As a teenager, I understood the value of work and getting some working experience before going out into the world on my own. However, when I was finally old enough to have a summer job, I had a lot of difficulty finding one. I applied to many different places, but no one wanted to hire me. Actually, one fast food restaurant did hire me, but after giving me the baptism of fire working the drive thru (where I was terrible, of course), they never put me on the work schedule again.
Ultimately, I had four different summer jobs through six summers while going to school: babysitting, working as a secretary at the computer repair shop my brother worked at, an internship, and as a painter. The work as a painter and as a babysitter was erratic and unreliable. There were only two summers where I had meaningful employment.
I wanted better employment, but I didn't know how to find it. I've talked to a lot of people my age who've had a difficult time finding a job or figuring out what they want to do for a living.
Obviously, I want my children to have a better experience than I had. I've pondered on what I can do for them to help them get the exposure they need to find a job, get experience working, and to find a job that they'll enjoy. This is with the knowledge that summer jobs for teenagers are limited, it can be discouraging to keep looking and looking without finding something, and parents shouldn't take the responsibility to find a job for their children.
My plan is that my teenagers will be required to spend 20-30 hours/week (or more, if they want) in the summertime working. If they can't find a job, I will help them find a place to volunteer. Right now I assume that it's pretty easy to find volunteer work. They can volunteer at a pet shelter, the hospital, at their school, at a food bank, at the library, or many other places. Not only will volunteer work keep them busy, it will also help them to learn more about the world and society around them. They will also get fulfillment from doing something valuable with their summer hours. However, I will also teach them to self-advocate, so that once they have more skills that they will not settle for volunteer work with no pay but receive some sort of compensation.
I am also hoping to encourage them to shadow people who work in the profession(s) that they are interested in pursuing, and maybe even some that they don't have interest in (yet) to broaden their horizons and help them understand what it may be like to work in that particular profession.
Is there anything that you would add to my plan or concerns that you have about it? Let me know!
