Help Your Teen Get a Summer Job
Are you tired of your teenager telling you that he or she is bored to death? A summer job can teach your teen about money management and responsibility plus it gives him or her real-life work experiences.
Steps
- Set reasonable goals. Help your teen prioritize and define his or her summer employment goals. Does your teen want to earn extra money for things? Does your teen want to gain experience in a certain industry? Having goals will narrow down his or her job search. It would also help your teen make easy decisions if opportunities come up.
- Network your search. Spread the word to friends, teachers, neighbors, counselors and relatives. They may have suggestions that your teen might not thought of before and can help gain contacts. To identify prospective employers, tell your teen to look on the internet, newspaper and the Yellow Pages.
- Help your teen write a resume. The resume will give prospective employers what his or her skills are and an idea of who your teen is even if he or she has no experience. Having a resume shows that your teen is making an effort to get a job.
- Tell your teen to complete applications neatly and thoroughly, typing it out if it is possible.
- Think about logistics. Set some limits about transportation immediately. Discuss your schedule with your teen and how far you're willing to drive before your teen applies for jobs. Set expectations about how many hours a week your teen can work, how far away, what kinds of jobs, businesses, and neighbourhoods are acceptable.
- If your teen is called in for an interview, help your teen practice well in advance, and remind him or her to research the company or positions too! Try some role-playing and ask some trick questions.
- Explain to your teen the importance of professionalism such as being well groomed, neatly dressed, communicating clearly, maintaining eye contact, firm handshakes, and being very confident. This is what employers look for in job candidates.
- After interviews, tell your teen to send the employer a thank-you letter thanking him or her for his or her time and underscoring his or her interest in the position. The future employer will be very impressed by your teen's determination.
- Before your teen accepts a job position, your teen should clarify what the working hours are, what your teen's responsibilities are, and what the salary is.
Tips
- Remember tell your teen that the resume gets him or her the interview and the interview gets him or her the job!
- If your teen is stuck on what job to apply for some of the most popular summer jobs for teens that you can encourage your teen to apply for are: Get Kids Excited About Camp, Lifeguard, Starting a Business, Lawn Care, Security for an event venue, Food Services, Tutoring, Sports Instructor, Movie theatres and Internships.
- If your teen finds a summer job, congratulate him or her on a job well done!
- When your teen has a summer job, tell your teen to have fun, be flexible and sociable.
