Frustrated that college-going son can't find a summer job

[floridadad55]

He can offer to do for other people all the chores he is currently doing at home, such as mowing lawns, washing cars, etc.

He would be paid in cash, and would probably make more money than if he worked for someone else.

In other words, create his own job.

[SillyStokey92]

Your son is definitely not alone @Miller. I've applied to multiple jobs this summer and nobody is hiring. I'm currently volunteering at an animal shelter nearby which is super unorganized. I'm also trying to help my parents out around the house. I wash my clothes, clean the rooms, make dinner most nights, but still nothing. Its especially frustrating because I had a job all year at school, so its just quite annoying. I don't think anyone can find anything right now.

[jc40]

I heard the same thing on the radio today, scmom12 -- 7/10 teens actively looking for work are unemployed. OP...I think it's simply the economy. I would encourage your S to continue to look and not take it personally. Good luck!

[Miller514]

All of your comments are so interesting.

I agree that the best course of action is to go in person. My son does that. I have to wonder about some places, tho. We learned a pizza place was desperate for employees. Son went in to apply. Filled out an app. I am acquainted with a manager there. She talked to son and told him to apply online and they would get back to him by Monday for an interview. No call. Son leaves a message on the woman's phone, she's never got back to him. I don't get it. I remember getting jobs by walking in to places and hey, practically got hired on the spot. Or within a week.

busdriver, you make a valid point. Son has a job interview tomorrow at a local retailer. We'll see how that goes. It may just lead to another round of putting in job apps next week, and I will ask him to consider looking into the YMCA job.

[charlieschm]

One option is to spend a couple weeks getting certified as a lifeguard. It probably is too late to get hired this year, but it would probably provide steady full-time work in future summers.

[Pizzagirl]

"I remember getting jobs by walking in to places and hey, practically got hired on the spot. Or within a week."

It's the economy. Your son isn't doing anything wrong; it is what it is. My son must have applied to 70 places the summer before going off to college and didn't find a job. I, too, remember being 16 years old - my parents said, "Get a job" - I went to the local mall, put my name in about 5 places and poof, I had a job. It's not like that today. Don't stress over it so much.

[footballmom104]

@charlieschm - S2 was able to get certified over one weekend of intense classes, but he had to pass a preliminary water test beforehand, Maybe they do it differently in your area. And you're right - as long as he keeps his certification up, he'll always have work in the summer. Another option for next year is to take it as a college class. A friend's son did this his freshman year in college, worked last summer and is lead lifeguard this year.

[HopefulHeart]

Any chance your son is going for a Computer Science degree? Out here in silicon valley, where I am, employers love to see actual projects completed. I've heard Stanford is even pretty lenient about accepting students they otherwise wouldn't if the student has skills to show. Your son could probably learn enough Ruby on Rails or PHP to do some simple web development stuff within about a month. He could possibly even apply for work with a local web developer or designer. He'd also probably be able to do freelance work advertising in craigslist or by signing up for something like Odesk. Another alternative is learning web design using HTML or CSS, but that's a bit harder to make money on these days. Either way he'd be making actual products for people to use.

[LasMa]

My only concern is what people think of him putting the volunteer work on a resume. to me it shows that he is keeping busy. Others might think since he isn't getting paid, it isn't a real job.

crizello, my D's former summer job dried up this year, so she's having to cobble together her summer activities at the last minute, and will be doing some volunteer work.

My concern was that she be doing something with herself this summer. She'll have a schedule, a workplace, a boss, co-workers, and tasks to do. She'll be interacting with people, possibly learning something new, and certainly doing something useful. Except for the lack of a paycheck, that's pretty similar to a job, and it will make her feel like the summer wasn't a total waste.

As for resumes, I don't know whether "Volunteered at ABC" looks as good as "Paid Position at XYZ." But I'm very sure it looks better than "Slept Till 2 and Then Watched TV."

[LasMa]

(Too late to ETA)

Not that your S would spend the summer on the couch. But my D might very well.

[busdriver11]

"As for resumes, I don't know whether "Volunteered at ABC" looks as good as "Paid Position at XYZ"

Looking at my son's resume, I don't know that they have to break that one down. He just has the jobs that he worked at (most were paid internships, one was not). Nowhere does he mention that it was unpaid, and I don't think withholding that information is unethical unless someone asks.

[lake42ks]

I was surprised to learn that Apple/Google started interviewing for this summer's internship positions last fall. That means that some college kids got their summer jobs lined up before Xmas. How can we expect our kids to plan/prepare like that?

[busdriver11]

I guess we just tell them to do the same thing. If you want one of those elite jobs, put in the application early in the fall and try to interview then. Though I'm sure those companies continue to interview later into the winter. One of the job offers my son got, they told him he had to accept/reject the job by sometime in November, which was way too early, because it was his backup. He ended up turning it down before having something else in hand, which is a dicey position to be in. Luckily it turned out well for him, but that could have been a big mistake.

[Christian2]

Many companies recruit summer interns in the Fall. My son's school already had upcoming Fall On-Campus-Recruitment postings for 2013 Summer Internships. The early bird gets the worm.

[MaryOC]

My teens found their summer jobs on Craigslist... but they began looking in February. It took several months for them to secure seasonal employment. Starting the search early, persistence and a little luck seemed to make the difference for them. I hope your son is able to capitalize on opportunities somehow - best of luck.