Here's How to Find Summer Jobs for 15 Year Olds

Amy Culver | Jul 16

Amy is our Lead Copywriter at Snagajob, where she loves to use her word nerd powers to help workers and employers connect. Her first hourly job was as a cashier at Chick-fil-a.

Oscar asks:

“Are there places that will accept 15 years olds for summer jobs?”

There are retail, food service and hospitality employers that can hire 15-year-olds, but depending on your location you may need a work permit or working papers to qualify. Your school guidance counselor typically can tell you what you’ll need, if anything, and what local labor laws apply.

That said, if you want a summer job you should start looking in April or May; after June it’s pretty late in the season to look for summer work, and to be completely honest you may find that it’s very hard to get hired at 15, even if you’re legally eligible.

It might be a better use of your time to volunteer doing something that will build your resume, give you work experience and new networking contacts to use when you start looking for a job. Having an application full of volunteer service, valuable experience and professional references can give you a major leg up when you go to get your first entry-level job!