Oxford’s leading summer schools are among the largest temporary summer employers in the city, and we’ve covered elsewhere the different roles that are available in the summer. However, did you know that these organisations have longer, fixed-term roles available, too, ranging from a couple of months up to as many as 5 or 6 months in duration? As we move towards spring, with the prospect of longer, warmer days not too far away, some really exciting opportunities are becoming available – and so you’re prepared, at Oxford Summer Jobs we’ve written a short roundup of everything you need to know about these longer-term roles!
Why are Summer School roles available in the spring?
Let’s start with an obvious question!
With the term ‘summer school’ evoking a mixture of vacation time, extra-curricular learning, and short-term employment opportunities, you might be wondering why these businesses start hiring in the spring.
Ultimately, the whole operation doesn’t run on magic! It takes a team of fantastic people to plan things out in advance, find and enrol the students, and ultimately deliver inspirational courses.
With much of this activity taking place in the 6-month period between February and July, it isn’t really in the interest of summer schools to keep people on payroll all year round. This is where longer-term, temporary contracts (which often have a spring- or even winter-time start) come into play. Expanding their team over the spring and summer months also helps summer school businesses cope with peaks in customer demand.
There are also a variety of things that can only be done in the few months leading up to the summer school – there is only so much that can be done way in advance and many things collide in the spring!
What are the advantages of a Longer-Term Role?
Choosing a longer-term role offers several advantages beyond traditional seasonal work.
To begin with, a longer role can allow you to really get your teeth into projects and tasks, allowing many opportunities for professional growth. Instead of just being told what to do and completing things, you’ll be involved in the decision making yourself, and given the opportunity to test out your ideas and creativity in a real-world scenario.
As well as this, working within a head office environment offers exposure to how a complex organisation works. You’ll gain an understanding of how a head office environment operates, gain experience in working with and alongside different teams and develop an understanding of how a large business builds its processes. Because of all this, you’ll also be the person ‘in the know’ once the summer school comes around. It’s a great feeling to be the office expert!
There’s also the matter of income to consider. Taking in a steady income across multiple months is a definite advantage and all being well, this role could lead to a longer-term, permanent position (or a great reference and the opportunity to enhance your CV at the very least!).
Last, but certainly not least, the organisations in which these opportunities become available can be great fun to work with – we know this from first hand experience! With everyone pulling together towards the collective goal of sharing Oxford with the world, the atmosphere is busy yet positive, and every day you can be working knowing that you’re crafting an experience that young people around the world will remember forever!
I don’t see myself working for a summer school in the future – how might this fit in with a career plan?
You’ve possibly never considered working for an extended period at a summer school organisation, so it’s valid to question how a few months working at one might fit into your long-term career goals. Although these roles might not be perfectly aligned with where you want to go in your career or academia, it’s fantastic experience and will give you insight into the world of work that you can apply in future workplaces.
After many years of studying, you might also want to take a breather to travel or take stock before you dive into your life-long career. A role lasting a few months may fit very well into a period where you want to explore your options (and explore the world?!) before committing to anything long-term!
Finally, a longer-term temporary role will also provide you with scenarios and examples you can call back to in future work interviews. It’s common for interviewers to ask you questions related to teamworking, leadership, taking responsibility and so on. It’ll be a breeze to call upon real-life examples after a few months of summer school work experience!
What kinds of Longer-Term Roles are available, and in which departments?
If you’ve got this far, you might be interested to know what sort of long-term opportunities are on offer! Broadly speaking, the opportunities fall into the following broad categories:
- Sales and customer service
- Operations
- HR administration
- Recruitment
Indeed, there are a range of opportunities catering to different tastes and talents. So, whether you see your summer school stint as a pit stop or a launchpad, it’s all part of the adventure!
Explore Longer Fixed-Term Roles with Oxford Summer Jobs
If a longer-term role working behind the scenes at an Oxford summer school sounds like it might suit you well, you’ll be pleased to know that the team at Oxford Summer Jobs is currently actively working to assist a number of our clients with filling these kinds of positions.
If you haven’t already done so, the best place to start is to sign up via one of the forms on our website, such as this one. One of the team will then contact you in order to discuss the different roles available, and how your availability and experience might match up!
And don’t forget that OSJ’s expert service is completely free for candidates! We can’t wait to hear from you!
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