Most teens have friends who have jobs and you should use them as a lead. If you do know someone who has an after school job or the type of job you might want, ask them how they got it and if they know of any openings. Sometimes teens who have jobs hear things at work about when their employer might be hiring or they might be able to put in a good word for you. Even if they don’t know of any immediate job opportunities, they could give you valuable information of how they got hired. Perhaps they have a strategy that worked for them that you don’t know about.

Another job search strategy not to be overlooked is to use your parents to help you get the word out that you need a job. This might be a tough one for a 17 year old because at that age you probably want to distance yourself from your parents as much as possible just because they embarass you. But if you really want to find a job and are serious, you need to consider that they might be able to help you. Your parents might know someone that could hire you and they also might be able to put in a good word for you with one of their friends. Letting your parents help you find a job might not be what you really want to happen but it might be the difference in whether you go the rest of the year with or without that job.