Teen Jobs

Do you remember the dread you felt as a kid when an adult asked what you wanted to be when you grew up?

CareerBuilder research shows that nearly 1 in 4 high school students pick their career based on something they saw on TV or in a movie, and 33 percent of full-time workers regret the college major they chose. In conjunction with Find Your Calling month, an initiative that empowers students to pick a career based on their interests,

CareerBuilder is releasing a series of studies with surprising insights into labor market and hiring trends. Today’s release focuses on top occupations for younger workers.

CHICAGO and ATLANTA – March 2, 2017 – What do I want to do with my life? It is one of the most pressing and often overwhelming questions for America’s youth —and CareerBuilder is working to help them find the answer.

Today, CareerBuilder launched Find Your Calling Month, a nationwide initiative taking place throughout March that encourages students to discover possible career and education paths and get them excited about the future.

CareerBuilder research shows that nearly 1 in 4 high school students pick their career based on something they saw on TV or in a movie¹, and that 33 percent of full-time workers regret the college major they chose.² As college debt rises, the skills gap widens and a significant number of workers fall prone to unemployment or underemployment, it is important to start educating students early about their options.

CareerBuilder’s month-long initiative centers around its free national website FindYourCalling.com, which enables students to instantly view a wide range of careers based on their individual interests. Students can see job growth projections, salary ranges, companies hiring, educational programs and more, and can easily share that information on social media to get their friends to discover their own career paths as well. The initiative also enlists schools throughout the country to host Find Your Calling days and encourages parents and businesses to participate.

In conjunction with Find Your Calling month, CareerBuilder is releasing a series of studies that provide surprising insights into labor market and hiring trends. Today’s release focuses on top occupations for younger workers based on jobs that are growing quickly, pay a good wage and have a solid concentration of workers ages 19 to 24.

“There is a world of opportunity open to younger workers in business, technical and creative fields,” said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder. “When choosing a potential career, you want to ask yourself two questions: 1) What am I passionate about? and 2) Does data show that this occupation is growing and pays well? The more informed you are about your options and what it takes to get to where you want to be, the better the outcome.”

The study is based on data from Emsi, CareerBuilder’s labor market analysis arm, which pulls information from nearly 100 national, state and local employment resources.

1 CareerBuilder’s nationwide survey of 210 high school seniors conducted by Harris Poll, June 2015
2 CareerBuilder’s nationwide survey of 2,851 full-time workers conducted by Harris Poll, June 2016

About CareerBuilder®
CareerBuilder is a global, end-to-end human capital solutions company focused on helping employers find, hire and manage great talent. Combining advertising, software and services, CareerBuilder leads the industry in recruiting solutions, employment screening and human capital management. It also operates top job sites around the world. Owned by TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA), Tribune Media (NYSE:TRCO) and McClatchy (NYSE:MNI), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, South America, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.

Teens Getting Their First Job

For most teenagers, the main motivation in seeking a part-time job is to earn money of their own. For parents, though, the hope is that the benefits of teen employment go beyond the financial.

In practical terms, work experience can begin building a teen’s resume, help in learning management of finances, provide networking experiences that may prove valuable later in life, as well as marketable skills for future employment.

Additionally, a job can instill confidence and encourage responsibility in adolescents. Parents should be aware, however, of some of the possible pitfalls of your teenager working, such as less school involvement and slipping grades. Note that many of the problems can be negated by limiting the hours worked and monitoring stress levels and school work.

Here are five tips parents can use to guide their teens in a successful job search.

1. Prepare Materials

Before beginning the job hunt, help your teenager prepare the basic materials, starting with a photo ID, Social Security card and, depending on age, a work permit.

Next, help your teen prepare a resume. Although many of the entry-level positions may not require a formal resume, writing one will help your teen pinpoint interests, skills and relevant experiences (think volunteering, school clubs, household responsibilities). For examples of first resumes, check out resources from your high school’s guidance counselor or the website Adventures in Education.

2. Research Job Options

The next step in the job search is to research available opportunities. Prepare your teen to expect entry-level jobs to be fairly basic. Beyond the typical teen jobs in retail or food service, your teen could also use this opportunity to look for a position at a company related to a field your teen is interested in pursuing as a career.

For instance, if your teen is interested in cyber security or computer programming, look at a company such as LifeLock, which is doing exciting work in the field and has a supportive company culture. Even though a teen’s first job may be basic, the experience and networking can be invaluable down the road.

Help your teen look for positions by reaching out to family and friends who may know of part-time positions not posted elsewhere.

3. Practice for the Interview

Most jobs will require at least one in-person interview. Interviews can be intimidating, even for the most outgoing person, so help your teen prepare by holding practice interviews.

Use a resource such as Understood.org to find the most common interview questions for first jobs. Use these practice interviews to help your teen applicant understand the importance of things like professional dress, eye contact, energy and a respectful demeanor.

4. Follow Up and Thank You

After interviews, encourage your teen to write a note thanking the interviewer for their time and asking if any additional information to aid in the employment decision is needed. This will help set a professional tone for your teen’s future employment. For sample thank-you notes, look at websites such as Job-Hunt.org or Business News Daily.

5. Accepting a Job Offer

Finally, once a job offer comes in, help your teen consider if the commitment required by the job is realistic. Also, encourage your teen to communicate time limitations with the employer from the beginning to avoid being over-scheduled or scheduled during school or extra-curricular activities.