Underline three points that you personally feel you should work on.
Ten minutes and then we'll share.
Next: look at the graphic organizer that is being handed out in class. Fill in the three boxes. These will be collected for a classroom participation grade.
copies of the above materials below
Getting Free Work Experience
Ways to Get Free Training and Gain Practical Experience
It’s a vicious circle; to land a good job you need experience but to gain experience you need to have done the job. So what’s a job hungry teen to do? Believe it or not there are several ways you can gain skills without paying for a training program.
Find a Mentor
Mentoring programs are a great way to gain work experience. A mentor is somebody who currently works in the professional field you are interested in and who agrees to teach the ins and outs of their career to you. You do not pay for a mentor but you are also not paid for any work they get you to do while showing you the ropes. To learn more about mentor programs visit Mentor.org1.
Be an Intern
Internships allow you to learn more about your chosen career path while actually working in the career field of your choice. You learn all about the job and you gain valuable skills when you become and intern.
Internships can be paid or unpaid but they are always entry level work. Internships last for a fixed term, teach you a variety of skills relating to the field in question and allow you a chance to network within your chosen profession.
An important thing to remember; once you are done your internship there is no guarantee that you will be offered a job with that company. To become an intern contact the company of your choice to ask if they have an internship program or visit GrooveJob.com Internship Listings2.
Join a Club
It may seem like the last place you can gain experience or skills that look good on a resume but clubs have more to offer than merely adding to your social calendar. Some clubs have obvious vocational benefits, clubs like 4H or Future Entrepreneurs for example, but any club you join adds value to your resume.
Clubs that teach you skills are best but the simple fact that you devote time to a club shows potential employers that you have diverse interests and are able to make and keep commitments.
Volunteer Your Time
Volunteering is so obvious a way to gain specialized work experience that its’ value often gets overlooked. Teens are in the perfect position to take full advantage of what volunteering has to offer.
Because teens that live at home don’t usually have to work to pay bills and other living expenses they are in the unique and enviable position of being able to work for free. In being free of the need to make money teens are able to take advantage of the highly specialized training opportunities that volunteering has to offer.
Want a career with kids? Volunteer at a summer camp or youth group. Interested in working with animals? Your local shelter or SPCA chapter would welcome your help. Have an eye toward entering politics? Join a political party and when campaigns heat up gain experience and make contacts working for the candidate of your choice.
Think your future is in public service? There are many public service groups looking for helping hands. Want to dabble in the social issues field? Work for a cause with special interest groups that focus on the environment, health care, poverty or animal rights. Whatever your passion there is sure to be a group or organization looking for volunteers.
Volunteering is a win/win situation for everyone involved. Along with actual hands-on work experience you get the opportunity to network with people who could write you an impressive letter of reference to present with your resume when you go to look for a paying job.
School or Government Sponsored Work Experience Programs
In work experience programs you can gain skills and make some money. Many schools have work experience programs that are available to students in their last years of high school. These programs work by offering school credit for students who have jobs. Depending on how your school has set up the program you may be limited as to where you can work. This has obvious disadvantages as it clearly limits the kind of work experience available to you. Find out more by talking to your teachers or guidance counselor.
If your school doesn’t offer a work experience program you may want to look in to government sponsored programs in your area. Contact your local Employment Assistance office to see if such programs exist in your area.
Formal education is not the only way to gain employable skills. You can get work experience, learn important skills and make contacts without ever paying tuition fees. While education is valuable it is not the only way to gain employable skills.
How To Write a Resume (When You Have No Job Experience)
A resume can make or break you in your search for a job and it can be particularly difficult to write one that shines when you have little or no work experience. Here we show you what to include on your starter resume.
Difficulty: Average
Time Required: A few hours.
Here's How:
- Select a simple and standardized format, nothing too fancy. Try one of the examples given at jobsearch.about.com1.
- Use heavy weight plain white or off-white paper and avoid flashy fonts or scented sheets (You’re not Elle from Legally Blonde)
- Make sure your contact information is accurate and up-to-date. Include a primary contact number, and a cell phone number and email address if you have them. Note: if your email address has a nickname or an overly cutesy name consider opening a free email account with some variation of your actual name, nothing ruins a resume faster than a name like superstud1993@freemail.com in the contact line.
- Include an introductory paragraph of 2 or 3 sentences telling the employer about your strongest and most desirable personality traits. Tailor this to highlight those traits most applicable to the job for which you are applying. This is sometimes called an Objective Statement.
- If you truly have no work experience don’t try to flub, instead list your volunteer work or community activities. If you’ve done work experience through a course at school make note of it here. If you’ve had odd jobs, or done things like baby sit or yard work for neighbors list it here and if at all possible get letters of reference.
- Next list course work at school that you feel is relevant to the job. Make note of any academic achievements or awards. Explain how you think your excellent performance in these areas would benefit the employer or enhance your ability to do the job. If you can, get a letter of reference from a teacher of one of the courses you mention.
- List your extracurricular activities of a non-volunteer nature such as sports, church or youth groups, school committees, etc. If you have a position of authority in any of these groups make note of it and describe your duties as if they were a job.
- Finally, sell yourself by making a list of your skills, special talents, or positive personality traits.
Tips:
- When writing your first resume never pad it or make it longer than a page; employers aren’t expecting a long work history from a first time worker.
- You may see a lot of things on this list that appear as “don’ts” on resume and job hunting websites but remember that this is your first resume and the rules change once you have some work experience or career oriented education.
- Don’t lie and always be true to who you are. Any deception will be very obvious to an experienced interviewer and will cost you the job.
Links in this article:
- http://jobsearch.about.com/od/sampleresumes/a/sampleresumes.htm
- http://teenadvice.about.com/cs/ht.htm
Resume Notes: Fill in the following graphic organizer with information regarding your skills, employment history, aspirations, etc.
Row 1 - skills, talents, abilities and interests
Row 2 - employment and achievement history, including jobs, volunteer work, community service, achievements or awards
Row 3 - jobs you aspire to hold, fields you'd like to work in and/or college plans
Row
1
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Row
2
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Row
3
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