Summer job pals make awesome besties—here’s why
Getting a summer job might not be the most fun thing to do. We’d all rather have fun sitting by the pool, tanning ourselves on the beach or going on various road trips. But money is, well, one of those things that you need, particularly between semesters of school or right out of college. It’s OK! Not only can a summer job mean extra cash for fun stuff, it can also be a place where you can meet fun people.
The friendships you make at a summer job are so important. It was while working in a holiday job that I made some of my besties for life. We still get together regularly even though we live in different parts of the country now. Even though the job itself wasn’t my dream employment situation, it lead to amazing things: Without that job, I wouldn’t have met those great people. Here are a few reasons why a summer job can be the perfect breeding ground for lifelong friendships and help you find your bestie.
You automatically have something in common
Tough boss? Goofy customers? The best thing about on-the-job buddies is that they know exactly what you mean when you’re having a hard day, or an awesome day. Even if the job is something that you aren’t hoping to make a career out of, they can completely help guide you through it. After all, they’re likely to want to go off and have adventures too. Now you have a buddy to go on those with, too.
You’ve got an eight-hour built-in hangout session
Sure, it might be more fun to meet at a party, but having a work bestie at a summer job means that you’re never alone. You can drool over your friends’ beach Instagram posts together, and take lunch breaks together. On the job, you can help each other out when either of you is overloaded. Plus, you’ll be making new friends and earning money at the same time. Bonus!
Besties make work not feel like work
When you work alongside your bestie, the time passes quicker. You chat for hours, and generally make up fun ways of doing the work. One of my greatest memories from my summer job is when the boss decided to leave me and my two friends to run the place while she went away. We decorated the place with name badges and doodles. Even though we had to take the decorations down afterwards, I’ll always remember the fun we had while doing it.
It’s super easy to hang out after work, too
You can decide to go to the beach or shopping after work on a whim. It doesn’t matter—you’ll see each other in work before you go anyway. Half the fun is in the planning, which you’ll do during time you should be serving customers, of course.
They can help you with your next gig
Making friends at work is not only fun, it can really help out later on. When your pal lands a job at a company that you’re eager to work for, they can put in a good word for you. Or even just offer advice on how to tweak your resume or approach the situation. And you can help them out in return. Win-win.
They’re neutral observers in your social world
Got a situation with a significant other or another friend? Another nice thing about a work buddy is that they can see the situation from more of a neutral place, since the person they know best is you. You can get some advice that’s more impartial than someone who’s part of the same social circuit.
Friends can turn the worst jobs into the best jobs
Whoever thought fun could be had by cleaning windows or doing boring admin jobs? It most definitely can. When your friend is by your side anything can be made better. One of my jobs each morning was to get out the hired mobility scooters and electric wheelchairs and put them away each evening once all the customers had left. You can guess what great times we had in putting the scooters away. It involved racing (not in a dangerous way of course). But it made a chore into something totally amazing.
They have seen you at your worst already and don’t judge you for it
They’ve already seen you stressing over that angry customer or having a bad day because someone broke your heart. And guess what? They’re still there. In the future, when you don’t work together, there’ll be no need to pretend that everything is ok if it’s not. They’re there for you anyway.
The friends you make in a temporary job can be the most awesome people ever. Even long after the summer’s gone and that gig is a distant memory, you’ll still have a bestie. And that’s worth more than a paycheck.Aneira Davies is a journalist from the UK with an unhealthy addiction to Pinterest. When not writing, you can find her behind her sewing machine, making a new dress or two to add to her collection, or getting lost in a classic Jane Austen novel. Follow her on twitter @aneiradavies or on her blog streetstylewales.wordpress.com.Related:
The first job that changed my whole life
An illustrated guide to the best bestie summer ever
[Image via Miramax]
