AREA EMPLOYMENT FOR TEENS Beating summer-job odds

Use your skills and cast your net wide to find work, area teens advise.
By TRACEY D'ASTOLFO
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
UMMER'S HERE, SCHOOL'S out and you're broke.
But finding a job won't be easy this year.
Summer is the best time for teens to work because it doesn't interfere with schoolwork and activities. But getting a job in Youngstown, which has the highest unemployment rate in the state, can be a challenge.
"It's hard to find a job around here that's decent, that pays good," said Jon Mazza, 18, who just graduated from Liberty High School.
Mazza said a friend helped him get his job at Mahoning Valley Tent Rental. He also mows 10 lawns to make money.
"Most jobs for teens pay around $5 an hour, and it's not worth working for that," he said.
Chaz Davis, 18, will be a senior at Niles McKinley next year. He didn't like his job working at a restaurant and thought he'd try to get into a grocery store. After putting in several applications, a relative working at a supermarket helped him get a job there.
"It's hard for teens, because not a lot of places are hiring around here," Davis said.
Davis advised putting in a lot of applications. He said it's nice if relatives can help you get in where they're working, but some businesses don't allow that.
Pat Passewitz, 17, of Austintown applied at several places but had no luck.
"I think a lot of employers are shy about hiring teens. I put out a bunch of applications and only got limited responses. It's tough," he said.
Restrictions
Passewitz said a lot of employers said he was underage.
Bryan Logan of the Mahoning County One-Stop, an agency that helps area residents find jobs, said child-labor laws often make it difficult for teens to find jobs. For example, he said, laws prohibit anyone under the age of 18 from operating a french fryer, and insurance will not cover anyone under the age of 21 delivering pizza.
So what's a cash-strapped teen to do?
Although you may have put in applications all over town and feel like you'll never work, there are alternatives. Capitalizing on your talent or knowledge is a good way to earn money.
Emily Kempe, 16, took piano lessons for eight years. Her mother suggested she give piano lessons. She now averages eight students.
"It's something that I like to do and good money, and it's the perfect job. It only takes a little of my time, and it's not hard at all," Kempe said.
Passewitz did something similar. A soccer player since age 5, he found a summer job working as a referee in the Austintown Junior Soccer League. He had to take a training class and pass a test, which he said was no problem.
"I've been around the game for so long, I've picked up things," he said. "I think [choosing this job] was kind of just evolving from a player."
Passewitz said he makes plenty of money and said the hardest part about the job is dealing with parents and coaches who argue over his calls.
Additional strategies
Other ways to turn your skills into cash can include:
UTutoring in math, reading or a foreign language.
UCapturing birthday parties and baseball games on film for a fee.
UOrganizing children's birthday parties.
"The job ends up being the perfect job, because you're doing something that you like to do and you're making money doing it," Kempe said.
But companies that hire seasonal help remain the most popular source of summer jobs. These companies usually begin looking for employees in the spring.
Looking outside
Mazza said the company for which he works is busiest in the summer and fall, setting up tents for graduation parties, garage sales, football games and other outdoor events.
"I would suggest teens look for outside jobs for the summer. They pay a little more, and you get to be outside," he said.
Places that do a lot of summer hiring include swimming pools, amusement parks, camps, ice cream stands, farms, landscaping companies, lumberyards, nurseries and lawn and garden departments at stores.
Logan said the One-Stop in Boardman Plaza can help teens apply for jobs at places such as Cedar Point, Six Flags and national parks such as Mount Rushmore, but teens need to apply early in the year, as these jobs go fast.
The Summer Youth Program sponsored by the Mahoning and Columbiana Training Association helps low-income teens get summer jobs. If they're eligible, the program places teens in jobs in places such as schools, parks, city hall and the Canfield Fairgrounds.