How to help your teenager get a summer holiday job

It’s rapidly approaching that dreaded time of the year: exam season. If you have a teenager studying for their GCSEs and A Levels, they are probably consumed in revision at the moment, but soon enough the exams will be over, and what should come next? One sure-fire way to ensure that your teenager is occupied and doing something that will actually benefit them in the long term, is to help them secure a part-time job during the long summer break.

Getting a job during the summer holidays will help your child to develop their confidence, give them some of the independence that they crave, enhance their skills, develop their sense of responsibly, and can open up a new social circle and also give them some extra money.

But a word of caution: when it comes to this subject, there is a fine line between being a pushy parent who may inadvertently put their child off getting a job and being a smooth operator, guiding and encouraging your child from the sidelines.

Here are four top tips to help you support your child to bag a summer job:

1. This process should be led by them not you

Wouldn’t it be great if every child had initiative and got a job completely off their own back? In the real world it isn’t as easy as that. As parents we need to choose the right time and the right way to approach the conversation of a summer job. It’s best to be mindful if your teenager is particularly stressed with revision.

2. Sometimes it’s not what you know, but who you know!

One of the most helpful things you can do is introduce your child to someone who does a job they’re interested in, or put them in touch with one of your friend’s children who has a part-time job they might relate to. People you know will have valuable and interesting things to share with your child that will help them along the way and they might even turn out to be positive role models for them.

3. Preparation

A common stumbling block for young people is their CV. To make CV preparation easier, show them a couple of simple CV examples and encourage your child to get someone to proof-read their CV to make sure it is error free, clear and short before it is sent. If your teenager isn’t keen on doing interview practice at home, encourage them to make a list of the questions they think they will be asked.

4. Appearances matter

It isn’t just about wearing smart clothes, having your hair neat and arriving to an interview on time; these days, part of how your child will appear to an employer is through the internet. Make sure your child knows to have good privacy settings on their social media accounts, that their profile picture is something they’d be happy for an employer to see and also encourage them to select a sensible email address. [email protected] probably won’t win them any points when it comes to work!