Finding Your First Job

Gather Information Before you start looking for your first job, you will need to gather some information together: details and dates of your educational background your skills any volunteer or informal work experience you have Even if you haven't had a "real" job that pays you a paycheck, volunteering, babysitting, delivering papers, and similar types of experience count as work when you're writing a resume or completing a job application

What can you do? Depending on your age, there may be requirements about what jobs you can, and cannot do If you're 14 or 15 you can only work 3 hours day and a maximum of 18 hours a week Depending on where you live, you may need Working Papers (Employment/Age Certificate) before you can start a job

Consider Your First Job Options Your first job should be a fun job! Consider what you would like to do and where you would like to do it Does the beach sound better than the mall? Would you be thrilled to get the employee discount that comes with some retail jobs?

Teen Job Opportunities Jobs For Younger Teens Typical Teen Jobs Baby sitting Pet sitting/dog walking Lawn and yard work Household chores/cleaning Errands Homework help/tutoring Camp counselor Cashier Child care assistant City or town summer jobs program Fast food or restaurant Hospitality - hotels, resorts Lawn/yard maintenance Lifeguard Retail Amusement parks Office Assistant

Where to Find Teen Jobs Check with your high school guidance office for job postings. Check the newspaper help wanted want ads. Walk around town or the mall and look for help wanted signs in store windows. Search the teen job search sites.

Make a List where you went to school dates of attendance if you have participated in sports or other after-school activities any work you have done organizations you belong to (like the Girl Scouts or 4H) any volunteer organizations you have helped ***You need the information to complete job applications and to write a resume.

Creating Your First Resume The goal of your resume - to generate interest and interviews. Your resume should land you an interview It doesn’t have to get you a job and it doesn’t need to cover your life history It simply has to pique the interest of the reader and answer the only question he/she cares about: will this candidate add value to my company? If your resume answers this question effectively - by clearly communicating your strengths - employers will want to meet with you. It really is that simple.

Research Job Postings In order to demonstrate your value, you need to know what potential employers are looking for Start by researching job postings that interest you. Look for frequently-mentioned requirements. Ask experienced professionals what they consider important when they make hiring decisions. Once you know what is important to employers you can target your resume to address those issues.

What to Include on Your First Resume Many students and recent graduates worry that they don’t have enough experience to create a compelling resume. Once you start to really think about your background, you’ll be surprised at what you have to boast about. The content of your resume will be determined by your own unique experiences, skills and background but ­ as a general guideline ­ you should include: Positive personal characteristics Technical and computer skills Coursework relevant to your desired profession Educational accomplishments (include your GPA if it’s over 3.0) Skills and experience gained during internships or summer jobs Other related accomplishments (design awards, recognition, winning competitions etc.) Work History (include unpaid work if it relates to your target positions)

The key is to emphasize those things that demonstrate your value and to leave out those things that don’t. For example, if you are looking to work in Information Systems, your ability to program in C++ will be important - but the fact that you have won awards for water skiing won't! Don't include hobbies unless they directly relate to your goal.

Resume Design Many people are surprised to learn that resume design is just as important as content, but it’s absolutely true. Research suggests that your resume has less than 20 seconds to make the right impression, so it must be eye-catching and easy to read.

How to Write Your First Resume Select a simple and standardized format, nothing too fancy Use heavy weight plain white or off-white paper and avoid flashy fonts or scented sheets (You’re not Elle from Legally Blonde) Make sure your contact information is accurate and up-to-date. Include a primary contact number, and a cell phone number and email address if you have them. Note: if your email address has a nickname or an overly cutesy name consider opening a free email account with some variation of your actual name, nothing ruins a resume faster than a name like superstud1993@freemail.com in the contact line.

4. Include an introductory paragraph of 2 or 3 sentences telling the employer about your strongest and most desirable personality traits. Tailor this to highlight those traits most applicable to the job for which you are applying. This is sometimes called an Objective Statement.

5. If you truly have no work experience don’t try to flub, instead list your volunteer work or community activities. If you’ve done work experience through a course at school make note of it here. If you’ve had odd jobs, or done things like baby sit or yard work for neighbors list it here and if at all possible get letters of reference. 6. Next list course work at school that you feel is relevant to the job. Make note of any academic achievements or awards. Explain how you think your excellent performance in these areas would benefit the employer or enhance your ability to do the job. If you can, get a letter of reference from a teacher of one of the courses you mention.

7. List your extracurricular activities of a non-volunteer nature such as sports, church or youth groups, school committees, etc. If you have a position of authority in any of these groups make note of it and describe your duties as if they were a job. 8. Finally, sell yourself by making a list of your skills, special talents, or positive personality traits.

Tips When writing your first resume never pad it or make it longer than a page; employers aren’t expecting a long work history from a first time worker. You may see a lot of things on this list that appear as “don’ts” on resume and job hunting websites but remember that this is your first resume and the rules change once you have some work experience or career oriented education. Don’t lie and always be true to who you are. Any deception will be very obvious to an experienced interviewer and will cost you the job.

Individually, write down: details and dates of your educational background (when you expect to graduate, or your classification, and what courses may be relevant to a job you are applying for) your skills any volunteer or informal work experience you have Identify three places you would seriously consider applying for right now.