Rewards & Recognition for Student Employees

The Division employs many student workers, undergrad and grad.  Here are a few suggestions for recognizing the important – and increasingly sophisticated – work they do.

  • Pizza parties – end of semester/year, or after a big achievement
  • Congratulate graduating students
    • WSN ad at the end of the year
    • Using the hashtag #congratagradNYU to get them on the jumbotron at Yankee during Commencement
    • Email detailing what your grads will be doing next
    • Give a small gift – a book that the staff have signed with good wishes, or something useful for their upcoming career or job search.  A student that’s going to freelance could be given a gift card for business cards, for example.
  • Show students what they’ve accomplished
    • Create a Google Site with examples of their work & show it to them as a group – they can also share the site with friends & parents
    • Gather data on the cumulative effect of their work: “You’ve packed 2 tons of widgets!” “You’ve helped X number of patrons!”
    • Send semester wrap up email summarizing what they’ve done, with data and examples if available
  • Buy them coffee/lunch
  • Include them in departmental celebrations like holiday parties
  • Know when finals and midterms are so you can wish them luck
  • Student employee recognition week is just before finals – have a de-stressing party, let them know about studying resources during exams
  • Have an info session later in the semester/year where they can ask staff members whatever questions they have – about their careers, about the department, etc.
  • Birthday cupcake
  • Ask for input in developing a new process
  • ID tags for students that work with the public
  • Gift cards for exceptional workers
  • Let them know about opportunities like training or NYU resources such as the LaGuardia Studio, the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities, CMEP, the NYU Federal Credit Union, and more.
  • Know their major, so you can tell them about databases and archives that are relevant to them and accessible through the Libraries

National Student Employee Recognition Week

A great time to show your appreciation, Student Employee Recognition Week is the second week in April.