Summer Jobs That are Surprisingly Worth Your Time

Now that you’re a sophisticated, grown-up college student, you wouldn’t deign to apply to the same jobs as pimply high school peons, would you? The truth is, when you get off the plane or out of the car in your hometown, no one really cares that you spent the last academic year musing about Sartre over pints or frappuccinos. You’re just as qualified (or unqualified, whichever way you look at it) as every other seasonal job seeker out there, and you’re going to have to really fight for a chance at just an interview. The summer job search is always tough, and you’ve got to start calling places or sending in your resume before finals roll around if you want a head start on the high school kids. And this year, those who have been laid off from full-time employment are trying to fill up the extra positions that the summer season usually affords. If you want a summer job, you’re going to have to take what you can get, starting with the jobs you really want, and being okay with working your way down the totem pole. But even if you don’t land a job at a lawyer’s office, the newspaper or in a hospital lab somewhere, there are some pretty generic, usually bad-mouthed summer jobs that are surprisingly worth your time and deserve an entry on your CV.

1. Camp counselor: You’ll be hanging out with kids all summer, which means you won’t be quoting Sartre or figuring out differential equations, but camp counselors serve as leaders, mentors, teachers, and even event planners. You may even be able to work in the finance or admissions office, giving you some extra real-world skills, and you’ll make tons of contacts by mingling with kids’ parents, other counselors, and the people who run the camp.
2. Retail: Working retail is a nightmare for some young people, but if you’re at all interested in business, it’s a significant blip on your resume. You handle money, check inventory, work with customers, and learn the basics of keeping a store in order. If you’re able to work your way up to an assistant manager position by returning during other breaks or working during the school year, you’ll have even more responsibility, which future employers do appreciate.
3. Beach club/country club: These types of clubs and associations supply lots of job opportunities, from golf caddies to waitresses to hosts to concierges and event planners, and more. The networking potential you’ll enjoy working at a country or beach club with regulars is enormous: the clientele usually have good jobs and a wealth of contacts all their own, and if you prove that your trustworthy in handling their vacation, they’ll probably be willing to give you a boost if you need it.

Don’t worry if you don’t have an impressive job title this summer: make the most of what you’re able to get, and spend some time thinking about how you can translate the skills at your seasonal job to the real world.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 6th, 2010 at 8:02 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.