My Teens First Job

We have been prepping him to manage his expenses.  An important step in this process is the classic summer job so he can begin budgeting his money.  When presented the idea there was some resistance.  "A job, ugh".  "Nope I'm not working THERE".  It surprised me, but I could understand the apprehension as right now Dad and Mom take care of everything.

There are many ways for teenagers to make money.  But in this economy and living in an era where college grads have Starbucks jobs it was challenging to find a fit.  So we went the easy route and started pointing out “Now Hiring” signs as we ran errands around town.  We told him if he wanted to have a car, he was going to have to get a job.

It wasn’t the first time we had talked about him entering the workforce. He wanted to start earning some money not only to be able to pay for the costs of a car, but also to be more independent when doing things with his friends, and to save up for future goals.

At my suggestion, he polished up his resume he'd completed during a course in school his Sophmore year.  We added several volunteer activities he'd done and his vocational program info.  A few weeks later, we suggested he volunteer for a science camp program to start this process. He shrugged his shoulders, not being very interested. As a student I too had camped there and later been a camp counselor.  I was able to email the then Director of the program who was more than happy to have our son be a Camp Leader.

After the initial message sent to the Director, I gave my son the task of following up.  He then signed up for one of the training sessions being held and seemed to begin showing a glimmer of interest. I showed my son the website and shared more about the location and activities he could anticipate. 

Though he was still a little apprehensive, we discussed with him some facts about having a part-time job while in high school.  The Camp Leader position only lasted 1 week.  But it was a great introduction to another opportunity he had months later as kitchen help in a local restaurant.

This all helped our teen learn 3 life lessons from his first job:

1. Learn New Skills: Working at a restaurant may not be his intended career path, but he learned diligence, how to communicate and the importance of follow-up.

2. Money: Together we calculated how much he would earn if he worked 10-15 hours a week consistently.  We helped him open his first bank account and discussed how it all worked.  A smile began to appear on his face.

3. Take Advantage Of An Opportunity:  If someone is willing to give him the opportunity for his first job, he should take advantage of it.  In preparation for the volunteer and job opportunity we had our son request letters of recommendation from teachers.  They were all willing to write a letter for him because of his good reputation in school.

I could tell by the end of our conversation that he was hopeful he could create other work opportunities for himself.

By the end of these experiences, he almost seemed anxious to move into this phase of his life. The incentive of a paycheck and additional freedom eventually was a welcomed new reality for our teen.

Do you have a teenager that is about to, or recently got their first job? What advice did you have for them?