What age should you get a job?

It can be tricky deciding when to step into the working world. In the UK, you’re legally allowed to start earning a full-time living from age 16. But did you know you’re also allowed to work a part-time job from the age of 13?

There are a great deal of benefits to finding a part-time job during your teens – you just need to make sure it doesn’t interfere with your studies!

Benefits of getting a job young

Build CV experience

When you start working from a young age, you get a head start as you start gaining skills to add to your CV for when you leave education. Where most students won’t have any work experience behind them, you’ll already have plenty of skills to talk about which will help you find a better job quicker.

Develop work ethic

Entering the working world can often be a shock to the system for many people, particularly students who have no previous experience. If people haven’t developed a solid work ethic, they could have issues settling into a new job, like time-keeping or professionalism. But if you ease your way in with a part-time job, this will be a huge benefit when you attend interviews in future as employers will already know you’re a determined and hard-working person since you started working young.

Earn money

Whether you spend your cash the moment you get it or you pop it into a savings account, there’s no doubt that earning your own money is a huge benefit of working young. You no longer have to be dependent on your granny slipping you a cheeky £10 note to go to the cinema. Any money you earn can be spent on your hobbies, socialising, or can be put away in a savings account to pay for your first car. 

Develop communication skills

One of the biggest advantages of working young is that you get to develop your communication skills. In the workplace, you’re constantly interacting with colleagues, managers and the public, so you’re learning how to work and speak with different people. Not only will this be of a huge benefit when it comes to applying for future jobs, but these new communication skills will come in handy in every aspect of your life.

Best part-time jobs for teens

• Retail assistant – have an eye for shopping? Retail will help you develop your customer service skills
• Kitchen porter – become a team player and show you’re not afraid of getting your hands dirty as you join the chef’s team
• Cashier – deal with cash payments and interact with the public to provide excellent service as a cashier
• Dog walker – dog walking requires you to be super active and reliable
• Waiter/waitress – if you enjoy being around people, you’ll love being a waiter/waitress and giving customers an unforgettable experience
• Newspaper distributor – enjoy the outdoors? This is a great part-time job that will keep you active
• Tutor – work one on one to help younger students with their studies
• Library assistant – do you love to read? Working in a library gives you excellent organisation skills

Ready to earn?

If you’re young and itching to get into the working world, why not go for it? There are plenty of part-time and weekend jobs for teens available – even if you have no experience.

With the SonicJobs app, we’ll create a CV for you so you can apply for jobs near you from your smartphone! Browse our app today to get started.