February 2024 - Parks and Recreation - 11

How Students Learn About
Employment Opportunities
Students were asked to share how
they learned about opportunities
with their summer employer. While
25.7 percent of students were aware
of opportunities due to their previous
employment, 41 percent relied
on networking - from friends (21.6
percent), family (14.3 percent) or academic
departments (5.1 percent).
The next most popular recruitment
source was Indeed.com, where 11.2
percent of students discovered their
summer employment options.
The study indicated 41.1 percent
of students returned to the same
job they had secured the previous
summer. Meanwhile, 28.5 percent
of students secured a new job and
did so during the months of April
and May, while another 10.8 percent
accepted their summer positions
in February or March.
What Students Are Looking
for in Their Summer
Employment Experience
Finally, students were presented with
15 personal priorities and asked to
indicate the influence each of these
had on their final employment decisions.
The 15 priority areas were
categorized into four domains: flexible
and fun working environments,
career preparation/development,
alignment with personal interests
and values, and pragmatic needs.
For each of the 15 influences, students
were asked to indicate whether
it was a " high priority, " " somewhat
of a priority " or " low priority. "
Collectively, the pragmatic needs
received the highest number of students
rating them as a " high priority. "
The highest priority in this
domain was the ability to generally
be paid for work (83 percent rated it
Figure 2. College Student Summer Employment High
Priorities (n=556)
Ability to generally be paid for work
Job located near my home
Ability to earn a certain amount of money
Flexible work schedule
Ability to have time to see family
Finding a fun work environment
Ability to take time off for vacation or personal activities
Ability to have time to hang out with friends
Ability to gain technical/career skills
Opportunity for mentoring or professional growth
Job related to my future career
Work that aligns with my personal values
Work for organization whose mission I support
Ability to have time to complete a summer course
Job located away from home or in a desired location
0%
as a " high priority " ) followed by the
job being located near their home
(64 percent rated it as a " high priority " ).
The next highest domain was
the flexible and fun working environment
priorities with flexible work
schedules (68 percent) being the
highest priority within this domain.
Putting It All Together
The data indicates 9 out of 10 college
students are seeking and securing
summer employment experiences
and, in some cases, are working multiple
jobs. These students are leaning
heavily on personal networks of
friends, family, previous employers
and academic institutions to learn
about summer employment opportunities.
Given the highly networked
field of recreation, these findings
appear to present an opportunity for
agencies to leverage these relationships
and networks to help get the
word out to these students - perhaps
by encouraging current employees to
share their experiences with friends
via referral incentives or speaking/
advocating to parents during infor83.0%
64.0%
63.0%
65.0%
58.0%
61.0%
49.0%
57.0%
51.0%
44.0%
60.0%
51.0%
35.0%
13.0%
20%
40% 60% 80% 100%
mation sessions at the start of youth
programs about the positive impact
these employment opportunities can
have on an individual.
Only about 2 out of 10 students are
seeking employment in recreation industries.
To put it another way, there
is an opportunity to introduce 8 out
of 10 students to the great experiences
within the recreation sector. The
study's findings may provide insight
into how to better recruit students.
Most community recreation employment
opportunities would serve their
interest in finding a job near their
home. Next, the second most prioritized
domain identified by students
was jobs that provided a fun and
flexible working environment. Considering
how to market employment
opportunities, roles that have flexible
work schedules, are fun and allow
for time to see family seem to align
with students' interests.
Megan Owens, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the
Western Illinois University Department of Recreation, Park,
Tourism, and Hospitality (mh-owens@wiu.edu). Michael. A.
Mulvaney, Ph.D., is a Professor at the Illinois State University
School of Kinesiology and Recreation (mamulva@ilstu.edu).
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | FEBR U AR Y 2 0 2 4 | Parks & Recreation
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68.0%
http://www.Indeed.com
February 2024 - Parks and Recreation

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