When should you apply for summer jobs?

<p>I was wondering when a good time to apply for summer jobs is? I had a summer job going into senior year of high school, but I applied for it during the summer and basically got it because the manager of the store had to fire an employee (I quit the job for school-related reasons, and wouldn't necessarily want to work there again because I had some issues with my former boss). I applied for about twenty jobs last summer but couldn't get anything even though I applied between March and May; the only stores that gave me interviews said they wanted full time employees instead of seasonal ones. I applied for a camp counselor position I saw earlier, but was wondering if it's worth inquiring about other counselor positions at other camps, or if its too early. Is it too early to apply for summer jobs, especially summer camp positions, or is now a good time to do so?</p>

<p>I would start now. Some places aren’t considering summer hiring yet, but it doesn’t hurt to poke around. But I would definitely start applying if you’re looking at camp counselor positions, those fill up fast.</p>

<p>In my area everyone wants a full-time job and employers in most entry-level jobs are only hiring part-time. </p>

<p>I’d say it’s too early to apply for retail and office jobs. Summer camp jobs might be different - I’ve seen some summer camp jobs look for employees early so that they have a solid team ready to train by the summer. In other positions employers can ask people to work more hours to cover vacancies. In camps, it is much harder to deal with vacancies because everyone is already living there or working full-time hours. </p>

<p>It wouldn’t hurt to get in touch with camp managers/supervisors and ask questions about when they start looking for staff, or how/when they train (some might start training before the summer, so you have to make sure you can attend).</p>

<p>Thanks for your replies!</p>

<p>I’m a camp counselor at a Girl Scout camp, and I got my returning staff application last week to be submitted with two references.by January 31st. So I’d say…start now!</p>

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<p>Pm me if you’re looking for camp stuff in the New England area (aside from girl scouts). I used to go to a Y resident camp in Mass that is hiring around now, I think.</p>

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<p>Summer camp jobs would probably be now. Internship-type jobs (competitive ones), start looking soon, maybe in the next month or so. All other jobs, I’d start looking in March or so.</p>

<p>Yeah seasonal positions are a waste of time for many employers especially when there are plenty willing to work part-time and full-time for more than one season.
The only time they want seasonal help is during Christmas break and that’s about it.
If you tell them you’ll work part-time and don’t tell them you’ll only be there for the summer they’ll consider you maybe. Once you say you’ll only be available for a limited time they’ll move on to the next person/interview. </p>

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<p>If you’re looking for retail and hospitality type jobs usually they don’t really look into hiring people until they really need new employees. Start keeping an eye out for those kinds of job postings around late March or April. If you’re wanting to work for a specific organization, like a camp or water park, check out their website and it will probably say when they start hiring. Because of that it wouldn’t hurt to start looking now because some places might take applications really early in the year.</p>