Helping Teens "Find" Summer Jobs

[DVCLiz]

Are you doing anything this summer that could help a teen with some summer work?

I was having dinner with some friends a few weeks ago and they were bemoaning the fact that more of our teens seem unable to find jobs this summer. Either they have too much competition or they have something planned that keeps them from getting regular hours (one teen has a "second session" summer school job lined up but is at loose ends first semester, etc.)

I happened to mention I was embarking on the great "clean out the attic and garage" summer and I was dreading it because it was difficult to drag all that stuff out of the attic and down the stairs.

In a perfect "chocolate meets peanut butter" moment, my friend said , "Would you like an employee - highly motivated (by his mother!) to find something to do but not very skilled?" I laughed and said, "He's hired!"

So today I have a college sophmore coming to my house to help me clean out my attic. Great job for him - I am an easy taskmaster and I pay very well!!! Great help for me - I have two teen daughters who will be helping but they both have other jobs, etc. and I know if I leave it up to them we won't make the same progress.

Are you in a position to offer a few hours of yardwork, babysitting or household chores to a neighbor's teen? It might really make a difference this summer to a kid who's trying to save for school, etc. Just wondered if I was the only one!!

 

[ajk912]

I think it's been that way for years though, hasn't it? I remember even when I graduated in 1996 it was common practice to start looking for your summer job by May at the latest. These kids who don't even want to start looking for a summer job till June kind of baffle me. You wait till the last minute, you might lose out. There are only so many jobs to go around, especially for the inexperienced who only plan on sticking around for 3 months.

And yes, you really NEED to have just about open availability to get a teen or young adult job. I remember back in my management days I would almost laugh at some of the teen applications we got. They want a 9-5 job, don't want to work evenings and weekends. And they want a week off for 4th of July to go to the beach. Yeah, right. Next...

 

[DVCLiz]

I think it's been that way for years though, hasn't it? I remember even when I graduated in 1996 it was common practice to start looking for your summer job by May at the latest. These kids who don't even want to start looking for a summer job till June kind of baffle me. You wait till the last minute, you might lose out. There are only so many jobs to go around, especially for the inexperienced who only plan on sticking around for 3 months.

And yes, you really NEED to have just about open availability to get a teen or young adult job. I remember back in my management days I would almost laugh at some of the teen applications we got. They want a 9-5 job, don't want to work evenings and weekends. And they want a week off for 4th of July to go to the beach. Yeah, right. Next...

Wow, that's kind of a nasty response. And who said anything about them waiting until June to start looking?

It just seemed to a lot of us that teens were having a harder time this summer. As you say, there are only so many jobs to go around, and with the economy, fewer and fewer of them seem to be trickling down to the just starting out teen.

Also, several of the kids I know HAVE started looking early, and found something they really are excited about - internships, etc. that will be much more valuable to them in the short and long run than making smoothies or blowing a whistle for rest period. They just needed some "fill in" stuff and I was in a position to help.

I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility to ask an employer for a week to take a family vacation, either. Most of the part time jobs I know have exactly this kind of set up. They ask for the time at the beginning of the summer and it all works out.

 

[Angelhalo]

I think it's been that way for years though, hasn't it? I remember even when I graduated in 1996 it was common practice to start looking for your summer job by May at the latest. These kids who don't even want to start looking for a summer job till June kind of baffle me. You wait till the last minute, you might lose out. There are only so many jobs to go around, especially for the inexperienced who only plan on sticking around for 3 months.

And yes, you really NEED to have just about open availability to get a teen or young adult job. I remember back in my management days I would almost laugh at some of the teen applications we got. They want a 9-5 job, don't want to work evenings and weekends. And they want a week off for 4th of July to go to the beach. Yeah, right. Next...

Agreed. I used to hire summer teens and if they walked in the door asking for no evening, no weekends, and wanted a week off in the middle of the summer, they were automatically nixed from the pile of applicants.

 

[DVCLiz]

Agreed. I used to hire summer teens and if they walked in the door asking for no evening, no weekends, and wanted a week off in the middle of the summer, they were automatically nixed from the pile of applicants.

Are you both talking about part - time jobs? I could understand that if I needed a full time employee, but it seems awfully rigid for a 15 to 20 hour a week summer job. Surely most places could work out a way for a teen to miss one week out of 12 for a family vacation by giving the hours to someone else that week, couldn't they??

Oh, well, this kid wasn't looking for a full time job - just something 10 to 15 hours a week for a few weeks. And, as you say, there is not much in the way of a "real" job he could do. Hence my offer to employ him and his eagerness to "help" me - he has a coaching job lined up for the second part of the summer.

 

[Christine]

Well, my daughter is a teen (17) who cannot find a summer job.

She started looking right before her graduation (31 May). She couldn't work the week before graduation because she did have finals and the school also had requirements for graduation practice, baccalaureate mass, regular graduation, and so on. Then, she do go to the dreaded beach week. She is wide open now and is very flexible on hours.

Hardly any of the mall stores are hiring this year as the economy is bad and people, who really need those jobs, took them long ago. Target says they are hiring but they have NEVER called. My co-worker's daughter has had the same treatment from them.

She's applied to Pottery Barn Kids that had an opening but they want 18 year olds (she won't be 18 until the end of July). Same with Costco and the Costco "sample" vendors.

Then there's the "well, we don't want to hire you because you will leave in mid-August to go to college."

She's pretty much given up but it would be great if we could even find anyone that needed some babysitting or "piecework" type of help as the OP is doing!

 

[Angelhalo]

Are you both talking about part - time jobs? I could understand that if I needed a full time employee, but it seems awfully rigid for a 15 to 20 hour a week summer job. Surely most places could work out a way for a teen to miss one week out of 12 for a family vacation by giving the hours to someone else that week, couldn't they??

Oh, well, this kid wasn't looking for a full time job - just something 10 to 15 hours a week for a few weeks. And, as you say, there is not much in the way of a "real" job he could do. Hence my offer to employ him and his eagerness to "help" me - he has a coaching job lined up for the second part of the summer.

Yes I am talking about part time. We just didn't have the time or resources to train someone who was going to be gone for a week and never around at the busiest times.

I think it's wonderful that you gave him the job of helping you clean your attic. What a wonderful idea and sweet gesture!

 

[MineMail]

This is a GREAT idea for a thread.

I agree with the OP - it's a tough summer for teens looking for a summer job. There were so many layoffs and grads without jobs that the competition is fierce. My oldest is home from college, but her school year ends later than the other colleges, so she couldn't get a "head start" on job hunting. Next year, she says she'll come home for two weekends in April and start putting in applications if she doesn't get the internship she's working towards.

One of the things she found was that if she asked for "summer hiring," the answer was no - most of the stores wanted people who would be available after the summer as well. So just ask if they have positions open. Don't give them an excuse to turn you away from the start. Talk to the manager and let him/her warm up before you reveal your school status.

Many managers said the "training investment" wasn't worth it for a temporary employee. I think that's BS because the chain stores are also present in her college town; she could "transfer" there without having to be retrained. Apparently, these managers don't care much about the other stores, lol.

She and my husband made a list of stores that WOULD want summer employees. She starts her summer job this week at an ice cream place, which is totally career-oriented for her. She wants to open her own food place after she graduates.

When a friend/family member tells me about an entry-level job they know about, I always try to think of someone who might want to apply. I always ask when I see a "Now Hiring" sign, just to find out what they're looking for and how to apply.

I happened to be in a craft store when a young lady came in for an interview. I asked the clerk "Oh, is the store hiring?" She said that yes, they were hiring because one of their new employees had left unexpectedly. I immediately called my daughter and had her apply. The job was filled by the interviewee I saw, but now at least my DD's application is on file.

One tip from last year's job search debacle: many places accept applications online through their websites. However, the managers don't always retrieve them well; they may only pull the last five days' applications for example. If you've applied online, update your profile/information weekly so it has a current date. Also, CALL in the morning to speak with the manager. If they need someone, they'll pull your application because you made contact with them.

 

[DVCLiz]

Yes I am talking about part time. We just didn't have the time or resources to train someone who was going to be gone for a week and never around at the busiest times.

I think it's wonderful that you gave him the job of helping you clean your attic. What a wonderful idea and sweet gesture!

Thanks - when I did part time hiring many moons ago it was always pretty flexible because I knew kids had other obligations. I know it's not that way for everyone, though.

He's here now and it's wonderful - we are going to get this project done if it kills me!!!

 

[Becky2005]

I'm just perplexed by those with a week off in the middle of summer. Aren't these teens still minors, so if the family has a vacation already planned & they let you know about it up-front you aren't going to hire them?

That's a sore spot with me I guess. I was 16 when I got my first job, my sister was pregnant & due in July in another state. It was already a planned thing that my parents were going to go out there for a week when the baby was born. I was 16, there was no way my parents were going to leave me home alone for a week! It just wasn't done in my family. If I had been 18 fine, but I was still a minor & just wasn't acceptable. I TOLD them during the interview this was the case, they hired me. THEN when I told them as soon as I could that we would be leaving (it wasn't instant leaving, I gave them some notice), they fired me before we left due to "walking off the job" for leaving for the week -- I was totally upset since I had been up-front about it before I was even hired and basically they told me since I didn't choose to stay & work vs. going with my parents, I was fired. That was over 20 some odd years ago & it STILL ticks me off they pulled that stunt on me. I had open flexibility other than that week, so I was scheduled all over the place for times (My parents were none too thrilled when waiting for me and I didn't get out of there until 12:30 AM when they closed at 10 PM!!! We had clean-up to do though.)

I do think the odd jobs here & there is a great fill-in type of thing for a teen since just in general unless you have nothing else planned for the summer, it's practically impossible to find a job that will work with you now. I don't know about your areas but here, school stuff starts basically immediately after the school gets out for the year. Especially if you are involved in sports.

 

[SC Minnie]

DD (15 next month) is babysitting this summer. She and a friend are splitting time on one 'job' so they both get to work and have time off to enjoy the summer. The other job is babysitting another kid for 2 weeks during a gap the mother had in camps and her normal sitter. Boths kids she is babysitting are elementary age and so they aren't really babies.

She started putting out feelers for 'child'sitting in the spring with our friends and people from our church. I have also been passing along the names of some of her other friends names who are mature baby/child sitters to people that are asking if DD is still available for weeks they have gaps in child care.

 

[disykat]

I've been really surprised by all the teens who DO seem to be able to get jobs AND take summer vacations with their families. Back when I had summer jobs that wasn't a possibility. My 16 year old is sticking with yardwork this summer, but we already have plans to eliminate summer vacations from our family plans for the next several years because we assume he WON'T be able to get time off work.

I'm kind of hoping he'll get a job sometime during this next school year and then stick with the SAME employer through high school. Then I figure vacations might be a possibility.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

My neighbor will be a sophomore in college and he helps me take my 3 kids to all of their activities. Today, football and swim practice starts and ends at the same time. He is a big help and it isn't a huge commitment on his part. Liz, I also pay very well because I appreciate him so much.

Also, my 16 year old niece in Phoenix is working at Ben and Jerry's this summer only because her father knows the owner. She is the only teen working at the ice cream store!

Lori

 

[Darcy03231]

I have teens that have jobs through the school year and keep them in the summer. DD has been working there for almost three years and DS for a year. DD is an assistant front end manager and she said they've gotten tons of applications for very few positions. Since the Manager can be choosy he only considered those that were over 18 and were available for all hours all summer. If someone needed specific hours or time off their application was discarded.

When DD got the job it was a much different economy. They were practically begging people to work there and had no room to be choosy. She was 15 and could only work limited hours. They didn't care and hired her anyway.

 

[Disney Doll]

So today I have a college sophmore coming to my house to help me clean out my attic. Great job for him - I am an easy taskmaster and I pay very well!!! Great help for me - I have two teen daughters who will be helping but they both have other jobs, etc. and I know if I leave it up to them we won't make the same progress.

And the 2 teen daughters probably won't mind the college sophomore either...

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

And the 2 teen daughters probably won't mind the college sophomore either...

That's exactly what I thought!

 

[ajk912]

Wow, that's kind of a nasty response. And who said anything about them waiting until June to start looking?

It just seemed to a lot of us that teens were having a harder time this summer. As you say, there are only so many jobs to go around, and with the economy, fewer and fewer of them seem to be trickling down to the just starting out teen.

Also, several of the kids I know HAVE started looking early, and found something they really are excited about - internships, etc. that will be much more valuable to them in the short and long run than making smoothies or blowing a whistle for rest period. They just needed some "fill in" stuff and I was in a position to help.

I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility to ask an employer for a week to take a family vacation, either. Most of the part time jobs I know have exactly this kind of set up. They ask for the time at the beginning of the summer and it all works out.

I am sorry. I re-read my response and I can see how it came off that way. I certainly didn't mean it be nasty.

This probably doesn't even apply to the sophomore that you hired. I am not sure why I started ranting. I just used to do hiring as part of my job, and the sense of entitlement we saw sometimes would blow your mind. I don't know about other companies, but for us, it absolutely was a deal breaker many times to ask for a week off when you were only hired for 3 months. We are hiring you for three months, we need you to be available for 3 months. Otherwise, we would find someone else who is available.

Editing to answer why: The reason we did this is because it took a LOT of time to train someone. It probably took 15 hours of MY time alone, and as a manager I didn't have a lot of time. And it cost money to train someone. It was not worth my investment to hire someone who was requesting off non-stop. Even for a week vacation. I then had to take even more time out of my day to cover those shifts, and when there are plenty of other applicants who are available, I will just pick one of them. Especially when the new hires want the most in demand weeks off (like 4th of July week, Labor Day week, etc). Sorry, the long term employees get those weeks off, I am hiring you basically to cover for when THEY are out of town. Someone who won't even be around then isn't worth anything to me. (No offense). Fortunately for us, we had the upper hand BECAUSE there are a zillion applicants for any job. So we could afford to be choosy. When the tables are turned, absolutely, we would take anyone. But when you have a stack of applicants for one job..here is how I personally looked at the application in terms of importance: 1) availability 2) longevity (how long are they going to stay?) 3) experience (for me, 1& 2 were the most important parts. No good to have the perfect person if that perfect person refused to work when we were busy. I would rather have my second choice.)

 

[DVCLiz]

And the 2 teen daughters probably won't mind the college sophomore either...

That's exactly what I thought!

He's the older brother of my DD15's best friend, so he's more in the "brother" category than anything else. And DD20 is a rising senior in college so she has a boyfriend her age. They all go to the same college, though! Now, if our waiter at dinner last night had shown up to help them clean out the attic, I think there would have been some fireworks!!!! All they could talk about on the way home was how cute he was.

They think it's a little "weird" he's here working but they are so glad they don't have to do it that they are willing to adapt!!

 

[DVCLiz]

I am sorry. I re-read my response and I can see how it came off that way. I certainly didn't mean it be nasty.

This probably doesn't even apply to the sophomore that you hired. I am not sure why I started ranting. I just used to do hiring as part of my job, and the sense of entitlement we saw sometimes would blow your mind. I don't know about other companies, but for us, it absolutely was a deal breaker many times to ask for a week off when you were only hired for 3 months. We are hiring you for three months, we need you to be available for 3 months. Otherwise, we would find someone else who is available.

I was a little snappish, too - here I thought I was posting about something innocent and helpful and someone "licked the red off my candy cane." I know you didn't mean it the way I took it!!

Anyway, it is a delightful treat to have somebody else sweating in my attic instead of me!! Now, the hard part - exactly how many Fisher Price plastic toys do you keep "for the grandchildren?"

 

[DisneyBlonde]

Maybe this is a regional thing...but DS could not seem to get a part time job till he was 18. He said that he was told at more than one place that they hire 18 y.o. when possible. I wasn't sure how true this was, but after he turned 18 he had no trouble finding a job.