Getting a Summer Job is a ritual for all College students and most High School students but with this extremely bad recession even Middle School and Elementary School students are getting in on the act.
One day in the future you will get your career dream job, and a summer job now will give you valuable working experience that you could use for that Future Dream Job. But in the summer of 2009 there are simply less summer jobs available because of the recession. Getting a job at Circuit City would have been a great summer job in the summer of 2007, but those jobs are gone in the summer of 2009. Don’t let this frustrate you because the world has not come to an end in 2009 and there are still great summer jobs out there, you just have to be a little more savvy about getting them. To put yourself ahead of your fellow summer job seekers, don’t wait until the last minute to apply for a summer job. But also don’t think you can’t get one after July 4, because many students go back to college for summer courses and their jobs need to be filled by new employees.
Your Guidance Counselor and Career Service Representative are the first people you should go to for advice. They know the local job market and are your best bet to getting a 2009 Summer Job.
Local employers will be in contact with your Guidance Counselor’s Office and these employers will post their Help Wanted ads on the office bulletin board. This bulletin board should be the first place you should check for summer jobs. Some employers only advertise here with no newspaper advertising at all. So don’t overlook this most obvious place first. Remember the Guidance Counselor is paid to help you, so take advantage of it.
High School students did you know that even if you have no job experience you could still put down on your first job application that you are or were a Boy Scout or Girl Scout. Employers are impressed with this because it shows team leadership. For Elementary School and Middle School students, if you help around the house you could put that down too, do you help dad with painting? this could impress a painting contractor and do you help mom planting roses? this could impress a landscaping business. Lastly for College students, you most likely have many summer jobs under your belt, so don’t forget to update your resume to include all of your previous jobs.
This is the internet age and maybe you’re thinking you will just sent the job applications through the internet or snail mail? But don’t do it, employers want to see a live body with a face standing and looking at them. Many summer job seekers will apply on-line, but you will get that job when you apply in person.
One other good summer job seeking idea would be to list ALL of the busineses that you patronize. Do you go to the local drug store, candy store, pet shop or dinner to shop or eat? If you do, then you are a valuable customer to them, and as such they will listen to you and they may take you on as their new employee. But even if they are not currently hiring, remember these people are business people and business people always know other business people who are hiring. With a possible job contact and a good word or two from them, you will have a better then average chance of getting that job at another business they know. The key to always be working, is to always be making contacts! This rule applys not only to summer jobs but to your whole working life.
Making contacts and talking to grownups is the key to a summer job, and contacts can come from just about anywhere. When I was a 16 year old girl, I desperately wanted a summer job but I didn’t know any grownups who would give me one in the small town we lived in. But one day my 10 year brother had his new friend sleep over in our house and the next day his father came to pick him up. Well I was sitting in our kitchen looking so sad when he walked in and he asked me what was the the matter with me? So I told him I needed a summer job, and he said he was looking for a girl to work in the snack bar in the Miniature Golf Course he owned in the next town. Well, I got my new summer job that day just by talking to a grownup and you will get yours too! (c) 2009 Sandy Kenton Ph.D.