CareerRise Parents

CareerRise logo: CareerRise, inspiring early careersWelcome to CareerRise!

As a parent, it can be difficult to know how to support your youth and young adult in their job search.  Here you will find tips, tricks, and reference information on how to best encourage their independence.

Serving ages 14-24, Larimer County Economic and Workforce Development CareerRise team delivers programs that inspire achievement and individual development through education, training, and career exposure.

Helping young action-takers take on more responsibility for realizing early career achievements is our mission. Our team partners with resources across Larimer County to provide forward-thinking training, employment skills development, paid opportunities, entrepreneurial workshops, and educational assistance for the younger job-seekers in our community to serve, work and excel using their unique talents.

Current Program Offerings

Employment Support
inCompass
Seasonal Opportunities
Larimer County Conservation Corps

Stay Informed. Sign up for the CareerRise Newsletter.

This newsletter runs biweekly during the months of February through August and then will reduce to monthly distribution from September through January. The newsletter includes featured employers, job search tips, events, & more.

How can I support my youth/young adult in their job search?

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Here are some things you could do to support your young job seeker in their job search.

  • Empower your youth to connect with your network
  • Encourage youth to find something they're interested in, and will stick with
  • Schedule an appointment with a Career Specialist
  • Register your youth for the CareerRise Newsletter
  • Read up on Youth Labor Laws & be informed
  • Practice common interview questions
  • Help your youth make time to volunteer to build skills on their first resume
  • Prepare your youth to ask questions of the employer (hiring processes, timelines, etc)
  • Help them solve common struggles such as transportation, juggling schedules & appointments

We recommend NOT doing these things when supporting your young job seeker in their job search.

  • Call or email an employer on your youth's behalf. Instead, help them learn to follow up on their own, even practicing what they might say
  • Go to your youth's interview. If you need to give them a ride, stay in the car.
  • Limit your youth to the "typical" first jobs. There are lots of great options out there!
  • Allow vacations, family visits & appointments to negatively impact their job. Plan ahead & help your youth discuss time off with their employer well in advance.
  • Complete an application for your youth. It's obvious to employers when this has been done & makes them look bad. Instead, create a master application with your youth & help them gain confidence!

FAQs

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  1. What can my child do at 12 & 13 years old?

    12 year olds are permitted to work in babysitting, newspaper delivery, gardening/lawn care, snow removal, golf caddying, & agricultural work. View the Colorado Youth Labor Law page to learn more. 

    Colorado Youth Labor Laws

  2. What can my child do at 14 years old?

    14 & 15 year-olds may work in: retail stores, food service establishments & gasoline service stations. To view more specifics, visit the State of Colorado Youth Law Resource Page.

    Youth Law Resource Page

     

  3. Not many employers seem to hire under the age of 16. What can my younger youth do now to compete?

    Encourage your youth to start building early work experiences through self-employment & volunteer work. Make sure they are educated about youth labor laws & develop strong job search tools! Here are more job search resources for 14-15 year old job seekers.

    Job Search Resources for Ages 14-15

  4. What is the minimum wage?

    Colorado Department of Labor & Employment updates the minimum wage on January 1st of every year.

    View Current Minimum Wage

  5. Does my child need a work permit?

    Work permits are not required under Colorado Law.

    • Any employer desiring proof of the age of any minor employee or prospective employee may require the minor to submit an age certificate.
    • Upon request of a minor, an age certificate shall be issued by or under the authority of the school superintendent of the district or county in which the applicant resides.

    Larger companies may ask your youth to provide one of these because they employ in other states. In these instances, an Age Certificate will serve the same purpose.

    The Colorado Department of Labor & Employment (CDLE) has a page dedicated to youth labor law, including work permits/age certificates.

    Colorado Youth Labor Law

  6. What businesses hire youth in Larimer County?

    View our Youth Friendly Employer List to gain ideas on employers that hire in our area along with their advice for youth on how to get noticed. This is not an extensive list by any means! 

    Youth Friendly Employer List

  7. Where can I find current job postings?

    We screen publicly posted jobs each week for entry level opportunities and post them to our weekly job postings board. We also share opportunities on our CareerRise Facebook Page. You can also register with Connecting Colorado.

    CareerRise Weekly Job Postings

    Register with Connecting Colorado

    CareerRise Facebook Page