In 2023, one-third of teenagers aged 16 to 19 were in the workforce—a number that has continued to grow in recent years. At the MVHS job fair on March 4, this rising interest was on full display, the quad, packed with students, buzzing with conversation and excitement. Finding one’s first job may seem like a daunting task, filled with uncertainty on where to start and what to apply for. But from working at animal shelters, to the local YMCA, or for our very own Spartan Sports Camps, recruiters loaded with pamphlets displayed a series of job offerings specifically catered to high school students. 

Sophomore Megan Berger, an attendee at the fair, expressed her interest in searching for her first summer job and the importance of the club fair in helping students expand their horizons to see opportunities available to them.

“A lot of the programs at the job fair are ones in the area, so they’re easy to access,” Berger said. “Being able to see who is already in the program and then getting the pamphlet so I can actually look at it is really helpful too.”

In addition to displaying a wide range of accessible opportunities, it also helps students get their first job through making connections with employers.

“We already put our emails into [interest forms] so we can get more information about [the job] easily,” Berger said. “And if you’ve talked to someone, you already know someone in the organization.”

Laura Bryan, from the City of Sunnyvale, works as the city’s recreation coordinator, overseeing camps and after-school activities. For jobs such as swim instructors, camp counselors or lifeguards, recruiters like Bryan are looking to hire high school students for a variety of different tasks, especially during the summer.

Will Hanel, who works for the City of Mountain View’s Parks and Recreation division, further described the widespread need for high school students to work over the summer.

“We are currently hiring for our summer camp program, [especially] recreation leaders and rec[reation] specialists, the ones that will oversee our summer camps.” Hanel said.

However, despite the demand for high school students to fill these jobs, many students still face challenges finding employment opportunities, especially when trying to get their first job.

Berger specifically highlighted how having limited background in the job industry has limited her understanding of the opportunities available for high schoolers that also align with her interests.

Sophomore Laasya Kompella, another attendee at the fair, elaborated on the long process in finding a job that really suited her interest. From working a volunteering job she hated to now working as a teacher at Codelhi, a local STEM organization, Kompella is able to pursue her passion of developing lessons for young students.

“I enjoy the job that I do now, I [get to] work with kids, and I really like teaching.” Kompella said. 

However, she said she got her job through extracurricular connections, a resource not all high school students may have. At the same time, the fear of lacking prior work experience can be a major barrier holding students back from reaching out to more job opportunities, said Kompella.

But in truth, employers like Bryan and Hanel understand that high school students are about to begin their first job and because of this, value character and attitude over hard work experience.

“The key thing that I look for is someone who has a fun personality.” Bryan said. “But I also take a look at their work ethic. Are they going to be reliable? Everything else I can train and teach [them] on the job.”

Bryan continued to describe how she takes into account the variety of informal experiences high school students possess, from babysitting younger siblings to group work done in school classes.

“Don’t sell yourself short. Being a student in itself [qualifies as] experience.” Bryan said. “Don’t be afraid to pull from clubs or sports or any type of extracurricular activities that you do in high school and don’t doubt yourself just because you’ve never had a job.”

Most importantly, Hanel emphasizes how important it is to truly be passionate about the job, as having fun, keeping an open mindset and being a good team player is part of the attitude needed to succeed.

“I get a lot of applicants where you can tell that their parents applied for them,” Hanel said. “And that’s never good because they go to the interview and they’re just not as energetic.”

While exploring their passion, students can also hope to gain a variety of critical life skills that will continue to be used in high school and beyond.

“[Working] is a good starting place for high school students to go ahead and gain experience.” Hanel said. “You learn about working in a team, you learn about communication, collaboration…and you end up gaining even more skills down the line, such as networking.”

As high schoolers, students also stand to gain experiences in new environments that will shape their career and future that extends after their time in high school, Hanel said.

“Being employed young really gives you an opportunity to kind of learn what’s going to happen later on in life.” Bryan said. “As you graduate from high school and move on to college or whatever it might be, you’re likely going to end up working for a good chunk of your adult life. Starting young is going to teach you the fundamentals for all of that, which might be work ethic, flexibility and reliability.”

From a student perspective, Kompella emphasized how beginning her job as a teacher has helped her develop her self-esteem and independence, which she believes will help prepare for future experiences.

“[Working] has made me more prepared for real world scenarios, because you have to rely on yourself,” Kompella said. “Even if you’re scared or if you’re anxious about something, you still have to show up. And I think that has really boosted my confidence.”

Moreover, these paid opportunities allow students to begin their journey to financial independence earlier, which has helped her learn how to grow to be more self-sufficient, Kompella said.

But despite the wide range of benefits, a job adds yet another activity to a high school student’s already busy schedule, loaded with AP classes, sports, or clubs. However Berger believes that with this packed schedule, holding a job will refine her time management skills even farther in order to balance work with school.

Kompella corroborated this notion, describing how working has forced her to be more efficient and how her time over these past few months has grown to be more valuable.

“Working has made me feel like I’m more productive.” Kompella said. “Before, I used to just sit in my bed and be like, ‘I should be doing something important right now.’ But now I am doing something important, and it makes me more motivated to work hard.”