It Sucks to Be Unemployed
Posted on May 26, 2009 | Categories: Work | Tags: opinions
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Summer vacation started for me a few weeks ago, and as I have no plans to travel this summer, I’ve been searching and applying for summer jobs. I started this process weeks ago, yet I’ve had no success so far. I’m not the only one that hasn’t had success with finding a summer job, all of my friends who are not returning to jobs they had the previous summer or know someone who knows someone are all stuck in this endless search for a summer job1.
My friends and I have each applied to 10, 12, 15 jobs in our fruitless search for summer employment. It’s not that we’re not a good candidate for typical part time positions in the retail, food, and customer service industries; each one of us are good students with relatively good work experience and strong references. It’s the fact that the summer positions that are available are down by a quarter compared to last summer, and the majority of these positions are being taken by adults that are either already in the workforce or are re-entering it and are able to work full-time and year-round, rather than part-time and only during the summer.
Unless I hear back from one of the many places I applied to and manage to successfully get a job, I guess I’m going to be out of paid employment this summer. This sucks, because not only will I not be able to earn (and save) money this summer, but I’ll also have to search for something else to do. Volunteer work is always an option, as well as continually adding to my Etsy shop, but it would be nice to have a paying job this summer…
- I can’t even begin to imagine what the search must be like for someone who is looking for full-time work, particularly for Class of 2009 college graduates! [↩]
Olga
I’m sure you’ll be able to find something. You have an advantage over the high school students because you’re out earlier than they are. What I would do when I was looking for part time work was print out a stack of resumes and hit up a mall. Not the most efficient way to do it, but if you do it during the day chances are you can catch a store manager and chat him/her up while you hand over your resume and application. It’s like a mini-interview!
Alice
I concur being unemployed does suck, I felt exactly the same way when I was. But you have valuable admin experience and it’s only the beginning of summer so I am very sure that you will find a job soon. :D
Isimma
Another thing you could try is looking for reception jobs at realtor’s offices. I did that when I finished post secondary, made good money, got experience within an office and had fun.
Asia
Manda, I feel your pain. I have been searching for jobs since January and FINALLY my efforts are starting to prove fruitful. It’s going to take a while, but you seem like an intelligent and charming girl, so you’ve got things coming to you. Keep trying, and make sure you exhaust every resource you’ve got!
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