By most accounts, teen unemployment is the worst it’s been in years, or perhaps ever, depending on which statistics are reviewed. What’s going on?
As a job search strategist, I can answer authoritatively: Lots of stuff is going on.
One indisputable factor has been the automation and “do-it-yourself-ization” of service positions that teenagers used to hold.
In a “Hi & Lois” cartoon that I keep by my desk, the father, Hi, goes about a day of errands, ranging from filling his own gas tank to scanning his own groceries. The last panel depicts him in the kitchen as his teen son slumps wearily through the door, announcing: “I cannot find a summer job; where are all the jobs?”
Competition from displaced workers also plays a role. These folks are easier to schedule than teens and, as employers have discovered, they stay longer. Even when they get better positions, many adults hold on to their Plan B jobs, largely for the sense of security.
Teens themselves also contribute to this story. Surveys have shown that many eschew employment in favor of volunteering, summer school or building résumés.
Part of the trend relates to changing interests. This group is not as bent on independence as boomers were, and it’s partly due to a depressing sense of reality. When a summer’s wages no longer equal a semester’s tuition, working loses its urgency.
Is this the new normal? Will teen jobs become an anomaly rather than a rite of passage?
I hope not. Neither do I envision a return to the teen employment levels of the past. For one thing, employers are unlikely to abandon the cost savings they enjoy when customers serve themselves.
And, even if all the working adults gave up their teen jobs, I’d still fear an influx of retirees supplementing their Social Security.
While the decline of teen employment isn’t necessarily tragic, some teens and their families badly need this paycheck. If you are that teen, then you are motivated. Here are the tips I’ve garnered from employers of teens:
Dress far more conservatively than you think is necessary.
Approach small, independent employers.
Go in person and ask the managers if they’re hiring.
Practice clear enunciation, good eye contact and straight posture.
Leave behind a simple one-page résumé that includes references.
Most importantly, don’t give up. If you have heard “no” from 50 managers, start over with the first one. Believe me, your earnest desire to work will make you stand out.
And in between meeting managers? Mow lawns or walk dogs. After a long day of battling automated processes, some people would pay to have things done for them.
Wouldn’t it be ironic if teens serving their own customers became the antidote to the self-service takeover of teen jobs?
Amy Lindgren, president of Prototype Career Service.
About the Author
