Many high school students look forward to applying for a summer job to earn spending money. Studies from last year show that Utah has not been an easy place for teenage job seekers in the past few years. But this year seems to be looking up for Utah’s teens.

      In 2011, teenagers held 1.09 million jobs in the U.S., which was up 13.2 percent from 2010. According to a study by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a popular outplacement consulting organization, this year’s teen employment should grow even more than last year.

     The Sweet Tooth Fairy, a popular bakeshop in Draper, is known for hiring teens, including some students from Juan Diego. Currently, they have 16 employees.

     “We just hired four new people,” said Sharlan Burrup, a manager at the Sweet Tooth Fairy. The four new workers are all between ages 16 and 19.

      Burrup does admit that if faced with hiring a teenager or a college student, she would be more likely to hire someone who has finished high school because they are more mature.

     The Sweet Tooth Fairy is also hiring past employees who have left for college but are returning for the summer. JD alum Danielle Quintana returned to work there in mid-May. “All of the girls get along well with each other and work like a big family. It was nice to get a warm welcome back,” says Quintana.

     Due to lack of employment experience, students often have a harder time getting a job. “It is easier to hire someone who has already had a job,” says Burrup. She says workers with past job experience are also easier to train.

     “It makes more sense to re-hire a pre-trained employee instead of hiring an all new one and having to train them and introduce them to everything,” says Quintana.

     Freshman Chris Colling has had a job since kindergarten. “I have had the wonderful opportunity to work for my father from a very young age,” says Colling. He believes that going into the workforce young enables someone to learn what it means to have a good work ethic. Colling works at the cash register for his father’s business and also unloads merchandise from trucks.

     Even with his luck, Colling knows that it is hard for teens to get hired for a job over a more qualified adult. “It’s difficult to find seasonal jobs, especially over someone who is more qualified,” says Colling.

     Many unemployed people in their twenties are taking the jobs that were filled by teenagers in the past. But it is not only the lack of available jobs that is keeping teenagers out of the workforce. The Bureau of Labor Statistic’s data shows that for some reason, fewer teens want to have a job. Even so, the competition for employment is still fierce.

     “I like having a job because it makes me feel like a responsible adult,” says Quintana.

     Some teens, such as JD sophomore Riley Roderick, want jobs in order to have what he calls “walking around money.” Roderick is currently using his earnings to save up for a scooter.

      He immediately started filling out job applications when he turned sixteen. With the help of a family friend, Roderick now works at Beans and Brews in Draper and likes having fun with his co-workers. “The people you work with become your family,” says Roderick. He suggests talking to people and seeing if they have any connections for job opportunities.

     Other suggestions include talking to neighbors and asking if they need any work done, reading the newspaper, and going to small businesses that may not be advertising for help on the Internet.  “A lot of companies do online applications instead of in-person nowadays,” says Quintana.

     For a student searching for a job who is worried about the interview, Roderick advises the interviewee to just make them laugh.

     “Be professional, be prepared, and just be yourself,” says Colling. Quintana advises student job seekers to, “just be cool, calm, and collected.” She says that hiring managers want to see that you are willing to learn new things, are dedicated to the job, and are just a nice human being.