By: Alaina Bayer

Wanting your own money and the freedom to spend it how you choose is usually one of the first big steps into adulthood. But these days, landing a job in high school is more than just filling out an application. According to the Center for American Progress, “The share of teens employed has slid from a high of 50 percent in 1978 to just 30.7 percent today.”

“I filled out two online job applications and I never heard back from either of them,” Bellbrook High School (BHS) senior Anson Jang said. “This was for my first job so I thought I would at least hear something back.”

“Yeah I filled out two online job applications and one of them told me that they already had spots filled up and the other just ghosted me,” BHS senior Brooklyn Baker said. 

According to Harvard Business Review, “More than 90% of employers in our survey use their RMS to initially filter or rank potential middle-skills (94%) and high-skills (92%) candidates.” This means that  most large companies automatically  pass-on and filter incoming resumes before human review.

When combined with online portals that attract hundreds of applicants per opening, first-time teenage job seekers are easily left out by algorithms or left waiting on listings that were never open to begin with.

To avoid these online barriers, high school students may find better success by applying directly in person at local businesses, attending local hiring events, reigniting past relationships with businesses, or getting vocal recommendations to get noticed by hiring managers.

Baker and Jang were each successful in finding a job after multiple interviews. “I decided to try to apply at the tumbling place I went to as a little kid,” Baker said. “After talking  in-person for a little bit, my past with the company got me the job.”

“I am currently working at my local grocery store as a courtesy clerk,” Jang said. “I like talking to new people and it is a pretty easy job.”