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Focus on Alaska Summer Employment

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JobMonkey.com
Volume VIII, Issue #26
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Welcome to the JobMonkey Newsletter. This week's edition is all about finding summer employment in Alaska. Last week, we listed the top ten resources for summer job seekers - which are great if you want to stay close to home, or perhaps look for an internship in a major urban setting like New York or Washington, D.C. But what if you have a more adventuresome spirit, and would prefer to spend a rough and tough summer outdoors? If this describes you to a T, then seasonal employment in Alaska may be right up your alley.

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

1) Career Advisor: Dumbing Down Your Resume
2) Spotlight: Four Ways to Work in Alaska This Summer
3) Around the Monkey: Alaska Summer Jobs
4) JobMonkey Job Center: Resources for Finding a Summer Job in Alaska

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CAREER ADVISOR: Dumbing Down Your Resume
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by Amy Lindgren

In a tough market, it's a common strategy - or act of desperation - to apply for work at a lower level than one would prefer. Hence, sales managers go for field positions, shop supervisors become machine operators, and everyone casts an appraising eye on customer service jobs.

There's nothing wrong with this approach. Indeed, many employers enjoy bringing on board a better set of employees than they could otherwise afford. Except, that is, when they sense that the worker is using the job as a temporary stopping place before finding a better position. When that happens, nothing you could say would convince them to hire you. It's just too expensive to train workers who come in the door planning their exit strategy.

One way to impress the employer with your interest in the lower level position is to stop bragging about the higher level work on your resume. Colloquially called "dumbing down," this time-honored technique involves surgical removal of items that would scare off hiring managers. Off go the graduate degrees, managerial roles and Nobel Peace Prizes. Lengthy resumes slim down to a single page and fat job descriptions morph into bullet lists. Most importantly, resume objectives and profiles get rewritten to reflect the new job goal.

Dishonest? Actually, the real issue of integrity is tied to your intention. Will you treat this employer respectfully and give full value for each hour you work? Will you stay long enough to pay back your training and more? If you can answer yes to these questions, then give it your best shot. Just be careful what you ask for. With the right strategy, you just might get it.

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SPOTLIGHT: Four Ways to Work in Alaska This Summer
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If you are an adventuresome college student, recent graduate or just someone who's young at heart, Alaska summer employment is a great way to earn a lot more than just a paycheck. While Alaska is no more immune to the recession than any of the lower 48 states, there are still a host of opportunities for employment in late May through mid September.

Here's a look at the four biggest industries in Alaska, along with the necessary qualifications, salary and working conditions.

Wilderness Lodges, Hotels, Resorts
Alaska wilderness lodges, hotels and resorts hit their stride come summertime (yes, even in the current economy). Summer service employees are hired to work in maintenance, housekeeping, food services, gift shop and reservations. The job descriptions are exactly what you'd expect from the service industry -- but the setting is anything but typical. When you aren't busy at work, you will be busy at play... in the world's greatest playground imaginable. Hiking, kayaking, fishing and more are right outside your front door.

Qualifications: Ideal candidates will have previous experience in the hospitality or retail industry (although it's not an absolute job requirement), along with a cheerful personality and tireless work ethic.

Salary: Most lodges provide a minimum wage salary for entry-level summer employees, along with free housing and food.

Conditions: Be prepared that remote Alaskan locations often provide "rustic" accommodations for their employees -- everything from off-grid communal cabins to tent communities.

Jobs with Alaska Adventure and Tour Companies
In addition to all the young people looking for adventuresome employment in Alaska, there are plenty of others who want to pay someone to provide them that adventure. Wilderness expeditions in Alaska include everything from more subdued options like bus and train tours to more thrill-seeking ones like white water rafting, sea kayaking, backcountry hiking, mountaineering, canopy climbing and cycling. Many of these trips are centered in some of America's most breathtaking natural landscapes, like Glacier Bay and Denali National Park. Available jobs include rafting and nature guides, finishing and kayaking instructors, shuttle bus drivers, program assistants, tour coordinators and trip packers.

Qualifications: Most of these gigs require previous experience as well as specialized certification such as First Aid and CPR training. Many employees return summer after summer, so be prepared to get your foot in the door at the ground level.

Salary: Adventure and tour companies offer better than minimum wage, but the real plus to these jobs is the benefit packages: free or discounted outdoor gear, free participation in other tours, and free room and board. If you don't have a lot of work experience in this field, you may want to consider a college internship focused on training nature guides.

Conditions: Hours are long and often irregular for adventure guides. Most work 12-hour shifts under grueling conditions.

Jobs in Alaska National & State Parks
Alaska is known for its pristine wilderness, including the state's three national parks: Denali, Wrangell-St. Elias, and Glacier Bay. Summer jobs in these breathtaking environs are highly competitive -- but the effort is well worth the experience. Job opportunities are available in everything from maintenance and visitor services to nature guides and science educators.

Qualifications: Entry-level summer jobs are open to college students majoring in the sciences or education. Research-based positions often require specialized, advanced degrees in science, plus laboratory experience.

Salary: National park salaries vary widely, depending on the job description and required experience. Jobs in more remote locations typically provide housing subsidies.

Conditions: Shift work is common at national parks, with mostly daytime hours. Weekend hours are also typical.

Alaska Fishing Industry Jobs
Salmon. Big...money...summer industry in Alaska. Whether you are working on-shore, packing and processing in the plants, or offshore, tossing and hauling nets, working in the Alaskan fishing industries is back-breaking work … that also pays better than just about any other summer job out there.

Qualifications: Onshore processing outfits don't require specialized training, while offshore jobs tend to look for people with experience.

Salary: Earning potential in the fishing industries is potentially far beyond what's possible in, say, a summer retail job. Working a two-month season can net upwards of several thousand dollars, plus some jobs provide free or greatly subsidized room and board (although accommodations are far from luxurious.)

Conditions: No two ways about it: Working in the fishing industry is physically (and at times emotionally) draining. The work is wet, cold and monotonous. The big draw of the industry isn't glamour or comfort, though; it's the great salaries.

Go to JobMonkey's Alaska Fishing Jobs section to learn the industry backwards and forwards.

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AROUND THE MONKEY: Learning About Alaska
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If you want to work in Alaska this summer, start your search by reading up on work opportunities in that great northern state … plus a bonus post about the benefits of getting a summer job.

• Alaska Summer Job Opportunities
• Jobs in the Alaskan Fishing Industry
• Top 10 Reasons to Get a Summer Job

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JOB CENTER REPORT: Alaska Summer Jobs
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JobMonkey is the ideal place to start your search for a summer job in Alaska. Our #1 resource is the free JobMonkey Job Center, which features hundreds of job listings from around the country, including countless Alaskan opportunities. In addition to the Job Center, JobMonkey also offers a specialized board for Alaska summer jobs.

Find current jobs in the Job Center.

 

 

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