You may have heard that “networking” is important when you’re looking for a job, and you might be wondering what it means to “network” when you’re a teenager. The basic idea is to make connections with people who can help you with your job search. Think about everyone you already know: friends, family, teachers, counselors, coaches, people at a place of worship or other activity you do in the community. One of the simplest ways to network is to tell people in your life that you’re looking for work. A counselor might know about an upcoming job fair. A friend might work at a grocery that has other job openings. A teacher might be able to provide a reference for you. Here’s a networking worksheet to help you brainstorm. Download the PDF document and open it in Google Docs or another word processor to edit it.

Think of the library as being part of your network, too! The library has resources to help you find what jobs are available to teens, to make a resume and prepare for an interview. To schedule an appointment, contact us at workplace@multcolib.org.