Help Your Teen Land That First Job

 When I owned my business, I found my least favorite part of the job was screening applicants for employment.  Eventually, I got a team that I became quite fond of.  I interviewed quite a few teens, and a couple of them really stood out with their appoach. 

Today, my teenager submitted his first job app (other than for our family business of course), so I passed along some of the qualities that really turned my head when looking for an employee.  Maybe this list will help some of you and your teens too.

1. Make sure their application is written neatly, have them practice first so they know exactly what they are writing, no scribble marks.
2. Type up a resume to submit with the application, be sure to include  volunteer work.
3. Have them type a quick cover letter introducing themselves, with one great reason they are the perfect one for the job.
4.  Advise them to ask to speak to the manager and hand the application directly to him/her instead of the cashier, desk person, whoever.  They can introduce themselves, get a hand-shake and put a face with the application.
5.  Be sure your teen follows up with a phone call within two days.
6.  If they do get an interview, make sure they immediately send a thank you note the very next day, thanking the manager for the interview, how it was a pleasure to interview for the job, and they look forward to hearing from them soon.

My two youngest applicants were the ones with the resume and thank you note.  (Ryan and Laura you know who you are...)  They were great employees, one of them is now my babysitter, and they both volunteer to community events any time I need a hand.