Summer jobs can offer high school students far more than a little extra spending money. They can provide opportunities for students to gain first-hand experience in a field of interest. They can give students a chance to learn about themselves–helping them to identify the characteristics of jobs they enjoy as well as those that are not a good fit. They allow students to build technical skills related to a particular field along with developing qualities that are valuable across career roles such as time management, teamwork, and problem solving. And, summer job experiences can help students make connections within their community including forming relationships with people in a field of interest who might serve as a mentor or source of support in the future. In short, experience gained during a summer job can be incredibly valuable to a student’s overall college and career readiness journey–allowing them to have hands-on, practical experience in the field that can inform their future plans and goals. 

Oftentimes, when schools hold career or job fairs, they focus on careers students might explore in the longer-term–either after graduation or beyond college. However, as a way to support overall CCR efforts and provide a service to the surrounding community, counselors, CTE educators, and administrators can organize a summer job fair to connect students to potential employment at local businesses this coming summer. At the fair, students can learn more about the variety of businesses within a community and explore how a summer job could provide a chance to try out something new or hone skills in an area of interest. And local businesses can connect with multiple potential employees, all at once, to share about what they do and the types of roles they are looking to fill. 

Use the tips below to facilitate summer job fair planning:

Think broadly about community businesses and organizations that might benefit from seasonal support. Consider current industry partners, area park districts, nursing homes, summer sports organizations, local restaurants or ice cream shops, or any organizations that host summer camps or programming such as humane societies, STEM/engineering organizations, arts organizations, culinary schools, and more. Keep a list of positive summer job experiences you hear about from students and alumni, too. With a wide consideration of the types of businesses to invite to the job fair, a more expansive list of opportunities will be available for students. And, with a greater diversity in employers, students are more likely to find a role that interests them and aligns to future goals. 

Communicate the value of hiring high school students and outline examples of student skills, qualifications, and experiences. Some businesses might be reluctant to hire high school students or struggle to see what types of roles they can meaningfully support. When reaching out to businesses to participate in the job fair, consider sharing examples of roles high schoolers could fill along with lists of skills and attributes high schoolers can bring to an organization. Many high schools have CTE classes and programming that guide students to develop industry-specific skills and expertise, often resulting in industry certifications or other credentials that verify their knowledge and skills. Sharing a list of these certifications or describing how CTE courses work to prepare students for future jobs can help area business leaders to better understand how high school employees can support their work. Anecdotes of successful summer job connections in previous years–from business leaders and students–can also work to motivate area businesses to consider hiring high school help during the summer. 

Encourage businesses to bring in visuals or models of their work in action. Different from a job fair for graduates, a summer job fair for high schoolers is likely to draw in many students who do not have a deep knowledge of the types of work each business does within the community. By inviting businesses to bring pictures or videos of the work they do to display at their booth, students can begin to develop an understanding of the types of jobs that are available as they move throughout the job fair. Because visuals capture attention and interest, they are likely to draw students into conversations with employers, providing an entry point for students to learn more about a job and for an employer to learn more about a potential future employee.  

Find ways to motivate student attendance. For many students, a job fair geared toward high school students is the very first job fair they will experience. Students are likely to be nervous, not knowing what to expect, and will need encouragement to attend. When communicating about the job fair, ensure that there is information describing the logistics of the fair and articulating what students should do to prepare. Also, find ways to incentivize students to attend. Different school clubs or organizations might make plans to attend together. There could be a raffle for school swag for attendees. Students might receive extra credit in CTE courses for attending the fair to learn more about area employers. Additionally, trusted teachers or school leaders might attend the fair to help ease students’ worries and encourage them to make connections with the businesses in attendance. 

Help students prepare for the career fair. From drafting resumes, to discussing professional dress, to practicing introductions and interviews, career-fair prep can be a valuable learning experience for all students. Consider working with educators across subjects to discuss ways to embed resume building and create opportunities for students to practice professional conversations–both of which overlap with skills and standards in many courses. Also, find ways to share examples of professional attire with students. Given that this is likely one of the first job interview-like situations for students, helping students to understand why they might want to dress a bit more formally and what that looks like can be important to their success, both now and in the future. Sharing resources for low- or no-cost professional wear–or keeping a closet of professional attire to loan out at the high school–can work to ensure that all students have access to appropriate attire that makes them feel confident. 

Include students in planning and facilitating the event. Inviting students into the planning, organization, and communication of the event not only creates additional opportunities for students to practice valuable leadership, communication, networking, and collaboration skills, it ensures that the event will be planned with student needs and interests in mind. Students can help to create flyers advertising the event, reach out to businesses with invitations and information, set up the space for the event, encourage those within their social networks to attend, and send notes of thanks to participants. This type of student-led planning, information sharing, and connection increases the likelihood that students will hear about the event and feel excited about attending. 

A Unique Opportunity for Schools

A summer job fair offers a unique opportunity for schools to support and encourage these career-readiness experiences. It encourages students to practice the skills necessary to secure a job. It facilitates connections between students and the community. It boosts student confidence in what they can and will do. And with schools at the center, all students are invited to participate–learning about jobs, connecting with employers, and accessing available opportunities.

While sometimes a summer job teaches students about a type of work they hope to never do again (which is still a valuable learning experience), it can also lead to new interests that inform goals and inspire future planning. Whether students learn more about the types of jobs within a field of interest, develop skills important to a line of work, or simply learn preferences about a work environment–such as a desire to interact regularly with customers or have active experiences throughout the day–summer jobs can provide invaluable, hands-on experiences that help students to learn more about who they are and what they want to do in the future. 

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