Undoubtedly, there are many ways to find a JO.
The first, and probably the most popular, is searching through websites that offer summer vacancies. There are plenty of lists of these sites everywhere: j1jobs.com, summerjobs.com, and others like them. You send out resumes in batches and wait to see where you get invited. Maybe to California to soak up the sun, or maybe to some village in the middle of a field somewhere in Iowa.
The second, and in my opinion, the most effective, is searching for a job in a specific city. Either in one of the popular W&T cities like Ocean City, MD or Myrtle Beach, SC. Or, say, Pigeon Forge, TN. Next, you go to Google Maps or Yellowpages, search for your city there, choose the field where you want to work, for example, Restaurants, and... Voila! You have a list of addresses and phone numbers of potential employers! Next, you go to Skype, buy a subscription for unlimited calls to landlines in the USA and Canada, it costs 5 euros, and start calling. When someone picks up on the other end, they will say something very quickly, most likely something like: "Thank you for calling Red Lobster at Myrtle Beach. This is John, how can I help you?". To this, you need to ask for one of the managers. When the manager picks up, you need to say something like: "Hi! My name is Maria, I'm from Russia! I am participating in Work and Travel program for students this summer, so I'm looking for a job in your area. Do you have any open positions for this summer?". Or something similar. They will immediately tell you whether they need workers for the summer or not, or they might ask a couple of questions about your hobbies or studies, just to understand your level of English. Don't despair if you were refused in the first 20 restaurants. Those who seek will always find :) If an employer tells you that they can hire you, you need to ask for their email to send them the JO form.
It is better to call on weekdays; if it is a breakfast restaurant like IHOP or Denny's, it is better to call them somewhere between 11:00 AM and 12:30 PM, when their morning rush is over and lunch hasn't started yet; if it is a steakhouse, it is best to call somewhere between 2:30 PM and 4:30 PM, before their dinner rush starts. If you call during a rush, the manager simply won't have time to talk to you.
In general, it all looks something like this :) The main thing is don't be afraid to speak, because there, on the other end of the line, are also living people who perfectly understand that you are nervous, that you are not speaking in your native language. If you didn't understand something, ask them to repeat it more slowly. When writing down an email, ask the manager to spell it out: "Can you spell it for me, please?", because it will be very disappointing to miss an opportunity just because you made a mistake with one letter in the email address.
Good luck with your search!
