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FeedSchool’s Out, & the Kids Will …
When it comes to summer jobs, the options are many—but they often lack substance. Meet four enterprising local teens who made the most of their downtime.
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The summer of her junior year, Celeste Lavin was looking for more than a steady babysitting gig. “I’d applied to some places, but I didn’t hear back from anybody—and I didn’t really know why,” says the Lower Merion High School alum. “Nobody told me about following up. Nobody told me about what I was getting into.”
Celeste sought advice from her brother, Austin, who was an art history major at the University of Pennsylvania. “We agreed that there wasn’t much out there for teenagers looking for their first jobs,” she says.
So Celeste and Austin teamed up to start MyFirstPaycheck.com, an online resource for summer and after-school jobs. They initially convinced employers in Merion, Wynnewood and Narberth to post jobs on their website. They set up blogs and gave tips on finding references, writing resumes and landing interviews.
Soon enough, they were fielding e-mails from employers in other states. By the end of Celeste’s senior year, the site was listing over 1,100 entry-level jobs and internships in every state and the District of Columbia. Managing the content has since become a full-time job for Austin.
As for Celeste, she’s finishing her freshman year at Smith College and thinking of majoring in sociology. “I mentioned what I’d done with the webpage on my application, so Smith was aware of it when I applied,” she says. “I can’t say if it helped me get accepted, but I can say I’ve gained a real appreciation for entrepreneurial energy. There are a lot of jobs kids can get, and a lot of things they can do with those jobs. For me, coming up with an idea, following it through and seeing it happen was pretty cool.”
This summer, the federally mandated minimum hourly wage will increase 10 cents, from $7.15 to $7.25. Now the bad news: Getting a job won’t be so easy, thanks to the recession.
“Teens are going to see increased competition for summer jobs from people who’ve been laid off,” says Ryan Horner, an industry analyst for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor. “Kids who got a job last summer and assume it will be waiting for them this summer should broaden their search and put out even more applications.”
It doesn’t really matter whether a first job has career potential or is simply a way to earn some fast cash. The real-world experience is what counts. Most high schools offer internships, job shadowing and cooperative work-study programs for juniors and seniors.
“The opportunities for kids to find a cool summer job are better now than they’ve ever been,” says Joe Havlick, a guidance counselor at Harriton High School, whose first job was caddying at St. Davids Golf Club. “It doesn’t have to be retail; it doesn’t have to be food service; it doesn’t have to be menial—though there’s nothing wrong with any of those kinds of jobs.”
Ultimately, it’s up to the job seeker. “And it’s a good idea for parents to step back a little and let their kids take the lead, follow their instincts, develop their own networking, and learn from the experience,” says Havlick. “No matter how grim the economic climate is, if a kid really wants to do something interesting and fun—or just make a lot of money—the opportunities are out there, especially for the college bound.”
