“A teenager got a job and had to put up with his expenses” was once in a blue moon news people used to get a decade ago. Getting a job as a teenager was never an uncomplicated task before, as citizens strongly believed that kids either were meant to study or help parents with their work, and they have been nurturing the thought, “Nobody pays a teenager.”
But today, everything has changed over time. Many teenagers are working part-time, freelancing, and there is no better time than now to look for a job as a teenager that fits you the best. But do you wonder who would pay you?
Every company and every person wants you if you have what they want. Yes, you can fit anywhere when you have booming skills and industry knowledge, irrespective of your locality and age. So, how do you exactly find a job as a teenager? What steps and measures should you take to hit the jackpot?
This How to Find a Job as a Teenager guide will give you industry-proven steps and strategies to help you land your first job if applied enough.
8 Ways to Find a Job as A Teenager
We live in an updated and technological world that has proved age is just a number if you have the right skillsets the world needs. The advancements in technology opened a million ways to finding teen jobs. One such essential feature of today’s tech world is the internet. With the internet, your job search becomes effortless. So, here are a few steps to finding suitable job openings.
1. Understand Your Capabilities
The primary step to doing any full-time or part-time job is understanding your capabilities in the working domain. It is essential, especially for teenagers like you, to know what you are good at and how your skills can serve the particular industry.
Though teenagers getting paid is a myth in many ways, it is still applicable in the real working world. So, the more you are accurate with your skills, the better the chances are that you can ace almost every hiring session and get paid more.
2. Experiment Multiple Things
To understand your industry skills, you should experiment with all the possible industries you think would pay well. Experimenting with skills and industries is ideal because the more you experience different industries, the more you move closer to your niche – a particular area you are actually good at.
Sometimes, this can lead you to explore areas you have never heard of or worked on before that could be related to your interests. For instance, you are good at writing and have chosen content writing as your niche.
So, you experiment with different categories- health, finance, lifestyle, and more. As you try different things, with time, you might also get into the other aspects of writing, like website content, marketing copies, product descriptions, and others. Then, you will understand the genre that fits you the best.
3. Focus on What You Are Good At
Every productive and lifestyle influencer says that skill stacking is essential and helps you rule your life. While that can be true to some extent, consider the threshold that stacking skills are not an overnight success. But you can reach your skills milestone when focused on one skill at a time, and it happens when you focus on what you are good at while starting your job search.
Rather than focusing on multiple areas, focus on one skill at a time and learn it thoroughly because one mastered skill set can make you stand out from a crowd with numerous skills without mastery. Primarily, focus on what you are best at, and later, move to learn other skills.
4. Check for The Industry Gap
The industry gap is something that many people ignore, and if you manage to bridge that gap, the hiring manager will have no choice but to choose you. Identifying the gap requires high industry knowledge, research skills, and an adequate network system. However, creativity sets you apart when bridging the industry gap in the work area.
Let’s say that many people apply for job listings, and as requested, everybody mails their resume. But if you take a moment and attach a cover letter explaining why you are the best fit for that particular position, push your application forward and improve your chances of getting hired.
5. Upskill Every Day
Changes occur daily, no matter how skilled you are in the industry. The strategies you work on today might not be practical tomorrow, considering the consistent changes the evolving world is bringing. Unfortunately, this is where most people commit a mistake by not updating themselves with the updated information.
Completing a course and receiving a certificate does not prove you are smart enough to solve an issue, but following the trending methods does. Follow industry experts, read the updated guidelines of the system, and build a robust network to stay updated.
6. Gain Experience
With a step closer to bagging a package, you must build experience before landing a jackpot. But who would hire you when you do not have a background? Fortunately, startups and other brands do. Startups try to save every penny they make by taking people in as interns or employees for peanuts. They guide and teach you the entire work process within a month or two.
So, interning with any reputed brand or a small business lets you build your work portfolio and update your resume. Check for a summer job or online job postings to find the best job that matches your interests.
You can start by cold-emailing the hiring department or any specified address in the job description, telling them you are a fresher and open to working part-time or as an intern. They will get right back to you if they have any open positions.
7. Build a Portfolio
Irrespective of the genre or niche you are interested in, the portfolio will be a game-changer and sometimes can even land deals you never imagined. The portfolio is like an advanced resume, as it tells who you are, the projects you did practically, and the feedback you got for your work.
While your resume gives brief info about you and your work theoretically, your portfolio shows the theoretical information of your resume practically. Your portfolio can be as simple as about me, my services, samples, testimonials, and contact me sections.
8. Find a Job
Finding the right job depends on how you search. There are two ways you can do this. Search for job openings online on third-party sites or check out the careers section on a brand’s website you wish to work for.
Yet, taking the job search tutorial online for a smooth process while applying could work. A few job listings will guide you on how to submit your application for that particular post. So, read all the provided details twice carefully.
Most people usually follow the above methods. Regardless, there are other strategies you can follow in your job hunt:
LinkedIn is one of the best places, having many job opportunities for everybody in almost every niche. You can customize your job alerts, from online jobs to offline jobs, and the best feature is that the app’s algorithm shows you the positions that match your profile. You can directly apply to the role via Linkedin with your resume.
- Internshala
Internshala can be a great start if you are new to any industry. It has a wide range of internships in every niche. From reputed brands to small businesses, come to Internshala to hire motivated freshers to guide and help them become industry experts by offering the actual work.
- Personal Branding
Building an audience as you get started can be difficult, but the results are worth it. When you try to construct a personal brand, you show yourself as an industry expert and can bring inbound leads. Also, you do not have to worry about referrals as your audience finds a way to help you.
5 Jobs You Can Do As a Teenager
Getting into a technical field can be challenging as each one of those professions requires a minimum educational qualification unless you are super expert at what you do.
However, there are other roles you can fit into effortlessly as a teenager, and they promise to pay equivalent to the technical positions. Sometimes, even more. So, here is a list of jobs you can take up, either part-time or full-time:
1. Web Designing
See around yourself. The content you are consuming from or the platform you used the last time to order your favorite shoes is a website. To utilize the power of the internet or online needs a website.
Learning to build a website may only take two or three months if you have the dedicated time. This skill, in particular, is booming in the 21st century.
As we live in a technical ruling world, every business and every other offline thing is slowly shifting to conduct online. So, with expertise, you can bag a client who can pay you well. You can charge $2000 to $5000 per project, depending on the range of work.
2. Content Writing
Content writing is another easy skill to master in no time. All you need is a basic understanding of how words work and how to use them properly. The websites you visit, the emails you get, the information you Google, and the social platforms you surf daily are all content pieces.
Did you ever wonder who produces all that information? It is the work of a content writer, and you can get paid well if you are skilled enough with a robust portfolio.
Content writing can pay you well because the technological world is technical just for a word, but the remaining part is the content. You can get started with $200 as a beginner and go up to 1500 USD per project, depending on the type of work.
3. Social Media Marketing
The internet has more opportunities for businesses as well. As many turn online, getting customers from social media remains the source for firms or individuals. So, business characters look for someone to help them with their social media accounts.
As a social media marketer, your work is more than just posting content. It involves creating a robust content strategy, reaching out to people, responding to people in DMs, and more. The best part is that you can also build your personal brand alongside your client’s work.
Since your work is a little hectic, the stipend will be more than the content writing industry. $500 is the beginner-friendly pitch, and as your portfolio builds, you can charge up to $2000 per client.
4. Copywriting
Remember the last time you read something and clicked on the link to view some product? The moment you read and sign up for an email list, the description you read before buying a course online, and the indirect links you follow are the works of a copywriter.
Copywriting is one of the most required skills in today’s digital era. As more businesses evolve online, the demand for a skilled copywriter has also increased. As a copywriter, you will be responsible for playing with the psychology of humans.
From understanding their online behavior, habits, interests, demographics, and many more to writing content called copy that can drive people to cooperate with your CTA, an entry-level employee charges $500 per project, while you can charge $2000+ as an expert.
5. Graphic Designing
Just as businesses focus on building their social media, they need someone to design posts for their social channels. Graphic design can be a terrific hustle if you are creative enough to understand the audience’s intentions.
Designing is more about your audience rather than about your creativity. As a graphic designer, you design social media posts, online ads, presentations, ebooks, infographics, product designs, website designs, and others. Depending on the workload, you can charge $300 and above.
So, these are some jobs you can take up as a teenager, even if you are just a beginner, as it will not take more than two months to master the complete skill set. The flexibility of these skills is that you can work as a freelancer or a full-time or part-time employee for a company.
Apart from these, you can also work as a retail sales associate or babysitter and take up dog walking jobs in the summer.
Booming Skills You Should Develop
No matter which industry you prefer, a few fundamental skills remain common. Here is a list of skills you should sharpen irrespective of your work industry.
1. Communication Skills
There is a saying, “Good communicators lead the industry,” and it is true. Take any digital platform, from Instagram to YouTube. People with good communication skills will have a high following. Did you ever wonder what sets them apart from other competitors?
It is not communication but their ability to express their thoughts clearly to the world, and it is the primary thing that every company looks for in an applicant. Communication skills are essential for two reasons. One is to express your thoughts and ideas clearly to the world, followed by bringing change.
2. Writing Skills
Writing is another form of communication that the whole world depends on, even beyond speech. If you are yet to master this skill, you are missing out on many opportunities. From your resume to the cover letter, everything is a written document.
Although communication and writing skills are interlinked, they are different. We do not use the speaking language in writing. Yet, we may write in different tones. With writing skills, you can convince people more skillfully than in face-to-face conversations.
3. Basic Designing Skills
Basic designing skills like graphics, coding, and web development are essential as they help you understand the BTS of every online thing. If you want to get into marketing, you should at least understand the basics of graphic designing, how social media platforms work, and SEO, which is more about the technical side.
Or, if you want to become a blogger or a content creator, you should deal more with websites. Similarly, if you aspire to do something online, you should have the basic skills of every genre, though web developers help you create the best website and graphic designers come up with great graphics.
You cannot always go back to them for every minor change, can you?
4. Networking Skills
The only skill most introverts are scared of and are yet to master is networking with people. Meeting new people is one of the pillars of success in anything you do, particularly online. Networking unlocks opportunities that boost your brand recognition and help you settle into the right job.
Networking with people does not have to be rocket science because you can always start with your friends and family members, with whom you were not in touch for a while. From job searching to the product you sell online, the right people in your list will always be supportive.
Must-implement Habits
Your habits determine who you are. They play a vital role when learning something new. Bad habits that stoop you down are effortless to master, while healthier habits are hard to build, but they affect your life positively.
Here is a list of addictions you should develop for a successful job hunt journey and beyond:
1. Read Books
Your mind might not support reading books, yet it is crucial to master reading every day if you want to achieve your goals sooner. Reading books helps you think in multiple ways, upgrades your mind, improves your language, and many more. Start reading five pages daily and increase the page count as you progress.
We highly recommend self-improvement and niche books, as they can guide you throughout the process. For everything you are learning, there is a book that can help you digest all the facts you learned.
2. Listen to Podcasts
Podcasts are a great way to learn something new from industry experts. Sometimes, more than theoretical and practical knowledge, you need guidance from an expert to guide you through the path to avoid all the ups and downs in your journey.
So, more than YouTube, podcasts can serve you in this issue. You do not have to dedicate your schedule to listening to podcasts. You can listen to them when traveling, working, or walking.
3. Journaling
Journaling can make your days more productive than any other activity because you dump everything from your brain onto paper. You can refer to those words of your thoughts on a paper when you forget something.
You can boost your productivity in almost every area when you journal every day, as you do not have to worry about anything since you have everything on paper. Journaling gives you time to think over essential tasks.
4. Learn to Spend Alone
Staying isolated for an hour daily can refresh your mind, letting you work on the most meaningful tasks. Surrounded by people might not allow you to focus on yourself, but when you are alone, free from people, the internet, and noise, you will focus on the crucial aspects of your life, or at least you get peace of mind.
Places to Upgrade Your Skills to Bag a Highest-Paying Gig
Today, the internet made it possible to take any course from any university you want from any part of the world. Sometimes, these universities offer free classes, while a few charge you. Below is a list of online platforms you can take free or paid courses from:
1. Coursera
It is a prominent online course-taking platform provided by world-class universities. In almost every booming area, Coursera has a course.
2. Hubspot
Hubspot is another well-known application for marketing courses for free. For every course you complete, you will receive a shareable certificate.
3. Alison
Alison is great if you are aspiring to complete a diploma course. Also, they offer free lessons in every booming industry.
Final Words:
“How to find a job as a teenager?” is not a question in today’s digitalized world, as the internet has changed how the world thinks. With slight possibilities, getting a few job positions as a teenager is tough. However, if you have what the world needs, you can fit into any high-paying job in any brand or even bag a client who pays you more than a corporate job.
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Last Updated on by Sathi
