Looking to work on more than your tan this summer? Want to get your foot in the door at a top employer? Seasonal hiring for summer jobs is underway. Twenty-three percent of hiring managers plan to hire seasonal workers for the summer this year; 14 percent are undecided. Of those hiring, 66 percent are considering their summer recruits for permanent placement within their organizations, according to CareerBuilder.com's latest survey of more than 3,000 U.S. employers.

In addition to acquiring new skills, summer workers may be acquiring bigger paychecks. Twenty-four percent of employers plan to pay their summer hires and/or interns more this year than they did last year. Nearly half (47 percent) plan to dish out $10 or more per hour; 7 percent will pay $20 or more per hour. Twenty-nine percent anticipate paying between $8 and $10 per hour while 11 percent expect to pay less than $7 per hour.

Comparing industries, it's not surprising that Hospitality and Retail are leading in the number of hiring managers planning to recruit summer workers at 40 percent and 39 percent respectively. Among all employers, the most popular summer positions being offered include:

  -- Office support (28 percent)
  -- Customer service (19 percent)
  -- Landscape/maintenance (14 percent)
  -- Research (14 percent)
  -- Restaurant/food service (8 percent)
  -- Construction/painting (8 percent)
  -- Sales (8 percent)

"Summer jobs provide great networking and learning opportunities and should be approached by workers as an extended job interview," said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources for CareerBuilder.com. "Two-thirds of employers plan to hire a portion of their summer help on a permanent basis. If you want to parlay a seasonal stint into a year-round placement, make sure to let your employer know you're interested and showcase your talents through action, results, leadership and accountability."

Haefner recommends the following tips to make the most of your summer job search:

  1) Apply now.  The majority of employers (70 percent) start recruiting
     candidates for summer positions before May.  Sixteen percent begin
     recruiting in January and February; 44 percent start recruiting by
     March.
  2) Leverage all your resources.  You can find information on summer jobs
     and internships through online job sites, newspaper classifieds,
     guidance counselors and college career services and networking with
     family and friends.
  3) Be respectful of the interviewer's time.  Research the company you are
     applying to, arrive for your interview early and show enthusiasm for
     the position.
  4) Dress the part.  Appearances are important, so make sure to dress
     appropriately for your audience.  For an interview for an office job,
     wear a business suit.  If you're going for a gig in a retail clothing
     outlet, make sure to wear clothes from that store.
  5) Ask for additional responsibility.  Taking on more challenges, asking
     good questions and showing enthusiasm for the position and company are
     great ways to get noticed for permanent placement.


  Unusual Summer Jobs

In additional to typical summer jobs, the survey also revealed that opportunities arise in unconventional areas as well. When asked about the most unusual or memorable summer jobs they've ever held, workers shared the following responses:

  -- Chicken wrangler
  -- Caretaker for diabetic monkeys
  -- Clown in an underwater theater
  -- Cast member in a haunted house
  -- Bomb painter
  -- Gopher hunter
  -- Soap-maker in a mock colonial village
  -- Picked burnt potato chips off a conveyor belt
  -- Erased pencil marks out of used books
  -- Scrubbed rubber ducks for national rubber duck race


  Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 3,147 hiring managers and human resource professionals (employed full-time; not self-employed; with at least significant involvement in hiring decisions); and 7,688 U.S. employees (employed full-time; not self-employed) ages 18 and over between February 11, and March 13, 2008, respectively (percentages for some questions are based on a subset U.S. employers, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 3,147 and 7,688, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.75 percentage points and +/- 1.2 percentage points, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies. A full methodology is available upon request.

About CareerBuilder.com

CareerBuilder.com is the nation's largest online job site with more than 23 million unique visitors and over 1.6 million jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. , Tribune Company, The McClatchy Company and Microsoft Corp. , the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the career centers for more than 1,600 partners, including 140 newspapers and leading portals such as America Online and MSN. More than 300,000 employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com's easy job postings, 26 million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. CareerBuilder.com and its subsidiaries operate in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com/.

   Media Contact
   Jennifer Grasz
   773-527-1164
   Jennifer.Grasz@careerbuilder.com

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SOURCE: CareerBuilder.com