Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. – Confucius
Being a Mother often it seems that the focus is education and enrichment and the idea of jobs and work fall on the child in their teen years. While children are often asked what they want to be when they grow up, too often they are left not knowing how to attain those dreams. We tell them to focus on education and children often wait till they are picking collages to think about jobs. The reality though is that many teens get out into the work force and they end up with jobs that they are either told about, their parents acquire for them, or that are close to their homes. These jobs set the tone for what work feels like for our young people and that can effect them their whole lives.
I believe we need to start kids focusing on work at a younger age so they can understand the job market better, focus their interests, and set realistic goals. Things are not as easy for teens and young people in the job world as they once were.
In many places fewer than 1 in 6 students are employed. While this might at first appear to be a good thing, that those students not working are focusing on their studies, this just in’t the case. Many want to work but are not able to secure a job.
Not only do I expect my teenagers to work, but I also expect them to work in a field they are interested in. This is a very tall order as there are adults who are unable to secure work for themselves. It is vital in today’s work force that everyone learn to use job sites like http://www.trud.co.uk/ and have online resumes targeted to their chosen job interests. To start building these resumes it can help to start by volunteering in fields that easily lend themselves to acquiring job skills without the adding cost of training and tuition. I see there being little excuse to not volunteer while searching for a job.
For teens who wish to be teachers it can be a boost for them to volunteer in there schools as Tudors to younger students or those struggling. For my own teenager who wants to get into the medical field it is helpful for her to volunteer at retirement homes, as a candy striper, and even at animal shelters as many of those animals have health issues and there is a lot to be learned in caring for them.
Remember also that volunteering can be rewarding for everyone, specially children. It can help set the tone for them in the work they want to do in the future and not jade them to the often thankless jobs many teens get in places like the retail field. We need to give our children, specially our teens, with the gift of loving work and being able to find the jobs they want to be doing!
