Teens and Jobs

Avatar for kel7col4
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Teens and Jobs
23
Tue, 05-22-2007 - 12:12pm

1. What is the etiquette for teens applying for jobs? The reason I ask is dd finally has the opportunity to go job searching after lacrosse practice today.

2. She will still be in her practice clothing, now one place she is going is at a dog boarding kennel, so I wouldn't think her "looks" will matter too much there, but I am assuming any other place she should look "professional"? And on that note - how professional? I assume I don't need to go buy her a suit lol, but should she wear dress pants or are nice jeans and shirt good enough?

3. OH and on the W4's do they put 0 exemptions?

4. Is it tacky for me to go bet the applications for her and her return them when she can? (she has 4 lax games this week, going to camp this weekend, lax game on Tues. then she's done - she has to get a work permit and that takes a week)

5. She's really nervous about filling out applications - can I help her?

Any advice whatsoever would be greatly appreciated!




Avatar for jbgattuso
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Registered: 04-29-2003
In reply to: kel7col4
Tue, 05-22-2007 - 2:15pm

Yep, those all sound like good places to start :) DS ended up getting his job at a place called the Zone. It is an video arcade/pizza/lazertag/bounce houses. He works Lazer tag and Birthday party's Hee hee, his title is a "party hero" He's been working there since last August and although he really only worked on weekends during school, he loves it and hopes to fit in a few more hours during the summer. Good luck to your DD :)

Julie

Avatar for kel7col4
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Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: kel7col4
Tue, 05-22-2007 - 2:16pm
Here in Maine, the employer receives the work permit and keeps it on file. It gets sent back to the Dept. of Labor once the student no longer works there. And yep here you have to get 1 permit for each job. I guess during the summer, she can have 2 jobs, but must have a permit for each job. And yep here, we have to make an appointment with the principal or superintendent to fill out the work permit application. I haven't heard anything YET about needing a physical lol - I hope that wasn't something I missed!!



iVillage Member
Registered: 04-26-2007
In reply to: kel7col4
Tue, 05-22-2007 - 2:22pm
DD can claim 0 or 1 on her W-4. 0 will take more taxes out (more back at the end of the year) and 1 will take less out (less or paying in at the end of the year) She probally won't make enough to "pay in" though, so it is her discression. Does she want more now or later? (I have been and office manager for 12 years I do this stuff every day -SIGH!)
I would reccomend that DD pick up and drop off the aps herself. Sometimes business want to put a face to the applicant prior to calling them for an interview. I would also reccomend that she look "presentable" maybe not "dressed up" but at least look like she put some effort into herself. It will pay off in the long run, and it is a good habit to teach DD for the future. Before she walks out (to get aps or drop off or go on interview) she should ask helself, "would I hire me?" - Good luck!!!! :)

Avatar for kel7col4
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Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: kel7col4
Tue, 05-22-2007 - 2:26pm

I'm so torn on the working experience lol - my baby's growing up and I don't like it, but I digress ;p

She worked last summer, but it was a joke lol. She worked at a family member of a family member's day care. She and her cousin split time so it worked well, but they were ripped off pay wise ($25 a week lol usually 6 hours a day) but it was good considering they were 13 and 14 years old and both needed lots of time off during the summer for things (vacations and such) so they were able to work whenever the other wasn't available.

Thanks for all the tips!!

Anyone have suggestions on the interview questions to "practice" with her? I have not done this in ages!!




Avatar for kel7col4
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Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: kel7col4
Tue, 05-22-2007 - 2:30pm

Thanks :D

This will probably be a dumb question, so please excuse my ignorance, but I have no clue who to ask... at what point does she file for herself w/ taxes? Is their a minimum? And I assume once she files her own taxes we can no longer claim her?




Avatar for kel7col4
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Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: kel7col4
Tue, 05-22-2007 - 2:37pm
My daughter would love places like that!! We have Chuck E. Cheese's and Jokers here somewhat local, but according to their websites you must be 16 years old. The amusement park is all filled up with 15 year olds, but said they have a high turnover lol so suggested she fill out an application to have one file. She would love that job, but its a good 15-20 miles from my house *cha-ching in the gas department* and even further out there are places down at the beach that cater to kids, but I don't want her padding her pocket, draining MY pocket!! I told her we would discuss if she paid my gas (haha I was thinking .10 a mile) depending on where she worked. So I think her intent is to stay as local as possible. The Kennel is 2-3 miles and Dunkin Donuts is 4.5 miles.



Avatar for mjaye2002
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Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: kel7col4
Tue, 05-22-2007 - 2:43pm

Wow, here those sorts of issues are detemined by the child labor laws. Our kids aren't required to get a work permit. What a nightmare. Now, seems to me, back when I was a senior in hs, I had to get a permit to work in the afternoons rather than go to school. The school had to fill out some stuff and then I had to go to a judge at the county seat to be allowed to miss school in the afternoon. Odd thing was, at that time, I was already 18, but I think I had to have it to continue to go to school in the am and work in the pm. Otherwise, I would have been considered truant. Or something like that. I'm so glad my kids can just go get a job and not have to worry about applying for a permit on top of that. :)

And when Sue said that about the kid having to have it with them at all times while working, I thought "kinda like a green card, huh?" I suppose if they get caught without it, they would just ship them home, rather than deport them! LOL

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-26-2007
In reply to: kel7col4
Tue, 05-22-2007 - 3:42pm

Long Read, but full of info for you !!! Good Luck to you ! :)

<>

Stated from www.IRS.gov (good website to utilize!!!!)

"If you claim your daughter as a dependent on your income tax return, she cannot claim herself on her income tax return.

If an individual is filing his or her own tax return, and the individual can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return, the individual cannot claim his or her own personal exemption. In this case, your daughter should check the box on her return indicating that someone else can claim her as a dependent.

Who Must File
If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien, whether you must file a federal income tax return depends upon your gross income, your filing status, your age, and whether you are a dependent. For details, see Table 1 and Table 2. You also must file if one of the situations described in Table 3 applies. The filing requirements apply even if you owe no tax.

Dependents
A person who is a dependent may still have to file a return. This depends on the amount of the dependent's earned income, unearned income, and gross income. For details, see Table 2. A dependent may also have to file if one of the situations described in Table 3 applies.

Responsibility of parent. If a dependent child who must file an income tax return cannot file it for any reason, such as age, a parent, guardian, or other legally responsible person must file it for the child. If the child cannot sign the return, the parent or guardian must sign the child's name followed by the words “By (your signature), parent for minor child.”

Earned income. This is salaries, wages, professional fees, and other amounts received as pay for work you actually perform. Earned income (only for purposes of filing requirements and the standard deduction) also includes any part of a scholarship that you must include in your gross income. See chapter 1 of Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, for more information on taxable and nontaxable scholarships.

Child's earnings. Amounts a child earns by performing services are his or her gross income. This is true even if under local law the child's parents have the right to the earnings and may actually have received them. If the child does not pay the tax due on this income, the parent is liable for the tax."

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-14-2006
In reply to: kel7col4
Tue, 05-22-2007 - 4:00pm

Hi

Not much to add to the excellent advice you've gotten so far - but as someone who just took on a HS intern, here's what impressed me

- come to the interview in "nice casual" - neat dress pants or skirt (not a mini skirt LOL) and a conservative shirt. At that point, or when offered the job, you can ask about dress code. For example, in our office, if we are just here, we sometimes wear jeans and Tees, but if we have a meeting or are seeing a family/client, we dress nicer

- It's OK for mom to make the first contact, but after that it should be the teen; also I don't see a problem with walking through the first couple of applications with her. It *is* nervewracking.

On a LOL note. My DD applied for an internship - my bro set it up in his office, so there was little doubt that she'd get it, but OTOH Uncle Mark's reputation is in play here, so make a nice impression. Five minutes into the meeting, she realized she had a piece of gum in her mouth - and then spent the rest of the meeting trying NOT to chew gum while interviewing! Poor thing - I think she could have said "excuse me" and taken a tissue to put gum in, but she didn't want to admit the mistake!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: kel7col4
Tue, 05-22-2007 - 7:24pm

My oldest worked the service desk at a grocery and they were instructed to jot down notes on appearance when the application was turned in-there was some little rating scale.

Nothing was noted when they picked one up but why take a chance? Cant go wrong with khakis and a polo IMO.

You can't claim her if she claims herself when you file the real taxes on April 15th. You could do the numbers but it's likely you are better off claiming her.

What she puts on the w4 only affects whats pulled out-its not 'official' so to speak- she can claim 1 on her W4 and 0 on her actual taxes next April. The gov will be happy to balance it for you!

DS2 did his taxes all on his own last year and claimed himself-we never saw them and, of course, we claimed him too. Funny, the IRS wasnt too happy with us!! Just the list we want to be on!

I definitely helped the boys with their applications. It's challenging the first time. I also made sure they had an index card with reference contact info in case they needed to fill out an application then and there