{"id":18994,"date":"2013-06-12T15:08:42","date_gmt":"2013-06-12T19:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/?p=18994"},"modified":"2013-06-12T15:08:43","modified_gmt":"2013-06-12T19:08:43","slug":"looking-for-a-summer-job-play-up-your-stem-experience-and-other-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/06\/12\/looking-for-a-summer-job-play-up-your-stem-experience-and-other-advice\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking For A Summer Job? Play Up Your STEM Experience (And Other Advice)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: This post was written by WLRN reporter Karelia Arauz.<\/em><\/p>\n

The school year has ended and the summer job hunt for many teenagers is on, but with unemployment rates at about 16 percent for people ages 16-24 how can you make your resume stand out?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

imagerymajestic \/ freedigitalphotos.net<\/p>

Don't freak out. Finding a summer job is tough in this market, but it's not hopeless.<\/p><\/div>\n

The job market might be tough, but it\u2019s not hopeless.<\/p>\n

We spoke with five employment experts who have advice for students in search of summer jobs.<\/p>\n

Highlight classroom experience, especially STEM skills<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is that with many people being out of work, a lot of experienced workers\u2014people with degrees\u2014are working in the jobs that the youth might have qualified for,\u201d says Jacinta Straus, a youth coordinator with the Workforce Florida<\/a> system.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Straus works with teens and young adults through the Workforce Investment Act, which uses federal funds for training and job placement.<\/p>\n

Entry-level jobs in fast food, retail, hotels are tougher to get in this economy. Straus says high school students can give their resumes a competitive edge by playing up math, technology and other skills they\u2019ve learned in class.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey may get jobs in the retail area, working cash registers,\u201d says Straus. \u201cMaybe they\u2019ve got some computer experience and they could do some general office work.\u201c<\/p>\n

Be proactive and focused<\/strong><\/p>\n

Farley Ashby, recruiter and account executive at ASAP Staf\ufb01ng Services<\/a> says that employers are looking for someone who is proactive.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmployers want someone involved in extra-curricular activities and who volunteers to show that they take initiative and they don’t sit around and wait for stuff to happen,\u201d says Ashby. \u201cInternships are huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another important part is being able to highlight your experience. Your resume can\u2019t be all over the place.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to have good grammatical sentences and something that makes sense,\u201d says Ashby. \u201cIf something has grammatical errors I automatically move on to the next resume.\u201d<\/p>\n

Translate your experience<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nick Alonso Jr., Vice President\/COO at CAREERXCHANGE<\/a>, says the information on your resume has to be relevant to the job you want.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a well composed resume that is conclusive of all the facts and has a clear and de\ufb01ned objective of what you’re looking for is very important,\u201d says Alonso. \u201cEven with professionals you see people who can’t convey their thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students who don\u2019t have much of a job history can make up for that lack of professional experience in other ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you do to make up for what you don’t have is get involved,\u201d says Alonso. \u201cIf you’re involved that means you care. You can do internship programs, educational interactions with the community or work for the family business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Six steps to a standout application<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ivan Rapin-Smith is the program director at the Venture Hive<\/a> and has six useful and creative ways to make a resume stand out:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Variety. Employers don\u2019t only want to see that you\u2019re smart academically. They want to see that you are involved in other sports and other things.<\/li>\n
  2. Don\u2019t have typos. \u201cThat’s deadly, it’s terrible to read a resume with a typo.\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. Include a personalized letter with the resume that describes why you would like to work with the company. Hand writing the cover letter is a bonus. \u201cIt’s all about being original\u2014it would definitely stand out.\u201d<\/li>\n
  4. Have a picture and make the effort of having someone take the picture for you. \u201cNot a picture taken from your cell phone, one that shows you went the extra mile.\u201d<\/li>\n
  5. Avoid email addresses with kinky or quirky names. \u201cYou have to show employers that you\u2019re ready for a future career, your email address should have your \ufb01rst name and last name.\u201d<\/li>\n
  6. Recommendation or testimonial. \u201cI can say this about myself but this is what people are saying about me.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Rapin-Smith believes that instead of looking for jobs on online classifieds site craigslist<\/a> teenagers should walk inside a store or of\ufb01ce and make a presence. Hustle a bit.<\/p>\n

    \u201cPeople coming in with a smile and an attitude are more likely to get a job,\u201d says Rapin-Smith.<\/p>\n

    Be your own boss<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Now, we know that the job market for teens is tough right now, but if they’re not getting a job then why not make their own?<\/p>\n

    Alice Horn, Executive Director for the Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship<\/a> focuses on teaching youth business skills<\/a>. Horn encourages students to think about their skills, hobbies and interests.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIf they\u2019re interested in something as simple as dog walking, baby-sitting, coaching kids in sports or have a creative skill or talent they can easily turn it into a job,\u201d says Horn.<\/p>\n

    This could be a great way for teenagers to build their resume and in return get the experience.<\/p>\n

    \u201cBy making a job they are also demonstrating the soft skills that a lot of employers are looking for that they might not get at a fast food job, like critical thinking and collaboration,\u201d says Horn.<\/p>\n

    Good luck and happy job-hunting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Editor’s note: This post was written by WLRN reporter Karelia Arauz. The school year has ended and the summer job hunt for many teenagers is on, but with unemployment rates at about 16 percent for people ages 16-24 how can you make your resume stand out? The job market might be tough, but it\u2019s not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":147,"featured_media":18995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[1023,1011,1070,1082,550],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18994"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/147"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}