedules vary based on the season, time of year, and event type. If you're looking for variety and flexibility, catering is the place for you. Some weeks you could have 15 hours, some weeks could be less. It all depends. There are often opportunities for students to pick up last-minute shifts for events that come up.
Dining Centers
Having a steady income is important, so we do our best to provide 10 to 15 hours a week. Shifts are usually between 2 and 6 hours. A good majority of our shifts are in the 4 to 5-hour range.
Memorial Union, Wilkerson Express & Stomping Grounds
At the beginning of the semester, shifts are usually set in 2 to 4-hour time blocks. Students usually sign up for that shift for the semester. If something comes up and you are unable to work that shift, you will coordinate someone else to work it for you.
Catering
With every event having different needs, shifts range from 2 hours to 8 hours. They are also dependent on the event time, which could be in the morning, afternoon, weekend, and even at night. This is great if you're looking to work hours that aren't always the same.
Dining Centers
During the daytime hours, shifts will start at random times. Start times are all based on when the most support is needed and could range from 6:00 am to noon. We recognize this time block often will conflict with classes, so these shifts are adjusted the most often to fit around classes.
Afternoon shifts are more structured with the following times:
- 2:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
- 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
- 7:45 p.m. – Midnight or 12:00 a.m.
Memorial Union, Wilkerson Express & Stomping Grounds
Each location and area has a different need based on the season, day of the week, and time of day. When shifts are set up, you get to select the day of the week and time of day based on availability. So shifts are when it is best suited for you!
Prior experience is not needed to apply! We offer in-depth training for all of the new positions so they are comfortable with the work they will be doing before getting started.
We need experienced leaders to help keep our operations running. We rely heavily on students to help us do this. There is always an opportunity for students to grow into student leadership positions! Usually once or twice a semester, we request applications for promotion.
With any position in Dining Services, you will gain skills in the following areas:
- Customer Service
- Teamwork
- Critical Thinking
- Communication Skills
- Timeliness
- Patience
- Empathy
- Dependability
- Adaptability