Summer Job Searching

When to start (early!)
It is important to start your job search early, but many employers do not know until April or May how much summer help they will need. Nevertheless, you can at least begin the research phase early, deciding what type of summer job you want and gathering names of potential employers. Some employers, such as camps, national parks, and competitive internships, do announce their summer jobs early in the year and may even have early deadlines.

Decide what you're looking for
Identify what your goals are for the summer. Is your priority to earn a certain amount of money? Or do you want a professional, career-related experience to explore your interests? Do you want to be in a certain geographic location? Deciding what your priorities are helps you focus your search, making it more manageable.

Plan ahead
Especially if you are looking outside your hometown for a summer job – prepare a budget, find affordable housing and remember health insurance. You may want to "hedge your bets," because summer jobs/internships occasionally fall through. Be prepared to look quickly for an alternative close to home.

Where to find job listings
  1. Online resources accessible from Career Development Online:


    2.
    • Part Time Jobs – listings of on-going part-time positions, which are not exclusively for the summer period, but may begin during the semester and continue into the summer, or continue from summer into the fall.


      •
    • Internships – listings of paid and non-paid internships.


      •
    • Temporary Agencies – Consult the Temporary Agency Fact Sheet for more information.


      •
    • Surf the Internet – The Career Development Website provides several listings of career sites that focus on particular areas of interest. Just click on Internet Resources in the left column.

  2. Information located at the Career Development Front Desk:


    3.
    • Summer Jobs Book – Lists part-time and full-time paid summer jobs. The book is available in March, but most jobs are not listed with us until May, so keep checking the book throughout the semester and into the summer. Most jobs are in the metropolitan New York area, but the book contains a section with out-of-town jobs.


      •
    • Summer Camp Jobs Book – Summer job announcements from camps are located in a separate binder at the front desk. Ask at front desk for additional booklets of summer jobs that may become available.


      •
  3. Elsewhere at Career Development:


    4.
    • Babysitting Service – In addition to the regular supply of temporary babysitting jobs, there are some live-in childcare jobs for summer. These positions pay $100 or more per week plus room and board and may involve travel to summer resorts for family vacations.


      •
    • Career Development Newsletter – Always a reliable source of information on summer jobs or internships.


      •
    • Library Resources – The library in Career Development contains summer job guides as well as directories that do not list actual job openings, but list organizations to contact. The drop-in counselor can direct you to the best books for your search. These include:
      • Summer Jobs in Britain, Summer Jobs USA(NEW!) and Overseas Summer Jobs – These books published by Peterson’s are on reserve in OCD. They contain listings of organizations (camps, hotels, businesses, recreational areas, etc.) that offer summer jobs.


        •
      • Peterson’s Internships 2000 (NEW!) – Contains 50,000 listings with a variety of organizations located throughout the country from the Arizona Heart Institute to the Seattle Opera. Includes indexes by location, interests and paid status.


        •
      • Internship Bible – The Princeton Review publishes this listing of 100,000 of the most sought after summer internships; most are with well known "household name" companies.


        •
      • Also refer to directories in specific fields including: New York City Women's Organizations, Literary Market Place, Directory of Public Relations Firms, etc.


        •
  4. Position-finding resources outside Career Development:


    5.
    • CU Faculty – Faculty in some departments hire for the summer. Consult individual professors for more information


      •
    • Classified ads in newspapers such as the New York Times, Village Voice, Spectator and Bulletin.


      •
    • Out-of-town newspapers for long-distance job searches. These are available at some newsstands and public libraries and through Internet sites.


      •
    • Summer/Part-time job listings at Columbia Career Services – Need C.U. I.D; check Internet listings for details.
Other Useful Information
  1. Summer Housing – Check with Barnard Summer Programs for housing rates. Discounts are available if you work at least 20 hours/week for a Barnard department. Also check Columbia's Off-campus Registry (854-2773), the Spectator, and bus stop flyers.


    2.
  2. Budgeting Checklist – Prepared for seniors, but handy for anyone.
back to fact sheet index