Unable to find a summer job, N.B. teen creates job board for students like him

When Fredericton High School student Matthew Jeon wanted to start saving money for university, he started applying for summer jobs.

But his search was unsuccessful for two summers in a row. Along the way, he noticed many applications were more geared toward college or university students.

After submitting applications online, he would follow up in person — still with no results. Then, he started browsing online job banks, wishing there was some sort of website targeted specifically toward high schoolers.

“My friends were telling me they had the same problem,” said Matthew. 

“So I realized, like, this is an actual issue.”

In response to the problem that Matthew and his friends were facing, he started creating a website on the platform Wix last year that would host jobs and high school applications.

A year later, during this past summer, he worked with a mentor to learn coding techniques and make a more legitimate-looking website called histudentjobs.com.

The website allows employers to target New Brunswick high school students by posting job ads to the site. Employers can also browse student profiles and share their jobs with eligible students. 

Students who sign up can browse jobs and submit their applications through the site. Another portal allows teachers and employers to upload reference letters for students on the site.

Matthew's website also includes a section for volunteer opportunities. As a current volunteer at the Fredericton Public Library, Matthew decided a volunteer portal could provide more options for students. 

Matthew said he is still trying to recruit students and employers for his site and prove that it's legit. But he hopes that it will take off and that he will be able to expand it beyond New Brunswick to students across Atlantic Canada.

“I have nobody who's kind of like backing me,” he said. “You could say it just looks like something that a high school student just made for fun.”

Tricia Williams, director of research at the Future Skills Centre at Toronto Metropolitan University, said Matthew’s summer job struggle is not an isolated anecdote and it's something that is being felt by young people across the country.

“We see that youth unemployment is ticking upwards,” said Williams. “Every time we get a labour force survey, we see that number going up. You know, it recently reached a nine-year record high.”