Job Hunting: Jobs for High School Students

The best jobs for high school students are ones that allow them to earn some spending money, as well as gain some much-needed experience for future jobs. Most opt for traditional jobs---fast food, for example, but there are so many more options in addition to the food services industry that can add experience points for future jobs.

Look within your own family first.

Extra chores. Odds are you have a set list of chores that have to be done each day or week. Watch what mom or dad does, and come up with a list of things you could take over. Weeding and mowing the lawn are good examples. Washing the family car on a regular basis is another favorite. If your family has the means to pay for these services, start there as you'll gain experience, probably get your most accurate job criticism, as well as earn the extra cash.

Fast food. Apply at the places where you like to eat. As with any other business, if you like the product, it's an easier sell. You will most likely start out with the lower end positions such as cleaning tables, refilling condiments and the like, but these are all to teach you the basics before you are thrown on the front line. After you've applied and accepted, make sure that you 1)Do the job at hand, and 2)volunteer for any others that come along. Chip in. Ultimately, make yourself an invaluable member of the team.

Child care. This is more than just watching children from x time to y time. You'll gain bartering skills (with the children) as well as time management (for yourself) and negotiation skills (from both the parent and the child). For example, if you can't drive, you may have to negotiate that you are driven home.

Service Jobs

Dog walking is a great job for a teenager. In this hectic world, pet owners often get the guilts about not being able to exercise their pets the way they should. Enter the eager teen with as much energy as a bounding Labrador.

Errands. This is one that mom and dad may be of some use with in terms of connections. Also, if you have done child care for the person, so much the better, since they know you. The chores you have in your own household can be translated to the harried 9-5 workers with children. This is a bit more trust based. Set fees for picking up dry cleaning, fetching groceries, returning library books, dog washing or making the carpool run for a harried mom. Treat this like a business. Set prices that are in keeping with the going rate in your area. If you are just starting out, you may want to offer a deal for to the first few clients if they agree to steady gig for you.

Creative Services. Combine what you love with earning money.

Music. Many a budding band has started by playing local parties for friends or in garages. And the fact is, most kids would play for free, given the chance, so if music is in your blood, float a trial balloon and see if anyone would be willing to pay. Never think of something you love to do as wasted effort. You always gain experience and a tad more busy savvy than you had the day before with each endeavor.

Think beyond the traditional routes with this. Perhaps a local senior citizens home needs someone to play the piano and lead singalongs.

Art. If you have an artistic bent, see if your friends would be willing to fork over $5 for a quick caricature portrait done of themselves. It could make a great gift for someone to give for birthdays or the holidays. Draw the subject out to make it unique. Include hobbies and put them in a setting that is a bit out the ordinary to make it memorable. Word of mouth will travel a long way on this one.

Again, think beyond the traditional. If you know origami, for example, or Ikebana (art of Japanese flower arranging), approach a senior center to teach a class.

Theatre. Hire yourself out for children's birthday parties. Have the parent rent the costume (or you find it and rent it for a tacked on fee for your gas money), and you present your fun self as SpongeBob, Billy the cowboy, whatever. Are you a movie buff? Think usher, a time-honored, high school job. Granted you'll be doing a lot of aisle sweeping and the like, but it also puts you in the atmosphere you want to be in, and you'll get to catch your favorite stars on the big screen as well.

Other. Let your interests be your guide here. If you have every issue of a super hero comic, look at comic book and gaming options. Baseball cards? Look to eBay or local specialty shops to earn some extra money. Gaming? Maybe you can teach a workshop on how to get through certain levels of a favorite game---a game you would have been sitting home playing anyway.

Stick with a Standard

Retail. An enthusiastic, helpful and knowledgeable salesperson is a commodity in a retail store. So, go for something that is within your expertise...go where YOU shop. The upside to retail jobs (as well as the downside) is that most stores often a discount on merchandise. Similarly, you'll know when things are going on sale. While it may seem like a boring job to many, retail offers the resume-poor teen with a chance to gain customer service experience, as well as build up a work ethic that can be translated onto paper by way of the resume.

Seasonal Jobs

Swimming Pools. During the summer, there's always a need at the local pools for lifeguards and people to run the snack shacks. If you've spent every summer at the local pool lounging, think of putting in a few hours atop the lifeguard's chair.

Camp Counselor. Most camps ask for references, but that shouldn't be a problem for those who are considering a camp counselor gig. The good part is, once you do it for a summer, you are often requested to return.

Snowball Stands. It depends on what part of the country you are from, but in Baltimore, lots of teens start with a snowball stand, and nowadays you'll find adults running them as well. There's money in flavored ice.

Shoveling snow, plowing driveways. Snow is lovely as it's coming down, but not so lovely when the snowplow has pushed it out of the street and directly in front of your car. Someone has to shovel. Why not you?

The parent must work with the child to hammer home the idea that any job, even if it seems menial, has merit. A babysitting job shows responsibility to the next employer. A fast food job shows the ability to multi task, run cash registers and follow orders. No job is a wasted effort.

Many a budding entrepreneur started out with a simple lemon aid stand or babysitting the child next door, or even a baby brother. The trick is to treat each job as a learning experience and something to add to your just-forming resume. The extra money for gas and school dances is nice, too.