Summer jobs don’t come easy

As summer hits, so does a crushing chore for students – finding summer work, writes Thomas Manch.

George, 18, has returned to Wellington after a year spent at the University of Auckland. ‘‘Hungry for work’’ could head his CV. George still had to pay rent for a room in Auckland during the summer.

‘‘It’s hard; probably the word to describe it is tedious. I’ve applied for at least 30 jobs,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s just the nature of the game.’’

Fortunately, George had an interview that afternoon, which is why he didn’t want his last name used.

Jeremy Wade, head of jobs at Trade Me, said this was typical at this time of the year.

‘‘When it comes to those short-term roles, and you think about the glut of people coming out of high school and university, no, you’re never going to meet that demand.’’

Generally, a fifth of job offers are contract or temporary roles, but during this time of year it’s a quarter, he said.

‘‘On the application side we tend to find far less people applying for jobs. The students are the exception.’’

The majority of jobs that attract students are sales, retail, promotion and some horticultural work.

But there were some interesting summer jobs out there, Wade said.

One such job was Christmas tree collecting, for The Grinches.

The Grinches owner Ed Waldegrave said the business was looking for three, maybe four, students to ruin Christmas in Auckland.

‘‘I’ve done a lot of it, and I quite enjoy it,’’ Waldegrave said.

As a grinch, a student spends the day collecting unwanted Christmas trees and takes them to the landfill.

The job pays $20 an hour, includes petrol costs, and a trailer is supplied.

‘‘It can be quite long days. I’m really looking for someone who’s reliable, who’s just going to get the job done, who’s going to be happy doing the work.’’

Student jobs can be lucrative if you have a good work ethic, he said.

Waldegrave estimated a grinch could earn $2500 before tax in three weeks worth of tree collecting.

‘‘If someone was really keen and wanted to work a lot of days, there’s potential for them to earn a fair chunk of money in that time,’’ he said.

PHOTOS: FAIRFAX NZ; GETTY IMAGES SEASONAL WORK: Top, Trade Me’s Jeremy Wade says horticulture and promotions work tend to attract students; below, roles collecting unwanted Christmas trees and ripening bananas are a bit harder to come by.