In a previous article on The Job Guy web site “Celebrities First Teen Jobs” I talked about how 99% of all people start with a part-time job somewhere, even celebrities!

As it turns out, our President started scooping ice cream in 1979 at a Baskin Robbins ice cream shop in Hawaii. I am a little older than Mr. Obama and in 1979 was working at a UPS hub in Indianapolis while attending the John Herron School of Art in Indianapolis Indiana.

As a Ben & Jerry’s scoop shop owner in Colorado, I can truly say I have something in common with the 44^th president of the United States. We both scooped ice cream for our jobs.

Everyone will have a first job but not all of us will become president of the country. Not everyone will choose the job they want even though they can. Pick a celebrity that you like and Google where they first worked as a teen…you’ll be surprised.

I’m wondering if President Obama learned some of his people skills while scooping ice cream for customers in Hawaii. An ice cream shop is a good place to practice.

As a person who knew what he wanted, both educationally and job wise, all the way to his current job, Barack Obama probably understood how to choose the job he wanted and get it, at an early age. I’m sure he presented himself to the owner or manager of that ice cream store in all the right ways that attracted their attention.

Then, I’m sure he had the right skills to interview, get the job and keep the job for as long as he wanted. Where did he learn these skills, from what I have read probably his mother but I think he was born with motivation.

I wish I knew what his favorite flavor was! 

I found a website that I think has a good video about “Job Tips for Teens”  by Alison Doyle that shows in a nutshell the importance of being prepared should you get an interview. Remember your are lucky in today’s job market to even get an interview.

The video is short and can’t cover all the details, it outlines the importance of preparing, what to wear, what not to say and how to say thank you. If you are not serious about the whole process of finding the part-time job you want, the interviewer will detect it.

For additional information on how to get the part-time job you want, check out the Job Guy’s “Job Kit”.

Happy job-hunting! You may be president someday by starting out working in an ice cream shop!

Written by Lee, The Job Guy