Summer Jobs+ Links Teens and Jobs

Is someone in your household still looking for a summer job or an internship?  Did all those well-intentioned summer plans never quite come together?

If so, a new online web tool devised by the U.S. Department of Labor might offer a solution.

In a national effort to help young people find jobs this summer, employers like AT&T and the Bank of America joined with the Labor Department to announce an interactive job search tool projected to produce thousands of new job placements.

Dubbed “Summer Jobs+,” the website brings together companies and nonprofit organizations with the goal of connecting teenagers to jobs, internships, and other employment opportunities.

"There's no replacement for the dignity that comes with earning your first paycheck,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis.  [W]hether young people are looking for a job at the retail store around the corner — or at a national park states away — they now have one place to start their search."

Working with 10 job posting websites and employers across the country, the Summer Jobs+ Bank provides a “single-stop” resource—similar to the Veterans Job Bank—for teens to go online and search for employment opportunities in their communities.

And it’s easy to use. Jobs are found by accessing the site and entering keywords and location.  For example, a recent search using the keyword “engineering” in “Virginia,” brought up pages and pages of listings. 

Although a number of the posted jobs and internships required at least a year of college, many did not. One local listing for a “Science and Engineering Intern” in Alexandria was open to recent high school grads with “…good working knowledge of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.”

It’s no secret that networking through personal contacts is probably the best way to find a summer job.  But if you’ve exhausted your immediate network, try the Summer Jobs+ Bank.  And get your resume ready!