MollysBrother.com

Rerun: Get a summer job!

(Moms and Dads, you might want to print this one out for the kid who is currently sleeping on the couch right next to the one who is making himself a sandwich in between “Regis” and “The View.”)

School’s out. It’s time to relax and have some fun. No school tomorrow means that every night is a Friday night. And if you’re old enough, it’s time to get that summer job.

I remember back in the day, I wasted half a summer trying to find the “perfect” summer job. While some friends of mine found temporary employment that seemed pretty ideally, I kept looking for the job that I would have for the rest of my life. With age comes a little wisdom. Here are the following things that I wish I had known that summer.

1. Act now. Every single day that goes by is a day that you could be making money. Many of the best summer jobs are already filled by the beginning of summer. Furthermore, as the summer moves forward, employers are less likely to hire someone for such a short amount of time. (Honestly, as a supervisor, employment for twelve weeks is even pushing it.) If you start looking for a job after the 4th of July, chances are your search will be incredibly difficult, if not altogether impossible.

2. You don’t need to love it… This is the most important thing to keep in mind when looking for a summer job: You don’t need to love it. You don’t even need to like it. You have to endure it. It’s a temporary thing that lasts around twelve weeks. Some short term pain to allow for some level of financial gain. Granted, try to find something that is remotely interesting. But a summer job isn’t the rest of your life. It’s not your career. It’s just a job.

3. …but try to incorporate your future. If you have a clear idea of what you want to do when you “grow up,” you should definitely approach summer employment as a way to get your foot in the door. At the very least, you’ll find out if the reality of any given career meets the preconceived expectations that you formed about the job. If you want to be a lawyer or a dentist, approach individuals in your neighborhood or your city and see if there is some sort of summer position available for you.

4. It’s never too early to start saving. I am sure you get this from all sides: It’s never too early to start saving money. Your grandparents tell you this. Your parents tell you this. You hear it from teachers and neighbors. Well, this is the one piece of advice you should heed. Years ago, my brother met a guy his first year in college. The guy came from a blue collar background, not a ton of money. He had worked summer and part-time jobs since he was 14 years old. By the time he started college, he had over $30,000 in savings. Why? Because he put an aggressive amount of money away–80%–from each paycheck he received. I wish this was advice I had followed at 14.

5. Learn the definition of “networking.” Networking is something many friends of yours will disdain down the road. But don’t follow their path. Networking is just a fancy word for “building relationships.” Use your summer job–and the contacts you form there–to your benefit. Always keep in contact with your co-workers and supervisors. You never know where their future–and yours–will take you.

Show some initiative and head on over to SummerJobs.com A site dedicated to helping you find the best summer jobs available.

Trust me. It will make your parents incredibly happy.