Summer jobs include pest control, resorts
More than 40 businesses from Utah and across the U.S. participated in the annual Summer Jobs Fair in the International Lounge on Feb. 14, offering a variety of job openings for students who are looking for work this summer.
The fair gave students a chance to find jobs and internships in many fields such as retail, satellite television sales, summer camps, hotels and resorts, campus employment and LDS employment.
“I like how most of the jobs offer internships,” said USU student Eric Kunzler. “I’m a business administration major, and a lot of jobs like Camp Hunt and Bear World offer internships, so that’s interesting for me.”
Camp Hunt is a Boy Scouts of America camp located on the west shore of Bear Lake near Garden City; and Yellowstone Bear World is a drive-thru safari park in Rexburg, Idaho, near Yellowstone National Park.
“We are offering summer internships,” said Frank Asbell, the representative from Bear World at the fair. “We have people doing things like diet and food prep, health and safety checks, exhibit maintenance, guiding the tours, animal education.”
Bear World was not the only park-related business at the fair. Representatives from the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation and the Jackson Trading Company also attended.
Jackson Trading Company is a family-owned company that operates two retails stores — Jackson Trading Company in Jackson, Wyo., and Firehole Trading Company in West Yellowstone, Mont.
“We sell anything from souvenirs to artwork and photography,” said Richard Wright, Jackson Trading Company representative. “We’re looking for seasonal employment; a lot of people come out for the summer. We see a lot of customers, so we do a lot of customer service-type work.”
Wright said Jackson Trading Company’s office currently employees 10-12 staff members, but during the summer it can have up to 40 employees. The Jackson store is minutes from the Tetons in Grand Teton National Park, and the West Yellowstone store is about 20 miles away from Yellowstone National Park, he said.
For students who would like to work near a national park but would rather stay in Utah, Ponderosa Ranch Resort near Zion National Park is an option.
“We are a full-service resort with all of the different areas of work — recreation, dining, housekeeping, lodging and office,” said Kourtney Millard, recreation manager for the ranch. “We do offer employee housing — it’s free. It’s kind of dorm style. We are on the opposite side of the park from Springdale, the tourist town.”
In addition to jobs in retail and resort maintenance, other businesses at the fair were offering jobs in sales positions. Representatives from five different pest control companies were present.
“Our goal is to give college students an opportunity to make good money during the summer,” said Andrew Israelsen of Pointe Pest Control.
Israelsen was operating one of the company’s two booths with colleague Shane Huish.
“There’s bugs — there’s bugs everywhere — and there’s always going to be bugs,” Israelsen said. “I think the cool thing about our company is that it’s a service that people really need and a service that they can afford.”
Jesse Rennay of ProGuard Pest control, which services the Las Vegas area and California, said he and coworker Derek Jensen feel the great need for pest control is what makes the business so successful.
“The reason why I think we’ve got the best market is because everyone in the Vegas area and California needs pest control,” Rennay said. “Pest control versus any other type of sale is just great because people switch over constantly. It’s not like they are in a six-year contract or anything like that.”
“It’s definitely something that is needed,” Jensen said. “When you go and knock on someone’s door, you’re not going to be selling something that they don’t need. They appreciate the service.”
Other opportunities involved the sale of satellite dish services. Kelly Electronics, located in Providence, is an authorized Dish Network and DirecTV retailer that covers a 50-mile radius, including parts of Idaho and the Bear Lake vicinity.
“A lot of people are stuck here over the summer taking classes,” said Kelly Daniels of Kelly Electronics. “We offer an opportunity for those individuals that are experienced and have gone through programs to capitalize on their skills.”
Aside from sales jobs, work opportunities in summer camps are also available. A representative from the Girl Scouts of Utah was looking for employees for Camp Cloud Rim in Park City and Trefoil Ranch in Provo Canyon. Despite assumptions that the Girl Scouts are an all-female organization, Carolyn Johnstone of the Trefoil Ranch said the organization does indeed hire male workers.
“We do accept male applicants for positions such as kitchen staff, health supervision and life guarding,” Johnstone said.
– ej.jungblut@gmail.com