Tough job market drives teens to alternatives

The difficulties in finding work reach across all income levels.

Lindsay Gumma, a 17-year-old from a middle-class family in Barrington Hills, Ill., has been looking for a summer job for months with little luck. She tried a local day care, a smoothie shop, and even a Starbucks, but came up with nothing.

“It’s tough now,” she says. “One of my friends worked at a chocolate shop, but they closed it down, so she’s out of a job. And my boyfriend doesn’t have a job and can’t find one, and he just graduated.”

Gumma told her sister, Tina Brandts, about the difficulty she was having, and Brandts came up with a suggestion.

“I offered her the opportunity to take care of my 9- and 7-year-olds during the summer while I work,” she says. “It will save me $800 per month by not having to put them in summer camps, and she will earn $250 per week, which isn't bad pay for sitting at the pool and playing at the park.”

The arrangement is working out for all involved.

“It’s nice to be with my niece and nephew, and I’m helping my sister,” Gumma says.

These type of private arrangements will typically not end up in any job-market statistics.

One thing's for certain: The decline in the number of young people in the job market is not just a function of the recent downturn. The labor force participation rate among teens has been declining since the 1970s. Some economists point to a growing desire among parents to have their children concentrate on school work and enrichment activities instead of a minimum-wage job as a big reason for the decline.

Jeremy Roy, the owner of 11 Great American Cookies franchises and one Pretzelmaker store in Texas, believes this is the reason he doesn’t have a large number of high-caliber teens to choose from even during a recession. “Those teens typically come from families that have money that don’t allow them to work,” he says. “They do extracurricular or volunteer work.”

Fierce competition
But keeping teens out of the labor force may not be the best idea.

Jeylan T. Mortimer, a professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota, has followed high school students into their 20s and found that working during the teen years helped kids learn about time management and develop better interpersonal skills. Those who worked ended up with the highest levels of educational attainment.

For teens looking for a traditional job this summer, the competition will be fierce. However, there are some recent hopeful signs, says Shawn Boyer, CEO of SnagAJob.com. In the last two months, he says, jobs postings from employers are up 13 percent on his job site.

Despite a few bright spots, teens will still have to find ways to set themselves apart. “The most important characteristic is not experience, but a positive attitude and flexibility in your schedule,” he says.

Teens should make sure everything is grammatically correct when filling out an application and should list all experience, even extracurricular activities or leadership positions held.

Also, don’t show up in packs, says cookie franchise owner Roy. He recommends that teens come to fill out an application by themselves, dressed in clean, neat and appropriate attire.

“One thing I require from our applicants is that they have an ink pen,” he says. “If they don’t have a pen, then they’re not prepared.”

It’s also important, even for teens, to work their contacts. That includes family and friends.

Natalie Geisler, 16, from Bethesda, Md., got a gig this summer as a camp counselor for a sports day camp called KidBall.

“I got the job because I built up a relationship with them,” she says. “My parents know the people that run it, and they got to know me.”

Geisler will be working for $10 an hour, and she’s happy to have the cash.

“I like clothing and shoes,” she says. “I like it to the point where my parents say, ‘If you want it, you have to buy it yourself.’”

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