Receiving your first job is one of the most prominent milestones high school students may reach. 

Although it can be extremely difficult with the job market, there are a few tips on how to gradually enter the workforce such as getting involved in clubs at the school you attend, signing up for volunteer work when you have the time (which can help you land a job- as I volunteered at a cafe and learned how to make multiple types of lattes, work with others, socialize appropriately, tend to customers and use machinery I was not familiar with), and joining organizations such as AVID, or being enrolled in rigorous AP or Honor courses. 

These activities can not only be added to your resume, which increases your chances of being hired, but show extremely valuable characteristics employers look for such as resilience, ambition, adaptability, professionalism, growth, and perseverance in both chain restaurants, retail, or smaller shops also known as mom and pop shops. 

In order to get hired, the process can be summed up to one word: harass. Unless you have parents who will push you to land a job, you are fully responsible for getting yourself out there. Attempt to list all of your valuable qualities, school achievements, and volunteer work on a resume from Word templates; keep it simple, and then go to surrounding stores by your home. 

Multiple employers will tell you to apply on a variety of websites and although that does work, you will need to call them weekly and ask to speak to a hiring manager and if they have overlooked your application. 

Next, take yourself to those organizations and ask if they are hiring once again and drop off your resume. Go to every single store in the plazas close by and repeat (this is how I was hired). 

Yes it takes work, but so does every goal you have.

Once you land a job, it can be difficult to balance a new change such as your work life with academics, especially depending on where you work and your age. I personally know a few friends who work at fast food restaurants who have chaotic schedules (sometimes being scheduled to cover the night shifts as a minor) while simultaneously struggling with the feeling that they cannot depend on having a specific number of hours per week (as it varies with chains) or they find it hard to keep up with their academics/personal life although you do have a higher chance of getting paid more and have more flexibility (on when you can pick up or drop shifts) than smaller businesses. 

In addition to that, working for larger organizations can be overwhelming and stressful as you deal with an expansive customer base, especially as these corporations lack prioritizing training new hires properly. 

On the other hand, Mom and Pop Shops also have downsides: they have lower wages, tend to be understaffed (which, as a new hire, can cause you to be overworked extremely quickly), can lack professionality, and can become non–stimulating fast since smaller organizations have frequent ¨slow¨ days (trust me, I know).

Yet, the place you choose to work at can have its upsides too. Working at chains allows you to gain more benefits such as health insurance, car insurance, therapy, and discounts. In addition to that, you could transfer to other stores if the one you’re at is not the right fit, and it is more likely to be rigid and come with a rule book if that is your style. 

Working at Mom n Pop shops not only allows you to avoid feeling like you’re a machine (the way corporate or fast food chains might) but helps build community and is in itself intimate; it just all falls into your hands on where you´d like to work and when.