Maximize Your Summer Job: Make It Work for You

If you’re a student, you’ll likely have a part time summer job to help save money to pay for school and/or an internship to help build career connections for your future. Have you considered, though, that you can have both? It doesn't matter what type of summer job you choose. You can utilize the experience by taking a few simple factors into consideration when job searching this summer. Take into account the following when searching for summer job options, like these companies hiring now. Once you've chosen one, here's how to make it work for you:

Budget

Decide how much you need to make this summer to cover your expenses over the year. Consider the cost of tuition as well as other expenses during the school year, like textbooks and materials. If you set up a goal, anything you earn over will become a bonus that you can save for later, larger expenses or use over the summer as you wish. (We suggest saving, for the record.) With that in mind, budgeting will become a lot easier and a lot less stressful. If you're in high school, we recommend saving as much of your summer income as possible for your college expenses. Right now, you have the benefit of living with your parents and you won't always have that. Save while you're able on things like cost of living, food, etc. - don't spend money on unnecessary items!

Network

You should consider every job, no matter how mundane, as an opportunity to make connections and build your contacts. While it would be ideal to have paid internships in your field for every job in college, that’s unrealistic to expect. Try to look at every job as an opportunity to build upon your skill set and social network. That also means that you must take every job seriously and treat it as professionally as possible so that you will be reputable to all of the people you encounter there. While this may sound a little cheesy, keep in mind that most jobs are obtained through a personal network. It’s really in your favor to begin to have this mindset sooner rather than later.

Build Your Resume

While not all jobs you hold will be able to relate to your future career, try to look for positions that utilize qualities necessary in your particular field of study. That way, you will be able to add your job experience to your resume, and it will speak to your career potential in that field since you already have a basic skill set. For example, if you’re going into teaching young children, why not become a nanny or camp counselor for a summer? It’s a great way to get experience with children while enjoying the summer and making money. You'll walk away from the summer job knowing whether or not it's a career you wish to pursue as well as real-world experience in that particular field.

Location

Are you hoping to continue this part-time job over the school year or would you rather utilize this position to check out a city you may want to pursue a career in one day? If you want to keep your position, it’s important to consider its proximity to your school. Trying out a new city to see if it is a good fit can be very beneficial also. It just depends on where your priorities rest. Want the best of both worlds? Try a job at a large company that has locations all over the country. That way, you will be able to work there over the summer and, perhaps, transfer locations to work part-time while in school. Note: if that's the only reason you want to work there, let your employer know what your plan is so that you're sure it will out for you. Otherwise, you may regret taking the position if you're not able to transfer.

Summer Job Considerations

A summer job can be so much more than a summer job -- does that make sense? A summer job can help pay for school, be a stepping stone to your first real job, or help you get to that city you've always dreamed of living and working in at some point in life. As you look for summer jobs, take your future into account. Make a loose plan for yourself, and try to see if there is a way that this year's summer job can help you get where you want to be.