Make moolah while the sun shines
Usha Albuquerque

Part-time jobs during the summer break enable students to earn pocket money and also gain work experience.

WHEN Shikha decided to earn some extra pocket money during the summer vacations, she hardly imagined serving pizzas and cold drinks at a nearby fast-food restaurant would be much fun. However, very soon, she had friends ringing up and asking for similar jobs.

Karun, a serious student of Economics, working towards an admission to a prestigious management institute, had no time for holidays. So, while he was in his second year of graduation, during the summer vacation, he decided to apply for a job as a researcher with a market research company. Being smart, presentable and fluent in English, Karun was selected for conducting corporate studies in various offices, for which he earned about Rs.5,000 a month. He also found out that he could increase his earnings if he worked on more than one project. Now, Karun is a more confident person and has work experience, which would be an asset while applying for admission at a business school. And more than that, he has a possible career in Market Research.

In a country where there are about 50 lakh educated job-seekers passing out of schools and colleges every year, but barely 5 lakh jobs in the organised sector to accommodate them, summer jobs such as those of Karun’s and Shikha’s have helped close the gap between opportunities and education. As more and more youngsters stream into the job market, such temporary vacation jobs are enabling them, literally, to design their own careers.

Fast-food joints take in many youngsters for summer jobs

For enterprising youngsters willing to take up any job, today, there is no dearth of opportunity. Frontline selling, institutional selling, door-to-door selling, direct marketing, space selling, client interaction service, market surveys, food service, research and the like, require not so much experience or training as tenacity. Today, fast-food outlets such as Mc Donalds or Domino’s Pizzas and many of the large shopping malls are looking for presentable young sales people, while TV channels use young interns as a means of shortlisting probable candidates.

Organisations such as fast-food outlets, restaurants, boutiques and those involved in across-the-counter sales, select students who are good looking and conversationally versatile. Such jobs could fetch a stipend of Rs.2000 to Rs.4000 a month, depending on the organisation and the hours of work. Consultancy firms, computer companies, market research organisations, have a more structured approach to trainee recruitment. Preference is given to those who will make a career in this field. Interviews are conducted to select and evaluate the aspirant for a particular job. A researcher carrying out a household survey could earn up to Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000 per month, though remuneration is often worked on a job-to-job basis.

These days, a lot of youngsters are also employed by organisations conducting fairs and exhibitions, to work in the various stalls, attend to customers and their queries, and so on. More than qualifications, such jobs require you to be alert and efficient, with good interpersonal skills. These exhibitions are usually conducted for a week to two weeks and youngsters often get as much as Rs 300-500 a day from the organisation employing them.

However, it is important to take your interests and aptitudes into consideration and focus on your inherent skills when pursuing a summer job option.

Those with a flair for fashion and design could approach a garment exporter for work; a travel agent may be willing to take on those with good inter-personal skills. Teaching or providing tuitions is another popular way of earning money.

In fact, for giving tuitions, students are preferred over professional teachers because they are cheaper and acquiesce to a more flexible routine.

Extra pocket money is not always the only reason so many people take up summer jobs. Often, certain organizations do not even pay up summer trainees. Yet they get hundreds of applications. This is because most youngsters see summer jobs as a means of providing first-hand experience of a possible career choice. In fact, working on a temporary job can also rub off the rose tint from the spectacles through which we may be looking at a possible career option. Such opportunities enable students to explore their own potentialities and inclinations and help determine their suitability to a job.

From software and website development to direct mailing activities, event management to adventure sports, catering services to leisure management—-the motto appears to be: if you have a good idea, sell it. And the opportunity to experiment is what a summer job provides.

Moreover, the work environment exposes you to the rough and tumble of the real world. The responsibilities and discipline of working develops a maturity and rationality that few other experiences can match. Building inter-personal equations with colleagues and developing networking skills is, in fact, a good investment for the future.

While many organizations are not that receptive to the idea of recruiting summer trainees, a personal contact can help. As many employers realise, students are enthusiastic and committed and often more hardworking than regular employees. Moreover, they are cheaper too. For many organisations, the process also helps in shortlisting possible candidates for long-term recruitment.

Finding a summer job is tough. But for those who are smart, presentable and conversationally versatile, and enterprising enough to launch into untested waters, somewhere there is an opportunity to be tapped. The key is an open mind and a willingness to learn.