As the school year comes to an end, some kids are looking for a way to spend their free time. As high school students, we’re encouraged to get a job to learn about responsibility or saving. Our families want us to understand how things are earned in “the real world,” which obviously is an important thing to learn. But honestly, the reason we really want jobs is to get that sweet cash to buy all of our favorite things. Here are some essential things to keep in mind when you’re conducting your job search.

Constructing a Well-written Resume

When beginning to put together your resume, you may not know what to include or how to organize it. There are many templates online that could give you an idea of where to put everything and how long each part should be. 

Whether you’re applying to work at a fast-food restaurant or a grocery store, you have to tailor your resume to the job you’re applying to. For example, if you’re applying at an ice cream shop where you’ll have to interact with the customers, you should highlight that you’re an excellent people person, and if you’ve had a previous job that included interaction with others, make sure you include that in what the last job entailed.

Be sure to keep the resume concise and simple to navigate. Include summaries so the employer can get a quick overview of your work history and talents. Below is an example of a resume that was made from a template found online.

https://www.livecareer.com/resume/templates

Preparing for an Interview

Let’s say you’ve now caught the attention of an employer, and they want to see how well of a fit you’d be in the workplace; they’re going to want to meet you and get to know the face behind the resume.

Before going in and meeting your potential boss, review the commonly asked interview questions, come up with an answer for each. Some of these include:

1. What can you offer us that someone else can not?
2. What was your favorite thing about your previous job(s)? 
3. Tell me how you handled a difficult situation.
4. How would you deal with an angry or irate customer?
5. What’s your availability?
6. What are your co-worker pet peeves?

When choosing what to wear, make sure you select an outfit appropriate for the job. Let’s say you’re applying to be a receptionist, don’t show up in flip flops and shorts, wear something business casual. Keep aromatics low, and don’t overdo makeup if you do any. Suppose your hair is long; try putting it up in a neat way. Your employer will note this, and it could make you stand out as a better candidate for the job. But of course, it’s different for every job. If you’re wanting to work at a place such as a pop culture store like Spencer’s or Hottopic, wear something that would reflect what you’ve seen someone working there wears.

Interview

At the actual time of the interview, you need to keep a couple of things in mind. Besides the obvious “make eye contact” and “act confident,” you also have to make sure that what you’ve worn is comfortable; if you’re dressed nice but keep adjusting your collar or dress, your employer will notice and take note of that and even if they don’t want you’ll be less confident and not pay the adequate amount of attention during the interview. 

Lastly, the “Tell me about yourself ” question is an important one that some don’t answer the way they should. Don’t do things such as talk about something too personal like a childhood memory or something you did that’s not job-related; instead, tell them about your best qualities; they could be the ones in your resume or, better yet, some new but still relevant qualities. Talk about the experience you’ve had that will make you the best candidate for the job.

After the interview, make sure to send a thank-you note promptly, an email works just fine, but a handwritten one in the mail would be preferable. A study found that 86 percent of hiring employers said not sending a thank-you note shows a lack of follow-through.

I wish you all luck on your job search! You’ll definitely land the job if you keep these tips in mind.