We may still be in the depths of winter, but if you are hoping to find summer employment, it’s time to start looking. In fact, it’s late – the Government of Canada Summer Jobs program has closed for 2017 already (next time, check the website in August of the year before).
Employers are already looking ahead to the summer, and are already thinking of ways to accommodate staff vacation requests for July and August. Summer hiring happens everywhere, in a range of sectors. These include those obviously related to the season such as amusement parks, summer camps, resorts, and camp grounds, as well as seasonal sectors such as landscaping, tourism, and agriculture. Government post jobs for students in a range of departments, on all three levels, including municipal, provincial and federal.
It’s not just students who benefit from summer hiring — some of the jobs are open to anyone. These jobs may even provide opportunities than might turn into full-time permanent work.
Where to find summer jobs
The best place to initiate any online search is always Google. Use suitable keywords such as summer, jobs, a job title (e.g. landscaper), and location (e.g. Toronto). Set up alerts for the searches that produce the best results, so that you can be notified by email every time matches appear.
Use social media — make sure you have a good profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, and set out to locate employers. For example, the City of Toronto has a presence on Facebook (Employment and Social Services), Twitter and LinkedIn. Search Twitter for keywords such as #summerjobs and #toronto.
Look through specialized student job boards such as JobPostings.ca, Student Times and Talent Egg, which focus on advertising summer jobs.
On all levels of government, including the municipal, provincial and federal, special sites have been set up for summer recruitment:
- The City of Toronto has its Toronto Public Service Summer Employment Opportunities site, where potential employees can register and apply online. Toronto Parks & Recreation department has a page for recreation jobs. Check for specific programs in the city that might appeal to you — for example, Toronto’s Centre Island hire many students for summer.
- The Government of Ontario has set up a Summer Employment Opportunities site, where recruiting happens for the main Ontario Public Service. There are related services such as the St. Lawrence Parks Commission, the Ontario Science Centre, the Ontario Provincial Police Student Summer Employment program, and a range of provincial services such as Ontario Summer Jobs for Students, Summer Law Student Opportunity, and the Employment Programs for People Under 30.
- Many of the Canadian Federal Government‘s student recruitment programs have completed their hiring by now, but some continue to be open. Jobs still can be found on crown corporation sites such as Canada Post and the Bank of Canada, for example.
Check out classifieds listings such as Kijiji, who offer a Summer Job search. Traditional job boards such as Workopolis have summer student searches. Similarly, the vertical job boards such as Indeed.ca have specific summer searches.
Think of which employers are busiest in summer. For jobs in camps, check out Ontario Camps, who list jobs in local camps. In the city, some of the larger employers such as The EX or Canada’s Wonderland are hiring. Ontario Power Generation have created a summer recruitment site, as well.
Remember that you can also create your own business and offer pet sitting, gardening, baby sitting, elder care, house sitting services, for a fee, to friends and family. The provincial government offers support for summer companies, which are offered through JVS Toronto, through our Youth Services.
Keep in mind that temp agencies might be ramping up their hiring to fill positions of employees away for summer. You’ll find a list of job boards compiled by our employment experts.
These are just some of the opportunities. There are more — think of who else is active in the summer — companies that deal in promotions and marketing, hotels, restaurants, car rental companies, golf courses and a range of other service sector employers. Search for the companies online, check out their websites and see if they’re hiring. Contact them directly and find out about future opportunities.
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