Your First Job: Tips for Teens

Look around for advice on how to get a job, and you’ll find your share of resources, to be sure. Except they all mention wearing a suit and tie to the interview, discuss whether or not to list your college GPA, and quibble over the one best way to organize your previous work experience.

But summer is coming, and that means that hordes of one particular type of job applicant are crawling out of the woodwork: teenagers with three empty months ahead, looking to earn a few bucks by any means necessary. They’re not hoping to develop software solutions or chart marketing demographic vectors (or whatever the latest corporate gobbledygook might be), they’re just looking for their first work experience.

If you're a teen looking for a job, you’re facing a far more straightforward job search process. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find a few opportunities to be a little smarter than the competition. Position yourself for a good summer job and build experience for a lifetime of rewarding work with these simple tips.

- Your first step toward the summer job may be to walk into the store or restaurant and fill out an application. Simple, right? Certainly, but there’s a right way to do it. Don’t just come in at any old time and hand it over to a clerk; ask politely to see the manager and pass it in directly to him or her, along with a cover letter (even if no cover letter appears to be required). This gives you a chance to present yourself along with the application. Say hello and shake hands; wear something suitable. The manager may ask if you can fit in a quick interview on the spot; that’s a good thing! But be prepared for it.

- These days even your local burger chain may direct you to fill out an application online rather than in-person. If that’s the case, then that’s fine, but you can still introduce yourself to the manager and hand over a cover letter in person.