Finding a part-time job is a great way for high schoolers to gain job experience, learn teamwork and responsibility, and gain confidence in sharpened skills they can utilize in the future. Wondering how to help your teenager make this big step and find a part-time job? Here are a few steps and tips you can follow throughout the process.
Crafting a Resume
First, your teen is going to need to put together a resume. Since your teen likely has little job experience, their resume is going to be fairly simple and short. If your teen has babysat or helped neighbors with landscaping or lawnmowing, be sure they include these experiences on their resume in a professional manner. Extracurricular activities, sports, musical endeavors, academic awards, and club involvement at school can all be included on their resume as well. Remember that leadership positions will stand out to employers.
Utilizing Connections
Before your teen starts searching for a part-time position in your community, think about the resources and connections your family has. Perhaps a family member or family friend has a career in product prototyping in a nearby city. This career can include software developers, graphic designers, and engineers, and in 2016, they accounted for 1.2 million jobs nationwide. If you know someone in this field, they likely have connections throughout your area, and perhaps they know of a company in your community that is looking for part-time help.
Utilize resources like this because they can help build professional connections for the future. Make sure your teen does the legwork, though. They can make phone calls and write professional emails in order to get their own foot in the door. It will be an important learning experience for them.
Finding Suitable References
Another important part of your teen’s ability to find a part-time job is having solid references. This can be tough because most teens don’t have prior work experience, and therefore don’t have former employers who can vouge for them. You may need to help your teen think outside the box. If they’ve helped your neighbors with yard work during the summers, perhaps your teen could ask them to be a reference. If your teen has a good relationship with a teacher or other adult mentor at school, they could also be a wonderful reference.
As your teen looks for references, remind them that they need to find adult figures who have seen them exhibit excellent leadership and communication skills, as these qualities will be important to employers.
Finding a Job That Aligns With Your Teen’s Future Plans
As your teen searches for job postings in your community, you may encourage them to apply for positions that can help them in their future career. Perhaps your teen is interested in becoming one of the 12.5 million manufacturing workers in the United States. If this is the case, finding a job in this field may be difficult for a high school student. However, perhaps a small manufacturing company seeks an assistant or secretary to file paperwork a few evenings a week. This would be a great job for your teen to get an idea of how the industry operates while learning some basic skills and gaining experience.
If your teen is interested in working with children in the future, working at an after-school daycare or as a babysitter would be great to try out. A teen who wants to work in the business industry after high school or after college may want to find a job in customer service.
Practicing Interviewing Skills
Once your teen has applied to a few jobs, help them practice their interviewing skills. It may be helpful to hold some mock interviews. If your teen isn’t comfortable doing this with you, enlist the help of a school counselor or academic advisor for help. It’s important your teen knows how to dress, act, and talk professionally. They should be aware of the personality traits and skills they possess and be able to come up with examples to demonstrate them, too.
Learning How to Handle Rejection
Your teen will need to learn how to handle rejection. An interview may go horribly, or they may think it went well only to be denied. This may discourage your teen. Have a discussion about how it’s perfectly normal to be rejected. Be encouraging, and remind your teen that a job will come along. They need to be prepared and ready to get back out there.
Many companies also hold three and six month-mark evaluations in addition to annual ones. The feedback provided during these evaluations can be helpful in addressing issues and correcting problems early on. Once your teen begins working, they may undergo these evaluations. Remind your high schooler that a poor performance review is not the end of the world. Encourage your teen to discuss any issues or problems they have with their supervisor. Being willing to change and improve will allow your teen to grow professionally.
Your teen will learn just as much during the job-hunting process as they will once they actually obtain a position. It is great practice for finding a career in the real world. Encourage your teen to step outside of their comfort zone, and find meaningful ways for your teen to learn from failure and rejection.
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