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How to Help Your Teen Get Their First Job
If you’re the parent of a teenager,
helping them get their first job is one of the first
steps toward maturity and personal responsibility. Here
are seven ways you can ensure that their job hunt is
a rewarding one.
1. First, work with your teen to come up with a list
of personal strengths and things they enjoy doing.
If they enjoy working with children and animals or love
the outdoors, make a note of those items. Any seemingly
small and insignificant item can lead to ideas for potential
jobs.
2. Take your child’s schedule
and commitments into consideration. How will your
teen get to and from their workplace? What other school
activities are they involved with? Will they have enough
time to study, work AND socialize? (Yes parents', socializing
is a natural and necessary part of being a teen –
you know what they say about all work and no play!)
3. Make sure your child is aware
of all the finer points of a successful job application.
Good personal grooming and hygiene, as well as clear
communication skills and a firm handshake, can go a
long way in making a good first impression.
4. Invest in a good job-hunting guide
that includes résumé examples and potential
interview questions. Role-play the part of the interviewer
with your teen and give them tips on how to answer specific
questions that a prospective employer might ask. Even
though this is their first job application, work with
them to create a professional-looking résumé.
You can (and are encouraged to) include items such as
academic or athletic awards they’ve won, special
honors, extracurricular activities and relevant skills
and interests. Employers know that not everyone, especially
a teenager, has a résumé overflowing with
job experience, which is where after school activities,
clubs and special skills come in.
5. Work with your child to come up
with a list of potential job contacts. Do you know
anyone in your workplace that could use some summer
or entry-level help? Does your child have friends whose
parents work in a particular business? Look through
the newspaper classifieds for specific jobs that might
appeal to a teen such as babysitting, lawn care, dog
walking and so on.
6. If your teen has a marked
interest in a specific activity or pastime, see if that
fondness can be incorporated into a job somewhere.
For example, if your teen loves to cook, encourage them
to apply for a position as an entry-level chef. If they
enjoy computers, consider nudging them in the direction
of a clerical/office or computer sales and service job.
7. After making an inventory
of skills and possible contacts, have your child call
to inquire about potential job openings. After the
interview, have them follow up with a “thank you”
note or a call if they don’t hear anything from
the prospective employer within a week or so.
If you keep these tips in mind, you’ll
ensure that your teen not only has a successful job
hunting experience, but also receives the confidence,
encouragement and skills necessary to take that all-important
first step into the working world. Good luck!
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