It’s Not Too Late to Find a Summer Job

The slow economy, employer budget cuts and business closings would seem to create the perfect storm for a disappointing 2008 summer job outlook for teens and young adults. However, a quick survey of local community college career centers – magnets for summer job postings – indicates otherwise. So if a young person hasn’t nailed that summer job yet, chances are they still can.

To help, Career Vision offers a free resource, “Summer/Part-Time Job Tip Sheet”. It provides suggestions for jobs and where to find them as well as proven tips that can give a student a significant competitive advantage over other young job seekers.

At College of DuPage, Career Specialist Audrey Walker reports that summer job openings are steady compared to past years. “There are many office positions, like receptionist, listed. There are high paying jobs as well, such as a customer service job working with Information Technology clients. That one pays $17 an hour, and technical computer knowledge is not required. Overall, the horizon looks pretty good. Students should be very encouraged.”

“Tell students it is never too late to find a summer job,” according to Kathleen Canfield, director of Harper College’s Career Center. “Students can prepare by putting together a resume or compiling all the information they will need to fill out an application.”

“Plenty of students wait until the last minute,” confirms Lin Novak, administrative secretary at Harper’s Career Center. “I am seeing summer jobs for office positions in the healthcare field, bank tellers, park districts, camps, the YMCA, tutoring centers, and always retail positions. UPS and FedEx have openings, and offer tuition reimbursement programs, too. There are also a lot of internships I’m seeing, both paid and unpaid. If they are unpaid, I try to encourage the employer to offer at least a stipend to contribute to a student’s gas expenses of getting to and from the job.”

Novak is also coordinator of the job website Harper uses to post open positions they receive: www.collegecentralnetwork.com. This website for college job seekers is used by 450 two-year and four-year colleges nationally. Students and community members in 12 different community college districts in northern Illinois, including Waubonsee, Oakton, Elgin and Moraine Valley, use www.ccjobnet.com.

According to a May 19, 2008, Chicago Tribune article, there seem to be more job opportunities to be found in the suburbs, which have malls and big-box retailers, than in the city. That may mean that city teens must work smarter and harder to find their opportunities.

The choice summer jobs are often spoken for as early as the Christmas holidays. However, openings can and do occur throughout the summer. Sometimes a summer hire never shows up for the job, or quits after a few days or weeks on the job. This creates opportunities for a new person to step in. The teen who has an advantage is the one who has already met the hiring manager, made a favorable impression, expressed interest in the job, and has been diligent in following up.

Here are five suggestions to increase chances for summer employment:

1. Cobble together two or three part-time jobs in order to get the number of hours you want to work per week.
2. Register for online job sites sponsored by your community college, even if you are not a student there. Employers in the community will turn to these sites first to post their open positions.
3. Online job sites should only be a small part of your job seeking strategy. Visit employers, particularly small companies, retail stores and restaurants in person and ask to speak with the manager or owner directly. If he or she is not there, ask when they will be available.
4. Volunteer – employers look for experience, even unpaid experience.
5. Get an internship – if unpaid, negotiate for a stipend, or fixed amount of money, to pay for transportation or gas expenses. Sometimes you can earn college credit as well.