Are you planning to use your summer to gain some needed experience and improve your CV?
If you’re a student, you’ll likely need to choose between an internship or a summer job.
Both internships and summer jobs are the mainstays of many students during their years of study and both can be potentially advantageous for your CV.
However, it’s understandably confusing when thinking about summer employment vs an internship.
To give you a better idea of which option is best suited for your situation, this article takes a closer look at all the different factors by examining:
- The pros and cons of internships and summer jobs
- Which option has the best career prospects
- How to write a CV for a summer job or internship
Then you can easily get a head start by using our CV builder to help you design an impressive application in minutes.
Relevant experience summer jobs offer
It’s not fair to say that summer jobs don’t offer real experience. They don’t have the same focus as internships nor do they necessarily provide you with the key skills for your ideal career, however, they are brilliant at teaching important soft skills.
A summer job on your CV can still pack a punch. Luckily, it’s very common for recruiters to look for students for short-term work as well, which means you’ll likely find summer work without much trouble.
Numerous abilities will get tested out that employers will be eager to see on our CV. These include the likes of:
- Organisation
- Responsibility
- Customer handling skills
- Time-keeping
- Interpersonal abilities
Pros and cons of summer jobs
There are both compelling pros and cons of working a summer job.
Pros
- They are always paid
- They give you valuable workplace experience
- They give you practice creating CVs and submitting job applications
- They often easier to get
- You may be able to work in the same job over many summers
Cons
- A summer job might not help you get a job in your field of expertise
- They pay less than some internships
- Schedules could include weekends and national holidays
- Shifts can be at varying times of the day
Going for an internship
Many more university goers are giving their dream-careers a test run with an internship during their summer break.
So does a summer internship count as work experience?
An internship on your CV can be highly useful for many reasons, although there are a number of factors you’ll have to consider.
Pros and cons of internships
Internships can be highly impactful on a CV. Notable benefits of these positions include the following.
Pros
- Valuable sector-specific experience
- You can decide if the career is right for you
- You might gain important contacts within the industry
- You could potentially make more money than a summer job
- They are often more compelling than summer jobs
- You could get a job at the end of it
Cons
- Some positions are unpaid
- Competitive application processes
- Managers unable to dedicate enough time to their interns
- The fact that these are normally one-off arrangements only with fewer options to return year-after-year
Which is best for your career?
Ultimately, the choice of internship vs job depends on what you’re hoping to achieve in your career. If you’re studying for a role in a competitive industry with a very niche skillset, then you should seriously consider getting an internship. This will give you the best shot at breaking into the field.
Generally speaking, however, a summer job will not hurt your career prospects. Employers will still be happy to see that you’ve taken the initiative to get real-world experience. After all, workplace history is still highly valued, as well as your academic knowledge.
Whatever you choose is ultimately circumstantial. If you need money over the summer months then that may force your hand towards a summer job over an internship. However, if you have the time and resources available before entering a very competitive career path an internship is definitely worth your time.
How to include a summer job or internship on your CV
Selecting the correct format, and placement for your summer experience will be key.
First of all, it’s wise to present your document in a chronological format. This will demonstrate that your experience is more recent and that you’ve been proactive in your spare time.
When adding a work experience entry for either summer job or internship, remember to demonstrate relevance to the job you’re targeting. This is what will give employers the most reason to sit up and notice your document amongst the competition.
If you’ve done an internship in your field of choice, then this will be easier to do. However, in the case of a summer job, this can take a bit more skill. You’ll need to make it clearer to the reader why your experience fits the job in question.
Key Points
Choosing between a work placement and a short-term job during your holidays might seem tricky.
However, if you keep the following in mind, you can make your mind up pretty quickly:
- Consider if you need money or not
- Figure out if a job or internship better aligns with your career goals
- Consider you want to go through a more competitive application process
In either case, keep your CV in mind and what skills you will add once you eventually go through your work experience. With our tools and writing guide, a job or internship will help boost your future applications.
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