***Your Summer Job is Much More Important than You Think

Employment rates are better this year, which means fresh graduate are expected to have better opportunities of securing a job. I wonder though, how many will take their internship seriously? How many will show up expecting three easy months of coffee-fetching and copy-making work?

A research from Challenger, Gray and Christmas, a Chicago-based recruitment firm, states that only 1 in 4 companies plan to hire full-time employees from this year’s interns. Yes, the employment market is better but it’s still a tough competition overall. So go ahead, you can continue treating your summer job as an extension of your college life – or you can treat it like the serious competition it is.

Convinced yet? Here are 4 other reasons to treat your summer job like a real professional job:

1) Your First Boss will Serve as the First Employer Reference in Your Resume. Yes you can use a college professor as a reference, but it doesn’t have the same credibility as an employer reference. Even if your summer job isn’t related to your target career path, it still counts as work experience. And since you’re a fresh graduate with barely anything to put on his resume, you’re in no position to be picky!
2) Boring Tasks are Critical Training. Remember the wash-in, wash-out routine at the Karate Kid movie? The kid playing the lead role got bored quickly because it wasn’t related to karate. Well, you know how the rest of the movie goes. It’s just like that with boring tasks in your summer job or internship. Boring tasks are easy but they teach you to be patient, focused and keen to details. Remember you’re an intern, who hasn’t proven himself capable of challenging assignments yet. Menial tasks are assigned to you to test your attitude. You can’t get more challenging assignments until you learn how to do menial tasks perfectly, without grumbling or complaining.
3) Summer Jobs Build Soft Skills Transferable to Different Industries. Summer jobs and internships will teach you critical skills you need for any line of work, such as communication, writing, customer service, critical thinking and sales.
4) Your First Boss and Teammates will Form Your First-ever Professional Network. Even if you’re working as a fast food crew when all you want to do is work as a hedge fund manager, the people you meet could play a part in your career later on.

Did you know that many CEOs were once pizza delivery guys? Remember, you never know where your colleagues and boss might end up working after that job, so treat them well.

Whatever you do, don’t treat your summer job and internship as an easy means to get allowance money. Do your best and value the experience and connections you make.