Teens seem to be finding work at grocery stores, summer camps and youth organizations, restaurants and the mall.

“(Teens) are primarily who we hire,” said Shelly Chapman, the office manager and staff coordinator for the Belton Christian Youth Center. “Our afterschool and summer programs are almost entirely staffed by high school- and college-aged group leaders.”

Chapman said more applicants applied for positions with the center this year than any other year she has been there.

“We had about 75 applicants for 30 positions,” said Chapman, who admitted the hiring was competitive among teens with the center’s summer program openings.

“There were more applicants than I’ve ever seen - it surprised me. We began taking applications in February and March - (the teens) were looking for work well before they needed it,” Chapman said.

Chapman said the center also keeps a substitute list of teens who weren’t hired for backup roles in case some of their workers call in sick or want vacation time.

Teens working at the H-E-B on South 31st Street in Temple said they hear from their friends all the time that they want jobs, and say their best advice is to fill out as many applications and visit as many places as possible.

“I hear it all the time,” said Micaela Trevino, 17, a senior at Temple High School. “They’re always asking me if we’re hiring, ‘can you get me a job?’ - I don’t think it’s that bad here compared to other places in the country to find a job if you’re a teen - you just have to look hard.

“There’s a lot of different routes you can take - you can work fast food, or work in the mall,” Trevino said. “The main thing is you have to look - I think the cost of living is a lot higher now than it use to be for teens, so more (teens) are working.”

Trevino, who has worked at H-E-B for a year, said she pays her cellular phone bill, and her car and car insurance bills with her money.

“That’s the good thing about working at H-E-B,” said Justin Scott, 17, a senior at Academy. “They will hire 16-year-olds and work around their schedules.”

Scott said he put his application in “quite a few places” before he was hired a year and a half ago.

“I was mowing yards, doing whatever I could for money,” Scott said. “I got pretty lucky, I couldn’t really get by or do anything without this job.

“It costs a lot now just to do basic things, like go to the movies and go out - and gas is expensive,” Scott said.

Tawa Maki, 18, a 2009 Temple High School graduate who will be attending Indiana State University this fall, said he’s been working at H-E-B for two years.

“I filled out applications at a lot of places, and didn’t get phone calls back or anything,” said Maki about the hiring process. “I just started going all over, looking for different jobs, and got pretty lucky.

“I guess the key is to put applications in at as many places as you can - eventually, somebody is going to call you back if you seem reliable,” Maki said.

Maressa Trevino (no relation to Micaela), a 17-year-old 2009 Belton High School graduate, began her first day of work Wednesday with the grocery store. “I put applications in all over,” Maressa said. “I looked everywhere - but the places like the mall have age limits in some of the stores, or (the jobs) are filled.

“I was happy when they called me back here,” said Maressa, who said she was looking for a job for about three months. “For me, having a job is important because I’m helping my parents and will be able to pay for things myself.”

Most fast-food restaurants also hire teens in the area. As far as teens working at the Temple Mall, Premiere Cinemas hires teens under the age of 18, while some stores, like Dillard’s, only hire workers who are 18 years old and up.

There are also options like babysitting and mowing lawns.

“It seems like things are tough right now,” said Talie Yaqoub, 17, a senior at Belton High School, who recently was rehired at the First Baptist Church in Belton to watch children whose parents are in nightly or weekend worship sessions.

Yaqoub worked at the church last year, and said she didn’t want to look for anything else.

“I guess I was pretty picky, I knew that I didn’t want to work in fast food, and I wanted a job where I felt safe at work.”

“I got pretty lucky when they asked me back this summer, I didn’t fill out applications at other places,” Yaqoub said. “I know that’s not always the case - my boyfriend (Michael, 19) was looking for a job for almost a year before he found one at Wal-Mart.”

Temple Parks and Recreation Department spokesman James Stafford said the city hires a number of teens for recreation jobs - such as lifeguards for city pools, counselors for its summer camps, and workers for its Sammons Golf Course grill.

Stafford said that teens looking for jobs with the city could visit the city Web site at www.ci.temple.tx.us and look under the employment section for opportunities. He said the city also advertises in the Telegram.