Tips to help your kids get a job

Confidence can be seriously lacking in some individuals, especially when they’re just starting in their careers or lives. This lack of self-confidence can hinder your kids from moving forward in life and doing the things that they want to do, like starting their dream career. Unfortunately, when it comes to self-confidence, attractive people are at an advantage as their good looks already give them preferential treatment. Yet, while a polished appearance can work wonders for someone-s self-esteem, it would be unfair to build your kids’ sense of worth entirely around society’s expectations of physical beauty and charm. Besides, more often than not, feeling good in their skin can also impact how they appear to others and themselves. Here are tips and ideas to help your kids get a job.

Luckily, there are ways to improve their confidence in every aspect of life and achieve success no matter who they are or what others think about their appearance. Here are self-confidence boosters that have nothing to do with looks.

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Help Your Kids Get a Job:

Teaching your children about cover letters and resumes

Maybe you think they will learn about cover letters and resumes at school. However, if you homeschool, it will be your job to teach your kids these skills.

Additionally, if they are in school, teaching them about cover letters and resumes before they are taught in school will give them confidence when faced with the task in school. Your child’s resume may not have much real-world experience, but it can list hobbies, interests, and skills they have learned at home.

Did you know that even a part-time job may require a resume? Even if a resume isn’t required, they will have to fill out job applications in their job search. I hear from employers all the time that teens do not know how to fill out an application. Imagine the boost it will give your child if they know these skills before they are required to use them.

Joining a self-defense course

Knowing how to defend themselves can make kids feel more confident and safe wherever they are. There are a number of self-defense classes out there, so there are many options for what they want and need. They can also learn new skills that will help them to stay calm and in control in most situations.

Fear of the unknown can be a major obstacle in socializing, inevitably impacting your self-confidence. Therefore, knowing how to react to protect themselves will encourage them to be more outgoing. 

Begin when they are young

Don’t think that young children don’t need to begin learning skills related to jobs. If you have family members that have businesses, young children can be employed in a summer job to file, help stuff envelopes, clean the office, and more. Doing hard work for the family will prepare them for potential employers in the future.

Many kids play video games during the summer but think of the advantage your child will have if they have already learned basics such as counting money, giving change, marketing, and people skills. They can begin to develop these skills with a lemonade stand or by baking Christmas cookies and selling them. This is a good way to have your children have their own money and learn how to budget, save and give charitably.

Professional skills training

Professional skills training can help anybody feel more confident in both their professional and personal life. Often, people only know what they’re good at once they are shown opportunities. Professional skills training can give kids the confidence and knowledge needed to succeed in a new career, a new position in an existing career, or even a first job. Plus, many of these types of courses offer opportunities for advancement.

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Body language tips

It’s important to understand how to send positive signals with their body language. They can communicate a lot about themselves through body language. For example, when they’re feeling confident, they might: 

• stand up straight and tall
• keep their chin up and their head high 
• make eye contact with others
• use open gestures like palms in a greeting or open hands while talking
• keep an open stance (feet apart) and relax their shoulders. 

We all need to work on body language, but it’s especially important for young people starting their first jobs as they may experience more negative judgment because of inexperience. Teach your kids about positive and negative body language to help them get a job and display confidence.

Networking

Networking is a great way to grow their social and professional networks and make new friends. It also has the added benefit of boosting their self-confidence. Knowing the right people, having someone they can call on in a pinch, and being able to share ideas with people who are successful in their field will help them feel good about themselves. In turn, networking can lead to new opportunities for work or even just more fun things to do on the weekends.

Social media presence

Building a professional social media presence can help your kids reach out to like-minded individuals. They can share their work and show off a personal project. Plus, as they build their social media presence and recognition, they will start feeling better about themselves.

This isn’t about having the most followers or jumping on the latest trends but about learning how and when to post, interact, and make connections. When you help your son or daughter develop and maintain healthy social media accounts, you give them lifelong skills.

The interview process

Most people never practice interview skills before they go for a job interview. However, there are real-world ways to get these skills before landing a job. Organizations like 4-H involve completing projects and then going for a judging which is very much like an interview. The judge may ask questions like, “Tell me about your project,” “What would you do differently next time,” or “What was your favorite part of this project?” They will get experience talking about the positive and negative aspects of the project.

The best part of 4-H is that the whole family can be involved. They encourage parental involvement, but if you are a single parent, the County Extension Office can put you in contact with a 4-H club that has plenty of advisors to help your child through their project.

Consider enrolling your child in a soft skills course

You may be saying, “What are soft skills?” Hard skills are abilities learned – data analytics, computer programming, cooking, and knowledge necessary for the job. Soft skills cannot be easily measured but are necessary for most jobs, such as communication skills, time management, leadership, dependability, motivation, following directions, teamwork, problem-solving, positive attitude, critical thinking, strong work ethic, etc. Most of these skills are not taught to high school students.

However, job opportunities will fall in your lap if you have integrity and have developed leadership skills. There are some excellent soft skill courses you can take to help your high school or college student land a dream job.

Self-confidence is an inner force that can open many doors for your kids in life. It is a skill you can teach and nurture as you understand which elements make them feel positive about themselves, from learning self-control to being recognized by peers.