The snow is starting to melt and summer is near. There is one thing on many students’ minds: resumes.

“Resumes are huge. A good resume is what sells you,” Debbie Veltkamp said.

Veltkamp, a work force consultant at the Great Falls Job Service, is familiar with the steps it takes to get a summer job, and with only a few months of school remaining it’s time for job seekers to begin their application process.

Veltkamp said the two most important factors that job seekers should possess are a good resume and strong interview skills. Resumes normally include information about previous jobs, skills, and different work a person has done.

Another crucial part of the application process is exhibiting “soft skills,” Veltkamp said. This includes one’s ability to communicate effectively, be prompt, and exhibit teamwork. These are examples of qualities that businesses are looking for in the workers that they hire.

For those who are new to the process of searching for a job, Veltkamp suggests not setting one’s sights too high.

“Don’t expect to get the highest paying job,” she said. “Any job is going to sell you. As long as you have a job, you can find another one.”

Veltkamp said that although it may be difficult to start out working your dream job, students should try to do something that they are passionate about.

“Decide what it is that you really want to do and expand that a little bit. Be realistic about your job search,” she said.

As the seasons change, the variety of jobs that becomes available follows in the same path.

As expected, certain jobs are not available during the school year. In particular, pool jobs. When summer arrives, jobs in areas such as pool concessions and cleaning, lifeguards, housekeeping in hotels, lawn care, restaurants, and retail become widely accessible to those looking for work.

For those seeking jobs in retail, the time to apply is now.

“[Applicants] need to be proactive now and be looking for jobs. The knowledge they need to understand is retail is always working four to six months ahead,” Craig Roberts said.

Roberts, Customer Service Manager of Shopko, knows that more workers will be needed during the summer months, and he said he is taking advantage of those outgoing enough to have already applied.

He said that he is constantly in a hiring mode, and some of the most essential qualities he looks for in potential workers are a strong interview and the willingness to learn.

Part of having a strong interview is having a successful first impression. Roberts said that the factors that contribute to a strong first impression are dressing nicely, being prepared, and learning the morals of the company before arriving to an interview.

“First impressions are very strong. Be on time or early and make good eye contact. Be positive, be confident,” Roberts said.