I am the parent of a high school graduate and future Harvard student. My daughter has been applying for summer jobs ) to make some money before college, but hasn’t had much luck so far. She went to an interview at Target, but found out she was not offered the position earlier today.
Is Harvard listed on the resume a turn off for lower-paying employers? Does my daughter have the right to put Harvard on her resume if she hasn’t started yet? I’m curious for some opinions.
I’m starting to think it might be because she’s a summer employee and maybe they want someone full-time. I told her to leave college off the resume and see what happens.
“I’m starting to think it might be because she’s a summer employee and maybe they want someone full-time. I told her to leave college off the resume and see what happens.”
Of course they don’t want to train someone who will only be there for 2-3 months. She should be applying for temporary positions or summer jobs only. I don’t see any reason to put Harvard on the resume, seeing as it isn’t actually a school that she has attended. But I don’t think she should mislead them and pretend that she’s a permanent employee. It’s awfully late to be looking for a summer job at this point, though you never know what might come up.
I think it is a turn off to apply to Target on June 15 and then leave the job on August 15. I don’t think it would matter if it was Harvard or any other school not in your area, or if she honestly answered that she’d be leaving in 2 months. My daughter had an app for a movie theater and I think she could have gotten that, but decided not to. She also didn’t get a job at a summer camp at the health club because she has to go back to school Aug 8 and the camp runs until Aug 20.
It takes most places 2-3 weeks just to train new people so it’s not a good business decision to hire those leaving immediately. She might have better luck trying to do temp jobs like catering, lawn work, babysitting, house sitting.
I wouldn’t put Harvard on the resume. She hasn’t even done anything there yet, so I don’t see why it is pertinent, except perhaps if she were applying for a job such as tutoring where she would want to show her academic qualifications.
I was surprised how difficult it was for students returning after their freshman year to find summer jobs. I think most retail don’t want to hire just for the summer when they can get a longer commitment. I would suggest trying employers who need temporary extra help over the summer or trying to find something in an area she has any special skills. It’s also rather late to begin looking–we are well into summer already.
Actually Target does hire for the summer (my daughter was just offered a summer job there) as they need seasonal employees to cover the increased traffic for “back to school” and “back to college” items.
The simple fact is that Target gets a lot of qualified applicants – more than they can possibly hire (just as Harvard gets more qualified applicants than they can accept.)
I don’t know about Target, but the ration of openings to applicants at many retailers is a lot smaller than Harvard’s admit rate. My daughter worked retail the summer after high school graduation, and learned after she accepted the position that there were about 300 applications for the spot. My d. got that position because she applied for it about 2 weeks before high school graduation (figuring she could start taking evening or weekend shifts); she had retail experience; and she heard about the opening from a good friend who already worked at the same retailer, who likely had put in a good word for her with whoever did the hiring. Also, my daughter had to pass an employment test related to her knowledge of the merchandise-- I don’t think it was a formal exam, just a check to make sure that she would be able to easily handle typical customer inquiries.
So bottom line, those retail jobs are scarce.
But I would agree that putting “admitted to Harvard” would probably be a drawback on an application for a post-high school retail job. I think that someone doing the hiring might have one or more of these responses:
believe that the kid is lying on the resume (employers see faked credentials all the time, so probably are skeptical when something sounds "too good" in relation to what they usually see
believe that the applicant isn't serious about wanting the job, figuring that a kid who is smart enough to get into Harvard can probably get a better job
worry that the kid will have a poor attitude at work and resist taking criticism or instruction from supervisors, or be reluctant to do certain tasks
worry that the kid will have a poor work ethic because her parents must be rich enough to send her to Harvard, and she doesn't really need the money
Obviously none of those things are true – but that’s why a resume has to be tailored to the specific workplace environment. All things being equal, the kid who is planning on attending a local community college in the fall might be a better hiring choice. The person doing the hiring needs to make a quick, gut-level decision, and Harvard-bound may just not seem like a good fit.
But perhaps your daughter should widen her horizons for a job search as well-- I agree with mathyone – a learning center which hires temporary help over the summer might be very happy to have a Harvard-bound high school grad join their tutoring staff. Nothing wrong with doing retail – my daughter enjoyed her job that summer-- but your daughter may be able to do better than minimum wage.
I would leave Harvard off the resume. Maybe just indicate that she will be returning to school on X date (doesn’t H have a late start…like in Sept?) My Tulane niece went to H for a semester after Katrina because it had a late start.
When my son was looking for a summer job between college graduation and starting med school, he did NOT put down that he was starting med school in the fall. He just indicated that he would be returning to school in the fall.
Son had a great time bar-tending that summer at a nice restaurant…he now knows how to make some pretty awesome drinks!
I think H has a late start date, so that can be a benefit w/o naming the school. Just put…starting college Sept XX
As mentioned in your other thread, my son didn’t put “starting X med school in fall” on his apps for summer jobs. He just put: returning to school on X date. Why tempt any unnecessary reaction.
I don’t think she should put any name of any college on a job app when she has yet to attend the college.
It is very late to be securing a summer job. However, she should apply to jobs that are meant to be summer jobs, and not to places that are truly looking for ongoing employees. For example, an ice cream shop or pool/rec or summer program for kids that want SUMMER help.
If she can’t get a regular sort of job, she could offer services to others, whether it is being a summer nanny, tutor, garden work, etc.
I’ll share what my two daughters did for work the summer before starting college…
D1 got two summers jobs. One was at a local tennis/swim/resort community which offers a summer program for children that involves swimming, tennis, crafts, etc. She was a counselor. The second job was working bussing tables at a local restaurant that was OK with hiring her for the summer season (we also live in a resort community).
D2 earned money doing two things. One was a job she created for herself and a good friend. The girls created from scratch a two week summer musical theater program (both were heading to college to study that), and directed this program for ages 10-14. They secured the space, signed up students, created the entire program and ran it. It was lucrative and a big success. The other way she earned money was being cast in a summer professional theater production in our town.
If your kid is looking for tutoring job then putting Harvard on the resume would help, but retail, not so much.
I would look for babysitting jobs. With so many kids out of school and working parents, I am sure she could get very good babysitting jobs. My kids used to make 15-20/hr. D2 still babysits when she is home from college. She would work M-F at her internship then babysit on weekends. She is in high demand during holiday time.
I am not sure where you are located but here in the Northeast a lot of schools are only just ending the year. My oldest DD worked as a camp counselor (you generally have to be at least 18 for a full counselor position) and then as a nanny in subsequent summers. If your daughter is ok with kids then nanny-ing a couple of school aged kids on summer vacation can be a very nice job. The money is generally pretty good and kids that age just want to be entertained (one of my DD’s summer families bought her and the kids season tickets to a local theme park -they went almost daily). Your DD should make a Care.com profile. And believe me, do put Harvard on that profile because it would be a huge selling point.
Several of DS2s friends have secured summer work in the past few weeks at Ross, Wendy’s etc. However these kids worked through high school at other (corporate - non babysiting etc.) jobs. Harvard aside I think employers these days want someone with some level of experience so the “show up on time” stuff is already worked out. Best bet is to try and find a place where they have a summer and holiday rush, then commit to working over holiday break.
Congrats on the Harvard admit, but unless it’s an “intellectual” job, it may not be seen as an asset.
Come to think of it, has she tried Huntington Learning Centers and the like? hmmmm
I would have left the name of the college off as others have said.
My DD worked in AK last summer (so made a high hourly wage); this summer she was fine with a min wage job locally. As OP stated, Target said they were hiring as was Home Depot in our area and she did the on line applications. She did put her wage from last summer ($15/hour) which I am sure is why she was not interviewed.
However min wage jobs at least in our area are fairly plentiful compared to other years. Neighbor owns a business and DD started working there (min wage) a few weeks ago, getting about 5 hours every other day. DD stopped in with her resume, and because neighbor knows DD and good work ethic, started scheduling her a week later. Well, guess what - two employees found other jobs and so DD is getting more hours.
Try to find out when the manager/owner is at the store if they advertise having a job opening, or just cold call with your resume (stating summer hire, can work until XXX).
