The beginning of summer marks a period of opportunity for students looking for a summer job. With studies on hold for a couple of months, it is a chance to earn some extra money with a temporary job or gain some valuable work experience with an internship. All you need is a little help to set you on the way, so here’s a top ten list of tips to help you find the right role for you and make the most of your summer.
Top Ten Tips for Students Looking For a Summer Job
Update Your CV
Don’t worry if you don’t have a lot to put on your CV upon leaving university. It’s okay as potential employers won’t expect you to have much experience at this stage. Do update your CV with any recent developments in your education though, and be sure to include any extracurricular interests and ambitions you hold for the future if they are relevant to the type of job you are searching for.
Start Looking Early
Start looking for suitable positions as early as possible because you won’t be the only one doing so. There may be the perfect job for you out there but if you are too slow to apply for it then it may be snapped up by someone who’s quicker off the mark.
Search Online
These days you can conduct a thorough search for jobs just using your mobile phone. In fact, if your field of interest lies in IT and technology, it is likely that any and all advertisements for such positions will only be available online.
Use a Recruitment Agency
Registering with a recruitment agency can give you access you to potential temporary jobs and internships which are not advertised anywhere else. Specialist recruitment agencies have working relationships with hiring companies and will know who is open to hiring students during the summer.
Try Networking
Never dismiss the usefulness of a friend of a family member. Your professional ‘network’ might not be too extensive yet but it is still worthwhile to ask around friends and family and get the word out that you are looking for something.
Make Sure the Internship is Worthwhile
When you find an internship, make sure it is one worth having. Ask questions of what’s expected of you and make certain of your duties before accepting the position. Two months of making tea for people might be just about worthwhile if you are picking up a paycheque for it, but an unwaged internship must be of benefit to you in terms of gaining experience and developing skills.
Understand Expectations and Meet Them
To make the best of such an internship once you have one, make sure you understand exactly what is expected of you so you can do as good a job as possible. Every internship has the possibility of leading to future employment, so make a good impression while you have their attention.
Identify Your Strengths and Weaknesses
It is okay if you find yourself struggling to meet those expectations, especially if they are quite demanding. Nobody is brilliant at anything straightaway so use your summer job to identify any strengths and weaknesses you have.
Develop New Skills
Internships provide access to more experienced people who can share their knowledge with you. They will often be able to teach you how to perform certain tasks and help you develop new skills. Take advantage of any on-the-job education you can.
Earn a Professional Reference (and Contacts)
By being enthusiastic and performing your duties to the best of your ability, you can earn a professional reference to use when applying for another position after your studies are finished completely. Also try to maintain your relationships with managers and any other superiors as they can help you find more work in the future.
A Few Final Thoughts on Looking for a Summer Job
Looking for a summer job can be tough. Following the above steps should help improve your chances of gaining valuable work experience throughout the summer months.
We hope you found this article useful, if you did, please share it on social media. You never know, it might help someone else who’s looking for a summer job – they will be bound to thank you for that!
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