Blog

This is the time of year when many teens and young adults are looking for summer jobs and internships. I have been fielding many requests to share tips and suggestions that might help young applicants when interviewing for a job or internship.

I came across a great thought today from Nora Profit, an award-winning author, columnist and journalist –

“The fear of rejection is worse than rejection itself.”

Nora is absolutely correct! Some of the teens and young adults whom I mentor simply lack the confidence to succeed. They may be really smart, or really talented, yet their interviewing skills need a great deal of work. The lack of such skills may very well hold them back and eclipse their academic achievements and talent.

Parents Can Offer Teens Helpful Advice For Landing A Summer Job

As parents, we need to teach our children that they are valuable, and that with hard work and effort they can contribute to whatever it is that they are applying for. While it is important to teach our children to be modest, and not to be brash or arrogant, we must also strive to teach them not to fear rejection. If our children walk into an interview or other situation fearing rejection, the odds are high that they will not succeed in that interview.

So parents – please work with your teens and young adults and teach them some interviewing skills. Teach them the importance of holding their head up high when walking into those interviews. Teach them how to do this with grace, and let them understand the difference between being confident, and overconfident, and between being humble, and meek. Practice with them so that they are confident but still humble, but not overconfident or meek. Run mock interviews with them multiple times so that they can get a lot of practice. The mock interviews will help relax them for the actual interview. They will also let you gain some insight into your teen’s or young adult’s interviewing skills. The time spent will be a worthwhile investment.

Good luck to all of the teens and young adults seeking internships and summer jobs this season!