Teen Job Hunting

I hadn’t planned on helping a couple of my teens yesterday afternoon job hunt but they showed up at my house showered and dressed to get a job. I know that the statistics for teens getting jobs that come out of marginalized neighborhoods is abysmal. I hadn’t wanted to read and take a nap after visiting with my dad but it was time to drive around getting job applications.

I chuckled when I saw my teens dressed to the max even with ties and fancy shoes. I couldn’t fathom someone in any of the restaurants or fast food places not wanting to hire my guys. They had shaved, shampooed and put on cologne so they were ready. One of the first roadblocks to getting a job is your age. Many of the places require you to be 18, which doesn’t give much hope to a 16 year old who is eager to work. The other challenge is that there is racial discrimination that happens at most fast food places. I live in a couple of different neighborhoods that are either Hispanic or African American. If you happen to be African American and are looking to get hired at a Hispanic McDonalds it won’t be easy. Yes, you may get hired but you will feel out of place and most of the time not understand what is being spoken.

We ended up getting applications from about 6 different places and had some surprises like you don’t have to be 18 or yes we are HIRING! We even drove out to one of the nicer golf courses that has a fancy restaurant, which actually had my guys fill out their applications in person! It was exciting seeing the enthusiasm and drive of my guys. The real test, as we have talked about getting a job, is that you might get 10 rejections before you get your first offer. The reality, which is horrible, is that very few of these companies will send out rejection notices.

The life lesson being learned through this job-hunting journey is huge. Yes, the early bird does catch the worm! Also first impressions are everything whether this is fair or not. I know that helping my guys be better at communication is very difficult but this experience on Saturday gave them many examples of how meeting someone in person will ultimately make the difference as to whether you get hired or not.

It was interesting that the attitude of my guys got me motivated to drive them around to see them in action. I’m so proud of you guys!!