Whether you want to work in a hotel/bar/restaurant to earn some quick cash, or prefer to work in an area relating to your future career, take a look because there's lots of summer jobs out there for you.
Summer work can be an excellent training for employment and it looks great on your CV. You might discover something you're really good at, or get the chance to learn new skills. Also earning just a little bit now could really help your bank balance in the future. Or maybe it's just that you need a little extra cash to go travelling with later on in the year. Whatever your angle, it's time to get cracking...
Getting started
The best thing to do if you want to get a summer job is to start early. You'll need time to think through what it is you want to do, how much you want to earn (within reason), and find out what jobs are going in your area. You'll find it harder to find a summer job if it's suddenly July and you haven't thought much about it!
If you want to find a summer job that's relevant to you, get as much information about the different opportunities as you can. So if you want to be a teacher then what about helping out in a youth camp or a youth club. This way you are working with young people and developing your skills.
If you're not sure what you want to do as a career, then summer work could be a great time to try out different jobs, to get a feel for what you might want to do in the future.
Finding a job
There isn't a magic answer to finding a summer job. You will need to keep your eyes open and try a number of options.
- Spend some time looking around your local Skills Development Scotland centre, reading the general information there.
- Read the newspapers' employment sections to see what kind of work is available locally and nationally.
- Borrow books from the library which help you figure out career choices. Think about what is important to you and what you would enjoy doing.
- Look in your JobCentre for local and national vacancies. Some employers advertise only through the JobCentre and vacancies are usually divided into types of work - e.g. catering, retail.
- Look for job adverts in shop windows, in newspapers and online.
- Word of mouth - speak to your friends and relations, and ask around. They may be able to tell you about vacancies before they are even advertised.
- Check recruitment/job websites which don't charge a 'joining' fee.
- Check out the European Youth Portal as there's a working holidays section that highlights summer work in the UK and abroad. You can change the country displayed by picking the option you want from the red drop-down menu on the right so why not see what else is going on.
The more places you look, the better your chances of finding a job. It's really about keeping your eyes open for any opportunities.
Watch out for...
Never reply to an advertisement which promises to make you thousands of £££s by working from home, particularly if you have to send money before you start. It is unlikely that you will ever make enough money to recoup your outgoings as well as income for yourself. (It is possible to make money working from home, but no genuine company would ask you for money up front)
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