5 Ways a Summer Job Can Prepare You for the World of Work

Venturing out into the world of work after finishing education can be a huge shock for many young people. Different from anything they have previously experienced, young people tend to feel unprepared and unfamiliar with employment. This is where a summer job can be of great use. Huffington Post refers to summer employment as being ‘life-changing’ for many people, not only offering them direct experience in the workplace but according to research, it also helps to reduce the high school dropout rate.

1. Learn New Skills

A summer job of any kind, such as call centre job with CCJM or working in retail, can greatly increase your set of skills. The call centre, for instance, can teach you how to talk to people, improving your level of customer service as well as your ability to communicate well with others. The skills that you can learn during a summer job can go on to be the same skills that you will need to help you further on in your life and career path. Learning valuable new skills will make you a very attractive potential employee for future job opportunities.

1. Work Experience

Make your CV/resume shine with a summer job. Showing that you have significant work experience will greatly improve your chances of employment in the future. Every employer will be interested in your previous work experience, so if you haven’t got any then a temporary job over the summer months will go a long way. Valuable experience will also give you a better idea of what to expect from employment which will help you to better prepare for your future.

1. Gain Confidence

A summer job will often bring with it an extra boost of confidence. Having a better and clearer understanding of the workplace can give you the confidence that you need to succeed in your chosen career path. Confidence is said to be an attractive quality, especially for potential employers.

For this reason, it is advised by the National Careers Service to seek employment in order to gain more confidence. To help with this they advise that you take small steps and set yourself both long-term and short-term goals. A long-term goal could be to change your career whilst your short-term goals could be more along the lines of researching job opportunities and seeking advice from a professional careers advisor. In the end however, 'taking small steps builds confidence and makes you feel like you’re moving forward.'

1. Learn the Value of Money

Earning your own money will quickly teach you the value of money and give you a clearer idea of how you want to spend your money. This is important because as you grow older you will find that you will be entrusted with more responsibilities that will require understanding the value of money. A summer job will help you with this and on top of that it will make you more independent and stop you relying on others to provide for you.

1. Time Management

Learning how to juggle multiple tasks will be an incredibly valuable skill not only in the workplace but also in college and during everyday life. A summer job will help you to determine what priorities are the most important and which ones can wait. Improving your time management skills with help from a summer job will prepare you for work because it is likely that you will have many different tasks (both home and work related) to complete and knowing which ones to put first will help you to succeed in your career.

Vercida works with over one hundred clients who are committed to creating an inclusive work environment. If you are an employer and interested in working with Vercida to promote your diversity and inclusion initiatives and attract the best candidates, please call 02037405973 or email [email protected] for more information.

We are also officially recommended by Disability Confident as a step on achieving Employer status, please click here for more information.