Summer Work - Advice Needed

[Guest swmel]

Hi everyone:

 

Im currently looking for jobs/summer work prior to going back to school in the fall; I will be going to several interviews for permanent positions and was wondering whether or not I should tell the company that i will only be able to work up till mid-August.

 

1_Will I get the job if I tell them right off the bat? Should I?

 

2_Would it be horrible if I told them mid-summer? Detrimental? How should this type of notice be done?

 

3_If I always tell the company I am leaving, will anyone "good" ever hire me?

 

4_If I DO tell them at the interview, how should I go about it...

 

Thanks!

[Guest codloghorn]

you should let them know if you won't be able to work for a whole year - if you need a reference letter from them, what will they say? you chickened out and didn't complete the job?

 

anyway, i too am looking for a summer job? where are you applying to?

[Guest swmel]

How should I go about telling them I can only work for 5-6 months - without risking that they wont hire me because of that one tiny fault?

 

I live in Calgary; Ive been applying to several of the oil/gas companies - I have workex in that sector.

[Guest codloghorn]

oil/gas - whatever, they could most likely find a replacement in a couple of weeks.. lol.. still, it would be nice to let them know

[Guest klukyboy]

You can't tell them and not risk being turned down. I hate to tell you this, but it's not a tiny little fault. I don't know the details of the job, but if it's a permanent position there's probably a learning curve and training associated with it. As well, hiring someone can be a very expensive process. Under these circumstances, you're actually a liability for the first while. Speaking from experience, turnover can be a big pain in the ass for a company. So go ahead and apply if you want, but if they find out that you're leaving after a few months and that you knew you would be, don't expect to ever get hired again and don't list them as a reference... for anything. I suppose it really depends on the details of the position, but if I were a manager and I found out an employee was doing this, if it was less than 3 months in (typical probation period), I'd consider firing the person and looking for a serious hire. I know it sounds a little cold, but you're basically screwing over the company, so don't expect sympathy.

 

I'd say you'd be better off to look for summer or contract positions. Either that, or tell them in the beginning and let them decide if they can afford to replace you in a few months. That way you can get a good reference, and possibly a recurring summer job.

[Guest swmel]

Thanks for the advice; a few points.

 

Im looking to begin work NOW - summer work only begins in May; as a potential professional degree student, I'll need all the money I can get eh?

 

Secondly, Im confident that I can catch on quickly so training time would be minimized, its a small company and not a position that would be critical - Ive done a lot of this type of work before; and I really didnt know whether or not Id be going back to school in Sept 2004, so I applied as looking for long term work...

 

Any ideas on contract work? I dont want to be working at retail/customer service for $8.50/hour.

[Guest klukyboy]

Hey swmel,

I really should have mentioned that my experience is probably a little different. My degree is in engineering, and whenever I've applied to different companies there have been flights to come out for interviews, expense reports, signing bonuses and moving allowances. These all make the hiring process a little different, and a lot more costly. We had a big turnaround problem at the last place I was at. Suppliers would lure anyone on our team with more than a year's experience with upwards of 6 figure salaries. Good for them, bad for us. Anyway, none of this likely applies to you.

 

It really depends on the job. How easy is it to refill the position, how critical is it (how badly you need it ). They might not care if you leave. If, for whatever reason, you don't tell them right away, I'd suggest eventually telling them you've decided to go back to school in the fall, as though it were a recent decision. This is an easier pill to swallow than you were always planning on going back. They might even be supportive. It's not what I would do, but if you really need the job, it has fewer possible negative consequences.

 

As far as contract jobs and temporary positions are concerned, in oil and gas they're pretty common in the field (winter moreso, but summer ones are often available). They're found the same way any other job is. Company websites, paper, web sites like monster, etc. Hospitals also have a lot of temp positions. Not sure what you're looking for in terms of pay, but most patient care support positions are around $14-$15/hr.

[Guest byjude]

Try contacting temp agencies, like Manpower. They can often set you up with scientific/laboratory positions that run for several months, generally long enough that they can avoid paying you benefits or being classified as permanent (or qualifying for unemployment benefits).

 

As klukyboy mentioned, monster posts a lot of positions by manpower and its colleagues. In fact, most of the science-y jobs I have seen that are open to people with undergraduate degrees (especially in the life sciences) are posted through temp agencies.