Creative Summer Jobs

Creative Summer Jobs

Schools are entering summer break and you have a teen looking for a job. Is it too late to find summer work? What advice can you give your child? Here are some ideas to create summertime income.

Traditional summer jobs Retail establishments. Summertime means more shoppers, which means more help needed in places like malls and food service. Light manufacturing. Full-time workers want summer vacations. You could easily help fill in while this happens.

Camps. While full-stay camps tend to fill their employment rosters early, many day camps through community rec programs are still hiring. Contact your local city/town for details.

Make your own income

	Dog/cat walking and sitting.
	Doggie clean up. This nasty job could be cash for you.
	Baby sitting. Company picnics, date nights and more often lead to an upswing in demand for competent babysitters.
	Light nanny work. Many daycares close during summer months or shorten their hours. You could be a stand-by helper in these situations. Perhaps giving a stay-at-home parent a break for a couple hours a week can be a nice change of pace for them.
	Lawn service. Your lawn service could be mowing or just trimming. It might simply be a garden weeding service or a watering service.
	Car washing service. Who wouldn''t like a nice clean car scheduled on a regular basis?
	Tech savy ideas. Put youthful computer skills to work for you. Some ideas: help local businesses understand social media, set up web sites, create e-mail templates, organize digital photos, and digitize paper files.

Some final thoughts

Being creative during the summer can bring financial opportunity. But often it is not the idea that creates success, but how you go about it. Some advice for your success:

	Be professional. Take the activity seriously and be prepared to leave a good first impression.
	Be dependable. Show up on time. You would be surprised how many employable people are no-shows or are late.
	Be thorough. Do the job a little better than customers expect and you will have happy customers.
	Be prepared. Have references ready from a coach, teacher or other customers. Know what you are willing to charge and when you are available to work. Be as flexible as possible to accommodate the needs of your customers.
	Set it up correctly. If you create summer work, set up and organize your activity correctly. This may include setting up a checking account, business cards, insurance, and tax filings. If you are unsure what this means for you, please ask for help.