<p>For those of you with summer jobs, I have a few questions.</p>
<li>What is your job?</li>
<li>What is your salary?</li>
<li>How did you get your job? Through a parent? A friend? Your school’s career counseling office? etc.</li>
</ol>
<p>I was supposed to get a job this summer, but I’ve had terrible luck finding employment, and I’ve basically given up. I’d like to avoid repeating this predicament next summer. If you have any other advice about how to find summer-only jobs for which a college student with minimal work experience is qualified, I’d appreciate it.</p>
<p>this is my second job...I'm a Cashier @ Chick-Fil-A
Salary: lol...no comment...it's decent though
I got my job through a friend...she's a manager...I got the job I had last year by just going around and speaking to the managers on weekday mornings when they weren't busy...and voila...I had a job lol</p>
<p>Job: Head receptionist for a Mercedes Dealership
Salary: $12.50/hr (not bad considering it's my first real job, so I had no "practical" experience) 40 hrs/week</p>
<p>I got it through a temp agency. The job started the day after I walked in for the interview.</p>
<p>Some suggestions from a parent and an employer. </p>
<p>Start early. March is not too early.</p>
<p>Dress for success -- show up asking for a job looking like someone the old fogey owner (that's me) would want to hire. The last kid that showed up with facial piercings and scarlet streaked black hair was told there were no openings. In actuality, I <em>do</em> have an opening for a part time person to work 2-3 afternoons and a weekend day. If you are going to be around from now until September 2007 or beyond, you can PM me for an application!</p>
<p>Bring a resume. It doesn't have to be fancy, but I would like a printed piece of paper that introduces you.</p>
<p>Be specific about what you are looking for. Please don't say <em>anything</em> because in that case I probably have <em>nothing</em>. Tell me upfront if you are a student, a local college student or whatever. I want to know who you are and how long you will be around. It would be OK to ask what sorts of jobs are available and what sort of qualifications I am looking for in an applicant. In fact, I would probably fall over if someone asked that question after all the kids that would take <em>anything</em>. I translate <em>anything</em> to mean "anything that will get my folks off my back about a stupid job."</p>
<p>You are (probably) temporary help. Take what you can get in hours. Please don't ask to work your hours around your boyfriend's schedule. As long as I am signing the front of the checks and you are signing the back, we will work your hours around what's convenient for ME! I would really like to have a Friday afternoon off once in a while. </p>
<p>Dive in, be enthusiastic, work hard, learn lots, and have fun. If you're just looking for an allowance, go hit up your parents. If you want to work, please come and work hard. Be on time. Be honest. </p>
<p>Realize that you will learn (or you should learn) <em>something</em> every day. Ask questions, look for things to learn, look for ways to help out the business. The kids that do that get invited back and get first dibs on next summer.</p>
<ol>
<li>Database work for an auditor (I'm based in a corporate office elsewhere though to work with this client)</li>
<li>15.00/hr 40 hours/week</li>
<li>Found this one through posting a resume online.</li>
</ol>
<p>I'd recommend starting your search as early as possible though. My friends who got cool internships with big companies started their search a couple months before school even ended. Ask your counselor or career center about possible opportunities there. I also have friends who are doing research jobs over the summer (I also looked at this but turned it down when I didn't find a project I liked... had an offer though). With research, really what you need to do is to get out there and talk to people. Talk to your TAs, email professors, email the department... something will pop up if it's something you really want to do. Really, getting out there and talking to people will carry you a long way. Build some connections, eventually you'll know someone who's doing something and is willing to give you a chance or get your foot in the door.</p>
<p>I'd also take any opportunity to help build your resume. I started off doing a friend's football website with nothing more than a dream, some connections (my friend has scouted for the Arena league and NFL), and faith in what we were doing. Now the site has gotten pretty big and I've got other people with legit companies seeing if I want to website work for them too. It also makes that mostly bland resume look a lot better. Find something you believe in doing and get into it, even if it means working for free. It will pay off later. Companies hire people, not robots. You're not just your GPA and a list of phone numbers.</p>
<p>Also, listen to what cnp55 says. He knows what he's talking about.</p>
<ol>
<li>What is your job? work at a local health food co-op</li>
<li>What is your salary? $7/hr (crappy, yes)</li>
<li>How did you get your job? they had a help wanted sign in the window one day when i was getting food, asked them about it, and voila!</li>
</ol>
<p>I have two minimum wage jobs:
1. Cashier at Papa John's and a local Chinese place
2. $6.50/hr at Papa John's; $7.00/hr at the Chinese place
3. In both cases I walked in after seeing their Help Wanted signs</p>
<ol>
<li>What is your job? Computer Technician</li>
<li>What is your salary?$26 /hr</li>
<li>How did you get your job? Through a parent? A friend? Your school's career counseling office? I applied</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>Working as a custodian in an elementary school 42.5 hours a week and working as a security guard on random days at big concerts around Massachusetts.</p></li>
<li><p>Custodial work is awesome; 42.5 hours a week at $12 an hour. Security guard is $9 an hour, but that's not a set schedule, so. . .</p></li>
<li><p>Got the custodian job because my mother is a teacher at the school. Security guard was because a family friend hires for the company and they needed someone 'strong'(?) to work for them :)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>EDIT: I'm also playing a ton of poker at the casino, which'll probably end up generating more revenue than anything else.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What is your job?
-Concessionaire for a AA Baseball Stadium</p></li>
<li><p>What is your salary?
-6.00 an hour, would have likely been 6.50-7.00 if I stayed for this year</p></li>
<li><p>How did you get your job? Through a parent? A friend? Your school's career counseling office? etc.
-Job fair in the area for the company</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks everyone for your responses, and thanks to cnp for the job offer, but I don't go to school around here, so I'll be gone in September.
I'll just comment on a few things.
[quote]
Start early. March is not too early.
[/quote]
You may have a point. I started looking in earnest at the beginning of May, thinking that would give me ample time. Apparently not.
[quote]
If you're just looking for an allowance, go hit up your parents.
[/quote]
Definitely not. I'm supposed to earn a certain amount every summer as part of my financial aid package. In fact, right now I have no idea how I'll buy books this fall ...</p>
<p>As for those who suggested research positions, nice idea, but you couldn't pay me enough to stay at my school over the summer.</p>
<p>as the original poster, i also got into the same boat. After my junior year, i got a job working at a grocery store, which payed badly b/c they took union dues as well, so it was like i was bein payed 5.40-5.50 an hr. well below 6.50 min. wage in my state. </p>
<p>Me bein naive, i thought i could get another job, maybe not quickly, but thought i could find another job. I quit that job, I applied to some places, even got an interview in another place the day that I quit from my first job, but that didn't work out. </p>
<p>Ever since, I been applying throughout the last 10 months in various places(close to 20 different places, some more than once) and had no luck. I got an interview a few weeks ago but the ******* was like since I was goin away for college, he couldn't hire me for 2 months and couldn't let me work during winter break and over next summer. So once again, I'm stuck without a job and I gave up looking 2 weeks ago b/c by the time beginning of July rolls around, IT'S BASICALLY TOO LATE. Since I'm goin to college 3 hrs. away, I don't have the same luxury of I was gonna stay home for college. </p>
<p>I've had no luck. Applied to 20 different places, only had 2 interviews(and only 1 was a real interview cause the one I had a few weeks ago, once the guy knew I was gonna be leavin in mid-August for college, he basically ended it at there). I don't know why either? I did a good job for my first job, I voluntarily quit, so it wasn't like I was fired or anything. I'm hard worker, listen and do what I'm asked to do. BUT NO ONE GIVES ME A CHANCE. Yet I see other people at my school who to me are less deserving and get these 9-11 dollar an hr. jobs and it just boggles the mind. </p>
<p>All I can do is start applying earlier in spring, but it'll be tough with college still goin on. At least online apps will be easy.</p>
<p>One of the tough things for me was that at 17, you don't have as many job opportunities, but when u turn 18, there's a ton more places u can apply. But I turned 18 almost middle of May, I applied to 3 places in late May, then another 7 places close to middle of June(all those places u need to be 18 yrs. or older except for 1). Nothin came out of it EVEN THOUGH ALL THOSE PLACES WERE HIRING AND I CALLED TO MAKE SURE ABOUT THIS.</p>
<ol>
<li>Inventory at a private school in the area</li>
<li>$10/hr. I can work as little or much as I want, and the hours can be whatever I want. This week I worked around 20 hours.</li>
<li>My neighborhood has a list serve. I posted on it (thus sending an e-mail to everyone in my neighborhood) saying that I was available to babysit. I did get calls for babysitting, but also got a call from someone at the private school about the inventory job. She had heard that I was a good worker from someone in the neighborhood, and hired me enthusiastically without an interview.</li>
</ol>
<p>Someone posted this a long time ago, but it has stuck with me as a pretty good piece of advice.</p>
<p>For every 10 applications, you get 1 call back (as in yea we got your application, you're under consideration).
For every 10 call backs, you get 1 interview.
For every 10 interviews, you get 1 job.</p>