Date:06/05/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/05/06/stories/2006050620390200.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Summer jobs can be fun

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: Every summer the race begins. You slip on your best shoes and your most responsible attitude and hit the streets. The countdown is on to find the best summer employment available.

Summer jobs and internships have attractive benefits. Working is a great way to prepare for life after high school. The skills you learn early on will help you develop professional talents you'll need throughout your life. These include basic but important skills such as customer service, caring for children — and even learning to work with a boss.

Work experience can help people feel good. The self-esteem and self-confidence you develop at a job or internship will come in handy when you are ready for an interview for college or a job after high school.

Apart from making the season eventful, summer jobs can let you discover your talents and abilities. If you find a job that goes with your future career choice, it is an added bonus.

Iffath, a student of Christ College who is pursuing a degree in mass communication, has worked out a way to gain knowledge in her chosen field. She is working with one of the reputed companies as an annual report writer.

Reward for talent

Summer jobs are increasingly becoming popular, especially in metros. Companies are becoming aware of the talent pool these undergraduates can be. Shopping malls, boutiques, expos and promos often require energetic people to work part time.

Others may require persons who can pitch in on a project basis. Sales, marketing, surveys, freelance writing, and data entry are some of the hot areas. Shruti and Aniket, both students of Mahavir Jain College, are into market surveying or research.

The youth hav taken the whole just-for-fun summer job thing into a more serious experience and taken things a step further. They do part-time summer jobs in their chosen field of interest to get a hands on knowledge about what they will be doing professionally a couple of years later. A lot of legwork goes into finding a summer job. The youth are moving away from the conventional summer jobs.