An Entire Summer of Opportunity AND Savings

These days finding a job is more difficult than finding a cute girl in a comic shop, especially in magazines or other journalism related careers. However, while searching for a full-time job in my field, I decided to look into obtaining a temporary job in the meantime--somewhere like Blockbuster or Barnes & Noble or Gilligan's (a really awesome restaurant within walking distance of where I currently live. Not the island full of castaways. Although that Mary Ann was quite the looker).

Unfortunately, everywhere I looked wasn't hiring--at least not yet.

It seems summertime is fast approaching and as such many stores plan on compensating by hiring more employees in about 2 weeks. Now, for those unemployed and searching like I am, I highly encourage looking into this. After all, a temporary job is much better than no job.

I understand that a regular customer service job doesn't seem like much--you make very little, do a lot of tedious tasks and every so often you deal with that one customer that makes you want to bang your head against the wall. (For example, while working at a movie theater, I often told people that a movie was sold out. They then proceeded to ask me about 20 times if I was sure. As if I was lying the previous 19 times and by asking again and again they would finally get me to admit I was just joking).

Anyway, for those hesitant to get a regular job for those reasons, there is a simple way to counteract the cons. See, back in high school I got a job at the local movie theater. And while I often dealt with customers like Mr. Incredulous, I also got to see countless movies for free. And for a movie nut like me, that was a great perk that I took advantage of quite often. Then in college, I got a job at the local Blockbuster, where I got a bunch of free rentals each week. Another great perk that allowed me to watch every Nightmare on Elm Street back to back, just because.

My point is thus, get a job with perks you'll enjoy. If you love a certain brand of clothes, get a job at the store and take advantage of the discount. You like California Pizza Kitchen? My sister worked there and got a free lunch every day. This time, I'm looking into a job at Barnes & Noble or Books-a-Million (just because I love movies and television doesn't mean I don't like reading either).

Getting a summer job while looking for permanent employment is a great idea. And getting a job dealing with a product you often enjoy not only makes the job more bearable, it can also save you money. After all, whereas before you'd pay $10 for that movie ticket, now you get to walk in for free.

Comments

[Melissa Mahadeo]

Agreed.
I also got an awesome discount on additional meals I bought at CPK.
I'm considering working at Starbucks in order to save the $3.50 I spend there daily...that kind of thing adds up.

[Amanda]

I really liked working at Blockbuster...that was just about the perfect college job.

[Josh Wigler]

If you work at Barnes and Noble, will you send me free DVDs and TPBs? You will? Oh, cool! Thanks Kevin!

[Bridget Carey]

Oh yeah I totally did the same thing for my previous jobs. I worked at Waldenbooks in high school and I got to read books on my break and get discounts on whatever I bought. And I worked at a coffee shop in college to feed my constant need for caffeine.

Best of luck to you! A book store is a great job (much less of a headache than working as a waiter somewhere). They should love to have someone with as much comic book knowledge as you have... someone's gotta help those moms buy the right Batman tradeback book for their kids!