Tag Archives: summer jobs

college visits, summer programs

A Busy Summer for Your High School Student

summer

Summer is here and the last thing you probably want to hear about is college prep. Summer is supposed to be a time for fun, relaxation and a break from academics. But what if I told you that you can kill two birds with one stone: have fun and improve your college chances? Believe it or not, it’s possible through a variety of teen summer programs and strategies to use the summer to enhance your high school resume.

Find something you love and volunteer

You don’t have to travel abroad to do community service and it doesn’t have to be a chore. Find something you are passionate about and spend the summer doing it. Are you interested in construction? Work for Habitat for Humanity. Do politics interest you? Work on a local political campaign. Are you concerned about the environment? Help with local environmental cleanup projects. VolunteerMatch helps you to find just the right activity that suits your interests.

Start a charity or a campaign

It’s not work if it’s something you love. Think outside the box. Gather used books for nursing homes and recruit volunteers to read to them. Create activity books for children in hospitals and deliver them. Gather used test prep books and donate them to local libraries. The possibilities are endless. Need some ideas? DoSomething.org can get you started.

Work on your social media profile

You’re going to be online anyway. Why not clean up your profiles? Colleges look at social media profiles when reviewing applicants. Boost your presence online by creating your very own personal website to brag about your achievements and your passions. If you’re an arts kids, social media could help you find an arts audience. While you’re at it, follow some colleges on any number of social media channels to learn more about them.

Continue reading A Busy Summer for Your High School Student →
teen jobs

Best Jobs for High School Students

jobs for high school studentsHalf the summer is over and you’ve probably heard your student say, “I’m bored” at least once. With college costs rising and families struggling to find ways to pay for it, a summer job (and even during school breaks) would be a great way to involve your student to help pay for college.

In addition, high school jobs can help prepare a student for college in more ways than just alleviating the cost of higher education. TalentDesk recently published a list of the Best Jobs for High Schoolers that uses Bureau of Labor Statistics and Department of Labor data to show not only the median wage of jobs, but the soft skills like leadership and independence that are required from each position. That way teens will set the foundation for skills that can help them throughout their career. Here are a few of the best jobs for high school students:

Retail Salesperson

Median Wage:
$10.90/hr

Job Description: Retail salespersons help customers find the products they are looking for, ring up purchases, and answer questions about merchandise.

Age Requirements: Retail salespersons must be at least 16 years old. Sales associates have a better chance at advancing to a managerial position with a bachelor’s degree.

Transferable Skills: High school students who work as retail salespersons will learn good customer service skills and effective marketing skills. This job would be beneficial for students who wish to become retail managers or work in merchandising, marketing, or as purchasing agents for a retail company.

Experience Needed: No formal education or work experience is required, but major retailers may prefer students who already have prior customer service experience.

Amusement and Recreation Attendant

Median Wage:
$9.69/hr

Job Description: Amusement and recreation attendants are responsible for selling tickets, serving concessions, helping patrons find attractions, and recording information about sales, attendance, and equipment repairs.

Age Requirements: The minimum age to operate rides is typically 22 but many parks will hire teens 14 and above for roles requiring less responsibility

Transferable Skills: Amusement and recreation attendants will learn customer service skills and safety procedures. They will also gain an understanding of all the components required to manage a large business. These skills will be useful for students interested in the business or entertainment industries.

Experience Needed: Prior experience is not required for this position.

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Worker

Median Wage:
$12.65/hr

Job Description: Landscaping and groundskeeping workers maintain the grounds of a property by watering, trimming, and fertilizing plants and grass. These positions can also involve installing and maintaining sprinklers.

Age Requirements: Employees must typically be 14 or 15 to work in landscaping and groundskeeping. However, teens working in these positions are subject to specific limitations, such as not being allowed to drive motor vehicles.

Transferable Skills: Teens in these jobs will learn skills useful for work as a general contractor or gardener. As this work can be particularly difficult in the summer heat, students will also develop resilience and determination.

Experience Needed: No experience is needed for this role.

For more jobs and a list of minimum work ages at popular companies, you can read the original post from Talent Desk.

Guest Posts, internships, Uncategorized

The Top 3 Summer Jobs for Students

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summer jobsIf

Summer is a time to relax and recuperate, but it’s also a great opportunity to gain work experience and make money. With a challenging job market facing them after graduation, it’s essential for students to buff up their resumes and make connections while they’re still enrolled in school. For college students wondering about their summer work prospects, here are the best summer jobs fields and positions to explore:

Internships

You’re a student looking for part-time or full-time work during summer break, consider interning at a company you’re interested in working for after graduation. There are a variety of internship positions only open to college students, where you can earn course credits in addition to professional experience. Fastweb has a large list of nationwide internships in various different industries that you can apply to based on your interests or major.

While many internships are unpaid, they all offer the opportunity to make connections and gain new skills, which will pay off financially in the future when you’re searching for a job. After graduating, you’ll be able to list your intern work on your resume and use your former supervisors as references. Your experiences can also help you become more confident and focused during your post-college job search because you’ll have a better idea of your own professional abilities.

Volunteer Work

Similar to interning, volunteering can be useful in helping you decide what you’re passionate about and what field you should pursue after college. Sites like Idealist and Indeed can connect you with a volunteer program that correlates to your passions. So whether you’re interested in education, public policy, environmental issues, or humanitarian work, you can find a position that’s well matched and right for you.

In addition to being professionally valuable, volunteer work can also be personally satisfying. Volunteering allows you to serve others, gain fresh perspectives about the world around you, and gives you a chance to work in a field you’re passionate about outside of academic pursuits.

Freelance Writing or Designing

If you’re a good writer or designer looking for more flexible work this summer, you should consider doing freelance work. Freelancing gives you the freedom to create your own schedule and work from home, since most positions are open to telecommuters. If you like setting your own work pace and want the opportunity to improve your skills as a writer and designer in the digital realm, then a freelance job is right for you.

Since there are so many online businesses and companies that utilize the web for marketing, you can find writing and design jobs fairly easily. Available freelance jobs include web or graphic designer, website content writer, blogger, and social media developer. You can find a position that meets your skill set or knowledge, as well as create a freelancer profile, on sites like Guru.

Many freelance jobs don’t pay well at first but you’ll be able to set higher prices for your work once you have more experience. You can become a more desirable freelancer over time by adding work to your resume and increasing your online exposure. You’ll be able to send links of your work and show that you have an online presence to future hiring managers.

Freelancing, volunteering, and interning, all offer the important opportunity to gain professional experience in fields that you may want to pursue after college. If a position you want is unpaid or doesn’t pay well, you can always take on a part-time server or retail job in order to supplement your income. While food service and retail work can help you gain customer service experience and make extra cash, they don’t offer a career path that’s useful or interesting to most college students. This summer, try to invest your time and energy into a job that can improve your professional skills, add value to your resume, and help you land a job after graduation.

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Javaher Nooryani is a writer and editor based in Denver, CO. She has a BA in American Literature & Culture from UCLA and a Masters in English & American Literature from NYU. As a former tutor and advisor, Javaher is passionate about higher education and is glad to share her knowledge on CollegeFocus, a website that helps students deal with the challenges of college.

college planning, internships

5 Summer Jobs for Students

 

summer jobs for studentsSummer is the perfect time for students to save up for the next semester and get some practical experience to complement their degree programs. Websites like Randstad Education can help students prepare for job interviews, find work and read articles about teaching.

According to Forbes, some of the best summer jobs for students help to pad a resume, while providing valuable work experience. With the fierce competition of today’s job market, students have to work harder than ever to stand out in a pool of highly qualified applicants.

Freelance Writing

Students that don’t need a job immediately can get started on the road to freelance writing. Getting clients and working to build a portfolio of writing over the summer is the perfect time to get involved in an industry that shows great promise and growth. Additionally, students that succeed can build a source of income that can be accessed for the rest of their lives.

Internships

An internship requires some preparation, and typically an internship is not paid. The benefits of an internship might include some light compensation and the ability to bolster a resume with relevant work experience. If a student decides to do an internship, it’s important to pick one that is relevant to the chosen career field. Often, internships turn into real, paying jobs once the student graduates from college.

Restaurant Jobs

Working in a restaurant is a good way to earn some extra money and develop valuable customer service skills. Students who work as servers, attendants, hosts and hostesses can earn some pay while getting real-world practice dealing with difficult situations. The food industry is notoriously difficult, and working as a waiter or waitress increase a student’s ability to hold information in their mind and increase memory.

Start a Business

Students don’t have to settle for working for someone else while in college. Taking the initiative to start a business can show great work ethic and prove the student is a self-starter. There are plenty of options for starting a business and students can offer tutoring, complete chores for neighbours or create a craft that can be sold on one of the many online websites, like Etsy.

Construction Work

For students who want high-paying, temporary work and don’t care about how it looks on a resume, construction work can be very lucrative. It’s definitely hard work, but construction work helps keep you in shape, teaches the value of hard work and pays extremely well compared to many other industries.

Your student can surely benefit from any of these summer jobs. Not only can it help them earn during summer time, but the value of hard work and experience will certainly help shape them into a more responsible and mature individuals.

 

college planning, extracurricular activities

Summer Activities to Prepare for College

Nowadays, grades are not enough to impress colleges. Universities seek well rounded students who have the potential to contribute positively to their school and society. Students preparing for college should engage in different activities that will set themselves apart from the crowd. As students are always busy with papers and exams during the school year, summer is a great time for them to participate in activities that will impress colleges.

Volunteer Work

Caring for the Community

Volunteer service is a great way for high school students to show colleges they care about their communities and want to make a positive impact on society. Volunteering is also indicative of a student’s interests and personality traits. For example, tutoring elementary school kids, working in hospitals, and cleaning public parks suggests a student is compassionate and dedicated.

Work Experience

Community service is also a way to explore career options and potential majors. Volunteering allows students to obtain hands on experience in a professional field and develop work skills, such as discipline and teamwork.

 

Paid Work

Exploring Career Options

Like volunteer work, a summer job or an internship is a great way to explore different careers and develop traits that colleges look favorably upon. There are many internships available for high school students in research firms and major businesses. These are opportunities to network and see what the work field is like. A summer job is also a great way to develop work and financial responsibility. Whether it is at a major company or at a grocery store, a summer job will teach high students how to talk and act around employers and customers. This shows colleges that a student is a hard worker, dedicated, and willing to learn.

Saving up for School

A summer job can also help pay for school expenses, such as tuition, textbooks, and rent. While financial aid is available in the form of loans, scholarships, and grants, every penny counts.

Test Preparation and College Visits

Although it is summer, high school students should not forget about their academics. Summer is a prime time to enroll in test preparation courses for the SAT and/or ACT. This is also the time for students to research universities and see which schools would be a good fit for them. Colleges also host campus visits during the summer for potential students. This is the best way to learn about different campuses, talk with admissions staff, and explore what kind of programs are offered at a certain school. Universities also take note of high school students who attend their college visits and contact their staff; such dedication and curiosity always looks great on a college application.

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Today’s guest post is by Louise Baker. Louise blogs about getting an online degree at Zen College Life. Her most recent post looked at the best medical coding and billing schools.

 

college planning, parenting

Hitting the "summer job" pavement

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Summer is approaching and your college-bound teen might be looking for a job to supplement that college fund and gain experience in the workplace.  Here’s a Q & A by Liz Cruger for The Real College Guide providing some tips on how to snag a job.

QUESTION

I really want to get a summer job. Do I need to be thinking about that so soon?

ANSWER

If you’re looking to be employed this summer, start the job search in early March. Everyone is tired of hearing it, but a lot of employers aren’t hiring new workers in this economy, so finding jobs is tough … and competition is fierce. Here are some tips for upping your odds.

To land a summer gig:

* Start at your school’s career center. Staffers there are trained in job search and making resumes look great, so take advantage of the opportunity.

* Check out job Web sites like Monster.com, which can help you in your search. Post your resume early and see what comes up.

* Touch base with former supervisors — especially if you want to go back to somewhere you’ve worked in the past. Send an email to let him or her know that you’re willing and eager to return to your former post, and be sure to include your updated resume (highlighting recent accomplishments) and dates of availability.

* Ask friends and relatives about open positions. Often, getting a job is about who you know. A recommendation from the right person could put you over the top.

* Capitalize on a talent or skill. Make jewelry to sell at craft fairs, or start a lawn care business. I’ve heard that the best jobs are the ones people create for themselves!