According to Snagajob's recent poll, hourly employers put the most stock in the attitude and personality of an applicant. Of the employers who said they're hiring summer employees, 70 percent of them put attitude and personality first, in front of availability, relevant experience and interview performance.
If you're looking for a summer job, make sure you highlight the traits–personality and otherwise–that make for a good summer employee. So what are those traits?
Flexibility - Availability fell short of personality in terms of importance to the employers we surveyed, but it was a close second. Show employers that you're flexible with your schedule, and you'll come out ahead of applicants who can only work specific shifts. Flexibility also extends to what tasks you're willing to do.
Reliability - Are you never late to work? Could your last employer always count on you to get the job done on time? Employers hiring summer staff don't have a lot of time to replace those who don't work out. If you can be counted on, you'll be a safer choice.
Hardworking - Give examples of how you've gone the extra mile to get something done in a previous position. For some businesses, the summer months are their busiest all year so they need employees who can, as we say at Snagajob, bust it.
Fast learner - Summer jobs typically begin in May or June and end in August or September. This means good summer employees can be trained and get rolling fast.
If you have one or more of these traits, and you're looking for a summer job, let them shine through in your application, resume and interviews so you stand out to employers. Just don't fall victim to the number one resume mistake. Even having ideal traits can't pull you out of that one.
And get on it. Of the employers who told us they were hiring summer staff, 35 percent of them had already started hiring!