2. What do you do when the school day ends?
A) Hang out with friends
B) Do homework
C) Do your chores
D) Play a sport
E) Participate in an
afterschool program
(art, dance, theater,
robotics, etc.)
F) Work a job
G) Volunteer
3. Jobs and colleges want to see you do well in
school but they also…
Want to see that you’re
involved!
4. What does it mean to be involved? Why is it
important?
6. How can I get involved?
Join a club
Volunteer in your
community
Do a sport
Get a part-time job
Take a class at a local
community center
Find an after school
program
Be a leader
Participate in student
government
Create a project to help
your school or community
7. Example: Mighty Writers
Do you like to write?
Do you want to improve
your writing?
Mighty Writers teaches
writing skills to help
Philadelphia students
succeed in school for
FREE
Located on 39th and
Lancaster in West Philly
Programs Available
Daily afterschool
Academy
Long- and short-term
writing classes at night
and on the weekends
Mighty Teen Scholars
program
Mentorships
Intensive SAT Prep
courses and college
essay writing classes
8. Example: City of Philadelphia Mural Arts
Program
Are you artistic? Do you
like to work with your
hands?
Mural Arts has FREE art
education programs at
over 25 sites in the city
Summer classes
After school classes
Students work on both
small and large projects
Many students go on to
do PAID work with Mural
Arts
9. Example: Philadelphia Youth Network
WorkReady
Do you want to learn how
to become more
professional and get work
experience?
Provides career exposure
and skill training for the
professional world for
youth ages 14-21
Spend six weeks doing a
PAID summer program
with over 70 organizations
to choose from
Service learning
Internship
Work experience
19. What do I put on my resume?
A résumé has several sections. Employers want
to see:
Name and contact information
Education
Objective or summary statement
Work experience
Leadership experience
Volunteer and extracurricular experience
Skills
Honors/awards
22. What do I include in my cover letter?
Contact Information for you and your employer
Name, address, phone number, cell phone number, e-mail
Salutation
Example: Dear Mr. Smith
If you don’t know use “To whom it may concern”
First Paragraph
Why you are writing
Middle Paragraphs
What you have to offer the employer (be specific)
Final Paragraph
How you will follow-up
Closing
Example: Sincerely, Best regards
How you spend your time after school and during the summer now can have a big impact when you apply to colleges and jobs. They will want to see that you have been consistently participating in some of the same activities. Change to clicker presentation!!
They want to see that you are well rounded, have passions, have different skills, and can apply what you are learning in the classroom to real life.
Have students answer. Getting involved build your confidence, allows you to give back to your community, learn what you like and don’t like, make friends, gives you something to do rather than being bored at home, makes your family and friends proud
What sort of activities do you participate in? Choir? Sports? Playing an instrument? Being in a play? Doing art? Being in a club? Doing an afterschool program?
Try out lots of different things to see what you like but once you’ve found something you enjoy, keep with it! (use your grit!) It looks better to be really involved with one thing you really care about rather than to be constantly switching between activities. Look at the afterschool guide provided to find activities based on zipcode, ask your counselor, do some research—many programs in the fall require that your register in the summer! If an opportunity doesn’t exist, see if you can get a scholarship for something that already exists or get people together to start your own project.
Make sure not to overcommit and get overwhelmed! It’s important to still take care of yourself mentally and physically, spend time with friends and family, and keep up with your schoolwork. Time management is the key to balance. Sometimes having less time encourages us to actually do our work and chores versus watching TV and getting distracted. Talk with your counselor, family, coach, teacher, Talent Search, etc if you are struggling—ask for help! Sometimes there are ways to make it work.
Many of you will be applying to part-time jobs in the next year or two. You’ve found your passion but now how do make money off of that?
Jobs require not only a passion for what you’re doing. You must have experience, skills, and abilities that you can demonstrate that you can do this job better than anyone else. Have students fill out form on their skills in small groups, ask friends for help! Also, if you feel like you don’t have many skills now that’s okay! It takes time to develop skills so keep at something and keep practicing and you’ll see improvement every day.
Sometimes the stuff we like is different than the stuff that people will pay us to do and different than what we’re good at. It’s okay if a job in high school isn’t your dream job! Start small to work your way up. Think of jobs that will teach you skills that will help you get a job later on that is closer to what you actually want to do. Example: working in retail if you want to do business or fashion later on, working as a waiter/waitress or busboy if you would like to be a chef. Sometimes if you stay with a company/organization you can move up over the years.
Start talking about internships, volunteering, part-time jobs, extracurricular activities, job research, and shadowing jobs. You can legally get a job at age 14 but always ask because many jobs require employees to be 16 and over or 18 and over. When looking for a job, make sure you fit a majority of the qualifications (look at required versus preferred). Example: I don’t have a license so I can’t apply for any jobs that require I have a car.
Our speaker yesterday talked about the importance of mentors. They can help you network—making connections with people to potentially get a job with them later on but you can get connected with anyone. Do you want to be a vet? Maybe your best friend’s cousin is a vet! Or you’re interested in business and your teacher’s husband owns his own store! If you want to learn more about a career, you can do an informational interview to learn more about how they got where they are. Make sure to always follow up and thank people afterwards! When you get older, if someone asks for help make sure to pay forward the help others have given you.
Look for job postings in stores, ask managers if they are hiring, look online (Monster, Craigslist, Idealist, etc.) This image is deceptive—most job applications are now online! BE CAREFUL. Make sure you call a place beforehand and have a parent go with you to an interview to make sure a place is real and will hire you legally. Most require a resume, cover letter, and references.
A résumé is a one page document that sums up your skills, experiences and accomplishments so a potential employer can quickly see whether you are a good fit for a position. Before you start applying for jobs or internships, you'll need to write a résumé. Even if you're new to the workforce, a strong résumé can help you stand out in the crowd. Make sure you write a new resume for each job, don’t just copy and paste.
Keep it to one page, always typed, always professional, made sure to proofread and revise, use bullet points, use action verbs and hard numbers (such as Sang first soprano in over 30 church choir performances versus sang in church choir), don’t be afraid to brag but NEVER lie—this can get you into lots of trouble, make it easy to read, make yourself stand out-most employers only spend a few minutes looking over a resume when looking for applicants), and always ask someone to look over it for you.
Have students fill out section in their workbooks, pass out sample resume. Make sure it’s neat and easy to read—most employers will only spend a few minutes looking at it before they decide to move you on to the next round.
A cover letter is a one page document where you explain to an employer why you want that specific job and convince them that you are the best candidate for the job.
Do your research—make it clear that you are familiar with the company/organization, highlight experiences that are relevant and important to you. Don’t just repeat what is in your resume. This is a chance for you to talk about your skills. Have friends, family, and mentors revise and give you advice.
Look at sample cover letters! Make sure you write a new cover letter for each job, don’t just copy and paste.
Interviews are a way for employers to get to know you better. They are typically between 10 minutes and up to an hour. Always show up fifteen minutes early for an interview. Interviews can be over the phone, online (through Skype), or in-person. Some jobs will have multiple rounds of interviews. Make sure to practice with a friend beforehand and go over your resume. Always research beforehand to know the company/organization. This is also a chance for you to see if this is a right fit—come with questions about the job! Many colleges offer mock interviews as a way to practice and give feedback.
Be professional – would you want to hire this man? Why or why not? Body language is important—strong handshake, eye contact, sitting up straight, looking interested. Ask the employer what the dress code is, for business formal wear a suit fancy dress, for business casual wear a blouse and skirt/slacks or a modest, simple dress for girls, (look at Mr. Todd) button down shirt tucked in and slacks for boys. Even if the interview is casual, make sure to dress nicely with clean clothes and no underwear/bras showing.
Look online for a list of questions employers may ask you. Have specific, appropriate examples in mind to show that you have experience but also be able to talk about what you have learned from these experiences. If you don’t understand the question, ask a clarifying question such as “Would you prefer me to talk about a challenge in school or at work?” Always send a thank you card (or email if you cant send a card) thanking your interviewer afterwards. Even if you don’t get the job, each interview offers an opportunity to get practice. Be proud of yourself for getting to the interview—not everyone gets one!
If you don’t get something you apply for, keep trying
Sometimes an organization might really like you but someone else just ended being a better fit
Sometimes things happen for a reason—you might find an opportunity you like even better. Sometimes people won’t give you the job you apply for but will get you in contact with someone they think you would work well for.
Break into three groups based on your interest. Make a list of the skills and experiences someone might need for this position (no need to look it up, just give your best guess), talk about the qualities that an employer would look for in this person, talk about what you could do now specifically to start pursuing these careers, who would you talk to?, what activities should you do?, what kind of classes do you need?, what sort of education would you need?, also come with a list of things you would include in your resume/cover letter and potential questions that an employer may ask you during an interview.
It may seem early to think about jobs now but every step you take now will pay off in the long run!
