When Your Summer Job Ends

Many recent graduates find temporary, term-limited employment rather than permanent positions after completion of their degree program. Such opportunities provide great career experience and further development of marketable job skills. However, after the usual 3 to 6 month term of employment is over, a new job needs to be found. The seasonality of available entry-level positions in the natural resources profession can disrupt continuity of employment and poses a challenge for many young professionals in this field.

Just such a concern was recently discussed on a leading natural resources email listserv and reposted here with permission:

I see that the surge of recruiting announcements for the seasonal technician jobs is underway. It looks like a lot of important and exciting projects, as I would expect. But it is impossible not to notice the time frame: usually just spring and summer, some only spring or summer.

I cannot really complain; I am fortunate in that my current job began in January, instead of having to wait for April or May. Still, it does end in July, about the time so many other jobs are also ending. This means I will have to compete with all those other temporary and seasonal technicians for my next job.

Which brings me to my question: what does someone like me do in fall and winter? Granted, based on my current qualifications, someone I work with predicts I could have a permanent position "within two years." But I must still make a living DURING those two years. What should I be looking at now to maximize my chance of being employed come this fall and next winter?

Jason Hernandez
Biological Science Technician, USDA Forest Service

The "field season" of many natural resources agencies begins in the spring and lasts through the onset of hunting seasons and winter weather that restrict access to work sites often in remote settings. As the author mentions, the onset of field season correlates with a large expansion in the number of employment opportunities in natural resources. Too often these opportunities are only temporary jobs that end by August or September. That is just as well for students who return to classes in the fall. Recent graduates seeking to support themselves, pay student loans, and other expenses, however face the prospect of fewer job opportunities slated to begin in the fall and winter months.

Many who are temporarily employed thus continually search and apply that next opportunity throughout their current term of employment. Through a series of temporary, entry-level jobs, recent graduates hope to build experience and qualify for permanent positions which often require two or more years of professional experience and advanced technical skills.

Continuity of employment greatly assists a young professional in qualifying for a permanent positon. To achieve continuity requires much hard work and forethought:

• Leverage networks within your past and current job environments. Maintain communication with former co-workers and supervisors. Establish connections with professionals encountered in the duties of your temporary job. Know and become known to everyone you meet by being personable. Pursue Facebook and LinkedIn connections to people you meet in person.
• Search nationally for employment opportunities and maintain your flexiblility and enthusiasm to relocate. The early part of your career is a time to explore different areas of the country and your profession.
• Attend professional conferences and trainings. Don't be shy as a recent graduate to register as a student and save on conference fees. Meet and shake hands with whomever you can.

I will close this post by offering some parting advice: be enthuisastic, be bold, and present yourself as a professional. As a young professional you have the many advantages of youth to offer: energy, physical ability, and flexibility. By proving your ability through working long hours, performing hard labor, and enduring adverse work conditions you will gain needed recommendations and prove you have the work ethic necessary for a permenent position.