@VANDEMORY1342 I don’t think that the institution you go to matters much for finding a summer job in retail or camp counselor. Frankly, it’s those who have prior work experience in HS (retail, fast food or whatever) that will likely have an easier time-- I do think an employer (retail, camp, food or tourist industry) would be more likely to hire a kid with experience from directional U over a kid with no experience from a ‘top institution’
If it is money she’s after, babysitting can be great, depending on the going rate in your area. My D has a job, but she can actually make more $ from babysitting. If it’s having some structure for the summer she’s after, than perhaps she can do some volunteering and set up a regular schedule for that. I don’t think you have to worry to much about ‘resume building’ for this summer.
When I was in college I did seasonal work for my summer job at the State Park near my house. My D works at a golf course so they have quite a few HS and College kids that work there but most of them were known by the course first. Either they took lessons or were members there. Networking is important even in HS and College when it comes to your job search. Even looking back, most of my friends also did seasonal work either at parks or camps.
Next year my older D is looking at working at a summer camp but if that doesn’t work out then she will go back to the golf course as they really like her. The course just hired my youngest D as well and she just started two weeks ago. One of my D’s good friends is a nanny for the summer and one is working as an intern at her dad’s company. Outside of that, most of the older kids we know who just finished up their first year of college came back to jobs they had in HS.
Sign her up for a red cross lifeguard training (assuming she can swim and is reasonably fit). May not help right now, but it will set her up better for next year. Might even get her a job during the school year at a country club or the nearest Y. Also, my girls found that even waiting until spring break would have been too late, especially when it came to internships/externships. They started the hunt at Christmas break or earlier. Youngest applied for some internships that had application close dates in October.
Does your community have a facebook group? Ours continues to have postings by parents looking for summertime help - nannies, people to drive their kids to and from summer camps and sports, people to care for pets, babysitters, etc.
My own youngest is working her fourth summer at a local major outdoor concert venue that operates only May-September. She also took lifeguard training this past spring and got a job as a lifeguard this summer.
The general advice around here is to start looking for summer internships as soon as you get back to college in the fall.
In our city, moms of preschool and elementary school kids are desperate for something to do just before school starts when all the regular summer programs have wrapped up. If your D can find a helper and put a half-day “camp” together during that time, she can charge a premium!
@Lindagaf, there was a good article about this on CNBC a couple of days ago - it’s mostly due to competing against older workers who will be available for more than 8-10 weeks.
It can be hard. Last summer my D worked at Wendy’s. Turn over is so high there that they didn’t care that she was only available for the summer. She really didn’t like it but it was a job and she made money. This summer she was determined not to do that again. She applied for many retail type jobs right when she got home and got two interviews. Both said during the interview that they hadn’t realized that she was just looking for summer or they wouldn’t have called her. But, one of the interviewers liked her so much that they hired her anyway. I really think she just got lucky. I think it can be very hard if you live in an area that doesn’t have much seasonal employment. My only advice is to suck it up and try fast food.
The seasonal job market and babysitting may be the best chance for her at this point. What is her area of study? Is it possible that she could job shadow someone in that field? It may lead to a paid position for next year. Are there any summer theater or concert series in your area? They may be looking for extra help. Is she able to tutor?
Returning college kids in our area work seasonal jobs. D’s roommate offers dog walking service, house sitting, watering plants. Not very glamorous, but housecleaning in our area offers better pay than babysitting. D’s roommate used Nextdoor and neighborhood flyers to advertise services.
My DD is on staff at the Girl Scout residents (overnight) camp. They are desperate for counselors in our area. Might have your DD check with your local council.
My daughter who graduated high school a few weeks ago, and is headed away for college in the fall, just landed a job at a large well known low cost retail store. I was quite surprised. My suspicion is that she got it because she is bilingual.
Older daughter is working near her campus, in a job that she did part time during the university year.
I have seen what looks like college students walking dogs near our house.
My D started at a fast food chain in HS, and they allowed her to come back to work at every college break. No more scrambling for work. She gave them Two weeks notice before each break and they put her in the work schedule.
Second the idea to go ahead and get some certifications. Life guard, first aid and CPR, a babysitting class at Red Cross, and get a background check done by reputable company so you can use that when advertising for babysitting jobs.
After being passed up for numerous retail and restaurant jobs, our twin DD’s, who are rising Freshman, are babysitting, dog walking, SAT tutoring and volunteering ESL. Going forward, they are determined to secure internships every summer of college.
Lots of good ideas here. For retail in particular, she might just have to keep applying to more and more places. My own experience (ages ago, so may have changed, but I think perhaps not), I generally got interviews at retail places where the manager happened to be there when I turned in the application. No one ever called me a day or two later. Just keep turning them in until you get an on-the-spot interview.
Thanks everyone. There are a lot of good suggestions here. I had her read through this.
I don’t know if anyone mentioned Craigslist, but here in the SF Bay Area, there’s a boatload of listings for various types of employment.
She might want to visit your local farmers market and see if anyone needs help. It’s seasonal work in your neck of the woods. Some of it is manual (picking) but there are sometimes folks who would like a presence in two places at the same time, so your DD could offer to do their table at a second location or their roadside stand. She might have to be entrepreneurial in her pitch…
Its probably too late for this summer, but if she played a sport in high school she could get certified to ref for youth sports. There is a huge shortage of trained refs!
@Lindagaf, that actually happened to my son on his gap year. He just couldn’t get hired, and he sent out a lot of applications for food places, large stores like Target, and so on. He had three interviews with Sony Entertainment for a game tester, but in the end, he didn’t get hired. He’s earned his money teaching cello and performing cello, so he’s never had a “real” job with lots of hours.
His friend goes back to Subway each summer; they are desperate for workers around here apparently.
I hope your DD finds something!