High School Career Paths:

Exploring opportunities for Early Professional Development

Ms. Isola, Mr. Jenkins, Ms. Alcala

 Getting a Job in High School

Determine why exactly you ● Experience in a field you like

● Money (for personal use)
need a job:
● Money (to pay or save for
something--college, car,
insurance, etc)
● Other reasons
 Resumes & Cover Letters

A resume is a summary of your experience in a job(s) or volunteering/clubs.

A cover letter is an explanation of your interest in a specific job or field and how you
qualify for the job you are applying for.
As a high school student, it would help if you explained why you’re interested in a
specific field or job and how your volunteering, or outside activities showcase your
interest in the field/job
How to: Resumes & Cover Letters

As a high school student, your resume should include:

● your high school’s name
● your graduation date (June 20XX).
● a list of any activities you do or volunteer work you have participated
in.

Tip: Most activities you do in high school or in your free time can be written
in a way emphasizes skills that employers look for.
Resumes, Cover Letters, Emails

One very big aspect of looking for and

communicating with others for a job is email. You
need to be able to write a professional email, with
correct grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Do not write an email the way you would a text
message.
Writing Emails

This means you have to:

● Appropriately title your email (Subject Line)
○ Do not write your entire email in the subject line
● Greet the person you are writing to
● Explain your question or request
● Sign off with the words Regards, Sincerely, Many Thanks or another
formal sign off.
● Then sign your name
● Appropriate title, Greeting, Explanation, Sign off (AGES)
 “Soft Skills”--What are they?
Soft skills are any skills that you use on a daily basis. These include, showing up on time,
handing in work on time, asking for help or asking questions, speaking respectfully to
others and working with people you may or may not get along with outside of school.
Many of these are skills that we use and work on every day at RVLA. You need to get to
school and classes on time, you need to hand in work in a timely manner, and you need to
do group work with others.
Though they may not seem important at the moment, it is crucial that you develop these
skills well because, more than technical skills, these will help you deal with situations at
work more often than not.
Exposure
● Look at examples of different types of job applications (Google)
○ You can look up questions they may ask you or topics they may ask about
● Talk to people you may know that work in fields you’re interested in
● Try to figure out what schedules the job has
○ Do you like to work inside or outside?
○ Is it 9-5? Do you need to work nights? Do you want to work with others? On your
own? Are you people-person?
○ If it is a job that you need while still in school, will they work with your class
schedule? (ie: weekend shifts, after-school shifts)?
Exposure

● Make positive interactions with people and maintain good relationships

with people who could give you a reference
○ These people are valuable as references for future jobs or recommendation letters
for college admissions or technical programs you might be interested in
● You never know who someone might be able to connect you with to get into a position
or field you like
● It is likely that teachers from school or counselors from outside programs you are in may
be able to vouch for you at a job or position.
Questions?
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