Young Adults and the State of Summer Jobs
According to the Wall Street Journal, the summer job market has mostly dried up for teens and college students. While this might seem unfortunate for them, it might be an excellent opportunity for prospective employers and employees.
While it is true that many people are currently out of jobs or furloughed, remember that many small and large businesses are still around. If you are a teenager or a college student, then you are in luck. If you need to find paid work, it will most likely be at the bottom of the ladder, but honestly, that is the best place to start.
Why? Because learning any job and any business from the ground up gives you an advantage over someone who comes in at the management level. They might know some aspects of the situation, but they most likely do not understand how everything works.
This is why all the powerful Hollywood talent agencies make their new hires start in the mailroom. Even if they have advanced degrees. Why? Because your advantage in Hollywood is knowing how everything works. If you understand the business structure, you can learn to manipulate that structure to your advantage. If you do not understand how certain things work, you will most likely make a subpar deal for yourself or a client, and it could end up costing you your job or your career.
This does translate into all jobs. If you are not sure, watch a few episodes of Undercover Boss. Every one of those CEOs that go undercover learns things about their employees. It is usually lessons they have forgotten or something they never realized because they came to a CEO job from another company, one that might not even be in the same business.
What does this ultimately mean for you as an employer?
Essentially, this is a great time to hire a younger person to do the jobs you dislike or do not have time for. It can be anything from updating mailing lists to taking inventory. You do not need a college degree for either, and it will show you if these young employees have the potential for a future job with you.
If you cannot pay anyone, but you still need help, consider contacting the universities in your area and announcing an unpaid internship available for the summer at your firm or business. This is perfect if you are experiencing a direct detrimental financial situation due to COVID-19 on your business. This way, you can still hire out, get some help, and give a young person some beneficial work experience for their LinkedIn Profile.
If you are a teen or college student looking for a summer job:
You might think you are in the wrong position because a lot of restaurant and retail work has evaporated with the loss of many businesses; however, this is a time to impress potential employers and future potential employers.
It is not okay to take it easy every single day. You should see this as a once in a lifetime opportunity. You have to time off. You can only play so many video games and stream so many films, and tv shows online. Unless you are currently making money on YouTube or Twitch as a commentator or winning tournaments as a top gamer, I suggest you take a deep breath, roll up yourself, or take a step away from the X-Box or Playstation. Stop watching TikTok non-stop and take stock of yourself.
This is the perfect opportunity to learn a new skill, especially a foreign language. You can learn on Duolingo for free. There are many places where you can take online classes from Ivy League Schools for free such as EdX. If you want credit instead of auditing the course, there is usually a $30 fee attached, which you do not have to sign up for initially. You have several weeks to decide if you want full credit or you want to audit. If you sign up for LinkedIn Premium for a few months, you can take online classes there through Lynda.com, which is now LinkedIn Learning, and those will show up in your profile once you have completed them. You can also do some skills certification exams to show if you are proficient in many technology-related skills.
If you do not need to build a skill set and are looking for a job, it is best to think entry-level this summer. There is no shame in learning from the ground up. While there are plenty of entry-level positions still out there listed on sites such as Indeed.com, this is probably the best time to use your resources: your acquaintances, your parent’s friends, your neighbor’s, primarily, anyone you know. Make sure that you tell everyone what you are good at and put it out there: I’m looking for a part-time job this summer. I am great at filing, Excel, and making coffee for everyone.
If it is a short-term job, you will know someone who knows someone who might be willing to hire you. This should not stop you from contacting your school’s work-study program, or being a college student, your school’s employment office, through its website. And do not forget about Craigslist. There are still many opportunities out there; you need to know where to look.
