The teen job market this summer was as dreary as a week of rain when you’re vacationing at the beach. The percent of young people, ages 16 to 24, who worked was the lowest level in 62 years and millions just decided it was too tough and didn’t even attempt to search for work, new government statistics show.
Only 48.9 percent of all youth held jobs – the lowest level since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started keeping records in 1948. The jobless rate for young adults was 19.1 in July, almost double the level of 2007.
Despite all that many teens did land jobs, including a handful at our Mity Nice Italian Ice cart in Ann Arbor.  (Seven  part-time workers spent at least a few weeks hawking lemonade and Michigan-made mango and cherry ice from our shiny silver cart.)

Teens who land jobs even when the world economy is wickedly out of whack must be standouts and lucky. They have these characteristics:

-A positive attitude. More than enthusiasm and more than a million-dollar smile, this shows up as joy, energy, a can-do, willingness to tackle anything approach. Be friendly, engaged, cheerful, outgoing, curious and you will improve your chances of being hired – as well as your everyday life. Not everyone has this approach baked into their DNA, but most people can learn to muster it up and put it on like a work uniform or lipstick.

-Persistence. This may show up as determination and dedication to finding a job. It may show up as volunteering every week at a homeless shelter or a Girl Scout troupe. It may show up in finishing high school in five years after family or health troubles. But that dogged determination leads to success.  Albert Einstein once said, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

-The 4Cs – communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. These traits were identified by an American Management Association survey as increasingly important to employers. Most 17-year-olds will have developed one or two of these but may not yet have proficiency in three or four.  So be sure to highlight them in your resume and interview.

-Extras in their resume. One of my Mity Nice hires this summer was class president and ran a blood drive at school. Another had three jobs this summer to help pay for her gap year in South America.  Head cheerleader or president of the Honor Society or Key Club, these extracurricular activities demonstrate an ability to juggle multiple tasks – and leadership abilities.

-People who believe in them. We hire people based largely on recommendations and referrals at Mity Nice.  We want to hear that the youth is hard-working and smart from neighbors, teachers, members of their church or synagogue and coaches or mentors. Teens who have believers are going to be more confident and more capable. They’re also going to have contacts who will advise them and help open doors to opportunities.

So what if you’re among the one-fifth of teens who did not land a summer job but desperately wants one this winter or spring?  Now is the time to start developing yourself and your skills and your network of believers.  Now also may be the time to start thinking about a small business you could establish over the next year.  (More on that soon.)

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MORE INFORMATION:

For more on the teen employment picture, read the BLS report here.
For my blog post on creating a first resume (for teens), check out WorkingKind.com archive  and also my Washington Post piece .

What can you learn from summer interns? Read my Glassdoor.com blog post on the traits interns have that are coveted by employers.

Need help with your tone and approach to hiring managers? Read my Washington Post piece on striking the right tone.

I hope to add more resources for young job hunters in coming weeks and months. Feel free to recommend websites, books, articles for teens and work. – VLE

The reunion is over and the photos posted on online profiles. Now comes the really hard part – nurturing relationships with old friends and former co-workers that could benefit everyone.

To do that, you need to develop “progressive reciprocity.” This crucial approach from Gordon Curtis, author of Well Connected  (Wiley, $26.95, 230 pages). means giving the other person something of value before you expect their aid. It is especially important when so many people are job hunting and so much of the world has raised the bar on assisting others.

So “loosen up” the person so they genuinely feel motivated to help you, Curtis told me in an interview. This might have happened at the reunion – a great conversation where you really learned a lot about that person – or it may occur a week later in her office. There you’re going to provide information, connections or expertise, based on her profile, comments posted online or needs and interests gleaned earlier.

Even if you’ve been jobless for months, you must believe you can offer something – perhaps a referral to another unemployed person who exactly matches an opening they need to fill. Or perhaps an introduction to someone on a nonprofit board you’ve been on for years.

“We all suffer from some degree of I have nothing to offer syndrome,” Curtis said. Change your perspective to ” I’m making it my business to help as many people along the way” and you gain  a position of strength, he said.

Be creative and sincere in your offer of assistance and  “that reciprocity bar that people have to hold up so high these days is suddenly lowered a bit.”

Another post-reunion move could benefit your career: Write a handful of emails to people who couldn’t make the event and tell them a little about it.  Share funny moments or news about friends who were there. Give them inside information or a something relevant to their careers or lives. Tell only a tiny bit about yourself.

Use the reunion as a reason to re connect – and make the second reason build up their connection to you.

After my Newsday reunion (Facebook page here) I sent emails to a few friends who didn’t show up expressing my appreciation for their efforts when we worked together and my hope that they are thriving now. I also made it clear that I considered them a lifelong friend and would be glad to collaborate or assist them anytime. I’m still reaching out to a few people who I missed and am developing a list of those I want to see on my next visit to Long Island. It’s a long one!

If you really connected with a few people at the reunion but like me, didn’t bring along business cards, take time to send a follow-up email giving them your coordinates. Send along information and leads you promised promptly too, and your goodwill bank will be fuller than a Facebook page after a photographers reunion.

More information:

If you’re heading to your reunion soon, please check out my Glassdoor.com blog post for advice on preparing for it.

To learn more about Gordon Curtis and his book, Well Connected, check out this website.

Want to arrange a reunion for some college chums or your sorority sisters?  Queensland University of Technology has some suggestions.

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