Let’s face it. Being a teenager isn’t always that great. Their world’s are constantly changing. They are going through some serious physical and emotional changes, they are subjected to pressure from peers and many are from single-parent homes or homes where both parents work. Plus they are bombarded by unrealistic and often bizarre media imagines that can exercise great and damaging influences on them.
To a large degree, being a teenager means being a walking, talking contradiction. They see themselves as staunch individuals, yet they cling to their social groups so tightly that they dress alike, talk alike and behave alike to the point that individuality seems nonexistent.
Teens naturally like to learn new things but they resist being taught - another contradiction. They see being taught job skills as unnecessary, boring or embarrassing.
They also fight for independence - but at the same time demand to be taken care of.
Physiologist agree, teens can get bored easily, have freightingly limited time perspective, can be subjected to mood swings and are often victims of that relentless peer pressure.
As employees, they can range from problem laden disasters – to helpful, hardworking, dedicated assets to your business.
For best results, start at the beginning – the interview.
Fortunately, teens aren’t anywhere near as sophisticated as more seasoned job hunters. They are not as good at telling you what you want to hear.
Hit them with questions that will give you indications about their work ethic. Find out if their parents are supportive about them working. Ask them if any of their friends have jobs. Ask them about school activities. Such involvement is usually a good sign provided they have enough time to actually work. Good grades tend to be a positive too.
Then let them know the job requires some sacrifices and that they will have some learning to do. If you have a dress policy – explain it up front. Teens can be pretty sensitive when it comes to what they wear (which goes back to that not-so staunch individualism mentioned above).
The goal here is not to scare them away. It’s just that by hiring them, you are entering into a relationship. All relationship can be tricky so you want to stack the cards in your favor to insure it works.
Probably the greatest leap forward for any small business toward making the teen employee work experience successful is to write out the questions you need to ask during an interview. Don’t rely on memory. Take the whole process seriously. Write down 20 or 30 penetrating questions and use them when talking to these kids. It will be endlessly helpful. The little bit of time required to do this will pay big dividends.
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