Guide to Success for Working a Part Time Job by Te'Lon
Te’Lon, Class of 2018, shares his advice on what you can learn from a part-time job.
Making money is one of the most important things high school students think about. There are so many activities, school events, and just random stuff that you need to pay for. Money is an essential part of growing up, but there are certain things you may need to know to be successful on the job and keep up on your work at school.
When I first started working, I was a sophomore. I just got my car and there were a lot of new things I became exposed to. With having a car, you have to pay for gas, insurance, maintenance, and any other additions you may want to put on the car. As a sophomore, working 15-20 hours a week was perfect for me. I was able to have money in my pocket, hang out with friends, and still have enough time to do my homework. These were the best days of my life, but problems were soon to arrive.
My parents have always told me to work my hardest in whatever I do and that is exactly what I did. The owners of Smoothie King quickly noticed my hard work and wanted to give me a promotion. To get to this point I was picking up shifts, working at both locations, and having excellent customer service. They said I would get a dollar raise and have a little more responsibility. Being as young as I was, the only thing I was thinking about was the money. I loved how my checks started to look, and it made me work even harder. But thinking to myself now, was that the best thing for me to do?
I found myself being at work almost everyday. I only had 1-2 days off in the entire week! I started to become distant from my friends, school was getting harder, and more than anything, I was tired. Being that young, I know I shouldn’t have took on as much as I did, but I was driven by something that I never had much access to before. The feeling of having my own money go into my account each week was amazing. There was nothing that would make me quit my job.
After a while, I began to notice a cycle in my life. I work hard, it gets noticed and I benefit in the end. I was getting promotions more than anyone else in the three stores we have combined! When I first started two years ago, I was only a team member making $8.50 an hour with no experience whatsoever. Today, I am making $15 an hour with experience that not many 18 year olds have even been exposed to.
I honestly appreciate my job so much for allowing me to grow with them because it has truly been a great experience, and with me being so young, it is a great resume builder. I was not one to be involved in a lot of school activities and clubs, but my success at work allows me to stand out even with the low amount of activities I have participated in.
This job had prepared me well for my life after high school with the managerial positions they have exposed me to. I want to be a Construction Manager and learning how to deal with people gave me more confidence moving a long. Not only that, but Smoothie King has taught me how to work well under a lot of pressure. There have been days where we are nearly out of fruit and I have to think quickly about a solution, because we can’t function without those. So, it has basically made me a more in depth thinker to solve problems that we face in our day to day lives.
As I reflect on my experience, I would like to provide a guide to success for high school students who are choosing to work part time jobs:
When I first started working, I was a sophomore. I just got my car and there were a lot of new things I became exposed to. With having a car, you have to pay for gas, insurance, maintenance, and any other additions you may want to put on the car. As a sophomore, working 15-20 hours a week was perfect for me. I was able to have money in my pocket, hang out with friends, and still have enough time to do my homework. These were the best days of my life, but problems were soon to arrive.
My parents have always told me to work my hardest in whatever I do and that is exactly what I did. The owners of Smoothie King quickly noticed my hard work and wanted to give me a promotion. To get to this point I was picking up shifts, working at both locations, and having excellent customer service. They said I would get a dollar raise and have a little more responsibility. Being as young as I was, the only thing I was thinking about was the money. I loved how my checks started to look, and it made me work even harder. But thinking to myself now, was that the best thing for me to do?
I found myself being at work almost everyday. I only had 1-2 days off in the entire week! I started to become distant from my friends, school was getting harder, and more than anything, I was tired. Being that young, I know I shouldn’t have took on as much as I did, but I was driven by something that I never had much access to before. The feeling of having my own money go into my account each week was amazing. There was nothing that would make me quit my job.
After a while, I began to notice a cycle in my life. I work hard, it gets noticed and I benefit in the end. I was getting promotions more than anyone else in the three stores we have combined! When I first started two years ago, I was only a team member making $8.50 an hour with no experience whatsoever. Today, I am making $15 an hour with experience that not many 18 year olds have even been exposed to.
I honestly appreciate my job so much for allowing me to grow with them because it has truly been a great experience, and with me being so young, it is a great resume builder. I was not one to be involved in a lot of school activities and clubs, but my success at work allows me to stand out even with the low amount of activities I have participated in.
This job had prepared me well for my life after high school with the managerial positions they have exposed me to. I want to be a Construction Manager and learning how to deal with people gave me more confidence moving a long. Not only that, but Smoothie King has taught me how to work well under a lot of pressure. There have been days where we are nearly out of fruit and I have to think quickly about a solution, because we can’t function without those. So, it has basically made me a more in depth thinker to solve problems that we face in our day to day lives.
As I reflect on my experience, I would like to provide a guide to success for high school students who are choosing to work part time jobs:
- Don’t be afraid to say no-when I was getting these promotions, I was honestly afraid that someone else may say ye,s and I wouldn't be as needed anymore. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t say no. Saying no is ok because you are a child in high school. There are certain activities that you are going to want to attend and having a job in high school is a compromise so that you and your employer are benefiting from your work.
- Manage your time wisely- I made the mistake of putting work before a lot of things in my life. I was never at home so I missed out on a lot of time that could have been spent with my family. High school is one of the most stressful times of a person’s life and I didn’t take advantage of the time that could have been spent releasing my stress to my family and friends. Being a teen is not easy and you need guidance when you are facing the things you experience in high school.
- Explore your options (THE RIGHT WAY)- It is common for teenagers to get bored of doing the same thing for long periods of time. I personally experienced this later on when working at Smoothie King. I became extremely irritated and annoyed with going to work everyday because it started to feel the same everyday. The same people, duties, and clean up routine every single day. It came to a point where I wanted to not go to work anymore and I knew something had to change. I soon started to apply to other jobs to find some type of change. I put in my two weeks and decided to move on. I had a total of three jobs when I left and they all went downhill no more than a month in. This made me realize that I was not in the right places. So, I decided to reach out to the manager at Smoothie King and, because I left in a considerate way, I was allowed to have my job back. When leaving any company, you must do everything you can to leave on a good note because you may never know when you might need them again.
- Just be yourself!- The most important tip of them all is to simply be yourself. Everyone has their own unique talent and trying to do someone else’s just doesn’t work. You will tire yourself out because it is like you are chasing after something that you will never catch because it is unique to that person, not you. -Don’t wear a shoe that doesn’t fit.
Finance U is funded by a grant from American Eagle Credit Union Foundation
Comments
Post a Comment