At 12 years old I decided I wanted to deliver papers in my neighborhood like my older buddy. He was making $25 a week! The only problem was that I was 12 and you had to be 14 to get a route. So I started riding with my buddy at 4:30 in the morning delivering papers to 75 homes and when “Brian” was sick or out of town, I would do the route for him.

After a few weeks, the newspaper people noticed me and soon thereafter I had a paper route of my own. I kept that route for 3 years and was only late with my papers ONE time. Thus, the working world had started for me at an early age.

Since then, I have had scores of part-time jobs and a couple careers. I’ve had jobs ranging from dishwasher at local restaurants, to warehouse stocker, to road repair truck driver.  I had my own lawn mowing business for a couple of summers. I learned from each job before moving to the next and eventually followed my passion…graphic design.

As a professional graphic designer with a BFA from Indiana University, I have worked for large and small graphic design firms and advertising agencies in the Midwest and on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.

As a junior in college, I decided school wasn’t teaching me enough and it certainly wasn’t real world, so I applied for an interview at the largest advertising agency in the state. My classmates laughed at me for even trying.

Two weeks after my interview, I was sitting in class and a school administrator came in the room and handed me a piece of paper that simply said “call John at the ad agency. I asked to be excused from class for minute, went to a “pay” phone and called John. John said, “Lee, would you like to work here?!”

Wow!!! I had a professional graphic design job complete with my own office, phone, and VIEW (of a parking lot), two years before I graduated. All this because I followed some easy rules and was willing to compromise some insignificant things in order to get what I WANTED.

Upon turning 40, I decided I needed a change and decided to bring something new to my town of 130,000 people that was not there before. I wanted to do something fun and totally different.

So, upon interviewing with one of the top ice cream companies in the world, I opened a Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop with my wife in 1996. We were chosen from 10,000 other applicants for the location. I know how to interview!

Since then, I have seen thousands of potential job seekers come through Ben & Jerry’s door, 95% of whom have little chance of getting the part-time job they want because they don’t follow rules that allow them to simply get the job and impress a potential employer enough to hire them.

I chose every job I ever had, I was particular about where I spent that much time, I wanted the challenge and to be happy at work.

I have helped hundreds of young adults move forward in the job market by working directly with them to help them understand the importance of doing the best they can at a job. I realized that a job could be just as important as school, sports or music instruction. Ultimately everyone needs a job.

Many young people don’t understand that hundreds of job seekers have just applied at the same place and asked the same question over and over…day after day…are you hiring?

I have interviewed hundreds of teens and young adults, and employed over 325 14 to 25 year olds…and some adults too! I have worked and scooped ice cream for almost 14 years, right along with them.

Someone once asked me, “What was the biggest thing I had learned while owning and managing my shop.” That was an easy answer!

While working side by side with hundreds of teens, mentoring them and teaching them how to conduct themselves at work, I have learned that the majority are not prepared to present themselves to a potential employer. Maybe 1 out of 30 applicants will get an interview, and 1 out of 10 interviews gets a job depending on the size of the business. Those are pretty tough odds! And, those people who do get a job don’t necessarily get the job they want.

A Super Target can get 5000 job applications or more in a year!

Add a bad economy and the odds get worse. Many adults are applying to part-time teen type jobs.

I realized that with some advice, and a few simple steps, teens could get the job they wanted and be ahead of their peers looking for the same job. Thus, the Job Guy was born!

So, I started conducting two-hour workshops in my town for teens that illustrated the importance of appealing to the employer in creative ways that make you stand out in the crowd. Some attendees were reluctant to follow the information, but the ones who did, advanced themselves faster in getting a job that they wanted rather than just a job for getting “hours.”

Attendees sat on campstools so they couldn’t relax and then were asked to shut their eyes while Lee, the Job Guy sported tattoos, facial pierces and clothing not conducive to getting a job.

I have spoken on the topic to many local high school classes, “Critical Skills” and “PACE.” The message is universal.

The idea of the workshops and speeches was to show teens that they have to connect with a potential employer, one who is more than likely a generation older. They have to stand out and it’s not always easy.

Now, bringing the information online, I will enhance more teen’s chances of success in the part-time job search, and start the process of the road to a successful career. By following 10 simple steps that young people and parents often over look, young people will not only get a job faster, they can get the job they want rather than waiting for a business to advertise they are hiring.

The story is the same with other potential employers around the country and even the world…they all want competent people to work for them and with them and it all starts with how you present yourself when you first walk in their door.

Most will only hire the ones who understand and use the basic principles. Employers have the advantage of too many looking for the same job. They can be choosy.

Many parents have forgotten or don’t have time to sit down with their children and teach them the basics of job hunting.

With a little guidance from an experienced small shop owner, Lee teaches kids they don’t have to job “graze,” that they don’t have to look for HELP WANTED signs, and that they don’t even have to have a resume!

Usually, there is a generation gap between a young adult job seeker and a potential employer; the Job Guy is about bringing those two together.

After years of owning and managing my Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop, I am now dedicated to helping teens find the jobs they want and helping employers realize the potential in all young people.

The Job Kit is a real world tool for getting the job YOU WANT!

Happy job hunting!

Lee, the Job Guy!

The Job Kit