The Perfect Fit - Helping Your Teen Find Their First Job

Summer is upon us, so this seems to be just the right time to tackle a tough subject. Chances are, your teen (or possibly even tween) is contemplating looking for a summer job - whether they're saving for their first car or just some spending money for the movies.

So, I'm going to help you to help guide them in the right direction, because honestly, so little job advice is given out these days until you're graduating college. By that point it's too late - it is a million times harder to snag your first job experience at 21 than it is at 16.

Welcome to The Perfect Fit: Helping Your Teen Find Their First Job. Part One: Expectations.

The hardest part of the first job is that -quite frankly- it probably won't be your ideal job. In fact, you may downright despise it but keep at it for the paycheck that comes on Friday. Please repeat this as needed until you're sure you've accepted it: "My first job is probably not going to be the greatest job ever. I may hate the work I am given, but I will stick with it and do my best."

This is the toughest of the Expectations to deal with. It's hard at that age - ok, at any age - to keep plugging away at something you don't enjoy. However, this is a realistic scenario in the working world!

The other Expectations are much easier:

1. How much time will I invest at this job? Consider this very seriously before proceeding. If your child is only available for the summer, it is extremely important that they make prospective employers aware of this when they apply. If, when September comes, they can no longer work afternoons because of the basketball team, cheerleading, chess club, or simply too much homework, an employer needs to know this up front. Some jobs will have a training period of two weeks or more - which means by the time we're done training you, you're going to be leaving. This doesn't work for anyone involved. And please, just be honest about it - if you fail to tell us just so you're more likely to be hired, if we find this out later when you suddenly resign, trust me - you're not getting a positive recommendation in the future!

2. What type of job is best for me? I'm going to tackle this more in Part Two, but basically this means you and your teen should sit down and evaluate their skills and what jobs are best suited to them. If they're fabulous with their younger cousins, perhaps a Camp Counselor position would be a good start. Good with animals? Your local shelter probably needs some help attending to all their needs.

3. What jobs do I want to apply for? This is crucial. If your teen is dead-set on not cleaning the cookware at the local fast food place, then face this right away. Rule out the places that are simply out of the question to you. Then, make a list of your ideals - your fashionista daughter loves the local teen boutique, so that becomes top on the list.

4. Research the jobs you want before submitting an application. This is so very simple, yet I rarely see it happen. Want to know what type of hours they need to fill? Check their Open sign to see what times they operate. If you shop in this particular location, note how the employees act - are their counterpeople just cashiers, or are they required to do other work as well? How big of a staff do they have? Do they have a Now Hiring advertisement up?

5. Be ready to accept rejection. You may not fit into the job that you really want due to your availability or lack of experience. Accept this graciously and do not continue to nag at a place that has given you a "no".

I speak all of the above from experience. Not from the parenting side - as most of you know, our little one is not even school age yet - but from a hiring manager side with 15+ years of retail management experience. My "real" job is a very desireable place for teens - I can't reveal the name but I will say that I deal with some super cool cutting edge technology - and at this time of year, every year, I receive over 75 applications a week from teens age 15-18. I've seen some very good, some very bad, and some extraordinarily ugly.

Want to learn more? Come back and visit us for Part Two: Job Options later this week!