<\/p>\n
Baha Alshaikh, 17, landed an internship at the Adler Planetarium this summer. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just highly recommend for teenagers to reach out to teachers or your parents, parents\u2019 friends, and let them know you want some summer work and going out and trying to talk to people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a strategy that 17-year-old Baha Alshaikh says has worked for him. Baha, a rising senior at Oak Lawn Community High School, landed an internship at the Adler Planetarium this summer in the development office, helping with fundraisers and other events.<\/p>\n
Baha likes to earn his own paycheck, so he\u2019s tried to work every summer since he started high school. He said a key piece of job-hunting advice was to \u201cnever stop trying.\u201d Another tip that worked: expanding his circle by meeting new people.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have a good network, you can find someone who can put you on with a job,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Challenger, Gray and Christmas suggests teens start their job search early. For the summer, teens should start applying well before the last day of school to avoid the June hiring frenzy.<\/p>\n
Dana Eltayeb, 16, applied late and missed some openings but snagged an internship by being persistent. The 16-year-old is working at the International Museum of Surgical Science on the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is one of the last opportunities I could find, and I searched a lot to find it,\u201d said Dana, who goes to Jones College Prep, a Chicago public high school. \u201cSo my advice is just keep searching and apply everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n