Barnard -- Job-hunting is difficult enough, but when you're a teenager trying to make money during wintertime in a recession, it can be especially daunting.

That hasn't discouraged Katie Leavitt, a 13-year-old East Barnard resident. Since July, Leavitt has been out pounding the pavement, putting fliers around town that advertise “Barnard Teen for Hire” and include her name and number. Her list of services is long and broad: mother's helper, mowing lawns, watering plants, baby-sitting and kitchen help. She sets different rates for each.

Leavitt is trying to earn $500 toward a trip that her eighth-grade class at Woodstock Union Middle School is taking to Washington, D.C., at the end of the year.

But it's not an easy time for teenagers seeking gainful employment. Unemployment for the 16 to 19 age group is up 4 percent from last year, to more than 20 percent in November, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Leavitt's mother, Jill, had mixed feelings about her daughter putting her name and telephone number on bulletin boards, trying to earn a buck. But she soon came around to the idea.

“I think it's good for any child to learn about money,” Jill Leavitt said, “and learn to communicate with people, as well.”

Taking a break from her algebra homework one recent evening, Katie Leavitt met with the Valley News at the Barnard General Store to talk about her job search, the difference that the label “teen” can make in looking for work, and what she plans to do after she earns $500. What follows is an edited transcript of that conversation:

Valley News: How did you get the idea to put out fliers and advertise yourself for hire?

Katie Leavitt: Well, my eighth-grade class is going on a trip to Washington, D.C., at the end of the year and we needed to raise money. I needed to do something to get enough money to go on the trip, it's like $500 or something. I decided if I put up fliers everywhere, some people would see it and maybe I'd get some money that way.

VN: I noticed some people had taken your number (from the flier). Have you gotten any calls?

KL: I got one call from a lady with three kids. I was a mother's helper for her. While she did chores, I just watched her kids and played with them so she could get some work done because they're all really little.

VN: When did you begin advertising?

KL: At the end of July.

VN: What made you think that this was going to be the best way (to earn money)?

KL: I talked to some of my neighbors and they said it would probably work for them. They would take a tag and call someone if they saw something like that. And my parents recommended it. And one of my friends had done the same thing and it had worked for them. …

VN: Tell me about some of the services you offer. How did you come up with this list?

KL: I went to one of my neighbors' houses for dinner and we brainstormed a list of ideas together and they gave me some ideas of what they thought they would hire people for. Most of the stuff I've been doing is animal care, because I really love animals and I've gotten a lot of, “Take care of my cats, dogs, fish.”

VN: You're 13, which means you probably don't have a lot of prior work experience. Has anybody asked you about that?

KL: Not really because I'm old enough now where I'm not questioned about my responsibility or anything. But it's kind of a pain, not having a license or anything because I have to be driven to the place I need to go.

VN: How have you been getting around?

KL: My mom drives me, and I give her some of the money to pay for gas.

VN: Is it more difficult now that it's winter?

KL: Not really, because I haven't gotten as many calls in the winter because there's not as much to do as there is in the fall, when everybody's busy. In winter, people just stay home and they don’t do much of anything.

VN: You know, you've probably got some other kids maybe a bit older than you, maybe they've worked some other place and are competing with you for people's money. They might want to work. Have you found it difficult to find a job being so young?

KL: Not really, because I'm one of the oldest kids in my village. All the older teenagers, they mostly live in Woodstock and out here there aren't many high schoolers who are competing because they all work in Woodstock. I'm not actually doing real jobs, just odd random jobs for people. So it’s not that difficult.

VN: Is there anything in particular that you feel most qualified for, that you would want to do?

KL: Probably animals. That's the thing I focus on, but I can do other things too.

VN: You've obviously got a goal for why you're trying to earn money. What about after the trip to D.C.? Do you think you'd want to continue to have a job?

KL: Yeah, probably, because I'm going to need money in the future. But this is a goal, something that I can actually focus on. It's a challenge.

VN: What do you think you've learned?

KL: I'm not sure. It's really different. It's a lot different being older, because people trust you with more things. And, if I was even one year younger, they'd ask a bunch of questions.

VN: Like what?

KL: About prior experience. I'd probably have to have a parent with me at all times. Being a mother's helper, I probably only got that job because I was as old as I was.

VN: Do you think if you were 12 they wouldn't trust you to do some of the things you're doing?

KL: Yes, because 12 and 13 are such a big difference in some people's minds.

VN: Yeah, I noticed you specified “teen for hire.”

KL: Because my birthday was in July and so then I was immediately able to put “teen.”

VN: Was that what you were waiting on, to turn 13?

KL: Yes, pretty much.

VN: How long have you been waiting to do this?

KL: Not too long because last year, in seventh grade, we learned more about the Washington, D.C., trip about what we'd have to do to get money, so I haven't been planning that specific attack on the goal. But I was thinking of ways to get more money.

VN: How close are you to getting your goal?

KL: I have about $250.

VN: So you're halfway there.

KL: About halfway.

VN: How long do you think it's going to take you? People are not spending money as much as they used to.

KL: Yeah. Well, we just did a fruit sale for the Washington, D.C., participants, so that will get me a lot more. So I don't think it will be too much longer. I'll probably have it by March.

VN: Will you stop advertising when you get there?

KL: No, I'll just probably put up new signs with the date on it. I put the date of when I put it up, so people don't think it’s from 40 years ago, or something.

VN: How far out would you be willing to go, or is your mom willing to drive you?

KL: The farthest I've gone is out to Route 4, but probably not much farther than that.

VN: How far out on Route 4?

KL: It was right next to The Willows (restaurant).

VN: So it was still in Barnard.

KL: It was still in the general Barnard area.

VN: If you had any advice to give to other people your age who are trying to earn money, what do you think you'd tell them?

KL: It's good to start early. If people start advertising now, a lot of other people if they live in a place where there's a lot of other kids who are trying to do the same thing, it would definitely help to get an early start on it in case things don't work out.

VN: When you get older, what kinds of jobs do you think you would want to have?

KL: Probably more baby-sitting, because that pays a lot. Because parents are gone for a while. I could go farther and take care of more animals when I have my own car.

VN: The car thing seems to be a big deal.

KL: It's a big deal. …

VN: Once you finish saving up for D.C., is there anything else you want to save up for, or is the car the next thing?

KL: No, that's not the next thing. There are trips to Honduras and Peru in either ninth or tenth grade, and I really want to go on those because they are charity trips. They build orphanages and places for people who don't have as much to live. It’s a pretty cool trip and I really want to go on one of those. That's probably my next goal.