We’ve put together a useful month-by-month guide to landing your perfect Oxford summer job this year. As you’ll see, it’s never too early to start looking – but it’s never too late, either! Here’s our take on a few small things to do each month that will help you get prepared.
January
We know what you’re thinking. The calendar’s only just changed, the days are still short and it’s dark outside – so surely you don’t need to start thinking about summer yet? To an extent, you’re right, but it’s also never too early to get planning!
We’d suggest using January’s long evenings to have a think in broad terms about what you want and need to get out of summer. What kind of balance do you want between work, research and social life? Do you want to do any travelling? Where would you like to be?
To be in with the best chance of securing a great summer school role, you might want to consider keeping July and August free – these are the busiest months in the summer school calendar and staff who can work all the way through are really valuable!
If you’re thinking of staying in Oxford, and are looking for work while you’re here, then sign up for our our database, and follow us on Instagram @oxfordsummerjobs
February
With the days getting longer and the prospect of some warm(ish) days, in parts of February it’s likely to feel like spring and summer are on the way.
We recommend allocating time in February to consider the kind of roles that you might be interested in doing when summer comes around – you might like to read our overview of how Oxford’s leading summer employers are structured, and the opportunities that come with different summer roles.
In addition, some longer fixed-term roles will commence in February and March, and run through to the summer; so if you find yourself free and available to pick up a full time position, please contact us for a chat about what’s available and where!
March
Once spring arrives in the city, the leading Oxford summer schools will be ramping up their recruitment drives (and for some roles, interviews will already be taking place) so we’d suggest that in early March you spend some time updating your CV – or writing one for the first time if you haven’t already got one.
Try and factor in the thinking you did earlier in the year about the roles you would like to do, and adjust your CV accordingly – e.g. if you’re interested in a pastoral position, highlight times when you’ve enjoyed helping others before, or the skills and attributes you could bring to that kind of role.
Keep an eye on our Instagram and sign up for our database to stay in the loop on all the available opportunities!
April
At this point, the leading summer employers in Oxford will be continuing to gear up their operations, with just three months to go until they kick off at the beginning of July.
To that end, they’ll be looking to get the majority of their staffing plans sorted early on, so they can move on with the fine-detail planning of the courses and programmes themselves.
Interviews will continue to take place for a variety of roles in April, so it’s worth spending some time thinking about how you’d approach an interview, especially if you’ve not interviewed for a summer school before.
Teaching interviews tend to be conducted by experienced educators and may require you to produce a quick sample lesson to show how you can make your subject exciting for a (typically teenage) audience.
Pastoral and activity leader interviews tend to take place as group interviews – so have a think about how you’d stand out in a group environment (in the right way!).
There are guides on these to come from us here at Oxford Summer Jobs, so make sure you’re following our Instagram!
And of course, you won’t get any of the jobs that you’re not in the frame for! We would be delighted to seek out appropriate opportunities for you – just get in touch via our Contact page and we will be in touch to discuss next steps.
May
There’s a chance you’ll have your summer plans and a job offer all wrapped up by May – but if not, not to worry!
Many of the leading summer schools will be making last minute refinements to their courses, campuses and staff teams, and will need people at short notice, so there will still be plenty of opportunities.
If you’re only just getting started, get your CV in line, think about the kind of roles and challenges you’d like in the summer, and then contact us – we’ll be happy to match you with some of the positions that become available close to the summer.
June
With just a month to go until hundreds of students arrive in Oxford from all around the world, if you’ve landed a job offer you should have all the details you need for your training and onboarding.
To prepare for your training, and a busy summer, think about how you can what would good look like, and how can you approach a busy summer with a positive energy.
Assemble a list of questions you feel you must know the answer to, and make sure you’ve read your contract so you know what’s expected of you. You’ll also want to get some downtime before starting your job, so make sure you enjoy some early summer sun!
If in June you’re still looking for a role, absolutely don’t write it off as too late. We know from experience that things change due to unavoidable circumstances – there are dropouts, new classes and campuses open due to a surge in demand, or simply the right candidate hasn’t yet been found.
In Summary
The phrase “the early bird catches the worm” is pretty relevant when it comes to landing summer jobs.
Often the best roles (and that of course depends on how we’re defining best) are filled reasonably early in the spring – the leading summer employers want to make sure their key roles are filled nice and early, so they can start building the wider campus teams around them.
However, with a sector as dynamic as the summer school industry, there will be lots of great jobs available right up until the summer.
We’d recommend using the winter months to get the fundamental thinking in place, the early spring for applying and interviewing, and then summer for preparation and working, as an ideal split to aim for – but everyone is different and you’ll have your own timescale and context to work to.
But throughout the year, we will be here, ready to provide you with assistance and to put you forward for roles we think you’re suited for and would be great for you. Follow us on Instagram and sign up below!
Oxford Summer Jobs 