The summer holidays is a great time to gain some work experience, learn some important basic skills, start or enhance your CV … and of course earn some money. Now is the time to look for that summer job don’t wait until June/July it will be too late!

The secret is to plan ahead, think about what you want, is it local office work, a job abroad; retail or leisure; events or festivals, or working with animals. Maybe if you are a graduate you want to think about an internship (some of these are unpaid) or maybe if it is adventure and life experience you are after some voluntary work abroad maybe just the thing. So where do you start?

The internet has a huge range of website resources covering all sectors, use your school, college or University careers service, newspapers or notice boards. If it is office work you can register with local agencies, or actively approach organisations in person. Make sure your CV is up to date, this is a good time to start it or enhance it, adding work experience and new skills will help later when you start to apply for fulltime employment. Some jobs may require you to fill in an online application and attach your CV, proactively check this websites every week for new vacancies and register for job alerts.

Be flexible – it might not be the job you want to do for life, but it will gain you a variety of potential skills in the areas of customer service , money handling, data handling, team work and general confidence building but to name a few. Take the opportunity to gain a further insight into the organisation, who knows you may see another job or opportunity that you might like to pursue in the future. Don’t forget that your summer employer could also be a potential referee later.

As with all jobs and a summer one is no exception , research your chosen company , prepare yourself for Interview and present yourself in the best possible way , this may only be a summer job but first impressions count and you never no where it might lead.

So enjoy your summer, there are many outdoor opportunities as well as indoor, earn yourself some money, become more independent, meet new people but above all take the chance to learn some new skills that will start to shape where you want to be in the future.

For help with CV, interviews and beyond visit The Kudos Group http://bit.ly/1hkaq5a