My favorite summer/after-school job as a high school student was in a place that has highly controversial associations. No, it wasn't at Walnut Creek's adult book store on Locust Street.
It was at the (sniff) former Walnut Creek library in Civic Park, the one being replaced by the new (damned) one.
I worked at the old library after school and on Saturdays, shelving books, checking out books. Sometimes I'd take my cart full of books and magazines and get a bit delayed in the stacks. You know, "shelving."
No, I wasn't smoking anything. I'd most likely be in the movie aisle, in the 790s, looking up some trivia about Clark Gable or Marlon Brando.
I loved that job. I got a lot of reading done, and it was relaxing, and the library staff was friendly and fun. The job also helped me go to movies with friends and buy clothes for school. It paid above whatever was the minimum wage at the time.
If you have a teenager, what job is he or she going to do this summer? If you're a teenager and don't have a job, where are you going to look? Do you know?
Readers, any ideas on local employers who are hiring teenagers?
Are you an employer looking to hire? Even in these still challenging economic times.
Actually, my question was prompted by a question posed by a reader, who teaches in a local high school and whose students are looking for work.
16 comments:
I tried getting a job one summer after high school. Don't fall for those advertisements that they post on car windshields that advertise $18 an hour to start. Those were pretty much scams. I went to one session where were made to sit in a room for hours. They tried to get us to be door to door knife salespeople. I believe they are called Vector Marketing. It was an awful experience.
Jobs are tough to get these days when you have out of work people with MBAs doing minimum wage work.
Jobs are tough to come by right now especially if they are only around for the summer. I recommend Waterworld, Coldstone, Jamba Juice.
How about one of the medical marijuana dispensories
I remember in high school I saw on television Bill O'Reilly explaining when he was 16, him and his friends would paint houses. That was six years ago and figured I can't paint homes legally but started to knock on doors and say I'll mow your lawn for $20. I'd knock out 4 lawns in 4 hours on a Saturday morning, that was plenty of money to entertain myself all weekend. People will just say yes because you're a kid, so if you're in high school and reading this pay attention. I used to target my richer friends homes because the parents would feel guilty that I was looking for work while their son was upstairs playing Xbox. Worked every time. When I was 16 I'd rather do yard work than make smoothies. When Fall came I'd rake leaves. Christmas time put up the lights. Little jobs like that are the easiest way to make money as a teenager.
anyn 206. you my friend will go far. i was like that when i was young too. you make the job you want. rich people always enjoy employing go -getters. they wish their kids would be like that but usually they arent ,cause they dont have to be! thus the guilt for spoiling that kid. go far and prosper my friend..and post your sucess here.i enjoy reading them!!
In the early 1900s my uncle walked into a bank and asked for a job. He was told that there were no jobs available.
Insteal of leaving, he found a broom in the corner and started sweeping the floor. When asked what he was doing, he told them that he wanted to work at the bank. If they wouldn't employ him, he was going to work for free until they saw his value and gave him a job.
He ended up being president of that bank.
The circumstances may chance, but the point remains the same. Initiative is what it takes to get ahead in life.
The trick to building a successful summer job business (lawn work, pet sitting, etc) is organization. I saw this with my niece. She kept a calendar chart where she outlined the times she was available for work. She kept records of payments. She kept notes about the different kids' likes and dislikes and issues that arose during each gig.
Most importantly, my niece kept a reference network so that if someone called her and she wasn't available, she would take on the task of finding someone. This meant that people in the neighborhood soon learned to call Katherine first for babysitting, knowing that they wouldn't have to make any more calls.
This kind of approach would work for yard work or anything else I would think.
I've talked to some teens about this: They say places like day care, Encore gymnastics, hotjobs.com, waterworld, indeed.com, yogurt shops, in-and-out burger and movie theaters are good for hiring teens.
I have a funny (I think) story about trying to get a summer job at a library (Moraga), a few years back, as a 17-year-old. I was told by the very earnest and serious librarian that they didn't hire just for the summer, as the training was too detailed!! How I manage to keep a straight face, I cannot recall. I later was a lifeguard, and even saved 2 kids in my day.
I am lazy about washing my car. If a neighborhood teen came by and offered to wash and vacuum my car I would agree. Especially if the teen used "green" cleaning materials - biodegradable.
If a teen made "cold calls" on fifty hoses, I bet he/she could develop five clients for a car wash every two weeks or month. Of course, the teen would have to do a great job. Oh, and how about hand-waxing? Sounds like big bucks.
My favorite job to this day was as an Arts and Crafts Instructor at a YMCA summer camp. On off seasons we started our own business painting addresses on the curbs. I also worked as a Party Barbie (great money!!!), clown and house sitter.
Go to Home Depot amongst the illegals. I'd hire a US citizen before supporting an illegal alien.
What part of "illegal alien" don't they understand?
I worked a the Concord library! This was only a couple of years ago, and as far as I know, they still hire fairly frequently. Plus, like you said, they pay above minimum wage. If your teen knows anything about the library, it would be an excellent place to apply, since there's not too much competition for it.
~YYZ said...
Go to Home Depot amongst the illegals. I'd hire a US citizen before supporting an illegal alien.
What part of "illegal alien" don't they understand?
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Seriously? That is all you can say. This is blog is to help our community find jobs; not to bash on those who are willing to travel across the continent to do the low end jobs (and for very little to feed their families in their home country, which they'd rather be if they have a choice) others wouldn't have the guts to do even if their family were starving.
I think those "menial jobs" people dont want to do actually pay quite a bit of money. Our handy man made $100 off my husband for 1 hours work today. If he worked 8 hours per day, 5 days per week, with 3 weeks vacation, that is $196k. This is more than most professional people with college degrees make in a year.
Our nanny earns $20 per hour. Neither of these people are earning anywhere close to minimum wage, and likely aren't paying taxes on the money either.
Our housekeeper who speaks little english earns $100 for 3 hours.
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