As a teenager, you want to do all that you can to pay for hobbies and have fun with your friends. Whether you are looking for a job after college or you are looking to get a job while you’re in high school, you need to know how you can nail your first ever job. It’s not easy to find a job in the first instance no matter how old you are, but you have the benefit of youth on your side! You’re young, vibrant, full of life and ready and eager to learn – and employers love that!
What you might find with some jobs is that you have to think about the process. Fast food places, for example, may not have an Interest Inventory Test in the same way a corporate job would. You still will have to think about having an interview and the answers to the questions that you are asked. Below, we’ve put together some tips to help you with getting your first ever job.
- Prepare for a job hunt. Jobs aren’t always easy to come by, so you need to get your shoes on and get out there and look! You can get online and apply, of course, but sometimes it can make all the difference to actually go into businesses and ask to hand in a copy of your resume. You shouldn’t expect a job to fall into your lap, so pull on your confidence like a jacket and go and make it happen.
- Get some help with a resume. You need a resume that’s going to stand out and if this is your first job, you should think about the fact that you won’t have too much to put on it – except you are wrong! School activities, volunteering, jobs you do around the house to be a helpful member of your family? All of those things can and should be added to your resume. Examples of leadership are always appreciated.
- Don’t forget your network. Your parents, your friends, your friends’ parents, teachers – you have a network of people around you even if you don’t realize it. Get in contact with everyone and ask them whether they know any jobs that may be going for you. Ask around and while nepotism is often not ideal, it’s important to tap into those you know to get a foot in the door of employment.
- Make a list. Whenever you apply for a place or you pop in and hand over a resume, then you need to think about adding the name of a business to a list as well as the person you spoke to. When you do that, you can follow up on those places and you can ensure that you keep up with every single submission.
- Prepare to be told no. It’s likely that you will hear a bunch of ‘no’ before you hear any ‘yes’. It’s okay to hear rejection but the important thing to do is ask why you have been rejected if you are told no. You need to be able to work on any issues and make improvements where possible.