I wrote this story for the Colorado NEXT Magazine and it was published in April 2005.

So, it’s the first week in May, and you and your buds figure its time to start scaring up some summer employment. You wander through the mall, sticking your head in every store and asking, “Ya Hirin’?” By the end of the hour you’ve got a fistful of job applications – and not a clue why you’re no closer to a job than when you started.

The Job Guy can tell you just what you’re doing wrong. In this case, everything.

“If you want a summer job, you should start looking when the snow is still flying – January, February or March,” says Lee, aka The Job Guy. And the proper approach is not “Ya Hirin”. It’s more like , “May I please have a job application? I’d love to work here”.

You shouldn’t have to make the last part up, according to the JG. The first thing to do is figure out what job you want. Target 3 or 4 places you would like to work and go for it. Even if it’s a part-time gig, you can choose the job you want.

And don’t wait for the “HELP WANTED” sign in the window. Lee, who has owned and operated Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop in Northern Colorado for the past 14 years knows first-hand that most part-time positions are there all the time.

“Somebody leaves, and if the employer has already interviewed you, you may be next in line for that job.

THE JOB GUY IS BORN

In fact, it was Swanson’s experience as a small business owner that turned him into The Job Guy. After seeing literally hundreds of young adults 14-22 apply for work in his shop – some while eating ice cream cones from the shop on the next block over – he estimated that “90 percent of them were totally ill-prepared to do the right things to attract the attention of potential employers”.

Other local employers agreed, so Lee took about six months to develop a 2-hour seminar for teenage job seekers that he has presented in Northern Colorado for the past 3 years.

“I cover a lot of things that the schools systems cover with their job programs, but on a much more “real world” level. “As a business owner, I am sensitive to the fact that who I hire represents me and my business when I’m not there. So I have some specific requirements, but they’re not that different than those of any other potential employer.”

At the top of the list: Enthusiasm! Lee says says that lack of enthusiasm on the part of a job applicant is the number-one turn off for employers.

TRICKS AND TIPS

The Job Guy teaches a whole range of tricks to help your application rise to the top of the stack, from demonstrating how to becaome a “chameleon”, by dressing properly to who to approach and what to say when making first contact with a business.

He’s not a big believer in resumes for high school-age job seekers, however, a personal letter describing why you want to work for that particular business that is addressed to the decision maker can go a lot farther at a young persons age.

An attached letter of recommendation from a past employer that states you did a good job, were on time, and worked well with co-workers is worth is weight in gold!