The Summer Job Market Is Heating Up. Here's How to Get a Piece of It
Whether you're looking for a way to supplement your current income or snag a paying gig in between college semesters, there's positive news on the summer job front: A good 95% of employers are adding more shifts this summer than last year, and 58% plan to hire more seasonal workers to boot. That's the latest from job site Snag, which also found that employers are looking to pay a more competitive hourly rate this coming summer. An estimated 46% will go beyond minimum wage, which means that seasonal workers can expect to pocket even more cash for their efforts.
If you're looking to make money this summer, it pays to capitalize on what could be some pretty decent opportunities out there. Here's how.
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1. Perfect your resume
Whether you're applying for a corporate position or a job that allows you to spend your days at the beach, you'll still need a solid resume to present to prospective employers. Even if your work history isn't all that extensive, your resume is a good opportunity to play up your talents and highlight the skills you bring to the table. Just be sure that document is clean and consistent. You'll want to use the same font style throughout and avoid spelling and grammatical mistakes that make you look sloppy.
2. Brush up on your interview skills
If your resume is enough to pique an employer's interest, there's a good chance you'll get called in for an interview to see if you're really a good fit for the role in question. So don't blow that chance. Enlist the help of a friend and run through a practice interview to get a feel for how a live meeting might go. This is especially vital if it's your first time interviewing for a job.
Also, brush up on some of the most frequently asked interview questions out there so you know what sort of curveballs to expect. Finally, don't forget to dress professionally for your interview, even if the job in question is casual. If you're applying to scoop ice cream at a local shop, you probably don't need to go out and buy a business suit, but showing up in slacks and a polo is preferable to donning cutoff shorts and a t-shirt.
3. Get ready to network
Though there's clearly no shortage of summer jobs this year, it never hurts to reach out to the people you know and see what opportunities they have available. Perhaps your old neighbor who runs a restaurant could use an additional server on weekends; or maybe a recent college professor is conducting a summer research project and needs extra (paid) hands on deck. While combing the job boards will give you access to different openings, it pays to see whether the people you know might be in a position to hook you up.
There are plenty of good reasons to want a seasonal job, but if you're serious about earning some cash this summer, do yourself a favor and get moving. In the aforementioned study, 82% of employers said they plan to fill all of their seasonal positions in May, which means the clock is ticking on a host of opportunities you don't want to pass up.
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