We all know that one kid who has never had a job in their life and has absolutely no idea what the real world is. They probably have mommy and daddy handing them money whenever they want. However, I believe that having a job as an adolescent in retail is one of the most important things that a parent can encourage their child to do. It teaches a teenager necessary skills to perform regular duties out in the real world. Here are a few things I have learned by working in retail.
Having a job in retail forces you to think on your toes and helps an employee work on their problem-solving skills. Given that many times customers come into stores with questions or problems, all of the employees have to be able to come up with solutions quickly and efficiently. In the adult world, you will run into many, many problems that must be solved quickly and having a job as a teenager helps you build the necessary skills to be able to do this.
Having a job as a teenager also helps you create professional bonds and work on how to be in a professional environment. Although working in a retail store is not exactly a suit and tie job, you are still an employee who is expected to treat your customers with respect. The customer is not always right and you need to be able to handle those problems like an adult. When you are in a professional atmosphere you must be able to handle an issue respectfully to the people you are working around. It also forces you to build professional bonds. Most of the time you will have a boss and coworkers so you need to know how to interact with them.
Having a job as a teenager will teach you money management skills. Although I still have not perfected this one, it is an incredibly important skill to build. There will be times in your life where you will be living paycheck-to-paycheck and you must be able to spend money only on what you absolutely need. It also helps if you learn how to save your money from a young age. I know that when I got a job, my parents stopped just handing me money. If I wanted to do something, I needed to pay for it myself and if I ran out of money because I spent too heavily, then I had to wait until my next paycheck.
Having a job as a teenager helps you build a resume. Potential employers will be looking to see if you have any experience at all in the work atmosphere. While an education helps you in whichever career path you choose, experience is what really makes a person better. When you first start at a job you will know next to nothing about what happens in that store. However as time goes on you will learn the daily patterns and how to move around and get things done.
I find that having had a job as a teenager taught me many important skills. I would not be where I am today if I didn't hold the jobs that I have. They taught me many important skills and I continue to learn and build on those skills.
