Largest Job Gain in 3 Years
HARRIS: So, now that Spring is here, students, of course, are counting the days until summer, and for those planning to get a summer job, better start looking. Our Stephanie Elam is joining me with some tips on how to land one. And I am assuming here it's going to be tricky, huh?</s>STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It is going to be tricky, Tony. That's a good way to put it. According to a snagajob.com survey, almost half of hiring managers don't plan to hire any seasonal workers this summer. That's about the same as last year. So it's not good news if you happen to be a high school or college student looking for summer jobs right now. A record low 28 percent of 16 to 19-year-olds actually found work last summer, and it's likely to be just as bad or even worse this summer. So start looking now. Be persistent and apply for as many jobs as possible. You really can't be too picky when it comes to this kind of seasonal work and you're not really -- you know, some people think they're too young to network, that's not the case. Figure out who you know and how they might be able to help you get the leg up. This could be in person, you could do it over the phone, you could use your e-mail or even through your social network. Just remember one thing here, folks out there, if you are networking online make sure your act is a little bit cleaner. You know, get rid of those pictures or information from your profile that you might not want a potential employer to see. And also, Tony, this is really important, too. Consider an e-mail address that uses your real name. A hiring manager might get a little turned off by an e- mail address like PhonyTony@blahdeeblah.com or something like that or Tony Tone.</s>HARRIS: Why do you always personalize these things?</s>HARRIS: All right, Stephanie, what about pay? Money, money, greenbacks. How much can young people expect to get if they land a job here, if they're lucky enough to get one.</s>ELAM: Right, well that's the big question. If you manage to score a job -- and congrats if you do, cause that's good news -- the average pay will be about $10.20 an hour. But Charles Purdy (ph) of Yahoo! Hot Jobs says summer jobs should not be all about the money. These jobs are about career building, too. So if there aren't any great job opportunities in your area, think about volunteer work, if you could do that. And interning, that's another option. This foot in the door might actually get you one step closer to a job after college. And employers are increasingly looking at the number of interns hired because it's a cheap way to bring on more labor, they get college credit and it works out for them. Nearly one-quarter of employers polled by CareerBuilder said they will be hiring interns in the second quarter. So check out internships.com and indeed.com. These aggregator sites, they allow you to type in your location and name the kind of internship you're looking for to help you narrow down your search. And the non-profit internships, if you're interested in that, you can check out jobs.change.org -- Tony.</s>HARRIS: All right, we're having an issue with our system here, so I think what we'll do is we'll put those websites on our little blog page here so folks can access those.</s>ELAM: That's cool.</s>HARRIS: We can't get them up for whatever reason. You're hosting "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" tomorrow. Give us a bit of a preview here, Stephanie.</s>ELAM: Yes, that's right, Tony. You know, we've just got two weeks until taxes are due for all those people out there. We're going to help them really avoid an audit. Plus, sweeping changes to the way you pay off your student loan debt. We're asking and it's a question I've been asked over and over again, should I even bother for saving for college anymore with these changes. We've got answers to that. Plus, where the jobs are and the money rules your kids need to know. All of this on the show that saves you money, Saturday morning 9:30 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN and I'll be with you spending some time, so tune in.</s>HARRIS: That's what I'm talking about! All right, Stephanie, have a great weekend. Thank you.</s>ELAM: You, too.</s>HARRIS: President Obama is in North Carolina. We are waiting to hear from him about green jobs and the latest job numbers. We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.