Whether it’s a neighborhood block party complete with face-painting and a volunteer DJ, or a backyard barbecue with a smaller crowd, summer parties are truly the best.  Here are some tips for creating a stress-free, festive and fun outdoor experience for you and your guests:

1. Prep.  Block out some time for tasks like cleaning outdoor cushions, weeding the patio, replacing bulbs for outdoor lights or stringing lights, setting up extra seating if you need it — or hire a local college student looking for work to get it all done quickly and efficiently.  

2. Invite.  You can let guests know what time you’re serving food, an idea of what to wear, and whether the party will be rain or shine.

3. Consider safety.  If you’ve got a pool in your backyard, you’re guaranteed an awesome party.  Many hosts opt to hire a QuadJobber to lifeguard if there are lots of children in attendance.  We have many Red Cross-certified lifeguards available for hire, and they can help in other ways when nobody is in the pool.

4. Decorate.  A few strung lights hung over a fence, deck, or tree branches will transform your backyard when the sun goes down — add some hurricane candles so guests can see each other.

5. Lose the bugs.  As a first step, make sure you don’t have any standing water near your party area.  You can put out a bowl with bug wipes so that your guests don’t have to sit in a cloud of spray.  Lastly, if you can, plug in a few fans — that can be surprisingly effective at keeping mosquitoes at bay.

6. Keep the food and drinks flowing.  Make a simple plan for drinks and food — prep in advance — and then, during the party, ask a local college student from QuadJobs to check in with your guests and make sure they have everything they need to drink and eat.  This is a job we see often on the site.  Hiring a college student to do all the last-minute tasks and make sure guests are well-cared for is such a great way to make sure that you get to enjoy your own party.  College students are looking for these kinds of short-term, weekend jobs to make extra money.  Read reviews from a student’s past employers and hire a student who has helped make other local parties extra fun.

7. Keep clean up easy (on yourself).  What if, at the end of the night, you DIDN’T have a huge mess to deal with?  A local college student can pick up as the night goes on, and help clean up your home and outdoor area after guests have left.

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QuadJobs is an online platform connecting college and graduate students to local jobs.  From Saturday night babysitting to moving a couch to helping a local business during a busy time, students find flexible jobs that fit into whatever free time they have. By streamlining the employment connection between campus and community, QuadJobs unlocks jobs particularly well-suited for students’ busy, often changing schedules.  The platform tracks every job a student takes and gathers performance reviews.  Small jobs matter—they help a student network, earn income, and build a track record of work experience.  Local employers can hire with efficiency and confidence.

Landing an internship or summer job can be a competitive process for college students, but often, these jobs don’t measure up to a student’s expectations.  With summer now underway, we thought we’d touch base about what to do if a summer job seems like a dud.

There are a few reasons students tend to dislike their summer jobs.  The big one is that they were hoping to do interesting work, and instead are assigned to mundane tasks.  Perhaps they find themselves working for a difficult boss, or dealing with challenging co-workers.  Maybe the industry isn’t what they thought it’d be, or the company culture, or they’re expected to put in longer hours than they’d initially realized.

If you find yourself in this situation, take stock of what’s really happening.  Understanding why you don’t like the job may help you find a better fit in the future, or when you’re looking for a job after graduation.

Remember that the main purpose of a summer job during college, besides earning money, is to gain work experience and earn a great recommendation letter or reference from your supervisor.  Focus on what you’re learning.  If you’re not clear about your supervisor’s expectations, ask to briefly review them so that you can be sure to meet them.

Find ways to go above and beyond.  Prove you can handle the projects you’ve been assigned, and there many be opportunities to do more than that.

Get to know people. There is no greater networking opportunity than getting to know your co-workers, and it makes the day much more enjoyable.

Even if you’re tempted to quit, stay the course.

Although it can be tempting, stay positive and keep perspective.  A summer job isn’t forever, and it’s likely that you’re learning more than you even realize just by showing up every day ready to work.

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QuadJobs is an online platform connecting college and graduate students to local jobs.  From Saturday night babysitting to moving a couch to helping a local business during a busy time, students find flexible jobs that fit into whatever free time they have. By streamlining the employment connection between campus and community, QuadJobs unlocks jobs particularly well-suited for students’ busy, often changing schedules.  The platform tracks every job a student takes and gathers performance reviews.  Small jobs matter—they help a student network, earn income, and build a track record of work experience.  Local employers can hire with efficiency and confidence.