How to motivate them for summer job hunt

Parents Forum
101

<p>“I agree with ParentofIvyHope. I started out picking apples when I was 16. My parents always pushed me to work. I worked the full time the summer before my senior year, during my senior year I had a co-op job so I worked 4 hours a day instead of going to school, and I worked full time the summer after. The day I left that job I had a 105 fever, strep throat and got chewed out by my boss for wanting to go home early. I tried to please everyone. By the time I was 25 I was burned out. I want better for my kid.”</p>

<p>I’ll go you one better, I started out picking tobacco when I was 13 in 100 degree heat (under the nets) and fainted one day…then was right back at work at 10 minutes later. That was a 40 hour a week job that started at 5:30 am.</p>

<p>I learned more from working that horrible job under horrible conditions for peanuts than I did at my internship at IBM.</p>

<p>I want exactly the same thing for my kids. We could afford for them to never have a summer job or work for a long time after they graduate, they have trust funds (that they don’t know about), but guess what, they also got their first summer jobs at 13 and always worked “full-time” in the summer. </p>

<p>If they’re burned out by 25 because they had to work during their summers, then I don’t hold out much hope for them in the long run. </p>

<p>I have a very low tolerance for indulgent parents and indulged kids.</p>

<p>“If you have chosen the job you did then your job certainly not only have meaning in your life but would define your life. But if you would have chosen to spend that time on some other activity whether it was bonding with your friends or spending time on music or art or sports or travel then the job has no real meaning and is just a source of income to you.”</p>

<p>You can bond with your friends at work, after work, or on Facebook 24/7. A summer job takes a max of 40 hours a week…leaving plenty of time for friends, music, sports and travel.</p>

<p>Last summer my kids held full time jobs, one also played AAU baseball, and we went to Europe for 2 weeks. They just didn’t have much time to sleep-in. ;)</p>

102

<p>My son worked the last couple of years. He works from August to May while going to college. In the summer he takes more classes. He will get a few weeks of “laying around the house” if he wants before his job starts again. I enjoy his company. He is working because he wants to and it is in the field he majors in. I am not worried that because he didn’t work at 13 or 18 or summers that he won’t get a job in the future.</p>

103

<p>But shyanne, he’s working throughout the school year! I would think employers would look very favorably on that.</p>

<p>Bottomline, he has worked prior to graduating college, that’s what’s important, IMHO.</p>

104

<p>Now you understand:-) I know I can’t express myself clearly on here at times.</p>

105

<p>There are no summer temporary jobs here. All this motivation / search is waste. They have much better chances at campus during school year. They should focus on that and do something else in a summer (no paid positions, shadowing,…etc. - they are not that easy to find either, but easier than paid jobs).</p>

106

<p>I’m feeling the pain for my S. He is a rising college junior and applied for about 15 internships (some unpaid, some with stipends). He is a finalist for one and was interviewed, but has heard nothing from them so far. If this doesn’t pan out, he’ll go back to the restaurant where he worked last summer–but he doesn’t even know if they are hiring (chances are good, because restaurants are hiring in our community). I’m seeing scenarios where college kids lose internships to slightly older undergrads, recent graduates, or grad students. It’s hard to keep your motivation up in this economic climate. So much for building a resume with relevant internships as an undergraduate, which is what employers are telling some recent college grads I know!</p>

107

<p>MiamiDAP- do your kids have a skill they could market? Could they teach piano to they young or computer skills to the elderly? Dog walking or pet sitting? Sometimes people are happy to pay a bit less to a young adult for a service that they would have to pay a lot for to a professional. Then in time, your kid would be the professional. It may not be a full-time kind of income, but over time they could develop a sideline doing something they enjoy.</p>

108

<p>“he’ll go back to the restaurant where he worked last summer-”
Do not feel pain for your S. Most of our kids do not have the chance at ANY summer job. Feel very lucky that your S. has a chance at this one. I feel happy that D. has campus job during school year. We have stopped feeling dissapointed few years ago.
Also, in regard to Internships, they are also much easier to get at college campus. D. has this one also at Med. Research Lab, even was able to write proposal and get 2 grants for her research (both at college), so I imagine that lab. must be happy with her. She also was able to get volunteering position of her choice there with lots of training. Had to let that one go after 2 years, because of other commitments. Focus on campus for both job / internships / volunteering.</p>

109

<p>^^ Good point, thanks. He should look into internships during the school year, away from home. We live in the capital of the free world :), which is full of interns in the summer. That’s the problem: lots of internships, but lots of competition. For some weird reason, restaurants in certain parts of the city seem to be thriving. We’ll see how that goes–and he was happy there last year. The pain comes from seeing how thrilled he was to be interviewed–followed by silence! We all know how that feels, but it’s just life.</p>

110

<p>moonchild,
My D. has very wide skills and very top communication / social skills. She is working as Supplemental Instructor at campus and have been told by prof. that her work resulted in improved grades for students who use her services. Yes, she has extensive piano training (11 years) and Music Minor in college. She has about 12 years of competitive swimming and can teach kids how to swim (no certification, though). She can very effectively tutor in math, Chemistry, Biology (HS thru College level). She has relatevely long experience both working and interning in Med. Research lab. And yes, she would be willing to take ANY job. She has awesome recs letters from her college profs and her college GPA = 4.0. She is senior next year. NO JOBS HERE, period. Not much to do in a summer, she has never needed to take summer classes either. She is happy that she had opportunities being involved in many aspects during school year.</p>

111

<p>So it sounds like your D has several talents she could turn into extra income this summer if she chooses to. She could create her own job with just a bit of promotion on her part.
Not knowing where you live I can’t know what would be the most successful, but it sure sounds like she has a lot of options. She sounds like a super-talented girl!</p>

112

<p>I just wanted to say that I live in an area that has 20% unemployment. My D did not come home last summer and was very homesick this year. She just wanted to come home and hang with us. We just moved to this area and really don’t know many people and the employment situation is not great but better than it was last summer when things seemed worse.</p>

<p>Anyways she has been home for a week. She applied to any job she heard about and put in applications everywhere she could think of. The good news. She has a job at a fast food restaurant. It’s not ideal but it’s only one of two fast food restaurants for a long time on a road many vacationer’s use. They recently fired people and are short staffed so the manager thinks she should get quite a few hours. Hey it’s a job and with 20% unemployment we are happy.</p>

<p>Even better news and crossing our fingers and toes. She has been asked to submit her resume to two engineering firms in the area. One job may be for a position that was filled and fell through. The other is for a company that didn’t hire any interns this summer but recently got a big defense contract and may be looking for an intern at the last minute. That seems to be a long shot but she talked to someone on the staff and they may be hiring temporary crew for the production line. He thinks that he can try to get her at least this job which while not an internship it will be 40+ hours a week.</p>

<p>She heard about the last two positions by everyone in the family asking everyone we knew that our D was an engineering student and she was looking for a job. Sometimes things come up even when you are sure there is nothing out there. I am really hoping that she will at least get an interview for one of the internships or is able to get the production line job. </p>

<p>My D hasn’t been too proud to apply for any job and to ask anyone if they are hiring. It’s also good to ask everyone you know if they are hiring. It’s also how my S got his first internship, it was simply getting the word out.</p>

113

<p>There’s an article in the Wall St Journal from yesterday talking about a growing wave of employees quitting their jobs for greener pastures. Companies that cut way back leaving morale and opportunities in the dumpster are starting to have to deal with losing employees. This, of course, creates opportunities for those looking for work.</p>

114

<p>^Yep. Do not know our unemployment, but some of us are traveling to Detroit to work on a daily basis, so we must have it worse then over there. All what used to be “summer” jobs are filled with permanent workers, a lot of retirees or people who return to their positions every summer. Connections is almost must. I am at my job #9, I have a chance because of extensive experience and MBA degree. We tell most of kids in our area to go to any field health services related (medicine, pharmacy, nursing, physician assitant…) and a lot of kids listen seeing parents struggling keeping their jobs. I cannot relocate either as others for various reasons. No jobs, no ANY dirtiest least desirable jobs. NOTHING. At least D. has all at her campus. job, internship, volunteering.</p>