What does a first job represent?

Hi Deana!

It would be best to get something more in line with your career area of interest. Personally contact organizations in your area that are doing what you want to do as a career and explain that you are interested in getting experience and exposure in that area. Also, contact the local chapter of National Association of Social Workers and attend a meeting and talk to the officers of the group relating to your interest in working in that career area to get experience and exposure. They will be very willing to help you and may very well know of beneficial opportunities. If this does not work out, then working in retail might work, but you would not have the opportunity to engage with that population in the manner that encompasses your career goals. If you are interacting with the kids to that extent, someone might complain that you are not doing your job and are doing too much talking and visiting. Here is the site for NASW:
https://www.socialworkers.org/

Best of luck!

You never know what you will find unless your reach out and ask. Many others have been in your shoes at one time or another and are very interested in returning the favor. Give them an opportunity.

DeanaS.

I'm going to go in a different direction on this. A "first" job is just that: a job. The purpose of a first job is to teach you about the world of work, in general. Punctuality, teamwork, and all that good stuff. Believe me, it is not easy working with certain people. You learn to get along and work with even those who you do not like. It usually also is your first exposure to "customer service" skills. This is a "transferrable" skill, and you can use it to show your ability to work with customers on all different levels. Social work, just like good customer service, is all about the art of listening and actually hearing what is being said, and responding accordingly.

And, if you need or want money at the moment, the job also provides that.

Yes, it is great to explore your career, but you can do that with internships, shadowing, etc. Just get some work-world experience, and start working on that resume!

ALL of my jobs before my first "REAL" job were in retail sales. The first professional job was as a cop. After doing that for 25 years, I now work in a state workforce office, helping people find themselves and find jobs.

Please don't overthink this decision!

Kim

Job should not be like job, this should be activity which you love to do anyway but now you have opportunity to do it and getting paid. Look for those kind of opportunity, I know it will be little hard but that will give you solid foundation for your whole life ahead of you.... just have to explore little more, try to connect people in the field, do more research, I'm sure you will find one..... Good Luck!

Hi Deana:

Why do you want to to look for part-time job? If you need to work for financial reasons then you should focus on what jobs are available that you qualify for and in areas where you have an interest. I agree with an earlier response that as a first job, any experience you gain will be valuable and a good stepping stone into your next job and so on. However, I caution against looking for a job in an area you know you will not enjoy it just to get a paycheck, that won't last long. If you don't work to work around food, don't get a job in a cafe or fast food restaurant even though those positions may be readily available.

If you don't need to work for financial reasons, then you can focus on finding work in areas where you have a career interest. You may find that you don't have enough skills yet to get paid, in which case you can simply volunteer and gain valuable experience that way.

Hope this helps,

angela