Tough Competition

HACKENSACK, N.J. — If you’re looking for Kevin O’Connor this summer, you’ll probably find him at work — either on the lifeguard’s chair at Memorial Pool in Fair Lawn, N.J., or in a clothing store at the local mall. O’Connor, a 19-year-old college student, has been unusually successful in the hunt for summer work — a rite of passage that gives many teens their first taste of the demands of the workplace.

This year, as high school and college students search for jobs, their prospects vary depending on age, skills and how close they live to theme parks or other large sources of summer jobs, employment experts say.

Teens have different goals when they take summer jobs. Many want to prepare for a career; others are happy to earn a few bucks while they work on their tans and expand their dating pool.

In general, college students — especially those with computer skills or other training — have more opportunities than younger teens.

“There’s a demand for college students,” said Penne Gabel of the Comforce employment agency in Paramus, N.J. “They typically work hard, they’re diligent, they’re responsible. They don’t have a lot of money for the summer, so they really want to earn money.”

College students are also less likely to be affected by restrictive child labor laws.

O’Connor is an example of a college student whose maturity and skills — specifically, his lifeguard training — make him a desirable employee. This summer will be his fourth at Memorial Pool, where he will work 40 hours a week for $8.10 an hour when the pool is open every day. He’ll also work one day a week at Ruehl, a clothing store, for $6.75 an hour, plus employee discounts.

“I need the money for when I go back to college — to buy textbooks and all that,” said O’Connor, a biology major at Richard Stockton College in Pomona, N.J.

By contrast, said Javalda Powell, who works at a high school helping students find jobs, 14- and 15-year-olds often have to settle for babysitting jobs.

One seasonal worker is Kevin Force, 18, who will be a camp counselor. Last summer, he traveled and did volunteer work. This year, facing cell phone and car insurance bills — not to mention college costs in the fall — he decided to get a job. He thinks he’ll enjoy working at the camp, where he expects to make about $1,300 for the summer.

“I like working with kids, and I figure camps are fun,” said Force, who will be a college freshman in the fall.

Although the job market has changed little from last year, over the past five years summer jobs have become scarcer. Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, said teen employment, both summer and year-round, still hasn’t recovered from the 2001 recession.

“It takes a number of years of strong job growth before teens get picked up,” he said.

One reason, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, is that more students are in summer school, for remedial work or to advance their studies. But even teens who would rather work face more competition.

“When teens go to look for jobs, they find three groups ahead of them; the biggest group is immigrants,” Sum said. That’s especially true for blue-collar work in an immigration gateway state.

Teens are also competing with older workers, especially women returning to the work force in the retail sector. And young college graduates without a foothold in the professional world also work in retail and restaurants, Sum said.

All three of these groups are taking jobs that might otherwise have gone to teens, Sum said. These older workers can be more available for longer hours throughout the year, and employers usually believe they’re more reliable.

Low-income teens find the job market especially unfriendly, Sum said. Only about 15 percent of low-income teens are employed. There are several reasons: There are fewer opportunities in poor neighborhoods, the teens may not own cars to drive to work, and their parents are less likely to have connections to help them get jobs.

All these lost job opportunities mean it will be harder for teens to make the transition to permanent jobs, Sum said. People who work in their teens are more likely to be employed as young adults, he said.

Gabel, of Comforce, said, “A summer job gives them experience in the corporate environment and lets them see what it’s like to work in an office, as opposed to going to class once a day for a few hours.”

Many students find the best way to lock in a job for the summer is to start working part time during the school year.

At Bischoff’s ice cream restaurant in Teaneck, N.J., co-owner Rich Zanetto said: “I won’t hire just for the summer, because by the time you break them in and get them started, they’re gone.”

Zanetto wants teens to commit to working two five-hour shifts a week during the school year. He’ll make an exception only for college students who are home for the summer and worked at Bischoff’s during high school. They don’t need to be trained, and “they’re here by mid-May, which is a big help for us,” he said.

Other job seekers have luck with temp agencies. Michelle Fernandez, 22, is making $11 an hour in an office job she found through Comforce. She likes it better than the supermarket job she had, in part because of the professional atmosphere.

“They’re not going to check up on you,” she said. “They expect you to be an adult.”

Her advice to younger students: Learn computer skills such as Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook, which she learned in college.

For many students, the ideal is finding a summer job in the field they want to work in after graduation. Many new college grads report they found their first full-time jobs through summer jobs and internships.

But it’s after Memorial Day. Are all the good summer jobs gone by now? Not according to Brianne Hrynyk a 25-year-old graduate student who works part time at his college’s career center.

“We get about 90 new jobs a month in the summertime,” said Hrynyk, who also works part time as a bartender on weekends. “Employers call us with job openings, and we post them on our database.

“The way I see it, there’s always jobs out there.”