If your teenager has decided it’s time for their first job you may wonder how you can support the process. The job market is tough, but you can help them as they go out into the world of work.
When can a young person start work?
The school leaving age depends on where you live. You can find out the full details on the government's website but in short in England, if your child is under 18, they must stay in education until they are 18, start an apprenticeship/traineeship, or spend 20 hours or more a week working or volunteering whilst still accessing education or training. The rules in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are different rules so check things out on GOV.UK.
It’s important that your teenager makes their own way in the world whether that’s further study, employment or work-based learning. These are big decisions for anyone, so it's important they feel encouraged and empowered, even if you don't necessarily agree with their choice.
How to best support them
- Be realistic - nobody gets every job they apply to, so remind your teenager not to be discouraged if they don't get the first position they go for.
- Help them prepare - encourage them to get all of the documents, certificates and references they may need to apply for a job, as well as reading the job description before an interview or their written application. You could also offer to help them put together their CV or to talk to their school about any careers support they can offer.
- Practice an interview - ask your teenager some standard interview questions, it doesn’t have to be a formal practice just getting your child to think about what they might be asked and answering questions as practice is useful. You could also talk to them about what to wear for the interview and give ideas for how they can present themselves. There's lots of information online about interview preparation - if you find anything useful you could share it with them.
- Provide encouragement - rejection is hard, but offering your child reassurance and congratulations even when they don’t get the job will help them to stay focused and encourage them to keep going.
- Help them understand and act on feedback - if they receive feedback from the interviewer when they're not successful, offer to talk it through with them and discuss ways to deal with any problems together. If they're feeling rejected they may not want to dwell on what they think of as criticism. Explain why learning from this feedback will help them perform even better the next time around.
How we can help
If you’re looking for support with your relationships, we can help. We offer a range of ways to speak with a trained relationship expert including ongoing counselling, 30 minute web and phone chats, and one session therapy.
Find out which service is right for you
How you can help
Have you found this advice helpful? Make a donation to help us reach more people and continue supporting the nation’s relationships:
Can't afford to donate? We understand. Instead, we ask that you leave us a 5 star review on Trustpilot.