Teenagers deserve to enjoy the carefree freedom of a few more summers before college and adulthood. But part-time summer work can also be a foundational building block for strong professional and financial habits.
In addition to giving your teen a reason to wake up before noon, a summer job can provide valuable lessons on responsibility, teamwork, and basic money management. And if college is on the horizon, setting some boundaries for your own generosity might encourage your teen to take a little more ownership over their education and their future.
If you can already see the eye rolls, remind your teen that the right summer job can be rewarding in many ways. Help your teen focus their job search in these areas.
1. Building Skills, Not Just Their Bank Account
It's perfectly reasonable to expect your teen to contribute to big-ticket costs like college tuition or a car. Even if you can afford these expenses yourself, your teen will learn a lot about budgeting and how loans and interest work if they're making payments themselves.
However, if your teen just wants to earn a downpayment on their first car as soon as possible, they might gravitate towards the highest-paying part-time jobs. A truly menial job that pays well but doesn't challenge your teen or fill them with purpose might distort their view of work or make it hard for them to keep a job through the summer.
Just about any job will teach a teen the value of showing up on time, following procedures, and executing required functions. More fulfilling jobs will cover these bases while also teaching them service, teamwork, communication, physical fitness, and leadership.
Even better, if your teen does have some ideas about a future career, consider ...
2. Alignment with Future Goals
Working in a kitchen will be much more appealing to an aspiring chef or restauranteur.
A budding fashionista will get more out of a job in retail clothing.
“Camp counselor” might be a great job title to highlight on an application for a competitive education program. Add in some nighttime babysitting for even more experience working with children.
Working as a youth sports coach or referee could help your young athlete learn how to develop talent and teach kids to play the games they love the right way.
A summer job that helps your teen develop potential professional skills and interests doesn't just pay in experience and money. These kinds of jobs will also teach your child that work can – and should – provide purpose and fulfillment as well. Even entry-level positions can give teens an opportunity to "test drive" industries and careers that they may be interested in and differentiate between potential hobbies (drawing) and potential jobs (assisting a graphic designer).
3. Begin Building a Network
Landing a dream job is rarely just about a degree or a resume.
Often, career advancement begins with who you know. And it's never too soon for your teen to connect with people who can accelerate their professional growth.
Helping your teen set up a professional profile on LinkedIn or create their own online digital portfolio might be a good start.
Or you could introduce them to that family friend who's a small business owner for a summer master class in entrepreneurship.
If they're interested in following in mom or dad's footsteps, you might be able to connect them with a colleague, former professor, or former boss who can provide part-time pay and full-time mentorship.
And if your teen needs some advice on what to do with those paychecks, bring them into our office and we can have a chat about starting their Life-Centered Financial Plan.
