Travis O'Rourke’s Post

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Summer jobs for teens are more than just ways to earn money. They teach resilience, responsibility, and the value of hard work. These gigs can also spark future careers - a café job can introduce business management, lifeguarding can teach public safety. Often, the most crucial professional growth lessons come from these roles. Do you have a summer job story? Share below and inspire a teen to seize a summer job opportunity.

Hello everyone, This week is Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2024! To celebrate this, I recently spoke to Finley an intern on the ClwydAlyn Project Search programme. For his Second Rotation Finley has been working as a Kitchen Assistant in local Care Home. Please read below to hear about his experiences on his rotation..... Hi my name is Finley, for my Second rotation I have been working as a Kitchen Assistant in a Local Care Home. My day to day tasks include: Cleaning surfaces, laying the tables and serving the puddings to the residents and folding the napkins. I also put out the sauces, Load and unload the dishwasher, preparing the vegetables, helping to make the sandwiches and grating the cheese. Making sure the kitchen is tidy by putting things away, helping to clean the fridge and putting the food away in the fridge. What things have you found difficult on your rotation? I have found it difficult to learn how to move things safely I now a trolley to help me. I also found folding the napkins quite tricky as its quite fiddly so I asked for help with this. Setting the tables up quickly has also been hard. What skills have you learnt on your rotation? I have learnt about Customer Services and Product presentation and improved my skills in both of these areas. My listening skills have gotten better by listening to the staff and residents. I have also improved my peeling skills. What have you been doing on Project Search this term? Recently I attended a reverse Jobs fair and met with employers and talked about my skills and experience. I have completed my Food Hygiene Level 2 and a first Aid awareness course. We have done some classroom work on Health and Safety and done a bit of interview practise. For my rotation I had an interview which we prepared for by going through the questions before hand this made me feel prepared. Well done Finley you are doing amazing on your rotation! Please keep an eye out on this page to see more Positive news stories from our amazing interns/People we support! ClwydAlyn Hft Flintshire County Council DFN Project SEARCH #neurodiversitycelebrationweek #disabilityawareness #disabilityinclusion #supportedemployment #employmentopportunities #employability #employabilityskills #dfnprojectsearch #neurodiversity #neurodiversityatwork #supportedinternships

Hello everyone, This week is Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2024! To celebrate this, we recently spoke to Finley an intern on the ClwydAlyn Project Search programme. For his Second Rotation Finley has been working as a Kitchen Assistant in local Care Home. Please read below to hear about his experiences on his rotation..... Hi my name is Finley, for my Second rotation I have been working as a Kitchen Assistant in a Local Care Home. My day to day tasks include: Cleaning surfaces, laying the tables and serving the puddings to the residents and folding the napkins. I also put out the sauces, Load and unload the dishwasher, preparing the vegetables, helping to make the sandwiches and grating the cheese. Making sure the kitchen is tidy by putting things away, helping to clean the fridge and putting the food away in the fridge. What things have you found difficult on your rotation? I have found it difficult to learn how to move things safely I now a trolley to help me. I also found folding the napkins quite tricky as its quite fiddly so I asked for help with this. Setting the tables up quickly has also been hard. What skills have you learnt on your rotation? I have learnt about Customer Services and Product presentation and improved my skills in both of these areas. My listening skills have gotten better by listening to the staff and residents. I have also improved my peeling skills. What have you been doing on Project Search this term? Recently I attended a reverse Jobs fair and met with employers and talked about my skills and experience. I have completed my Food Hygiene Level 2 and a first Aid awareness course. We have done some classroom work on Health and Safety and done a bit of interview practise. For my rotation I had an interview which we prepared for by going through the questions before hand this made me feel prepared. Well done Finley you are doing amazing on your rotation! Please keep an eye out on this page to see more Positive news stories from our amazing interns/People we support! ClwydAlyn Hft Flintshire County Council DFN Project SEARCH #neurodiversitycelebrationweek #disabilityawareness #disabilityinclusion #supportedemployment #employmentopportunities #employability #employabilityskills #dfnprojectsearch #neurodiversity #neurodiversityatwork #supportedinternships

A few months ago, I wrote a post about being nervous about the start of our summer student. Yesterday, I hosted a baked potato bar for the municipality's 20 summer students and picked their brains about our economic development goals. What I learned is that most of them are utterly terrified about the impending end of their education - they're really unsure of how to get a job and be in the workforce. So here's some (unsolicited) advice for those summer students... * A summer job is a great chance to try new things. So consider the upside to any task that lands on your plate - search for the skill that's new to you, even if it's "withstanding this task." * Learning what you DON'T like to do, or what DOESN'T interest you about your field, is hugely valuable. * Decide what you want from your summer experience. Talk to your supervisor about how to make it happen. * Ask your supervisor (and your co-workers!) about how their journey. You'd be surprised at how many people are delighted to be asked about their experience and you'll pick up lots of subtle tips for getting where you want to be (or where you want to avoid!). * If you're in a workplace with other summer students, connect with them. They're learning things too and you should compare notes. Plus, no one knows what you're going through like someone who's going through the same thing. Lean on one another! * Ask your supervisor (and your co-workers!) to connect you with people in your field. They likely have a network of people with just *slightly* different skills. And they may work with contractors who open up new doors to something that's not traditional in the field. Explore, explore! * Ask for a letter of reference. Highlight what you what you want highlighted. And remember: You did it! You got the job, you navigated a new workplace, you survived the summer, you saw and learned some things, you gained the skills. You are on your way. And we believe in you!

Do your kids have summer jobs? Mine do, and I can't say enough about it. While summer jobs teach responsibility, provide a set schedule, and help them earn money - the real return on investment is an earned sense of self. Summer jobs offer invaluable lessons: ⚜️ The right way to respond in real-life situations. Take responsibility, give people the benefit of the doubt, and shoulder responsibility as a team. ⚜️ Identifying strengths and aspirations. Discover what tasks you excel at, what you aspire to improve, and where your true passions lie. #SummerJobs #Parenting #LifeLessons

Why Your Career Will Never Take Off Let me paint you a picture: It’s 11 a.m., and your alarm finally rings. Not because you planned to wake up but because last night’s binge-watch ended at 4 a.m. Your “to-do list” for today? Skip class, meet your gang for overpriced coffee, scroll Instagram to check if your crush has uploaded a new story, and maybe—just maybe—attend that one lecture (only because the professor threatened to dock attendance). By noon, you’re at the campus café debating whether to order the same old pizza or try the “chef’s special.” Five minutes into lunch, you’re in deep discussion about your friend’s cousin’s destination wedding. Priorities, right? It’s not like your future employer will ask about your GPA or skillset. They'll probably ask: "How many baraats did you crash?" By evening, you’re busy navigating the trials of campus romance. (Spoiler alert: It’s going to end with “It’s not you, it’s me” two weeks later.) Of course, all this happens while ignoring the ten unread emails about internship opportunities. Who needs an internship when you’re already working overtime building your reputation as the campus wedding expert? Late night rolls in, and instead of working on a project or polishing your CV, you’re engaged in the intellectual pursuit of deciding between extra cheese or double pepperoni. After all, your career can wait—these decisions can’t. And as the years roll by and you sit on LinkedIn wondering why no one is hiring, just remember: You built castles in the air while others were building careers on the ground. #PizzaOverPurpose #BunkingExtraordinaire #WeddingCrashersAnonymous #RomanceAndRegrets #ResumeCanWait #ProcrastinationMasters #FutureFOMO #HashtagHustlers #DegreesOfDistraction #WakeUpCallPending Riya Kar

🌞🔎 Ready to land the perfect summer job? 💼 Our latest article is packed with valuable tips and tricks to help you land the perfect summer job. Read now on #SAGEScholarsNewsroom and make the most of your summer break! https://bit.ly/3MOchpP #summerjob #jobsearch #careeradvice #studentemployment #tuitionrewards #SAGEScholars

Diving deeper into our Summer Job Face-Off, we're comparing the classic role of a bartender to the dynamic and career-enhancing opportunities available with Peazy. This series encourages you to think beyond traditional summer work and consider choices that can significantly boost your professional trajectory. 🔄 Bartending Basics or Business Breakthroughs? Serving drinks might be fun, but imagine spending your summer creating pathways to success. Exchange the cocktail shaker for shaking up the industry with Peazy's trailblazing summer program. Why settle for earning tips when you could be tipping the scales towards major career growth? Peazy's summer program is designed to elevate your job experience. Step away from the bar and into a role where you're not just serving patrons but serving your long-term career goals. With us, you're enhancing more than just your mixology skills; you're developing business skills, networking, and leadership capabilities. Each step you take with Peazy is about advancing your personal and professional development. Stay tuned as we continue to mix up the usual job expectations and show how Peazy offers a refreshing alternative. Ready to stir things up in your career? Join the Peazy initiative this summer. 🌊👋 #RethinkSummer #PeazyOpportunity Apply today for Peazy's summer program to see if you are eligible. https://hubs.ly/Q02sWgb_0