So maybe some industries aren’t hiring right now. But who wants a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job right out of college anyway? Non-traditional jobs can provide benefits beyond padding your wallet and are a great way to keep your résumé updated and your skills sharp.
Substitute Teaching
For students interested in working with children, a part-time substitute teaching position adds experience to a résumé while allowing flexibility to continue looking for a full-time position. Beth Summers, human resources specialist of the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education, explained that after obtaining proper substitute teaching credentials, the experience that comes from substitute teaching is valuable to future employers, especially for those looking for a career in education.
“I think the selling point that a person can put on substitute experience for a résumé or cover letter is that they have really gone into a variety of situations and have been adaptable,” Summers said.
“The thing you really get from substitute teaching is that you go into a situation that’s unfamiliar to you and you keep that class going. You have to have people skills because you have to work with students and other staff. You have to go in and really think quickly and adapt, and if you’re looking for a job in education, substitute teaching is always applicable.”
Although there are benefits to taking a substitute teaching position, Summers warned that only those interested in a teaching career should consider it. Also, although there has been an increase in interest, the field of education is experiencing cutbacks that have led to layoffs. She said that school districts would most likely be interested in retaining the substitutes they have and hiring current teachers as substitutes in the future.
Managing an rental property
Another alternative job that can provide a reduced cost of living and allow continued searching for a more permanent career is to manage a rental property.
Although there are not many opportunities like this in the San Luis Obispo area, properties in larger cities provide the opportunity to make good money, receive free or reduced rent and build upon management skills.
“Any property over 12 units requires an onsite manager,” Larry Smyth, owner of Farrell Smyth Inc. Property Management Division, said. “If it’s 12 to 14 units, it won’t pay that well because it’s not a full- time job. There has to be a significant number of units in order for a manager to be paid well.”
Since the majority of San Luis Obispo properties are relatively small, the companies that oversee them tend to hire managers from within their company. Farrell Smyth Inc. does not have onsite managers in any of their properties because the size does not warrant a need for one.
There are a variety of skills that property managers learn just from day-to-day experiences on the job. According to Smyth, a manager’s skill set would depend on the size of the property that they are assigned to, as well as the individual responsibilities that they have while living onsite.
“Sometimes a company will have the manager collect rent so they would gain booking skills and dealing with day-to-day issues (that) would require people skills and maintenance skills,” he said. “The manager is always adapting to changing circumstances; everyday is a new world. Learning to handle emergencies and being reactive as well as proactive to prevent catastrophes from happening in the first place is important.”
Working for a cruise line
Traveling is almost always on a student’s to-do-list, but spending thousands of dollars on a trip abroad is not a feasible option for most. Instead of taking out loans in order to see the world, an option is to work on a cruise ship. Much more than hotels on water, cruise ships are filled with positions that allow for résumé building as well as the opportunity to travel to foreign sea ports.
Mark Landon, author of “Cruise Ship Crews,” traveled the world by working for various cruise lines for six years. Through his Web site www.shipjobs.com and in an interview with www.studenttraveler.com, Landon offers advice to prospective cruise ship workers based on his experience within the industry.
According to Landon, choosing which cruise lines to work for will directly impact how much one gets to experience from aboard the ship. Landon had the unique opportunity of working for five-star luxury ships, which differ in the number of different ports that they travel to.
“One of the main differences between the five-star ships and the non five-star ships, aside from the quality, is that the five-star ships change itinerary all the time,” explained Landon. “In other words, they may do two or three cruises in the Mediterranean and then two or three cruises in Scandinavia. Sometimes they may do a world cruise for three or four months. Normally most ships repeat the same cruise so you may work a four or six month contract and only visit four or five ports.”
Landon said that the jobs that students should apply for are those that involve guest contact such as front desk reception, activities director and anything allowing face-to-face interaction with the people aboard the ship. According to him, potential employers will be impressed with this type of work because of the incomparable lessons it teaches.
“You learn about the world and it will change you as a person. When you become exposed to people all over the world and you travel all over the world, you live this extremely intense lifestyle. You can partake in cultural experiences and entertainment experiences, artistic experiences, travel experiences,” he said. “It is a tremendous plus on a résumé because what you learn on the ship are life lessons.”
There are many ways for students to pass the time between graduation and a steady job if they are creative in their job search and professional in their demeanor.
“There are a lot of things that we cannot control in this process of finding work and getting into graduate schools. What I try to do is focus on the things that we do have control over and that’s how you present yourself, how you market yourself as a professional, your résumé and cover letter and your correspondents,” said Carole Moore, program coordinator and career counselor at career services.
“In this process, students become empowered and realize that there are a lot of things they can do to get to that good first opportunity. It may not be your dream job but just a nice opportunity that’s going to add to your résumé, add to your skill set and that’s going to be a benefit to you in the future.”