Benefits for students taking on a summer job

The Summer holidays are looming, and for those students who have just completed their GCSE`s or A-levels, they will be looking forward to this as a period where they can take a well earned rest. This time however can be a great opportunity for students to acquire valuable work experience by taking on a job through the summer months. Acquiring some extra money is just one of the motivations to find employment, but there are reasons beyond the mere financial to finding a summer job.

Perhaps the main reason to work during the summer is the experience you will gain. Whatever kind of job you get, be it stacking shelves or working on the till at your local supermarket, or taking on a company internship, students are certain to learn valuable skills that will serve them well in the future. Up to this point the majority of their labours have been in school, preparing themselves for the workplace; by taking on an actual job they will be exposed to the real day-to-day challenges of employment.

They will learn vital communication skills, interacting with their work colleagues in a way that is quite different from their friends at school. Being part of the workforce means you will take on your burden of responsibilities. If you do not keep up with your tasks the rest of your team will be let down. Students will have to both learn real life skills, and apply them to the workplace. It`s unlikely they will have been taught in school how to deal with a disgruntled customer, or how to help manage the deliveries of a shop`s merchandise. These are certainly useful skills to acquire. Teamwork, problem solving, time management - these are all abilities that will be developed in a summer job, and will be valuable whatever career the student goes on to take.

Another valuable benefit of work experience is that students will have actual employment experience to put on their CV. It will likely be that up to this point they will have nothing but academic credentials, and of course these are of vital importance; but many employers will be very happy to see these augmented by time spent working for a company. This will show the student has experience in the workplace, has undertaken the nine till five routine, and has references to guarantee their professionalism. It`s also likely that employers will be impressed by students who have taken the initiative to find work during the summer break, to go out into the real world, and put their learned skills to use.

Summer jobs will provide invaluable insight into what the world of employment is actually like. This may ultimately help students decide what career path they want to take. By gaining experience in different places, they will come to understand what work they are best suited for. This early insight into employment may have unexpected ramifications, for example helping them decide upon a particular module of study later at university. It`s also possible that a summer job may provide networking opportunities, building relationships with colleagues and employers whom they may encounter years later. It`s a small world as they say, and these early connections may well prove fortuitous.

Another benefit of a summer job is learning the value of money. By equating money with work, knowing the effort it took to earn their paycheque, they will be less likely to be frivolous with money in the future. Financial skills are of vital importance, and this early exposure to budgeting may well help to ensure they are financially responsible in the future.

A summer job can also be fun! This is something that shouldn`t be overlooked. For students it may be the one and only time in where they can enjoy being at work, without fearing that they aren`t earning enough money to pay for their mortgage or rent, that that they need to put in as much overtime as possible in order to pay for an upcoming holiday. This is not to say they shouldn`t take their work responsibilities seriously, but they have an opportunity to enjoy their work placement without the concerns that will certainly come later in their career.