Get Ready for Summer Jobs

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With much of the winter behind us, the month of March brings thoughts of summer. Employers, too, are beginning to plan ahead for summer and are thinking of ways of accommodating staff vacation requests for July and August. By now, the federal government has already closed the employer deadline for Canada Summer Jobs 2013, and job postings are appearing online for all levels of government and other employers in the various industries that hire for the summer.

Job seekers should keep in mind that even though summer hiring focuses on students, it could benefit anyone who is available to work, and may even provider opportunities than might turn into full-time permanent work for some.

WHO hires for summer jobs?

Hiring occurs in a range of sectors, including those obviously related to the season such as amusement parks, summer camps, resorts, and camp grounds, as well as seasonal sectors such as landscaping, tourism, and agriculture.

Government, on all three levels, municipal, provincial and federal, post jobs for students in a range of departments. In addition, many employers are seeking to hire staff to temporarily fill positions left open by vacationing staff.

WHERE and HOW do I find the jobs?

The best place to initiate any online search is always Google. Use suitable keywords such as summer, jobs, a job title (e.g. landscaper), and location (e.g. Toronto). Set up alerts for the searches that produce the best results, so that you can be notified by email every time more matches appear.

Use social media – make sure you  have a good profile on each site, and set out to locate employers.  For example, the City of Toronto has a presence on Facebook (Employment and Social Services), Twitter and LinkedIn. Search Twitter for keywords such as #summerjobs and #toronto.

Seek out specialized job boards such as JobPostings.ca and Talent Egg, which focus on advertising summer jobs.

On all levels of government, including the municipal, provincial and federal, special sites have been set up for summer recruitment:

• The City of Toronto has its Toronto Public Service Summer Employment Opportunities site, where potential employees can register and apply online. Toronto Parks & Recreation department has a hiring page for “recreation jobs”. Check for specific programs in the city that might appeal to you — for example, Centre Island hire many for summer.
• The Government of Ontario has set up a Summer Employment Opportunities site, where recruiting is occurring for the main Ontario Public Service. There are related services such as the St. Lawrence Parks Commission, the Ontario Science Centre, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Ontario Travel Information Centre and a range of Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities services such as youth and student employment opportunities in Ontario, Summer Company,Summer Jobs for Youth Program, Summer Law Student Opportunity, and the Stewardship Youth Ranger Program.
• Most of the Federal Government‘s hiring programs (Federal Student Work Experience Program — FSWEP) have completed their hiring by now, but some continue to be open; use the keyword “Summer” in main Federal Public Service search site. Jobs still can be found at Canada Post and the Bank of Canada, for example.

Check out classifieds listings such as Kijiji, who offer a Summer Job search; traditional job boards such as Workopolis have set up specific student searches. Similarly, the “vertical” job boards such as Indeed.ca have specific summer searches.

Think of which employers are busiest in summer. For jobs in camps, check out Ontario Camps, who list jobs in local camps. In the city, some of the larger employers such as The EX  or Canada’s Wonderland are hiring. Ontario Power Generation have created a summer recruitment site, as well.

Remember that you can also create your own business and offer pet sitting, gardening, baby sitting, elder care, house sitting services, for a fee, to friends and family.

Keep in mind that temp agencies might be ramping up their hiring to fill positions of employees away for summer. You’ll find a list of job boards on this blog.

Think of who else is active in the summer: companies that deal in promotions and marketing, hotels, restaurants, car rental companies, golf courses and a range of other service sector employers. Google the companies, check out their websites and see if they’re hiring. Contact them directly and find out about future opportunities.

Summertime Job Blues

“I’m gonna raise a fuss, I’m gonna raise a holler

About a workin’ all summer just to try to earn a dollar.”

– Eddie Cochran

Luckily, minimum wage is more than a buck today. It’s now mid-March and many people are looking forward to the summer. Are you trying to think of places that may have employment opportunities over the summer break? Now is the time to do it.  If you wait, it won’t matter how loud you can holler as the summer jobs will be filled.

Using the “how to search” job tips for summer employment listed in earlier blogs here, I thought I would also provide some ideas on “where” to search.

Amusement Parks – The GTA has Canada’s Wonderland, The Ex and some of the travelling amusement shows such as Conklin Shows that appear in strip mall parking lots. Check out their websites and watch the local papers for recruitment fairs.

Summer Camp – There are a number of city-run programs during the summer held in local schools and libraries, for which they are recruiting a range of staff, including many Counsellors. Check the city website for information. There are also some private day camps, running all over the province. One of the biggest is Camp Samac in Oshawa. Check out jobs at Canadian summer camps at this site, which is one of many online sites which list jobs.

Private Resorts and Campgrounds – Ontario has some of the most beautiful private campgrounds and resorts. The larger resorts can be found at Blue Mountain and in the Muskokas. Online, you will find Resort listings; look for hiring/jobs listings on the individual sites. Many of the smaller campgrounds are family run and have the down home feeling. Here is a listing of private campgrounds.

Provincial campgrounds – Ontario has many supervised parks throughout the province. There is a listing of the campgrounds, as well as a site with for specific information about jobs in the campgrounds.

Construction and landscaping jobs – check in with local builders, plant nurseries and landscaping companies to see if they can use an extra set of hands.

Lifeguard – Many people obtain their certification as a lifeguard and swim instructor. Spend your summer by the pool and get paid for it. Check the municipal websites for a local pool near you.

Server/Waiter/Waitress – Summer weather means patio time. It is also a great opportunity to earn some cash as a server. Most bars and restaurants (including restaurant chains) have a patio area. Talk to the manager in duty to see if they are hiring, and check online resources such as Craigslist‘s food, beverage and hospitality jobs listings or Hospitality Jobs. Wait staff for events are recruited through sites such as Staff Solutions, Servers and Shakers and Staff Your Event.

Tour Guide – If you are outgoing and speak multiple languages, then this may be an area you want to look into. Many tourists come to Toronto in the summer for the events and festivals we are known for. There are several tour companies that service the GTA, and the City of Toronto maintains n updated Festivals and Events Calender. Look up the festival websites, such as that of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) website, who have a careers page. Check the internet for festivals that cater to your strengths (language, interest) for your biggest chance at employment.

Tutoring – This may be an opportunity if you have the knowledge and ability to help out a student in different subjects. Doing this on your own or through a tutoring service could bring in some extra cash and possibly lead to longer term opportunities.

Sales – These positions could be in retail, door to door, on the street or telemarketing. Choose a product or service that you enjoy as it will help the day go by a lot faster. You can find these jobs in the paper or online, or check our recommended job site listings on this blog.

Many of these positions are seasonal and targeted to students. But in some cases, when the students go back to school in September, long-term employment can be found. They all offer an opportunity to grow different skills, meet people and earn a few bucks.

So, don’t wait, as these jobs will be gone before you know it. Apply now and get yourself set for the summer months. Don’t forget your bug repellant and suntan lotion.

Have a great summer.

Making the most of job search in summer

© Pavel Losevsky | Dreamstime.com

Summer is coming fast and job searchers begin to worry that hiring is slowing down. My clients often express concerns that they will not be able to find real jobs over the summer and worry whether it is even worth looking for work over that time. It’s also tempting to opt out of job search and stay home with the kids or hang out with your friends who are off school. I have discovered, however, that summer does present some unique opportunities that make it a worthwhile time to job search.

While it is true that many employers go on holiday during the summer, and it is true that some businesses might slow down for those who remain in the office. While this means that they might be disinclined to hire, it also means that they might be more available for networking and information interviews. Clients who contacted employers to set up a time to talk and answer questions have reported to me that employers are a lot more responsive. Employers were more open to talk and spend longer time talking to job searchers than they would during the rest of the year. Check your LinkedIn;profile for companies for which you would like to work, identify second degree contacts which you would like to meet, and set out to get an introduction.

As mentioned in our previous article on summer work, the season presents some unique job opportunities for the more motivated and flexible job searcher. While the pay might be low and the hours not necessarily full-time, the opportunity to gain some experience, network, references and get paid for having fun might be worthwhile.

Summer might be a good time to volunteer in the various cultural events happening in the city. This too might present job searchers with a chance to network and have some fun.

Finally, hiring does not come to a complete stop during summer; statistical studies of hiring trends show that hiring drops by 0.4-1.5 percent in July-August. But, if employers need a staff member, they will post jobs and hire. It is likely though, that because of peoples’ perceptions about jobs in summer, less will apply, which means that competition might be a bit easier.

The bottom line is – use summer to expand your network and source out new job opportunities.  You may just find that by the time September rolls in, you are better equipped to find the next best job.

10 tips to find summer work before it’s too late

If you are planning to get summer jobs and have not been hired by now, you might have realised that it’s a little late and the summer job market is pretty saturated. But, as Og Mandino, author of The Greatest Salesman in the World, said “There is an immeasurable distance between late and too late”.  The question is – what can be done before it’s too late?

Besides realising that next year it is worthwhile to begin looking for summer work in February, there are some jobs out there. Not all hires work out, and not all hiring happens early.

So here are some suggestions for tackling the summer job market:

1. Search traditional job boards as well as Google, using keywords such as summer+jobs.
2. Get onto Twitter, search #summerjobs #Toronto.
3. Specialized job boards such as JobPostings.ca and Talent Egg have made a special effort to help with finding summer jobs
4. Various government agencies offer specific job boards: check Mazemaster, a provincially funded job service, or the Job Bank, a Federal government job board, offer specific searches for students.  The Government of Ontario has a Summer Employment Program, which has also mostly completed hiring. They describe their jobs as “full-time, temporary positions ranging from 7 – 16 weeks between May and Labour Day. The wage for these opportunities is either $10.25 or $11.10 per hour, depending on the job“. Check out their sites for other links to provincially funded programs which may be hiring (e.g. Ontario Science Centre). The Federal Government has hiring programs, most of which have completed their hiring by now, but somecontinue to be open; Check out Parks Canada, as an example. Applications all have to go through the Federal Student Work Experience Program (FSWEP).
5. Some of the classifieds listings such as Kijiji have a Summer Job search; traditional job boards such as working.com and Workopolis have set up specific student searches. Similarly, the “vertical” job boards such as Indeed.ca have specific student/summer searches.
6. The City of Toronto is a great source of summer jobs; they hired students to start in April, but still have their website up.  It is late, but it is worth to go back and check – a small number of positions were still available when we posted this blog . Check the City for ongoing hiring — some might be for summer.
7. Think of which employers are busiest in summer. For example, Toronto Parks & Recreation department has a hiring page for “recreation jobs”. Check for specific programs in the city that might appeal to you — for example, Centre Island hire many for summer. Camp Page and Ontario Camps list jobs in local camps, though there may be more posted on the actual websites of each camp as they arise which might not be posted here. In the city, some of the larger employers such as The EX  or Canada’s Wonderland are hiring. Think of who else is active in the summer: companies that deal in promotions and marketing, hotels, restaurants, car rental companies, golf courses and a range of other service sector employers. Google the companies, check out their websites and see if they’re hiring.
8. Remember that you can also create your own business and offer pet sitting, gardening, baby sitting, elder care, house sitting services, for a fee, to friends and family.
9. Keep in mind that temp agencies might be ramping up their hiring to fill positions of employees away for summer. You’ll find a list of job boards on this blog.
10. There are services for youth to help with jobs — they often know about positions available in the community, and more usefully — might be able to help you ramp up your job search so you can do it yourself.

Good luck with your search! There are jobs out there to be found and created – it just might take a more effort.