Working a part-time or summer job in industries like fast food

 Working a part-time or summer job in industries like fast food

 retail can actually help you develop some of the top soft skills that hiring managers are looking for, including management, communication, customer service and leadership,” says McCaskill.

To make the most of the opportunity to skill up at a part-time job, you may need to shift your mindset. This isn’t just a way to earn a few extra bucks—it’s a chance to study how to become the very best at what you’re doing, no matter how menial or mundane the task might seem.

As an example of this mindset shift, McCaskill points to the skills you could gain while working at a restaurant. “You probably have great time management skills in managing a number of tables at the same time, and have fine tuned your communication skills through interacting with customers and coworkers,” he says. “Or maybe you demonstrated leadership and teamwork when acting as a shift lead.” All of these skills are in high demand across multiple industries.