Young and Employed

Ever since I could remember my mother always persisted and told me how important it was to get a job as soon as I turned 16.  As a matter of fact when I was younger she basically told me she would make me get a job. Being the younger sibling, any mistakes that my brother made I had to therefore not make. One of those being that my brother never had gotten a job in high school. So since he made that mistake, I couldn't be a disappointing child, so as soon as I was 16 I went out on my job search. 

I had started applying everywhere when I turned 16, which was the summer of 2016. I applied to Five Below, Hobby Lobby, Jungle Jims, Gordmans, and a few others. But with my small days of availability no places wished to hire me. It took forever, and I almost gave up. I mean I basically did give up. At that point I started my own business. I was so passionate and excited about making my own things and selling them. My business was a bath bomb business. I've always been crafty and enjoyed doing DIY projects. Once I had all my supplies I started selling them to my friends. But after awhile they stopped buying bath bombs, so I was left with a basket of bath bombs with nobody to sell them to. Rather than having them go to waste I started looking into selling  my bath bombs on an Etsy page and becoming a young entrepreneur! Wouldn't that be so exciting? Well anyways, I realized I'd have to spend a lot of money on packaging stuff, and just decided to give up my small business I had created over the summer. But luckily enough a few weeks before school started I got a call from Gordmans, and I set up an interview and got the job!

I absolutely loved working at Gordmans. I had a school friend who worked there with me. I was promoted to a position that only the older aged employees got to work in within just three weeks of being employed! I was the only minor with the title of a sales associate. My responsibilities were working in the home accents section of the store. Where I stocked merchandise, organized and kept all shelved merchandise tidy, made the store presentable, and helped out any guest in need. I made great friendships with the employees there, they almost became like family. Unfortunately 9 months later, the fabulous company I had loved working for filed for bankruptcy. Then it was bye bye to my first job. 

I took the summer off just to enjoy my summer before my senior year. I didn't even think about getting another job, until my bank account continued to just decrease and decrease. By the time school started I realized it was time to get serious and get back into job searching. I did lots of research but nothing seemed as great as my first job. I still don't think any job will every replace my first job, it was such a special job to me. But besides that, I applied to only one place. I applied to Olive Garden. because I had two separate people refer me, so I decided to give it a try. Two interviews later I got the job as a hostess. 

Now here I stand being a young and employed lady. I don't really work often. I"m usually scheduled to work one week day, and at least one, if not both days of the weekend. Within my month of working at Olive Garden, I still seem like my job at Gordmans a lot more. I do however like that it's something different, because I've never worked in a restaurant. I haven't quite gotten to know everybody yet, but I'm starting to become friends with some of the other employees. I hope I learn to love this job, just as much as my first. 

After working in retail and in the food industries I have learned so much. I also have an internship with my school and volunteer at the elementary, so I have learned a lot in the education field. I am so glad that my mother pushed me when I was younger to get a job at 16. I have learned so much about the kinds of careers that would suit me best. I have acquired so many skills throughout everything. I also have earned a larger networking connection. It's extremely important to start working when you're young. There's no better time to start saving money, learning about yourself, and building a resume. Encourage yourself and others to be young and employed, just like me!