Austin's Thoughts

Job advice for teens from teens

I hope it's as nice where you are as it is here in Philadelphia.... a great day to apply for jobs.

One of the neat interactive things we do at myfirstpaycheck.com - jobs for teens is provide a forum for teens to give each other job advice through our survey. I recently posted a punch of new responses from teens like you - what do you think?

I think these teens make some great points, first impressions are important and you have to network with friends and family!

How's your job search going?

Job Market Has Room For Teenagers

MidwestBusiness.com has an interesting article about summer employment for teens.

Unlike many other sources, they write, "While teenagers may experience increased competition for coveted jobs this summer, the economic slowdown is not expected to significantly reduce the number of seasonal jobs filled by 16- to 19-year-olds between May and July. In fact, some seasonal positions may go unfilled as teens avoid areas requiring heavy labor.

Between 1.5 million and 1.6 million 16- to 19-year-olds will be added to payrolls this summer, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That is down significantly from a recent high of 2.02 million teenagers – who found summer positions in 1999 – but is only slightly lower than the average number of teen jobs added the previous four summers (1.674 million)."

There is hope!

The article suggests (Just like we do!) that the bigger problem is "inexperienced job-search techniques" and suggests (Just like we do!) that "Finding a job as a teenager is just like finding a job as an adult. It requires constant attention and depends significantly on the strength of your network. Use your parents, friends and the parents of your friends as sources for job leads. Try to meet with hiring managers face to face rather than dropping off a completed application form.

Most important, don’t get frustrated by failure. Many teens give up after applying to 10 or 12 jobs and conclude that “no one is hiring teens this summer”. As the chances are good that there are more than 10 or 12 employers in your city or town, it’s necessary to cast a wider net. There are many summer job opportunities outside the confines of the local mall."

But than the article takes a step back and suggests looking in the newspaper classifieds instead of the job listings on myfirstpaycheck.com, d'oh!

 

5 Places Teens Should Look for Summer Employment After Memorial Day

Due to their lack of experience, teens often encounter challenges while searching for summer jobs.  With the school year about to end, many are finding that it’s too late to apply for some summer positions. 

To help our peers, we put together a list of five places where teens should look for the perfect summer job.

1.    Golf Courses.  Golf courses are everywhere and have a huge need for seasonal employment.  Caddying, landscaping and working in the gift shop or restaurant are some opportunities available to teens.
2.    Offices.  Whether it’s helping to answer phones, filing or doing paperwork, there is always a lot going on in an office for a smart and responsible teen to do.  Working in an office also provides teens with the chance to learn about being in a professional workplace.
3.    Museums and Other Cultural Institutions.  Summer is the time for big shows and large crowds.  Museums are always looking for energetic, enthusiastic and affordable help.  Teens provide the perfect fit for these unique opportunities.
4.    Restaurants.  Because of high turnover, the restaurant industry is always hiring.  Working in a restaurant setting provides teens with a skill set  that can be transferable to other jobs as well as provide valuable life lessons.
5.    Volunteer.  Although volunteering does not provide a salary, it offers a great way to make an impact on the community. Volunteering enables teenagers to develop skills, network, and strengthen their resumes so they can have a more fulfilling job search the next summer.

What do you think? Any other suggestions?

Toughest Summer Job This Year Is Finding One

Well done article about the state of summer employment for teens (although I wish they would have mentioned myfirstpaycheck.com.) I believe that that plenty of teens want to work but face increasing difficulties landing jobs. The article states two big difficulties that teens face are connections/lack of connections and access to transportation, but I think they should have also added lack of understanding how to apply for a job. Many teens don't know how to begin applying for a job - let alone compete in a tightening labor market - and that's why we created myfirstpaycheck.com to give teens the tools they make the job search process a little easier.

read more | digg story

Top 10 summer jobs for teens

I think this is just a press release from CareerBuilder that CNN published but they have some good basic, although not creative, ideas. I would share it but they write, "Copyright CareerBuilder.com 2008. All rights reserved. The information contained in this article may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority" and really there is nothing that interesting in it. Anybody would come up with these 10 jobs - and everybody is going to be applying for these jobs. Where else should teens look?

Subscribe to our new mailing list!

Do you want to know more about myfirstpaycheck.com? Feel free to read our blogs, follow us twitter, or sign up for our mailing list below

Name:

Email:

Zip Code:

Job Boards for Teens

When Celeste and I first started myfirstpaycheck.com we used a very simplistic job board but always envisioned (and have been working) on creating our own. Unfortunately, we've suffered some major setbacks in development due to some poor hiring choices so we're exploring some temporary options.

One choice would be to use SimplyHired's Job-A-Matic. What do you think? We might customize and incorporate into our site. Thoughts and suggestions as always are appreciated.

Finding a Summer Job or Internship

A fan of myfirstpaycheck.com just sent this article by Mary L. Gavin for Education.com to our attention that she thought we should share because it was a great overview on the summer job and internship experience, and we agree! But think they should have highlighted our great resume builder.

creative summer jobs

We always encourage kids to be creative when applying for summer jobs, find opportunities that will allow them to take advantage of their skills, and even possibly starting their own companies - but this article in the WSJ highlights 7 young people who took this to an entirely new level.

It just goes to show you that the possibilities for summer jobs are endless

From Intern to Employee

One of the great things about our site   is that we managed to keep it so flexible. So while, our name seems to imply that we only allow job postings, feel feel to post (and search) for internships and volunteer opportunities as well.

That being said, I wanted to pass on this article by Tara Weiss on Forbes.com with advice on how to take advantage of a summer internship and turn int into a job offer.

Basically, "Treat it as a 10-to-12-week job interview," says Alex Taylor, a vice president of university relations at Bank of America.

And while this was written for internships, all of the advice is applicable to any entry level job. Especially this one, Don't be shy about asking questions, especially if you need clarification on an assignment. No one wants to be a pest, but it's best to get it right the first time.