Job Searching Currently Becomes Hard

Just over one-third of teens between the ages of sixteen and nineteen are a part of the workforce today. When a child becomes sixteen, they are able to seek for a job. This job can help teens learn responsibility, good work habits and improve their time management skills as well as organizational skills. A lot of the time a teen job can help teens figure out if that job is something they would like to go into the future with. Students who are currently in the workforce, during a school week, work about 18 hours a week. Working as a teenager gives them opportunities to establish contacts with adult employers that can serve as a future reference for the teen workers. When working in the workforce as a teen they can realize how capable they are which can lead to finding and building confidence as well as self-reliance. 

The school (Caledonia High School) is kind enough to provide some job openings in the local area. The job openings are on a piece of paper pinned to the bulletin board by Student Services. Most of the jobs on the bulletin board are fast food but that is not always the case. Due to Covid-19 striking the world, it has made it difficult for businesses to hire people. This is because the business might not be able to afford to pay for a new employee. The business, with covid-19 affecting everything, could possibly be losing customers which are not helping the business. This effect on businesses is a true uncertainty, something that no one saw coming. Taylor Elsenbroek, a current junior, stated, “It is a very hard time of the year to find a job, not many places are hiring, or won’t respond to my application”. Many juniors who are sixteen most likely are searching for a job. There are many jobs that are willing to hire sixteen-year-olds including fast-food chains. When working at a fast-food chain you can be a cashier or cook the food in the back. Also, another junior, Ella Schuler says, “When I applied for my job at Tropical Smoothie Cafe, I was surprised I got a response from them since it’s currently hard to find a job”. On the bulletin board at school, located by the student services there is a piece of paper pinned to the board with job positions available at Tropical Smoothie Cafe. Tropical Smoothie Cafe is a fast-food chain that is looking to hire people. Another fast-food chain posted on the bulletin board is Pizza Hut. James Eardley, a former employee at Pizza Hut, quotes, “At first Pizza Hut was a great job to work at. All my friends and I applied there and we all got hired, so that was great. But, as I worked there for a few months I got tired of making pizza’s” When applying to a job and getting hired the reality of working there can hit. Some might have thought they would enjoy working at that certain job, and they end up not enjoying it at all. And others can think they like the current job and truly like the job. 

Overall, a job can be a great way for teenagers to earn their own money and improve their time management skills. There are a variety of jobs that hire kids at the age of sixteen but some jobs do not hire unless your age is eighteen. With the virus of Covid-19 striking the entire world it has caused small businesses and restaurants not able to operate. Meaning that not a lot of people are buying from those small businesses. And for restaurants, with the Governor putting restrictions on, there are times when indoor dining is not allowed.  Instead of indoor dining, restaurants can either do delivery or curbside pick-up. Curbside pick-up allows the employees to bring out the restaurant’s food in a to-go bag. This is a benefit for restaurants still being able to be open without having to shut down the entire business. Even though job searching is currently hard, teens that are seeking a position to work in the workforce hope that there will soon be many jobs to apply for. As well as small businesses hoping that they will be able to get more customers that will help buy from them, supporting their business.