Advice On Working With Teens - Job Tips for Teens

Advice for Fist Time Job Applicants and Good Jobs for Teens

By
Relationship Advice Expert April Masini
Dating Tips and Advice

My 15-year-old daughter will begin working in an office for a summer job. While I'm sure it is a professional environment, I feel that these employers don't know how to properly relate to a 15-year-old girl. Should her employer take any extra precaution to protect their teen employers from discrimination or sexual harassment?

Sincerely,

Protective Parent

Dear Protective Parent,

Unfortunately you don't have much say in what goes on in an office if you yourself don't work there. But a word to those who run your daughters workspace:

They look like adults, but they're not. They don't have the experience or the discipline, usually, that adults have. Don't expect it. Here are some tips to make teen employees most productive.

* Spell out their schedule, write it down, and post it somewhere for everyone to see. These kids don't usually carry datebooks or electronic calendars -- they need help keeping their hours straight.

* Spell out their duties. This is a good idea for employers, too. It prevents misunderstanding and miscommunication. Post the duties of the employee somewhere so you can both see them. Be clear in your job description. If the job changes, make note of it -- literally.

* Explain exactly what you want them to say to customers. Kids today don't all have the same manners or expectation of manners that kids used to have. If you want your employee to say thank you after every transaction, tell them exactly what you want them to say.

What types of jobs should students look for?

1. Age appropriate. For many students, age matters. Some places won't hire you unless you're 16. Some 15. Some 17. So your age will limit your job in many cases.

2. Career or fun or money? Decide if you want to take a job to see if you like a particular career path or if you want to make the most money or if you want to just have fun. If you want to pursue a career path, you can try to get a job typing, messengering, go-fering or some other lower level rung of a career. If you want to make money, you might do better collecting tolls on the turnpike or working in a restaurant. If you want to have fun, you might consider a camp counselor job or a job in a clothing store if that's your thing.

3. Time. Decide how much time you want to spend working. For many students, a full time summer job doesn't give them enough time to relax before school starts. Consider a part time job that is four hours a day every day or eight hours a day three days a week or else full time for four of your six weeks of summer vacation. Whatever you need, figure out how to get it.

Advice for first time job applicants:

1. Be professional. Show respect in the way you dress, in the way you speak, and in the way you show up on time and leave on time.

2. Be honest. Don't say you have lifeguard experience if you can't swim just to get the job. It's wrong for so many, many reasons.

3. Follow through. Don't quit for little reasons. If the job doesn't turn out to be what you thought it would, as long as it's not illegal or abusive, follow through. Having a job you don't love is part of life. It won't be your first or last. See what it's like to show commitment.

What Every High School Student Should Know Before Starting Their First Job

1. Your boss is counting on you. It doesn't matter that you're a teen. You're being paid for services. Take the job seriously.

2. Don't party and spend late nights just because it's summer vacation if you have a job. If you need to party for part of the summer, allow yourself a few weeks to do so when you're not working, or do it on weekends when you're not working.

3. Ask your boss for a general letter of recommendation at the end of the summer. A "To Whom It May Concern" letter from the boss, will look good in your file that you may want to use next summer to get a job, or the summer after that.

Jobs For Teens

Babysitting. If you’re good with kids, babysitting is an easy way to make money. Put up an ad in a local paper or on a local bulletin board, and team up with a few friends to start a service so that if one of you can’t take a job, the other can. Or babysit as a team to keep each other company and keep kids under control.
Coach sports. Many parents invest in private music lessons, and if they knew that there was a great soccer or Little League coach in their midst. If you played Junior Varsity or Varsity sports, offer your services to your community for an hourly fee.
Walk dogs. This job is especially great if you live in an urban neighborhood with apartment buildings or complexes. Post an ad that you walk dogs before school and after school for one hour, and watch your doggie dollars add up.
Bag it. Supermarkets often hire teens who are 14 to 16 to work as a bagger after school and in the summer. Check with your local store to see if there are possibilities.
Camps. Summer camps count on local teens to staff their bunks. Apply in the spring at local camps for either day camp positions or summer camp positions. These jobs don’t pay as much as other jobs, but they’re often fun and social.
Car wash/dog wash. If you can team up with a few friends and offer an in-home car wash, you’ll get regular customers to hire you bi-weekly at regular hours. Offer to wash your clients’ dogs, too.
Mow/rake/shovel. Depending on the season, offer your services as an outdoor employee. You can mow lawns in the summer, rake leaves in the fall and shovel snow from driveways and walkways in the winter.
Ref or ump. Consult your town Parks and Recreations Department for their local basketball and baseball camps that are offered at summer, and often spring and winter breaks. They often hire teens to referee and umpire games, as does Little League. The pay is low, but the job is fun.
Barrista work. Many local coffee shops will hire sixteen year olds (and up) to work making smoothies, slushies and iced blended drinks.
Volunteer work. Hospitals and old age homes as well as shelters for the less fortunate always need help. Check with your local hospital to see what kind of volunteer services you or your teen is eligible to do.

April Masini -- nicknamed "the new millennium's Dear Abby" by the media, is author of the best-selling books Date Out Of Your League and Think & Date Like A Man, the two (just released) step-by-step dating and relationship manuals, Ideas for a Fun Date and Romantic Date Ideas, and the critically acclaimed dating and relationship online magazine www.AskApril.com.

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