Teenagers need some job reality

By Kristen Eastlick

Ask your average American teenager to name someone he or she considers successful, and the sad truth is that you're more likely to hear about an entertainer than an entrepreneur.

What young people need is the understanding that the American dream is still about fair rewards for hard work, not whether you're lucky enough to be on television.

This is a tough time to be a kid. While the economy shows signs of recovery, the job market continues to stagnate. And this is where young people with stars in their eyes are most hurt by the presumption that success is easy to find.

Are teens worried about what this domino effect means for their job prospects down the line? They should be. Instead of submitting their applications for the latest talent-search reality shows, they ought to put their energy toward applying for their first job.

That first job is instrumental in finding a second, better-paying employment opportunity. Now is the time to remind the next generation of American workers that many of the lessons learned with their first paycheck - punctuality, customer service, networking - are instrumental in developing a promising career.

According to 2006 research by Northeastern University, teens with no opportunities for paid employment are more likely to drop out of high school, find themselves involved with the criminal justice system or become pregnant. A 2003 Stanford University study found that youths who experience long periods of unemployment are more prone to negative long-term effects on future wages and employment.

Clearly, the first job experience is an important one, with real long-term consequences for those who miss out.

A collection of profiles of successful business and community leaders compiled by the First Jobs Institute shows how hard work can take you from the mail room to the boardroom and from delivering newspapers to making headlines. The common themes across the profiles: hard work, perseverance, taking initiative and speaking up.

Young people are at a great advantage in technology-centric fields since networking online has become second nature to them.

Despite the recession, let's remind young Americans that the most successful business and community leaders (and, yes, even some celebrities) didn't get where they are with luck. They did it with hard work, beginning with that first job.

Kristen Lopez Eastlick is senior economic analyst for the First Jobs Institute (www.firstjobs.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to motivating and educating young adults to become successful business leaders.