As the second semester of the 2024–’25 school year began, I knew I needed to plan in order to secure a summer job. I started applying two months before the school year ended, with high hopes of getting a good paying job or even a paid internship somewhere. As summer started, I was still unemployed and beginning to get anxious about finding a job. As a soon to be senior, I had never held an official job position before, with my only experience being in babysitting, pet sitting, running a small snack store at a local airshow and various volunteering experiences. Despite my growing anxiety, I kept searching all through summer. I was looking on bulletin boards in coffee shops, scanning every QR code on hiring posters, and bringing my resume into shops desperate for an interview. Eventually, summer officially came to an end. It was my last Saturday before the start of school and any hopes I had of getting a summer job were officially lost. The total number of available jobs in the United States fell to 7.18 million, while the total number of unemployed people was at 7.23 million for the first time since 2021, according to mises.org. Despite this, I was lucky enough to receive a phone call from the local ice rink in Simi, requesting that I come in for an interview that following Sunday. My first day at the rink was Tuesday, and school started on Wednesday. Hence, my friends and family would make jokes, reassuring me that I was successful in getting a summer job, even if it was only for the last day of summer.
Despite working at the rink 3 days a week, I realized I was going to need a second job as my paychecks were just barely enough for me to get gas once a week. Thus, the second search began in early September. This time, I took a new approach: online applications. Indeed became my new best friend. After uploading my resume and portfolio, I was applying everywhere I possibly could. After applying to over 100 different job positions, I had been declined by 27 jobs, and only secured 3 interviews and ghosted by everyone else. I once again found myself traveling with printed resume copies, ready to scan any poster with information about job hiring. While it may sound silly, paper resumes and in person applications have proven to be extremely helpful to me. For smaller businesses and stores, bringing a printed resume and asking for an application in person is more efficient, as it helps establish a good first impression, making the store more likely to hire you. However, when applying to larger companies it is better to apply online, because it’s easier to sort through applications this way according to jobsolv.com.
While shopping on my 18th birthday, I noticed one of my favorite stores holding walk–in interviews. With my resume in my purse I walked into the store with confidence knowing the worst thing they could say was no. 15 minutes after interviewing later, I was officially employed at two places. As happy as I was, I couldn’t help but think about how long it took me to get both of my jobs. With a completely open schedule, good grades and well rounded experience, it didn’t make sense why it would take months to get interviews. I believe that many businesses are hesitant to hire teenagers, simply because most have never had a job before. Training someone for a job takes time, and lots of extra time if it’s their first job, which can slow down how efficiently some people are able to work for a short period of time. Due to California’s minimum wage increasing, hiring teens can be conflicting because of all the extra money spent on training as well scheduling complications according to startersschool.com. While I understand the fear of slowing down business, I think that employers should understand that if a candidate performs well in an interview, the excuse of young age and no time in the workforce is not an acceptable reason to turn someone away. Teenagers should remain motivated to continue applying to jobs and work hard towards their goals, even if it means pushing past being rejected over and over.
