summer job market...

josh8o · #1 06-09-2002, 07:28 PM

i'm wondering how all of you are doing on finding summer jobs?

i'm home for the summer and have been looking for the past 3 weeks for a summer job...it has been hell. i have applied to 23 different jobs...nothing. either these places do not want to hire summer help, just havent called, or for some reason dont want to even interview me. i have never had troubble finding a job before, and every pleact that i have applied to in the past has always given me an interview. when i came home last summer i went to work for an old employer, and also found a new part time summer job. this summer has been hell...

do you think its the economy? or the job marker for sumer help has gotten smaller?

erniegurl00 · #2 06-09-2002, 09:05 PM

I feel your pain! I have been home for over a month, and I applied to around 20 different jobs in my home town and in a town 15 min. away. Luckily I was able to get on as a cashier at Marsh, but honestly that is only because my mom knew a woman who worked there. The economy just really sucks! Some jobs are becoming rarer with the economy decline. I hear a LOT of college grads are having a hard time. I know my bf has been struggling to find a full time job, and he's been trying since before he graduated!

All I can say is to keep hunting around for jobs. Try neighboring towns if you can. Good luck with your search!

AOX81 · #3 06-10-2002, 11:05 AM

Summer jobs are hard to get because employers don't want to have to train somebody and then have them leave a couple of months later. It's kind of a waste of their time. They would much rather hire somebody who is going to be there for a while.

juniorgrrl · #4 06-10-2002, 03:25 PM

The summer job market where I am has always sucked. It really is murder on your self esteem when you're ranked in the top 50 people in your class of 1200+, but you can't even get an interview at Gap. For 3 of the past 4 summers, I've been a retail slave at a Babbages (video game store). It was total hell - I got paid crap and only got to work 10 hours a week.

This year, I flat out refuse to do retail work with a college degree. I've signed up with a temp agency, and maybe some work will come of that. But I'm not going to work the night shift for 5.40/hr and be bossed around by someone younger than me with a high school education who hates me because I'm not going to be stuck in the job forever (as was the case with one of my assistant managers last year).

*sigh*

aephi alum · #5 06-10-2002, 04:26 PM

It's not just summer jobs... the entire job market is dry as a bone. I was laid off a few weeks ago, I've been sending resumes out the wazoo, and I have been on exactly one interview, and I doubt they'll be hiring me (they're looking for specific skills that I don't have). I've even looked into contract work and I've come up with bupkis.

AlphaChiGirl · #6 06-11-2002, 05:37 PM

I always had problems with summer jobs, regardless of the economy. I don't go to school remotely near where I live, and I've always felt as if I'm being punished for going to a school that wasn't UF, FSU, Auburn, or Alabama. I don't get jobs that aren't retail because the interviewer's "never heard" of the school I go to.

So, I usually work retail for about 10 weeks, being led by someone who's younger than I am. For two summers, I worked at this horrid swimwear place, where the other employees were bound for Jerry Springer.

It's getting better. I've locked in a good job where I go to school, which is a lot more bearable in the summer.

The whole job thing is why I'm going straight to grad school after I graduate.

Maybe temp work is where it's at for you?

newbie · #7 06-11-2002, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AlphaChiGirl
I've always felt as if I'm being punished for going to a school that wasn't UF, FSU, Auburn, or Alabama. I don't get jobs that aren't retail because the interviewer's "never heard" of the school I go to.

Gosh that's ridiculous! Your school is incredible!

ladybug1116 · #8 06-11-2002, 06:02 PM

I remember the summer job market being tough while in school. I was a retail "slave" for 5 summers but I honestly liked it. I only worked at 2 different places though because my employers were always willing to have me back. I went to college in one place and went home to another college town (Auburn) so there were always tons of students job hunting. The best advice I can give you is to be persistent. The place I worked for the last 2 summers I was home was a local retail place and the guy who owned it said "I'm hesitant to hire someone just for the summer but 3 months of great work is better than 3 years of shitty work" At any rate, my point is this:don't wait for people to call you back because 99% of the time for summer jobs they won't. Go to the place where you submitted a resume/application and ask for the status of the position and tell them you would like to schedule an interview. Yeah it may seem a bit aggressive for a summer position but if you really want a job in this crappy economy it's going to take effort. It will show your potential employer that you have initiative and that you actually want to work for them. This is what I did when I switched retail jobs after 3 yrs....and I got interviews at every place I did this. The places that I submitted applications, etc. and didn't follow up on...I never heard from them. And when we hired new employees at the local store...the only ones we interviewed were the ones who came back in person and followed up. The other ones just stayed in a resume stack that really never got looked at. Just my 2 cents...

neicy81 · #9 06-13-2002, 02:17 AM

I'm having a hard time also finding a job.My significant other is also having problems.He has applied to over 50 jobs and none of them have called. I wont even mention the enormous annoying pressure from parents to get a job.

Why is it so easy to get a job at school but so hard to get one at home?

GiantsChic · #10 06-13-2002, 08:24 PM

I totally feel what ur going through... i had a hard time finding a job a few summers ago... luckily this summer i'm just going back to my old job- not getting a lot of hours, but at least it's something- keep trying though, i'm sure something will show up

SATX*APhi · #11 06-14-2002, 02:09 AM

I am going nuts! In order to begin working ASAP, I took a job that is pretty much telemarketing, but technically it isn't. We call people on behalf of non-profit organizations, such as the American Diabetes Association, and try to have them volunteer for a mailing campaign. We are "volunteer recruiters." Well, after a week of working there, I WAS READY TO QUIT!!! I've been calling into work so that I can go out and look for other jobs.

Earlier this evening I became very frustrated while looking for jobs on those job search web sites. This rather silly thought popped into my mind - do a search on AOL for lawyers in my city and e-mail them explaining my situation and asking if they could use any help. I told them that I had a resume I could take into their office. (I became very, very desperate, yes I know!) I did only e-mail about 4 or so people. I made sure their first and last names were on the AOL profile and I also looked their names up in the local phone book to make sure that they were attorneys.

Well, 2 hours after sending out the e-mail I got a response! The attorney told me to drop my resume off to his secretary at his office tomorrow and if he was at the office, he would speak with me. I became scared after reading that e-mail because you never know what to expect over the internet these days, but I did a search on my city's newspaper web site for this attorney and I found out that he used to be the District Attorney.

All of my previous work experience is at the county court house so I think I found a job!! My mom has been working at the court house for 10 years now, so tomorrow morning I am going to ask her about him and get her advice as to what I should do.

Now, what I did was very very silly, but I am desperate here!! I'll let you all know how it goes, IF it even goes!

DeltAlum · #12 06-14-2002, 02:05 PM

Damned economy.

Our son, who is between high school and college can't find anything. There are too many older people with more experience out of work and on the job market.

juniorgrrl · #13 06-15-2002, 01:09 AM

I've given up on temping. In the past 2 weeks, they have called me once. They called 45 min before they closed, I didn't get the message until after 5 (they had my cell they just didn't call). I called them 15 min after they opened. The job was already gone. Gee, thanks for giving me time to get back to you! Oh well, it was a 30 min drive away - I probably wouldn't have taken it anyway.

Monday I might just go out and fill out apps at every place I can find. I'm so damn tired of feeling useless and worthless for having nothing to do (except take care of the house like I'm the wife or something - to my mother no less!).

But, I promise, if any customer hits me this year - I'm hitting back!

PurdueGirlie · #14 06-15-2002, 02:34 AM

I so know what you mean! I am working at a daycare center right now and I have been applying at other places since I came home from school. So far, no luck. I need to find another job soon because this daycare thing is getting old fast. I love kids and all, but it's so much work for such shitty pay.

Anyways, good luck! I hope you hear back from someone soon