It's a whole different world when you're in high school… we remember it. One of the main parts of growing up is getting your first job. Landing your first “real” job is a good idea for many reasons, best of which is to help you get your first car, and to help you afford things that come once you’re a driver (think drive-in theaters, road trips, etc). It’s a bit tougher to get a job in this economy, but it’s still readily possible.
Our fast-track guide to getting a job? Look where your friends and peers aren’t looking. Skip the movie theaters or the fast food joint jobs, and go instead to all the local mom-and-pop shops, stores and business.
(Remember: They DON’T have to be an open-to-the-public business, just knock, smile, introduce yourself, state you’re local and looking for a job, and ask what they do and if they need any help.) They may just need some help out in the back or would like to hire a cashier, etc. You never know, and you may be surprised at their response!
If you’re already semi-decided on a career, don’t hesitate to look at local companies and corporations in your field, go on their website and try to find the contact information of the most relevant person that could hire you.
Then, send them a short but nice e-mail and explain why you’re looking for a job - including what you’re good at. Tell them you want to just get your foot in the door. They very well might hire you, or at the worst will offer some advice and tips on job hunting, or send you to another place looking to hire. Don’t send a resume or anything at first, just e-mail.
Now since we’re car people here at Automotive.com, the main reason we think you’ll want a job as teen is to be able to afford your own car. Right? This is a very important time of life, and there are many things that will factor into your decision.
You parents will likely be most concerned with safety since you won’t have as much driving experience as them, and will want to make sure that you get a car that's equipped with standard safety features such as air bags and anti-lock brakes (though once again, in our day we didn’t have these and we’re still fine), but safe is always good.
Another factor that should help determine your ideal first car is its fuel economy. You will be driving A LOT, trust us, and especially in a few years when you start driving to college, so mileage is important. Buying a mid-sized or smaller car will definitely help save on gas. (Here's a list of fuel efficient cars.)
However, sometimes bigger cars/trucks are cheaper upfront to buy for the same reason (less people want gas hogs, and there’s less demand for these cars so they’re cheaper), therefore it’s a bit of a trade-off.
There are also certain features that would be quite helpful in a first car, or any car for that matter. A GPS or navigation is great in case you get lost while driving.
You’d be quick to point out the iPhones and smartphone’s of today all have GPS-enabled maps, but remember fumbling around on a phone while driving isn’t the safest thing in the world, and it’s best to try to minimize it as much as possible. For ourselves, we much-prefer a turn-by-turn voice driven GPS unit over our iPhone’s Google Maps anyway.
When buying a car, one of the biggest decisions is whether to go the new car route or pick up a cool used car. It's typically not a good idea to spend a bunch of cash on a new car or hound your parents for it, unless the price is right and you get good financing (0-3% is ideal, your parents or relative can co-sign for you to achieve this rate).
However you may want something older so you won't be that upset if it gets banged up a little bit—think fender bender, or someone at school banging their door into you in a busy parking lot. If you’re getting a used car though, make sure to check if it’s reliable or not. IntelliChoice, Consumer Reports and other resources can help you with this.
If the car is a gift from someone though, like your parents, don’t worry about it. A car is a car. Unless you can talk them into buying a newer car because it’s safer.
Anyway, another thing to keep in mind that will really stink for your parents (or you if you have to pay it) is car insurance. Insurance for teen drivers is high, there’s really no way around it. Companies are taking a big risk insuring rookie drivers who don't have that much driving experience, but they still need to grow their future client base so they have to give out reasonable rates.
Plus, most teens are actually great drivers, it’s the few out of the many who wreck their cars every year that jack up everybody’s rates! But the type of car that you will drive plays a large role in insurance. Faster cars will cost you more to insure, as well as expensive cars. So keep that in mind.
We hope we were able to help you with landing a job if you don’t have one, and we hope we were able to give you some useful and actionable advice for buying a car. Feel free to visit us online (click the link below) or drop us a line on here.
Teens got job car image from Shutterstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
It's a whole different world when you're in high school… we remember it. One of the main parts of growing up is getting your first job. Landing your first “real” job is a good idea for many reasons, best of which is to help you get your first car, and to help you afford things that come once you’re a driver (think drive-in theaters, road trips, etc). It’s a bit tougher to get a job in this economy, but it’s still readily possible.
Our fast-track guide to getting a job? Look where your friends and peers aren’t looking. Skip the movie theaters or the fast food joint jobs, and go instead to all the local mom-and-pop shops, stores and business.
(Remember: They DON’T have to be an open-to-the-public business, just knock, smile, introduce yourself, state you’re local and looking for a job, and ask what they do and if they need any help.) They may just need some help out in the back or would like to hire a cashier, etc. You never know, and you may be surprised at their response!
If you’re already semi-decided on a career, don’t hesitate to look at local companies and corporations in your field, go on their website and try to find the contact information of the most relevant person that could hire you.
Then, send them a short but nice e-mail and explain why you’re looking for a job - including what you’re good at. Tell them you want to just get your foot in the door. They very well might hire you, or at the worst will offer some advice and tips on job hunting, or send you to another place looking to hire. Don’t send a resume or anything at first, just e-mail.
Now since we’re car people here at Automotive.com, the main reason we think you’ll want a job as teen is to be able to afford your own car. Right? This is a very important time of life, and there are many things that will factor into your decision.
You parents will likely be most concerned with safety since you won’t have as much driving experience as them, and will want to make sure that you get a car that's equipped with standard safety features such as air bags and anti-lock brakes (though once again, in our day we didn’t have these and we’re still fine), but safe is always good.
Another factor that should help determine your ideal first car is its fuel economy. You will be driving A LOT, trust us, and especially in a few years when you start driving to college, so mileage is important. Buying a mid-sized or smaller car will definitely help save on gas. (Here's a list of fuel efficient cars.)
However, sometimes bigger cars/trucks are cheaper upfront to buy for the same reason (less people want gas hogs, and there’s less demand for these cars so they’re cheaper), therefore it’s a bit of a trade-off.
There are also certain features that would be quite helpful in a first car, or any car for that matter. A GPS or navigation is great in case you get lost while driving.
You’d be quick to point out the iPhones and smartphone’s of today all have GPS-enabled maps, but remember fumbling around on a phone while driving isn’t the safest thing in the world, and it’s best to try to minimize it as much as possible. For ourselves, we much-prefer a turn-by-turn voice driven GPS unit over our iPhone’s Google Maps anyway.
When buying a car, one of the biggest decisions is whether to go the new car route or pick up a cool used car. It's typically not a good idea to spend a bunch of cash on a new car or hound your parents for it, unless the price is right and you get good financing (0-3% is ideal, your parents or relative can co-sign for you to achieve this rate).
However you may want something older so you won't be that upset if it gets banged up a little bit—think fender bender, or someone at school banging their door into you in a busy parking lot. If you’re getting a used car though, make sure to check if it’s reliable or not. IntelliChoice, Consumer Reports and other resources can help you with this.
If the car is a gift from someone though, like your parents, don’t worry about it. A car is a car. Unless you can talk them into buying a newer car because it’s safer.
Anyway, another thing to keep in mind that will really stink for your parents (or you if you have to pay it) is car insurance. Insurance for teen drivers is high, there’s really no way around it. Companies are taking a big risk insuring rookie drivers who don't have that much driving experience, but they still need to grow their future client base so they have to give out reasonable rates.
Plus, most teens are actually great drivers, it’s the few out of the many who wreck their cars every year that jack up everybody’s rates! But the type of car that you will drive plays a large role in insurance. Faster cars will cost you more to insure, as well as expensive cars. So keep that in mind.
We hope we were able to help you with landing a job if you don’t have one, and we hope we were able to give you some useful and actionable advice for buying a car. Feel free to visit us online (click the link below) or drop us a line on here.
Teens got job car image from Shutterstock
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