Five Tips for Developing Job Skills at Home and in the Classroom

First jobs are a rite of passage for teenagers. However, employers tell us that, in general, entry-level workers do not have the basic skills of being an employee. There is plenty of tips that can be taught at home and in the classroom to get teens ready for their first job. Here are five tips to help teens to walk onto the job feeling confident and capable.

1.      Cultivate Communication

Omni-present computers and phones have minimized personal communication, which is a key skill on the job. Create opportunities to talk, making eye contact and asking questions.  Discuss what personal information is appropriate to share (or isn’t) and if the student needs accommodation, how to ask for the help.

2.      Promote Practical Skills

Job skills are practical skills. Reinforce those skills that can be essential on the job – such as counting money, answering the phone, writing messages and organizing items around the house and classroom.

3.      Share Responsibility

The home and classroom can be safe environments for students to learn responsibility without judgement or risk. Give kids tasks that are theirs alone to be done and teach them how to do the work and organize themselves to remember how do it.

4.      Teach Timeliness

Punctuality and timeliness - being to the job on time, or five minutes early, is a critical job skill. Help teens develop strategies for being punctual and firm about expectations.  Small, non-threatening consequences can reinforce this skill.

5.      Practice Following Directions

The classroom is filled with opportunity to follow directions.  The home can be as well.  Help teens with to-do lists, writing down instructions, reading recipes, etc.  Sometimes it helps to purposefully make directions unclear so the teens need to ask clarifying questions.