Why Vacation Work is a Good Career Move

---

After a long year of study, most people look forward to a summer break where they can unwind and recharge. With the Australian summer encompassing the year-end holiday season, it’s pretty easy to kick back into rest and relaxation mode. There’s going to be plenty of time for work, right? There might be a career opportunity you’ll regret missing.

Entry-level jobs are on the wane

In an article called Entry level jobs are no longer entry level, Lesley Mitler discusses the changing view of entry-level jobs. Essentially, employers want their entry-level workers to have some experience. A university graduate isn’t going to get that far anymore without demonstrating some practical work experience under their belt.

How do you get experience before you’ve qualified for a job? Vacation work is a great way to acquire skills while you’re still studying. This is true if you’re at university or working towards a trade qualification.

Benefits to vacation work

1. Employers like to see vacation work on resumes when they’re looking at graduate hires. It shows you’ve been serious about your career and have been willing to invest extra time to become better qualified at graduation.
2. Vacation work puts you in good standing to get into a graduate program or apprenticeship at the same company. If you’ve performed well during a vacation program, chances are increased that you’ll be considered for a graduate position when you complete your degree.
3. Breaking into a mining job or the oil and gas industry is one of the most difficult parts of planning a career in the resource industry. Taking on vacation work will put you ahead of the other graduates by giving you practical work experience and, quite possibly, site experience.
4. You have the opportunity to earn a bit of income over your summer holidays.

Time to apply for vacation work

Most employers are in the process of staffing their summer teams of student workers. The deadlines are drawing to a close so it’s essential students apply for vacation work positions right away. Remember, sacrificing a little time leisure time this summer might make a big difference to your career.

Related reading:

• Mining Engineering Student: Oil Sands Summer Internship
• Employers Advise: When You Don’t Have Site Experience
• Addressing the “No Experience” Conundrum for Mining Jobs

What are you going to do during your summer holiday?

• NT Resources Week is 18-20 September combining two industry conferences: South East Asia Australia Offshore Conference (SEAAOC) and Mining the Territory. You can attend the NT Resources Week Exhibition FREE of charge.

• If you’re considering a job in mining, energy or oil and gas, make sure you visit our industry jobs board where we only advertise real jobs by real employers.

• You can now subscribe to our blog and newsletter from one handy form. http://eepurl.com/lB-h9 We’re publishing new information all the time about employment in the Australian resource industry.