As a recruiter what you think of someone with A levels working in McDonalds?

[Thenotes]

DS got OK A levels, not the amazing grades everyone else's DC seems to get on MN but enough for him to pursue his life's dream.

This has a long selection process and it's looking like, even if he is eventually successful, he'll have at least a year between finishing school and starting work.

Meantime he's working in McDonalds. I'm actually really proud of the watched applied himself to it, taking on extra shifts and responsibility and getting excellent feedback from managers, generally seeming to be their go to person etc.

However there is a generally held preconception about the kind of people who work at Mcdonalds and I'm worried that it won't be good for him if the dream doesn't happen and he needs to look for a career type job in a year's time.

The current plan does feel very much "eggs in one basket" but it's such a dream for him, I completely support him giving it a year.

I wouldn't think badly of anyone working at McDonalds, whatever their background. A job is a job.

Agree with the pp, it wouldn’t make a difference to me if the job was McDonalds or in an office. He’s getting lots of experience that he’ll be able to talk about during the selection process-make sure he keeps a note of all of his achievements, and considers the impact he has in his role on his colleagues/management/customers. Working in a customer facing role is really valuable!

I'd say 80% of the staff in the fast food places here are students or retired people.

I think your own snobbery is shining through.

DC1 works in Tesco, picking the online shopping orders

Your first job is about showing that you're reliable, responsible, can learn a role, possibly deal with customers or deadlines. McD's is perfectly fine!

Why is it an issue. My friend's DS has just graduated. He worked in McDonalds whilst studying and has now upped his hours to full time whilst he looks for permanent employment,

However there is a generally held preconception about the kind of people who work at Mcdonalds

Really? What's that then? I don't have any such preconception. What's the big deal?

The current plan does feel very much "eggs in one basket" but it's such a dream for him, I completely support him giving it a year.
Exactly what DD's bf did after graducating except he was working in a pub. Just when he was thinking that it would never happen, he got two job offers at the same time. The dream does sometimes come true!

I'd think "Good for him, working in a high pressured environment and not wasting his time doing nothing"

My ds worked in McDonald's for a while

He used his time there as excellent work experience and got some great references for the next step

I think your own snobbery is colouring your view here

If he does well working in A McD's store there's actually lots of opportunity for him, even in just a year. Their management training program is very good and he could quickly do the exams to be a floor manager (more pay and responsibility). McD's like to promote from within, it's a very supportive corporate culture in that respect, with their own qualifications etc. It sounds like he's doing well there & his managers will probably pick up on that and offer opportunities for development.

graducating?
I think I probably meant graduating.

My general preconception about people who've worked in McDonald's would be that they must be hard workers and would have decent commitment to have kept working there for a period of time, what would your preconception be?

I don't work in recruitment but I do have some joint responsibility for interviewing graduates in a professional services firm. I'd be looking that they'd managed to stay in a job to be honest, if it's somewhere like McDonald's then big plus?

I'm hoping my DS will get a job there soon. I would never judge anyone for working there.

Recruiting school leavers and even graduates is hard because CVs are all fairly similar.

Having some solid work experience on his CV will give him a bit of a head start over the kid who hasn’t done anything.

I do agree with you that there’s a negative perception of working at McDs. It’s always held as a last resort in a ‘don’t work hard at school and you’ll end up working in McDs’ kind of way

For students, there isn't really a stereotype. Recruiters would probably be more impressed that they had actually gone out into the world to get work experience, as opposed to university students who don't bother (excluding those who genuinely can't due to demanding courses) and then wonder why they find it so difficult to get a job on the other end.

Mcds, retail etc builds essential transferable skills. I applaud those people who don't see these kinds of jobs as 'beneath' them, as that breeds entitlement.

To me it shows he’s a grafter.

Yes there is a bit of a stereotype of "you'll end up working in McDonald's ". However, the reality is McDonald's also has a reputation of being a fantastic employer providing excellent training and opportunities for staff. I believe they fund further education for their management trainees.
If your future recruiters know their stuff they should be very keen to employ someone who has a good work record with a well regarded employer.

Lady Hale has been referred to as an ex-barmaid in some sections of the press this week. She pulled pints as a student; it doesn't seem to have affected her career in the law. Recruiters will know your son has a good grasp of what is needed in the workplace.

Working in McDonald’s always strikes me as a pretty high pressure environment where a certain sort of motivated hard worker will thrive. They are known for their management program, so I’d think that anyone with ambition would probably be drawn to it as a good career path into retail and catering management roles (of a feeder experience for any .sort of management)

I’ve worked in the hospitality industry. It ain’t a doddle by any stretch.

There was a contestant on the apprentice who worked at McDonald's, other contestants had made comment to it to which she beat them down remarking in his she was put through their management training programs etc and how it got her to where she is.

I think highly of someone working in the fast food industry, it's a brutal job.

I actually selected someone for the next round of an interview process because they had worked at McDonalds. It was for a job which required a degree.
It told me the person was a hard worker and a team worker.

My first job at 16 was at Burger King, so similar, and it was bloody hard work! I’ve never been so exhausted after a shift in my life. People who work in fast food are extremely hardworking and people look down on it a lot, not realising just how challenging a job it can be

My eldest wants to work with food when he leaves school (he's in year 10 now) and is thinking of an apprenticeship in Maccy D's. Do they do them? Doesn't bother me in the slightest. Someone has to work there. Just like someone has to clean the toilets in public places. Someone has to make the chocolate Im currently eating. No job is better than others, some just pay more.

When I worked in McDonalds 30 years ago most people had or where working towards degrees

McDs is really good employer with some fantastic career prospects.

I worked for a supermarket through a-levels and uni and it worked out well. I had people skills, was a team player, could time manage and was resilient... as well as having the same qualifications as the rest of my cohort. I used it in interviews to demonstrate that I had a good work ethic and a track record of applying myself and learning on the job. Working in a customer facing role with a diverse range of customers and some challenging behaviour does wonders for work confidence