<p>My daughter turned 16 this month but probably wont be able to find a paying job at a store, etc. for a while. She'll try around the holiday's but most stores in the area hire 17-up or close to it. She does babysit a lot and has house-sit a few times. She even got a nice TV in a barter with house-sitting for a family that was going "big screen" and knew we only had 1 working in our home. I must admit, she is saving quite a bit and I'm proud of her.
My question is on the common app, it states paid jobs like a job application, wanting business's worked at. Well, she works, is on time, etc. and gets paid, but how should she put that down? Under employer, do you just put a family name or various families? I would hate to think all her hard work and time given up is considered worthless because she didn't get an official paycheck.
Any thoughts on that?</p>
<p>I've been wondering about this too. I've been working for the same families for 5+ years and definitely want to mention it, but don't know how to go about it.</p>
<p>I had one neighbor tell me her son cut lawns for 4 years and did odd jobs. He put down lawncare and either "various families" or 4 families and left it at that. (it was 4 years ago, so her memory faded a bit) He had 1 alumni interview in which he brought it up and the woman was impressed he had saved enough to buy a "very used truck" he used for his business. He had been doing since he was 13 or 14, so it added up.
I asked others at work and their children either didn't work or worked at a summer job senior year.</p>
<p>Yes, my son too put his yardcare work down on his employment history. He had a regular job, too, by the time he filled out his apps, but he listed the yardcare in his job history. If I recall he listed the employers as "various homeowners" or something like that.</p>
<p>One thing, and it's just a teeny thing, is if I was giving advice to your daughter I'd suggest she call it "childcare" rather than babysitting. It just conjures up an image more like a traditional job than 'babysitting'... which can (but shouldn't) suggest watching TV and eating pizza waiting for the parents to come home.</p>
<p>Yes thank you for reminding me of that...actually many, many years ago, when I was working in a babysitting room at a community center, someone told me when she heard I was applying for a "real job", "Say childcare assistant....it's sounds better" : )</p>
<p>One of my twins has babysat quite a bit, but my other daughter was lucky enough through a science program to get an internship at a museum. I'm going to have both of them list their paying jobs, no matter what it was. Work is work.</p>