Summer job search. For students, summer represents an ideal time of year to earn some money, gain experience and confirm interest in a field. However, a student’s desire to work is not necessarily enough to get a summer job easily. Some tips to optimise your summer job search could make the difference.
Ask yourself
First of all, the student should ask himself what are the reasons that prompted him to look for a summer job: was it the money? wanting to explore new fields? a desire to expand their network? wanting to invest in their chosen field? For on the job experience to be relevant, it is preferable for the student to work in a field related with his studies and for his search to be directed after asking a few fundamental questions about his interests, strengths, skills, work priorities, personality traits, geographic preference, desire for a particular workplace, etc.
Where can you do a summer job search ?
Students will spontaneously respond to job offers posted on job search sites and company websites, in the Careers section. However, the candidate must remember that 80% of offers are not published on the Web, and that there ways to find them:
- Job fairs such as the Career Fair for Graduates and Alumni, the Summer Job Fair and the International Exhibition – working and volunteering abroad;
- Networking: although soliciting friends, relatives, family and teachers might seem to be a challenge, such a network of contacts should not be overlooked, which becomes essential when seeking a summer job;
- Unsolicited applications: once the student has set a summer job goal, she can choose companies that meet her criteria or select fields that regularly offer summer jobs to candidates with little or no experience (offices, hospitals, retail businesses, recreation, personal services) then communicate with the human resources department by phone or in writing or ideally directly with the person responsible for hiring.
Dare to get off the beaten track
Whether out of spite or by actual motivation, a student can also benefit during the summer by working:
- Abroad. Like any experience abroad, seeking a summer job must be prepared well in advance and the student needs to ask himself some critical questions to direct his research: the length of stay, paid or not, field of activity, country according to several criteria (distance, language, type of work offered, climate, etc.). The young person could also approach the country’s embassy in his province to get information on the labour market and also consult The Canadian Guide to Working and Living Overseas, from Jean-Marc Hachey.
- On his own: there are unlimited opportunities to create a small business and, in some cases, financial assistance may be provided to students so that they can start in good conditions. As an example, Summer Company 2013 helps the Ontario student population aged 15 to 29 years to crystallize their projects, under conditions for accepting the case, with assistance of $3,000 and consulting time.
Have the right tools to communicate
Summer job search also requires mastery of communication tools to be able to apply in a professional manner:
- The CV should fit onto one or two pages and clear set out – without any spelling mistakes – the candidate’s training, experience and areas of interest;
- The presentation letter – which must be adapted for each position – highlights the student’s interest and motivation for the summer job in mind. It should be addressed by name to the person responsible for hiring, thereby demonstrating some of the candidate’s qualities (curiosity, perseverance to get the name);
- Digital identity: it is strongly recommended that young people do “housekeeping” on their Facebook or other pages, be removing embarrassing photos and information, since there is a good chance that the future employer will “Google” her name;
- Website: one way that a student can stand out could be to create a website – unpretentious, from WordPress (free site) for example – to present her achievements; this will also show off her computer skills, a point which is always appreciated in the working world;
- Follow-up letter or email: after the interview, a student who has met with the recruiter will be marked by her thoroughness and consideration.