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Summer Job Search 101

Sooner rather than later, the lines at local fast food outlets will fill up with more summer job seekers than hungry customers. The Mallrats will be replaced by well-behaved students with résumés in hand. And your parents will start a constant, annoying cadence that will only end when you finally have a place to stamp your time card:

“Have you found a job yet… have you found a job yet? Have you found a job yet!?!”

Good and you?

Sure, you can choose to discard the job search all together, and spend the summer bored, broke, and having to do mommy and daddy’s laundry every morning just to pass the time. But that’s awkward for everyone.

In other words, you need a job. And to beat the onslaught of slackers that will spill onto the net and in stores once we get to June, you need to start looking now. According to a recent http://www.ja.org/files/polls/summer_jobs_2006.pdf Junior Achievement Summer Jobs Survey, more than 85 percent of students over the age of 15 plan to look for a job. And if you do the quick math, you’ll realize that not everyone will get their first (or second or third) job choice. Someone is digging ditches, but that someone doesn’t have to be you.

So here are some tips to make sure you don’t get stuck folding daddy’s underpants in mid-July…

Have realistic expectations of summer work

Everyone has that friend with the summer job of their dreams: the one who earns more than you, works less, and seemingly has unlimited sick days. (And by sick days, we mean the days he spent tanning by the pool while he read a copy of US Weekly). It may look like that friend has won the summer job lottery, and we don’t want to be the funny cop, but what is he really learning? Even if a summer job doesn’t seem like the yellow brick road to his dream career, he’d be surprised what he can get out of the right job.

Here are some ideas on how summer employment can provide a credible experience for your future dream job…

Teller: Investment Banker

Before you start investing millions of dollars belonging to fortune 500 great wigs, you’ll need to master change for a $20 purchase. And those pesky penny rolls are a pain to open.

Craft Retail Store Stockist: Designer To The Stars

It’s doubtful that designing a dress for the Oscars red carpet walk would require you to know what kind of glue works best for sticking googly eyes onto pipe cleaners. But that job can be the first rung on the ladder to establishing that precious and elegant skill set.

Camp Counselor: Professional Trainer, Athlete, or Coach

Making sure a dozen dodgeball-playing rug rats don’t give each other black eyes is a good warm-up for playing with the big boys and girls. Here you can hone your understanding of fundamental games and polish your locker room communication without worrying about upsetting any big-league prima donna.

Pizza delivery man: Musician

Hear us out first! Sharing pizzas in your hatchback through strange neighborhoods at a responsible speed may not be the same as doing an acoustic set at the House of Blues, but answer us this: How many other jobs let you play whatever music you want, as loud as you want? (no headphones)? That’s what we think.

sound warning

Clichés about job hunting and the workplace are all too common. You’ve probably heard “dress for the job you want, not the one you have” or “work outside the box.” As annoying as they are to listen to, and as hard as it is to find that annoying “box,” clichés serve a purpose in that there is usually a significant nugget of truth at the center of each one. Conversely, the time to present clichés is not during a job interview. When talking to a potential employer, be honest but be careful. Likewise, be yourself, but be sure to filter out the just weird stuff (your potential employer doesn’t need to know about your boy band’s fan club), and know one more thing…

Be honest with potential employers

This starts with being honest with yourself. If you’re a proud vegan who’s not sure you can handle handling prime meat patties and steaks all day, skip the summer job route at a restaurant. Being honest also includes your initial conversations with potential potholes. Don’t overcommit to the number of hours you’ll be able to work at first and then back off. Also, don’t claim that you have certain skills and experiences even though you don’t. We know it’s exciting to be about to land a job, but the quickest way to crash and burn out at your new job is to lie.

Don’t be “that boy” or “that girl”

When dozens and dozens of your peers are vying for the same coveted job, don’t make it easy for a potential employer to pull you out of the race early. From having rude cell phone ringtones that explode during an interview to leaving a resume while wearing a tuxedo T-shirt, the list of these embarrassing faux pas is long. When in doubt, pause, and then exercise a little common sense.

Start now

Seriously… right now. And save some time and gas money looking for summer job us http://www.snagajob.com/job-resources/summer-jobs.aspx

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