How Teens Can Get a Head Start on Summer Jobs

Gilroy Gardens, the area’s biggest employer of teens, is sponsoring a summer job fair on March 4. During the job fair, Gilroy Gardens will hire between 500 and 1,200 people for the summer season, which begins on April 1. Many of those jobs will go to teens 16 to 18 years old.

Patch spoke with Barb Granter, vice president and general manager of , about how teens can increase their chances of being hired.

“Gilroy Gardens is one of the best places for a teen who has no work experience to find a job,” Granter said. “We expect that most of our applicants won’t have work experience, what we look for is attitude, willingness to come to the job fair looking like the kind of employee we want to hire.”

So how can a teen increase his or her chances of being hired?

1) Fill out an online application before the March 4 job fair. Granter recommends completing the application in February. Go to Cedar Fair site.

2) Take the time to write (and proofread) a resume, and bring this with you to the job fair.

“Even if you have no work experience, you can still put together a resume listing your volunteer work or after-school or extracurricular activities,” Granter said.

3) Dress appropriately. Apparel that gives the wrong first impression is the biggest mistake job applicants make, Granter said.

“The people we hire have thought about the impression they want to make. They’re neatly dressed and have a very good attitude and presence,” she said.

Granter recommends avoiding torn jeans, excessive makeup, long earrings or heavy jewelry, and says to make sure that your hair and fingernails look neat and clean.

4) Arrive early. Granter recommends getting in line (with your resume) at the front gates of Gilroy Gardens at least 15 minutes before the job fair begins at 11 a.m. Often applicants begin lining up by 7 a.m. and people who arrive after 11 a.m. may find all the positions have been filled by the time they reach the front of the line.

 A first-time job at Gilroy Gardens can give a teen a head start when applying for future work opportunities.

“Working in a theme park gives you such great opportunities to learn,” Granter said. “Some of the teens who have been with us for three or four seasons manage restaurants with million-dollar budgets. The skills teens learn while working at Gilroy Gardens will benefit them in their future.”