As a teen, you must be wondering how I should make money or how I can get a job, right? Since you are thinking about working at this young age for whatever reason, you should be appreciated. It is because not everyone is confident and determined to work at this age. Here we will see about How to get a job at a young age?
So, now that you have made up your mind to work, what should you do to land a job? Yes, you all must be finding it tough since it is your first time doing job hunting.
Well, in this article, you will learn all about that, so keep reading!
First, let us know why working at a young age is important?
Working at a young age will help you grow in so many aspects, you have no idea. The main thing is that it’ll keep you busy throughout the day and, thus, you will learn the importance of time management. You’ll get to see the world through a whole different view if you start working early than others. You’ll realize how hard you need to work to earn which, will help you value the money even more.
Your interpersonal skills will be improved. You’ll learn how to prepare for interviews, talk with your seniors, and the customers. These are some crucial things that you’ll surely need in the future. Working at a young age will boost your confidence and give you that feeling of being independent. And yes, you will also look cool in front of your friends.
In short, it will make you vigorous, and thus you will be prepared for facing work issues in the future at such an early age.
How to get a job at a young age
1. Build a perfect resume
The first thing that you’ve to do is build a perfect resume. If you’re thinking that you never had a job before and have no idea how to set up a resume, then here is how you can create it. In case you’ve no prior work experience, then what you can do is, mention anything that you did in school activities, sports, club, fundraise, or anything.
If you’re not in sports, you can put your achievements or awards in other events. Even though you haven’t won anything, you can still put things that you’ve participated in. It is to show them that you’ve some special skills. You can use Google Docs to create your resume. Other apps will help you build your resume as well.
2. Find a job
Now that you’ve got a resume ready, you must be wondering what should be your next step.
Okay, so it might be the toughest part which is to find a job for your age group. Some places hire teenagers mostly during summer. You can get a job at a fast-food restaurant or even in retail, look at the minimum age requirement for working in your state. One of the reasons why some companies do not hire teens is because there are certain restrictions. For instance, when they have a busy day, you cannot work late at night because of your time limit.
It is a vital tip for you all, and that is, you should not get discouraged if you couldn’t find a job. Since you are very young at age, you must not stress about failing to get a job. Because you’re not responsible for someone yet, like you’re not running a family but, you’re finding a job for yourself, so go with the process and enjoy it.
Below are some ways of finding a job:
– You can search online through different websites like Indeed, Glassdoor and apply to almost every job that’s available in your area for your age group.
– You can visit stores and ask around if any hirings are going on for teens that you can apply. You can keep an eye around the advertisements saying they are hiring teenagers.
– You can ask your friends if they’re doing a job to suggest you to their company. If you’ve some senior friends who are working, you can take advice from them on finding a job. Or else you can ask them to put a word for you in their company if they have any entry-level job available. Also, you should tell your family and relatives if they can help you get a job.
– You can also take help from your school to get a job. Some schools let their students know if there are any openings for teenagers. So, that might help you find a job as well.
3. Test out multiple options
If you want a job, don’t just apply to one, because there is no guarantee that you’re going to get hired there. That is why you want to apply for multiple jobs. Whichever calls you back, you’ll go for their interview. However, there’s no guarantee that you will end up getting a job. So, try your best to apply to all the job options that are available to you.
Every day you must take some time out of your schedule, and invest it in applying for various jobs. Then you may end up getting one at least.
Don’t think like since this is my favorite company, I will only work here. It’s not how it works. Since you’re quite young, the options available to you are limited, so you’ll not always get to work at your favorite place. So keep this in mind when searching for a job. It leads to our fourth point- do not get discouraged!
4. Do not get discouraged
Yes, you’ll find it hard to land a job. You might wonder why you’re not getting responses even after applying to multiple companies. However, you will surely end up getting that one response you’re waiting for. That is because companies do want you. So, please don’t get discouraged, and keep applying and give it some time. Companies do get a lot of applications. So they might take some time to respond to your application.
Sometimes the companies might be just slow. But you should do your work which is applying for the job. If you stop doing so, then the chances of you getting hired will eventually decrease. Therefore, be consistent and do not stress out even if you want the job badly.
5. Always follow up when needed
Yes, you need to have patience for getting a response from the company. But you must be determined enough to follow up. You don’t just apply and wait forever for their call.
After applying, you should give the company a certain amount of time to get back to you. Like, let us say, around four days or so. Even after that, the company does not reply to your application, then you should call them or visit the store. You can tell them that you’ve applied for the job there and ask whether they reviewed your application form. You could even ask for any interviews going on that you can get into. Because a lot of times, the company considers more the ones to follow up.
Since the companies have a lot of applications, it’s hard for them to go through all of them. So they give priority to the ones who call them. Because that also shows the company that you are determined to work there.
6. Show up looking presentable
Some of you might be thinking about why you need to focus on how presentable you look for a fast-food job interview. But, you should look clean and carry yourself nicely regardless of the company you’re going to work at. You cannot just hit the interview room in sweatpants and seem like you don’t care. The interviewers will think that you don’t care enough to dress well for their interview. Because clothes do say a lot about you, especially your first impression of them.
So, dress accordingly and be well-groomed. Now, that does not mean wearing a pants suit for the fast-food restaurant job interview. Because that’ll make you look a bit out of your mind. You must dress according to your job role and the company. In the end, you should at least look put together. You can wear a polo shirt with clean jeans with no rips and sneakers.
7. Be confident with yourself
When you go for the interview, and see a lot of other applicants who came there as well for the same purpose, don’t compare yourself to them. Otherwise, you’ll end up getting nervous. You must think in the way that they’re going to hire you over these people because you’re confident with yourself.
Even though you’re finding it difficult to be confident, here is a pro tip that never goes wrong- keep smiling and maintain eye contact with the interviewers. It’ll show them that you’re positive with your answers even though you’re shaking inside. But make sure not to smile a lot and never take your eyes off of the interviewers, because that’ll certainly look weird, right?
You must look at the body language that you’re using. You can practice speaking in front of the mirror to know about the way you perform. Do some research on the company and job role that you’re going to be interviewing for. Even though they won’t ask you in-depth questions, it never goes wrong when you’re fully prepared. If not anything else, it’ll at least increase your confidence even more. So, do your part of the preparation perfectly.
8. Stand out and be you
The last step is to stand out. The way you can do this is just by going along with being confident. You’ve to show them that if they hire you, they’ll not regret it. Prove yourself to be a good fit for the role, and thus will be helpful to the company even though you have an entry-level job.
You should have something to tell them that they’ll benefit by hiring you. But please don’t try to fool the interviewers with your achievements. Or carry a personality that doesn’t align with your real self. It is because that’s very selfish of you to try getting something by faking your personality. Interviewers are smart enough to catch that. And they hate those who pretend to be someone else just for the sake of getting a job.
You don’t have to look perfect, so be yourself. And don’t get excited and promise to do all the tasks properly. You should be aware that this is going to be your first job and, you’re still learning. So, you do not have to bring all that up.
So, these were the eight steps, which will help you to succeed in your first job-hunting process.
Final thoughts
Getting a job at a young age should be necessary to prepare yourself for the difficult situations to face in your work life in the future. However, getting a job at this age is not very easy. That is why this article is made for you to help you successfully land a job. All the important tips are mentioned above. If you follow these eight steps correctly, you’re surely going to be fortunate in getting a job.
One more important thing to note is that you should not keep your salary expectations high. Do the job with the motive of improving yourself and do not just think about money.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. At what age should can I start working?
As per United States standards, you can get a job at 16. However, some states have a minimum age requirement of 15 years old.
2. Can I get a job with no experience?
Yes, you can. There are many places where you can get a job without experience.
3. How much can I get paid for working for 16 years old in the United States?
As per retail and fast-food restaurants, the base salary for an entry-level job is $8 for an hour.