Where can you (or your teen) get a job at 15?

Posted on May 4, 2013 by admin

jobs for teensNote:  Teens can build leadership skills if they start their careers early.

Fifteen year olds who work while they’re still in high school can start building their resumes early. They can also reap other rewards. For example, they can develop job skills, learn how to build rapport with colleagues and acquire customer service skills. Federal laws prohibit 15-year-olds from working more than three hours when school is in session. The most teens can work when school is out is eight hours a day. State laws regarding the types of jobs 15-year-olds can work and the hours they’re allowed to work may vary from federal laws.


Retail

Fifteen year olds can work in retail. Examples of retail businesses are clothing stores, restaurants and grocery stores. While working for these employers, federal laws permit the teens to perform functions like operating cash registers, stocking goods on shelves, cleaning kitchen and/or store surfaces, answering customer questions and cleaning floors. However, 15-year-olds cannot load or unload supplies onto or off of trucks. They also cannot bake, cook over open flames or operate power driven equipment. State laws around retail and other types of jobs 15-year-olds can work may vary.

Blogger

It almost goes without saying that teens could start earning money after they create and market the type of blog that demands the attention of their peers.  Generally, all that’s needed is a reliable computer, the passion to connect with others and a keen eye for what’s trending in areas the teen is most interested in. It’s relatively easy to set up a blog, from a technical aspect. Tools like Word Press and Bravenet are fairly intuitive and easy to follow in regards to actually building a blog site. After the site is built, teens have to develop the right content, writing that engages thousands, perhaps millions, of readers. If their blogs take off, advertisers could come calling, asking to place ads on their site. Teens who establish the right pay ad rates could earn hundreds of dollars a month off their blog.

Lifeguard

Swimming pools and amusement parks are places where 15-year-olds can get jobs. For example, 15-year-olds can work as lifeguards at amusement park water rides, sell merchandise at amusement park stores and collect tickets so customers can get on rides. According to the United States Department of Labor, if the teens are trained and certified by the American Red Cross in aquatics they can work as lifeguards at water parks and local swimming pools. After they turn 16, they can work as lifeguards at beaches. It takes 24 to 31 hours to complete American Red Cross certification courses. Topics covered during the courses include surveillance skills, victim assistance, preventing injuries, first aid and rescue skills. 

Newspaper Company

Local newspaper companies are places where 15-year-olds may be able to land their first paying job. After getting hired by a newspaper company, the teens can deliver newspapers to area residents. They can also complete other tasks such as collecting monies due on newspaper deliver services from customers and stocking newspapers to be delivered to customers onto the backs of their bicycles or in their parents’ cars.

Entertainment Industry

If 15-year-olds have a passion for working as actors or actresses, they can get started in jobs for 15 year old teensthose careers by working for television stations, major motion picture studios or live theater production companies. For example, they can do television or movie voice overs or they can fill major or minor acting roles, starring in films and/or television series. To get started in television, major motion pictures, live theater, teens generally must get a talent agent. They can do this several ways, including by submitting videos of them performing and/or winning a talent contest. After securing a talent agent, teens generally are sent on casting calls to audition for acting and voice over rolls in front of people like casting directors. At some auditions, teens may compete for roles that dozens or more other teens are also applying for. Furthermore, to sharpen their acting skills, 15-year-olds may also have to receive training at places like acting schools and film academies.

Parent’s Business

Parents who own their own business can hire their 15-year-old children to work for them. While working for their parents, teens can perform a variety of job functions. For example, if their parents own a florist shop, teens can take customer orders and help prepare floral arrangements. Other types of family businesses teens can work at for their parents include pet stores, catering companies, insurance companies and photography studios. However, federal laws prohibit them from working dangerous jobs like mining or manufacturing. Skills teens can gain from working at these and other family businesses include administrative or typing skills, customer service and time management skills. As with each of the jobs, state laws may vary from federal laws.

Sources:

http://youthrules.dol.gov/know-the-limits/14-15.htm  (United States Department of Labor: Youth Rules)

http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/youthlabor/Newspaper.htm (United States Department of Labor: Youth and Labor)

http://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/program-highlights/lifeguarding (American Red Cross: Lifeguarding)

http://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/27/nyregion/the-business-of-young-talent.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm (New York Times: The Business of Young Talent)

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Finding solutions to end painful performance review challenges

Posted on April 30, 2013 by admin

By Rhonda Campbell

human resource performance reviewsFew things create an equal amount of discomfort in employees and managers the way performance review deadlines do. Doesn’t matter if it’s a mid-year or year-end appraisal. Hidden in the dread is a remedy, a solution that could help organizations improve morale, increase employee engagement and enrich customer satisfaction.

Problems with performance reviews

So, why do employees and their managers dread completing performance reviews? For starters, aside from reviews, managers don’t regularly sit down with their employees to discuss areas that need improvement, offer praise for a job well done or talk about training options and career goals. This can make employees feel as if, during performance review meetings, that they are talking to someone who barely knows them. Because managers weld the power to authorize promotions and salary increases, the discussions are awkward, at best.

To reduce their discomfort (or perhaps guilt), managers may cite an “open door” policy. However, “open door” is often just a catch phrase. As Eric Jackson, founder and managing partner of Ironfire Capital LLC, shares in Forbes, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve chatted with lazy bosses who use that line: ‘Oh, my people know I have an open-door policy and they can come to me to talk about anything at any time.’”

Jackson goes on to reveal that, “I would say 80% of the time in those cases, if I went to the reports and they answered me honestly, they would say that they typically don’t go to the boss because he or she is always on the phone or looks too busy.” Clearly, if managers met with employees at least once a week as well as offered employees instant feedback after they completed a project, resolved a customer’s complaint or closed a client sale, feedback provided in performance reviews wouldn’t come as a shock.

Steps to improve performance review reports and discussions

Steps managers (and employees) could take to make the performance review process smoother, less emotionally taxing, include:

  • Set clear goals and deadlines at the start of the review period (by putting these goals and deadlines in writing, managers could avoid disagreements during performance appraisal meetings)
  • Keep notes throughout the year on employees’ performance
  • Meet with employees on a weekly basis to learn about challenges they’re experiencing, to communicate new performance objectives, etc.
  • Direct employees to provide their feedback first, detailing how they met their goals (this process is often referred to as completing self-appraisals)
  • Schedule face-to-face meetings to discuss feedback provided in performance appraisals
  • Acknowledge extra work employees have taken on, especially if they absorbed the jobs of one or two other people after a downsizing, etc.
  • Give employees time to ask questions, suggest their short and long-term career goals, talk about their concerns around upcoming changes at your organization (i.e. mergers, acquisitions, relocations)
  • Follow-up with employees about key points discussed in reviews (this shows employees that their managers genuinely care about their work and their careers)

By receiving performance review training from human resource specialists, managers could discover additional steps they could take to improve their employee communications. They could also learn quicker ways to document employee performance, whether they’re using paper documents or a performance management system.

Above all, it’s crucial for managers to be honest with employees before, during and after they discuss their performance. And again, this is made easier if managers regularly communicate with their workers. It’s this honest feedback, immediate praise and acknowledgement of above average results that could improve employee morale and engagement. Furthermore, as worker satisfaction increases, communications workers have with customers may also improve.

Sources:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/206918 (Entrepreneur: How to Survive Employee Performance Appraisals)

http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/09/the-problem-with-performance-reviews/ (New York Times: The Problem With Performance Reviews)

http://www.shrm.org/Publications/hrmagazine/EditorialContent/2012/1212/Pages/1212-performance-appraisal-training.aspx (SHRM: Train Managers, Maximize Appraisals)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2012/01/09/ten-reasons-performance-reviews-are-done-terribly/ (Forbes: 10 Biggest Mistakes Bosses Make in Performance Reviews)

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Are hidden payroll expenses eating your profits?

Posted on April 25, 2013 by admin

By Rhonda Campbell

payroll expenses“You’ll be paid $60,000 a year.” Remember the first time you were hired into a job and given your five-figure salary? It’s a good guess that the salary was appealing, quickening your heart beat and putting a wide grin on your face. It probably took months, perhaps years, for the wage to start to feel limited. Talk about motivation to spend all your efforts (i.e. project planning, time management, commuting) to help make someone else earn 20 times or more than you do.

Let enough time pass and don’t be surprised if you start thinking as if you’re underpaid, swinging the pendulum all the way from job appreciation to job denigration. Add in a demanding, impossible-to-please supervisor and you might believe you could never be compensated enough for how much energy you put into your gig.


Now that you’ve had enough of burning the midnight oil to make someone else rich, you’re going to have to look at pay differently. If you don’t, you could commit to paying out salaries your bottom line can’t afford. That’s right. You’re on the other side of the street now, in more ways than one. (Warning: Don’t be surprised if you start to understand some of your previous employers more fully.)

Hidden payroll expenses that could derail your business budget vary, depending on the type of workers you hire. That shared, basic payroll expenses that could sneak up on you include:

  • Overtime payroll expenses (To keep a good handle on these costs, establish written policies that outline when workers are allowed to work overtime. For example, you could state that workers are only allowed to work overtime with written approval from their supervisor. Absent guidelines, you could spend $30,000 or more a year paying for only one workers’ overtime.)
  • Bonuses (Factor in stock and cash bonuses you’re on the hook for before making job offers.)
  • Federal and state unemployment insurance taxes (This varies by jurisdiction. However, depending on the size of your company, you could be responsible for paying a monthly or quarterly tax to cover unemployment costs for each worker on your payroll.)
  • Social Security/Medicare taxes (Generally, only self-employed workers have to pay 100% of these costs out-of-pocket. As of 2013, the per employee Social Security tax employers were responsible for was 6.2 percent; Medicare payroll expenses were at 1.45%.)
  • Taxes you’re required to pay for local and state governments, including short-term disability costs
  • State Worker’s Compensation tax
  • Medical insurance
  • Real estate expenses (If you operate a brick and mortar business, you’re going to have to cover the costs of each workers’ telephone, office space, utilities, etc. expenses while they’re at your place of business.)

Although these are not direct payroll expenses, again, depending on the type of business you operate, you might also be responsible for uniforms, new hire training and reorganizations. Of course, there’s the costs of recruiting new employees and the expense of relocating workers to different locations if your business moves.

Each of these additional payroll expenses are added to each worker’s basic pay. It’s these payroll expenses that many employees don’t see, especially in their bi-weekly paychecks. By keeping a record of these expenses and reporting them out to workers annually, you might be able to positively impact employee morale. You can also keep your eye on all expenses related to recruiting, training and paying employees by division, level and length of service.

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How Nostalgia Could Get You More Baby Boomer Sales

Posted on April 23, 2013 by admin

By Rhonda Campbell

baby boomer buyingBaby boomers, determined to put off looking and feeling old for as long as they can, are shaping the types of products and services businesses are developing. Not only are baby boomers working out at the gym and parking further away from office buildings just so they can walk further, they’re also looking for conveniences (i.e. lowered kitchen cabinets, single level homes) to make everyday activities less straining.

Understanding baby boomers’ needs and wants could prove key to your company’s profitability. Develop products and/or services that feed the nostalgia experienced by boomers and you could also gain customer loyalty. If you sell products that were on the market in the 40s, 50, 60s or 70s, you might already be satisfying boomers.


If you’ve never tried to market to baby boomers, you could be losing millions of customer sales. Even so, all’s not lost. You could start taping into the baby boomer buying power today, by taking a few steps. For example, you could:

  • Send printed brochures, catalogs and direct mail to your target audience (some boomers don’t use the Internet, ever)
  • Include educational facts, etc. with marketing material (yes! boomers love to learn!)
  • Highlight the benefits products/services offer to adult children and grandchildren
  • Add images to websites, brochures, etc. that show boomers enjoying their favorite activities
  • Play music, popular during baby boomers’ teen and young adult years, at your sales office
  • Email specials, discounts and sales (Nielsen reports that 89 percent of Americans 65+ years old have an email account)
  • Connect product/service discounts to a boomer’s age (movie theaters have been doing this for years)

In its March 6, 2011 “The New Target Demographic, Baby Boomers” article, CBS News reports that, “The first baby boomers are turning 65 this year, and a projected 72 million – about one fifth of the U.S. population – will be that age or older by 2030.” Tap into the nostalgia boomers have and you could provide these millions of Americans the best experiences that are tied into their favorite pastimes and emotionally charged memories. This, in turn, could make your company a business of choice amongst this large demographic.

READER PLUS:  Want to stop feeling as if you’re the only one getting older? Check out some of these comments by people who’ve shared when they realized they weren’t as young as they once were. Have a few laughs. After all, instead of getting old, you really are getting better, and you deserve the best products and services!

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Sources:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-20039772.html (CBS News: The New Target Demographic, Baby Boomers)

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/serving-massive-baby-boomer-market-000000321.html (Yahoo! Serving the Massive Baby Boomer Market)

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Humorous content: Why are you leaving your job?

Posted on April 23, 2013 by admin

By Rhonda Campbell

job interview cartoonNot enough pay, long work hours, demanding supervisor or combative colleagues — those are reasons some people submit a resignation letter at work. However, in the ever changing workplace, the reasons that people are leaving their jobs is also changing.

The humor in the below cartoon points to a growing trend in the business world, an increase in company relocation and reorganization activities. It’s no wonder employees get nervous when companies announce that they are entering an acquisition or moving a department to a different city, state or country.

By exercising a little common sense, employees can figure out that not everyone is going to make the move. This is where a caring and quality human resources team comes into play. The right human resources team can make adjusting to company changes less stressful.


Listening to concerned workers, encouraging senior management to regularly communicate with employees and providing workers with two or more (i.e. town halls, conference calls, email, confidential office meetings) ways to express their concerns about upcoming changes. These and other steps might not ease all worker concerns, but they could make future business changes easier for workers to digest.

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