You've taken your last exam, turned in your last paper and have started cramming your stuff in suitcases or rubbish bags to take home. But after you've had a chance to wind down from the busy term, what are you going to do? Getting a seasonal job is a fantastic way to both beat the holiday boredom and earn some extra cash.
Seasonal work can also offer a perfect opportunity to add key skills to your CV, which will come in very handy when you look for permanent work after university. Even serving burgers or ringing up purchases behind a till will give you a head start in customer service experience, and may even help you decide what sort of job you want to get after you finish uni. Here are some ideas on how to find seasonal work:
Christmas and summer retail jobs
Whether it's because of buying presents and throwing parties, or going on beach holidays and…well, throwing more parties, Christmas and summer are hugely busy times for retail companies. They often need more people working on each shift, so will hire temp workers to cover the busiest months. If you've got the energy and drive to handle any job given to you, then you'll get a crash course in dealing with customer queries, keeping up stock levels and maybe even managing a small team. The hours are flexible, the pay can be pretty good, and the job won't interfere with your studies.
Festival work
It's every student's dream job - setting up stages for their favourite bands and solo artists, and getting a free pass to hear amazing music that people pay a lot of money to hear. Jobs at summer festivals are understandably popular, especially as the festivals themselves are a destination for many students anyway. The only downside is that some of the jobs are unpaid, but it since entry to the festival is free, it might save you the money you'd have otherwise spent on a ticket. Plus, some festivals will pay assistants who have to deal with money, stewarding and general duties.
If you are not in urgent need of extra cash, then it's definitely a fun way of working during the summer. At the end of it, you'll have had an amazing experience - who knows, you may even get to meet some celebrities!
Theme park work
Seasonal work at theme parks is usually available from late spring until early autumn. Because theme parks offer popular holiday activities for people of all ages, temp workers are always in demand every year. It's an exciting place to be, and your job there can be an enjoyable and memorable experience. Jobs available at theme parks include game attendants, gift shop workers and foodservice staff.
Depending on which theme park you work at, the salary tends to be more than minimum wage. Some theme parks also give you a free access pass to other parks they associate themselves with.
Temping
Some recruitment agencies have business clients that want temporary staff to help with anything from data entry to sending out promotional material. Find an agency like this that has jobs you think you'd be interested in doing, sign up with them at the beginning of your summer holiday and wait for them to let you know about available positions. It could be a perfect way to get some work experience in the kind of career you want after uni, as well as build up a variety of jobs to add to your CV.
