Summer jobs give students life skills

Guidance counselor Theresa Henson knows from experience what a summer job can do for a student.

Henson worked at a cinnamon roll shop in high school and she says the skills she learned from the job benefited her greatly.

“Having to be reliable for someone else, besides my parents, was just a really great skill,” Henson said. “To be able to… earn my own money was huge, but then to be able to say ‘I did that’ and it’s something that now goes on a résumé.”

To start off your résumé, or even add on, in the Guidance IMC there is an area of fliers hung up of places that are hiring students for the summer. The school can give a student as young as 14 a work permit to be able to work. The fliers range from a job at Earl May Nursery to the Henry Doorly Zoo with a variety of hours.

The guidance department has gotten many students jobs in the past by hanging up these fliers and hope to provide more jobs for students in the future.

“[But] I still think the best way to get a job is for our students to go in person and apply because the employers want to see that kids have … essential skills,” Henson said. “But this is an avenue to get your foot in the door.”

Henson has some advice for those students searching for a job. She says it’s like applying for a scholarship so you need to apply to at least five different places before you can even get one. If you apply online, stop into the store, or place you’re applying to, and ask for a manger saying, “Is there anything else I need to do?” This will present you as persistent and mature.

If you are interested in summer jobs, check out the flier board in the Guidance IMC or email a counselor if you’re interested.