Heading into the summer many high schoolers are looking for job opportunities. It’s not as easy as it sounds.
Summer is a time that many high schoolers are looking for job opportunities to refill their pockets that went dry during the school year. Location, opportunity, and experience are some of the many factors that make it difficult, however.
Many parents push their children to take the leap into adulthood and find a job of their own. Many kids also want a job of their own, to be able to have the luxury of the freedom to make their own purchases.
River Grady, a sophomore from Bedford, N.H., had luck in finding a job.
“I work in a diner in my town, in Bedford. I applied in person and bus tables for them. There is not really any bad things about the job” she said. River works at Airport Diner, in Manchester, N.H.
River, one of the many students who scored a summer job, is just one of the many. While she lucked out, many others came up short on their search.
The summer months make it even harder to find a job as the number of students looking for opportunities drastically increases. The U.S. Department of Labor provided statistics for the drastic increase.
The stats showed that “there were 21.3 million employed 16- to 24-year-olds in July 2024. Between April and July, the number of employed youth rose by 1.4 million, or 6.9 percent” in the summer months.
It seems like the only way to score a summer job now a days is to have connections. Knowing an owner, having family ties, or simply being within a company from the beginning, all allude to an easier opportunity.
Maya Zesiger, who will be attending UCLA next fall, is having trouble finding a job.
Maya will be “spending [her] summer in California” which does not compute well with the job opportunity list. She said that there are “not many job opportunities in California” and that she does want to find a job for this summer.
With no connections and a new location, it will be hard for Maya to find a job. Connections are very valuable in the job circuit.
Personally, I work at Pet Works, in North Attleborough, Mass., a dog and cat boarding and day care center. I clean the kennels, watch the dogs, and even get to play with the cats. However, I would not have this job if I did not have connections. I have played hockey with the owner’s daughter, Jackie Wright, for many years and am fortunate enough that they have this business.
Before working there, I had a job at a consignment shop, Dalton’s Trading Post, in Norfolk, Mass. I got this job not through connections, but through walking in the front door and asking if they were hiring. While the job was great for the summer, when I went back to school my position was quickly replaced and the following summer I was out of a job.
With my connections at my current job, I am in contact with my boss regularly and he knows my schedule is tight, allowing me to come back to my position in the summer.
Jen Putt who grew up in Long Island, N.Y., agrees that connections are important.
“I worked for the town’s parks and recreational department at our towns beach. In the first couple of years, I worked on the park side being a cashier and doing clean up. Toward the end of my time working there, I worked in the recreation office and coordinated activities and arts and crafts,” she said.
[Editor’s Note: Putt is the author’s mother.]
Putt is now a Global Controller at Cohu, Inc.
Along with working with the recreational department, Putt also had a job at a flower shop and did babysitting gigs.
Putt highlighted that both the rec. job and the flower shop job came from connections. Her mother knew the owner of the flower shop and with her father being in the fire department, he had connections with the rec. department.
Putt also states that it is “absolutely harder to find work now a days.” Her son, Jackson Putt [my brother], a freshman in college who is now home for summer, has sent out upwards to ten applications and has yet to hear back.
Last summer he struck gold at Top Golf. Top Golf, a well know entertainment and golf spot, recently opened a new location Canton, MA, last summer. Jackson, who goes to the University of South Carolina, applied early and was lucky to receive a guest services position. He sat at the front desk and lived in luxury as he sat in the AC all day greeting guests. But upon return to school and many position changes in the company, he lost his connections, and therefore he is now having a difficult time getting his job back.
With the high demand for jobs this summer, how does one get ahead of the pack? The fight for a job that is fun, easy, and provides enough money is nearly impossible. If you are lucky enough to have connections or score a needle in a hey stack, regardless the return to school will affect the progress made. Good luck to everyone this summer and I hope your resume is good.
