Tips and Tricks for Your Summer Job Search
This piece will go over some of the challenges associated with getting a summer job during college (or high school) and offer some tips and tricks to help you find great options for summer employment.
By Ian Whitmore — March 20, 2023
You've finished your last final, packed up your dorm room, said goodbye to all your college friends, and headed off for summer break! There are many ways that you can choose to spend this time away from school. Some students, particularly rising juniors and seniors, use their summers to gain experience through internships. Other students take the opportunity to travel or spend extra time with family and friends. Finally, many students take on summer jobs to gain experience and earn cash for the upcoming school year. If you are in this third group of students, this article is for you! This piece will go over some of the challenges associated with getting a summer job during college (or high school) and offer some tips and tricks to help you find great options for summer employment.
Choosing the Right Industry
Initially, you may experience overwhelm when trying to find a summer job. After all, many employers like to hire employees who plan to stay longer than just a few months. In addition, many jobs have extensive interview and onboarding processes that can take a long time and significantly reduce the amount of time you spend working. However, you shouldn't lose hope! A wide variety of businesses and industries bring in the majority of their income during the summer. As a result, these businesses usually need to hire seasonal workers to get them through the busy months.
These businesses include restaurants, resorts, waterparks, summer camps, outdoor concert venues, ice cream stands, parks, marinas, lawn care services, and many more. Your options will vary depending on where you plan to work and what summer activities are popular in your area, but almost every region in the country offers a wide variety of seasonal industries that cater to locals and/or tourists. Many businesses actively recruit college students to work for them over summer break. They will happily work with your availability and even promise you a job for subsequent summer breaks. Also, these employers tend to have streamlined hiring and onboarding procedures that don't take more than a few days, which allows you to maximize the time you spend earning money.
Apply Early
To avoid last-minute stress, starting a summer job as early as possible is a good idea. Many seasonal businesses like to start the hiring process in February or March to allow time for onboarding and ensure that they are staffed adequately for the upcoming summer. If you plan to find summer work in a city far from your school, no worries! Thanks to technology, applying for jobs thousands of miles away is easier than ever. Just explain your situation in a brief cover letter, so hiring managers know you plan to be in their city over the summer. By applying early, you also give yourself a better shot at having a more consistent work schedule over the summer since last-minute hires are sometimes brought on to fill in random gaps in the schedule or work shifts that are less consistent.
Old Tricks Can Work
Before the age of online applications and video interviews, the typical way to get a job was to walk into a business and talk to the owner or hiring manager. In most cases, this is no longer a viable strategy. Businesses have found that electronic applications are much easier to sort and store, and many establishments don't even have paper applications or accept in-person applicants. However, some small, independently owned businesses still do most of their hiring in person.
Many such businesses are located in small towns or rural areas, and they may be a good option if you aren't living in a city over the summer. In the small town where I attended college, many students (myself included) found summer employment by simply walking into businesses that posted "now hiring" signs and asking to speak to a manager. If you try this strategy, print out a few copies of your resume to provide to hiring managers, as many will ask for one.
Maintaining Relationships
If you find a summer job you love, stay in contact with them over the school year. Many employers are happy to re-hire you for multiple summers if you are a good fit with the business. Some establishments might hire you back for a few weeks during winter break or even give you a weekly shift during the school year if you have the time. If you want to return to a summer job that you liked, contact them early in the year so that you can find a schedule that works for the summer. By keeping the same job for multiple summers, you can build consistent experience on your resume and remove much of the uncertainty and stress that comes with finding and working at a new job every summer.
Don't Overwork Yourself
Trying to make as much money as possible over the summer can be tempting. After all, you only have three or four months to prepare financially for the upcoming school year! However, you should take some time to enjoy yourself, hang out with friends, and pursue summer activities. While financial health is certainly important, remember that your physical and mental health is crucial to your success in college. You will probably find it much harder to transition back into academic life if you arrive back at college burned-out and exhausted from months of non-stop work, so be sure to plan some leisure time for your summer.
Final Thoughts
If you are having trouble finding a summer job, ask your classmates, friends, and family for ideas. Chances are, someone will have a great idea for a place to apply to or may even be able to refer you to a job at a place they work or worked. By networking with people you know, you both give yourself a good shot at finding a summer job and set yourself up to potentially hear about opportunities in the future. Remember that during college your primary focus should be academics, so you won't want to spend too much time figuring out a summer job. These tips and tricks will help make finding summer employment as quick and easy as possible!
Ian Whitmore
Ian Whitmore was born and raised in Austin, TX and spent his childhood and teen years immersed in the rich cultural scene of Austin and the beautiful landscapes of the surrounding Hill Country. He graduated from Wyoming Catholic College in 2020 with a B.A. in Liberal Arts.
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