Applicant does not need to stipulate it is just for summer for kid type of low paid casual labor.
A few ideas. First, don’t limit to “traditional” kid summer jobs – fast food, retail, etc. Consider manufacturing, warehouses and such. Second, show interest. Don’t just fill out internet forms and click send. Try to tailor your app to the job itself. Third, when you go for an interview, leave the stupid phone in the car. The biggest problem with young workers today is they are constantly looking at their phone. Don’t give that impression that you are tied to your phone. Fourth, follow everything up – with an email, call, visit, whatever it takes. I have had several instances where I have interviewed people and said “the first to follow up with a thank you gets the job.” Unfortunately, very few have.
It’s June. When did your kiddos start looking?
The major chains use online applications but locally run places don’t. Put on business casual clothing, write up a resume of what you can do…and go door to door asking to speak to the manager Irma owner.
I’m in CT. There are help wanted signs at a lot of restaurants and retail places. In particular, seasonal places are looking for help. There are plenty of lifeguarding positions around here…and especially if you have the extra training to guard at lakes. Lots of parents were looking for summer babysitters as well for when school is out.
Plenty of openings for camp counselors earlier in the spring. Those are filled now.
One of my kids gave private instrument lessons to a bunch of kids…their regular private teachers took the summers off.
Both kids did house, pet and baby sitting.
My D learned last year that waiting until June to look for a job was a bad idea. She was only able to find a very part-time baby sitting job. She was 18. She didn’t receive any responses from the many online apps she submitted.
This year, she submitted a lot of applications during Spring Break and also went in person to submit some of them.
She had two jobs offers that week from businesses she applied to in person. Then amazingly, she walked into a restaurant (to eat) the first week she was home for summer break and the manager asked her if she wanted a job! She chose that one as they offered her better hours.
She also spent hours and hours during spring break applying to some summer student positions with a government agency (she was really hoping to get one of those). They finally called her a couple of weeks ago and asked when she had to go back to school. She said “Late August.” They said “Sorry, we need someone who can work through September.” ??? The jobs were targeted for college students, but they needed people who could work through September??
I agree about leaving the phone in the car.^
Not in the NE but word of mouth can work also. Some kids go to the same summer job for two or three summers in a row while others want to look for something different so people counting on that kids to come back this summer now has an opening.
@LeastComplicated my second kid went to a college on the quarter system, and she didn’t start classes until late September. Her summer employers loved having her…because everyone else left before mid August…or by Labor Day.
Lots of the U of CA students don’t start until late September, IIRC. I agree that looking early and being flexible, as well as being in the right place at the right time is key. My S would start before Spring Break to try to nail down a summer job. He’d often try to have the interview over Spring Break. He was pretty good about finding jobs that he liked.
It’s nice when the kids get decent hours so they can make and save a good amount of $$, especially if they have to pay for summer housing. One summer, S was paying rent on 3 places at the same time–one lease was ending where he was attending school, one was for a summer internship 2500 miles away and one was for a new place near campus that he was going to live in for the following school year. He was lucky we could help him with expenses as he didn’t net much after all of his various housing expenses.
^^many good suggestions above, but I would consider my own parental network too.
All of the UCs with undergraduates except UCB and UCM are on the quarter system, so they start about 5 weeks later than semester system schools (but also end about 5 weeks later in the spring).
The CSUs and community colleges are mostly on the semester system, with a few exceptions such as CPSLO.
@MassDaD68 Do you have a UPS facility nearby? My 18 year old, rising sophomore, limited work experience, got a job (evening shift) at UPS the first day he was home in early May. It’s hard work unloading trucks for 4 hour shifts (summer help at our branch works 5 evenings for a 20 hour per week schedule) but the branch near us is always hiring, even kids who only have 3 months to work. He applied online (first time this has worked), interviewed that night, and started the next night. An added benefit is that he can work over winter break as that’s super busy for them.
Agree that the parent and friend network can be very useful. A loved one operated a stand on the beach and often needed young workers to work different part-time shifts, especially over the summer. It was a win/win. Pay was minimal but they got to be outdoors and got a lot of fresh air and exercise.
Showing up in person to apply with a professional-looking resume and neat grooming is a good sign that many employers are looking for. They want employees who will act professionally and can present a neat appearance. Sending a handwritten and email thank you note is also important.
I don’t know. I thought jobs were hard to find, but my son’s friends almost all have jobs. (Though I will say, yes, they are either through family connections or part time jobs that go all year) I wish S19 would get one. On the other hand, he won’t be around for at least 4 weeks during the summer, and feels his coursework is too heavy to do a part time job all year round.
Around here, grocery stores are a great place to apply. They hire lots of teenagers.
Our S was fortunate that both his college summer jobs allowed him to leave for 3-4 weeks in the middle of his job! I was surprised but pleased he found flexible employers. One was a professor that had him helping do work on his grant and another was NASA. He was an engineering major.
Prior to that, he got a job by going back to the program he had volunteered at in HS. Once he got his HS degree they hired and paid him.
My two teens both have jobs here in NorCal.
Kiddo 1 is 18 and this is her third summer working. Barista, counter service at a cafe, day camp counselor, babysitting. Kiddo 2 is 16. Past 2 summers he has found yard work on NextDoor. This summer he is going to be a day camp counselor.
First job is hardest to get, but after that, they have had plenty of options.
McDonalds always hires. That was my daughter’s first job. She even worked there on breaks when she was home. She is now a camp counselor but at least 3 kids from college are home and working there this summer. I know kids do not want to work there, but my daughter saved over $3,000 over summer so she didn’t have to work during school year.
My S spent four summers in HS and college working for a local general contractor (who we knew from church.) It was a fantastic job because he learned so much about home construction. D gained work experience in HS doing counter service at the local farmers market and an ice cream store. Lots of high schoolers working at both places. Freshman year of college, I made her go out and ask about waitress jobs when she was home for spring break. She was immediately hired by a restaurant with outside patio for summer dining. Her previous customer service experience and professionalism when she spoke with the manager were key. She is back there again this summer. It has also been a great learning experience for her, and of course the tips elevate it beyond an hourly wage job.
I don’t know of any teens in our community who have trouble finding some kind of job. Popular ones are lifeguarding, summer day camp counselor, farmers market counter service, ice cream store (summer establishment), lawn care, and summer “nanny”. People use our community Facebook page to post about summer babysitting jobs.
Not in the NE but I will second going in person to look. My daughter over dressed and had her resume ready (which had zero work experience at the time but stressed her work ethic, not missing a day of school, school projects, etc…).
I would also suggest not necessary telling the employers that it’s summer only and that your child may consider working during the school year. I know lots of people who kept their summer jobs through the school year on weekends.
Lastly, If there are any colleges near you, have your child look in those areas. Many times college students vacate jobs when they go home for the summer.
We are also in MA and I feel your pain. D had a hard time two summers in a row finding work. While everyone has a help wanted sign out, they don’t want people who will stay for just the summer. In our area of MA there is very little seasonal work. Only summer camps come to mind. Landscapers require you to be 18 (S found that out last year).
Our experience is that businesses also move too slow around here. The kid puts an application in. Two weeks later they are called for an interview, which then happens a week after that. It’s a month between applying and actually starting a job. I have two kids who have had three jobs between them and this month delay happened in every case. So how did my D get a job? The first year she settled for fast food restaurant which was so desperate for help that they took her even though she was short term. The second time she just got lucky. They misread her application and didn’t realize she was still in college and would be leaving at the end of the summer. They realized their mistake in the interview, but they really liked her so hired her anyway.
Around here most kids line up their sunmer work in March/April and college line them up during their spring break or right before they head home in early May if they can manage it long distance. Once the kids finishing up freshman year and arr getting home it can be late and they are behind the high school kids.
Why is fast food work considered to be “settling” for a teenager with no work experience?