Preparing Your Teen For Their First Job

Is your teen looking for their first job? Here are some tips on Preparing Your Teen For Their First Job and helping them get it!

 

Preparing Your Teen For Their First Job

As your kids are getting old enough to start looking for their first job, it can be difficult to make sure they’re really prepared for it. There’s also only so much you can do for them. As different jobs will have different requirements – and a lot of learning will happen on the job. Even so, there are a few things that it doesn’t hurt to prepare your teenagers for, especially as it will likely help them to land a job opening. Even if it’s just a simple, part-time job that they’re going to work at during college, it doesn’t hurt to be ready and prepared.

Being on time

If there’s one thing that every employer values, it’s that their employees are on time. If your kids are used to being late and aren’t ready to take it seriously before they start applying for jobs – it’s time to get them in the habit of being on time now. Being late consistently is a surefire way to put a job position at risk. Especially if it’s early on after being hired. This will also likely cause a negative relationship with employers. Making their experience at work into something they may not enjoy.

Being on time is more than just about pleasing employers, it’s about showing that you can be relied on. This will look good if they ever need to use their first employer as a reference for their next job. 

Handling interviews

The most daunting part of the application process is the interview stage. Having to attend an interview with your possible future employers, and being questioned can be nervewracking for some. It would help if you prepared them for it in some way. Take them through what their interviewer might ask. Things like what they will expect, and what what they should know about the company before they enter the interview.

Behavior and appearance during the interview can also play a huge role in their chances of getting hired, and you need to let them know what’s going to be expected of them. Employers aren’t going to be impressed if your teen shows up late for the interview, dressed unprofessionally, and hasn’t read up on the company at all. At the end of the interview, they’ll likely be asked if they have any questions, and it helps to ask something that will impress the employer. 

Help them search

For some, it can be quite a daunting experience to apply for jobs. It’s not always something that’s best done alone. If you’re going to motivate them in finding their first job, why not give them a hand? There are plenty of ways to find openings, through sites like Lensa. For example, take these Apollo Retail jobs by Lensa – a great opening for those with entry-level qualifications, and a good place to start while waiting on a higher education.

Of course, there are going to be a lot of job vacancies in which they won’t hear back after applying. That is due to high traffic and the volume of other applications – but that’s just a part of the process.