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Original poster

How does an 18 year old look for a job during a 'year out' these days?

77 replies

LimitIsUp · 09/10/2020 17:19

Dd finished her A levels and started on an Art Foundation Diploma this September (its a one year course that you do prior to a Fine Arts Degree).

Its the end of week 4 and she has had an epiphany that its not for her, she has concluded that she doesn't want to do a Fine Art degree in future and in fact she wants breathing space to think really carefully about her future degree / qualification / job pathway. So, she's quitting (I think its the right choice - at least she has worked out what she doesn't want to do)

While she is taking breathing space and deciding what she wants to do in the longer term, in the mean time she needs to concentrate on learning to be an adult (her words - she isn't very independent right now), finding some paid work etc

The work she does this year is temporary and won't form the basis of her career plans so she is happy to do the traditional entry level stuff - e.g. casual Christmas staff at the Post office parcel sorting depot/ stack shelves in Tesco / etc etc

Where do people look for jobs these days? As an old gimmer when I was her age in late eighties / early 1990's we looked in the newspapers and in the job centre! Pretty sure that's not how it is done now. Where do people look now? (yes, I am that out of touch)

OP posts:
Original poster
LimitIsUp · 10/10/2020 08:03

Janevaljane - see below, course is a bit lacking as currently organised.

She could always do a foundation course at a later date. It's not a now or never

She just needs to slow things down a bit and take stock at the moment

OP posts:
Janevaljane · 10/10/2020 08:09

She just needs to slow things down a bit and take stock at the moment

Well, working in Aldi isn't going to let her do that. Why anyone would give up education, especially as it's a course they might end up restarting and go out into the job market as it is at the moment...all I can say is I wouldn't be encouraging my teens to do this.

Original poster
LimitIsUp · 10/10/2020 08:11

Respectfully, you clearly don't get it and I am not inclined to reveal more about my dd in order for you to understand it

So thanks but no thanks

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18 years old Jobs
Janevaljane · 10/10/2020 08:13

I think all we can do on here is offer advice based on our own experiences as, as you say, we don't know all the details of other people's lives. If she is refusing to do it then you can't make her, but it's a silly decision IMO.

user1471538283 · 10/10/2020 08:19

Apply to supermarkets, go to tempting agencies and ask the job centre if there are any job fairs. My DS went to a job fair a few years ago and got 3 interviews and job offers!

Fizbosshoes · 10/10/2020 08:20

I think it's really tough for this age at the moment and I have said multiple times to DH I'm so glad we our DD is not yet at uni age.
They are missing out on the face to face aspect of uni courses, not meant to socialise in groups of more than 6, no real life events to go to and spending a huge amount to do a mainly online course. ..... (I know most of these issues are applicable for everyone btw)
But ....very little option of travelling to do a gap year and the job market will be the toughest it's been for years. It's really hard.
I had MH problems when I was meant to go to uni and I didnt go, as I felt like I couldnt do more studying and put a lot of pressure on myself. For me it was the right decision not to go.

RosesinGranGransgarden · 10/10/2020 08:24

I think it’s a good decision to stop her course. I am a creative studies grad, used to work in a deli with other creatives, artists, musicians etc. All we’re trying to make art in our spare time. To be honest there’s no reason we couldn’t have done that from 16 and been in better jobs at 26!
Has she looked at selling stuff on Etsy? I make personalised framed initials, cheap frames from Ikea, sell them for around a tenner, the drawing doesn’t take long and I enjoy it. Plus I don’t have to interact with others and can do it at night whilst listening to podcasts. Depends on her style of drawing, you have to focus on what’s in at the moment, I do minimalist, Scandinavian styles which are very popular. It’s miles from my usual style of very colourful, graphic, folk art. But it’s what the people want!

Original poster
LimitIsUp · 10/10/2020 08:25

Wow that's encouraging user

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Original poster
LimitIsUp · 10/10/2020 08:28

Thank you Roses - she has mentioned selling on Etsy before. I'll remind her

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Wemayhavemetbefore · 10/10/2020 08:28

Point taken about the features of the course this year! And yes if you're going to do it it is a hefty workload, so may not leave that much spare time.

Though, just to add about doing the foundation course later - I think that if you're 19 or over when you start you have to pay fees for (some of?) the art foundation courses - not sure that loans are available either. Not a clincher but maybe one point to bear in mind.

Warehouse jobs another pp mentioned can be tricky because you need to be able to get there and the locations may not be that public transport accessible - does your dd drive? If not there may be buses but whether they fit in with the shifts is another question...

Compromise position might be to carry on with the foundation until Christmas, and then take stock. Or carry on while putting toes into the job market - then if it turns out that it is no go on finding a job dd could change the plan. (I realise that doing the foundation doesn't leave much time for job hunting! - no perfect answers here)

Wemayhavemetbefore · 10/10/2020 08:44

Also agree with those saying it's not unusual not to have had a paid job by age 18. Even more so this year, as for last year's Yr 13s it was not a good time to be looking for a summer job for the first time! (Very pleased for those who succeeded in getting work though!) And as another pp said, it isn't always easy to get a part-time job that fits in with school hours.

I think on the assumption that dd does stop the foundation course, my concern would be not to make getting a paid job this year the 'be-all and end-all'. Otherwise the risk is that if dd doesn't get a job (not being negative, just recognising there are a lot of applicants at the moment) it could feel like a failure. So I'd be focusing on making the time 'productive' in the ways you suggest - and maybe some online courses from reputable providers (google the reviews! experience talking here), etc.

Good luck to dd with the theme park application as well!

Original poster
LimitIsUp · 10/10/2020 09:30

Yes you do have to pay fees when she is over 19 - we'd suck up that cost but ask her to commute from home to save accommodation costs

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OddBoots · 10/10/2020 09:32

I can't see if it has already been suggested but do look at temp agencies, we take on a few people as temps and then offer the option of it becoming longer term if they prove themselves - especially if they can work full time. My place is office work (reception/admin type things) but I imagine it is true in other kinds of work too.

corythatwas · 10/10/2020 09:35

Well, working in Aldi isn't going to let her do that. Why anyone would give up education, especially as it's a course they might end up restarting and go out into the job market as it is at the moment...all I can say is I wouldn't be encouraging my teens to do this.

I otoh am an academic lecturer and I totally see why this might be the right thing for someone to do. I see far too many students who end up in HE because it's expected of them and hang in there because it's expected of them. Ime pretty well all students who get caught plagiarising are in this category, and a fair few of the students who fail their exams. It's not just about hanging in there and doing reasonably well either: you then need to have the energy and vision to launch a career off that training.

We have been treating ds' search for a job as part of his training, a learning experience in its own right. I wouldn't tell her that she might as well give up trying and do volunteering under present circumstances: I would tell her that every time she sends off her CV, every time she finds another opportunity to apply for something, she is working towards her career and learning something valuable. That the point is not in getting something straightaway but in persisting. But also in knowing when something is not right for you.

toffeekiwi · 10/10/2020 09:39

Dd got her job via a specialist agency but it's a niche area.

Original poster
LimitIsUp · 10/10/2020 09:40

Wemayhave- yes paid work wouldn't be the be all and end all of this year (or two) - she would be doing other (constructive) stuff too. The paid work is just a component - to ensure she has an employment history in her cv for the future, and also hopefully building self confidence. So, if it takes time to find paid work it's not a disaster (and unpaid voluntary work would suffice)

I have thought about the compromise position of her giving the course more time before deciding to withdraw - but she really misses not having a teacher available in studio to check in with. Although she has good ideas, talent and produces great work she is lacking in confidence currently (I hope that will change as she matures) and without a tutor confirming that her idea is a good one, then she falters and stalls, convinced that she has it 'wrong'. One studio session per week (rather than daily as it should be) is a really bad fit for her and is really not cutting it.

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thevassal · 10/10/2020 11:05

To be honest I did think something similar to Graphista when reading your initial post. It just seemed so outside of my experience to have an 18 year old's mum saying she didn't have any idea where to look for jobs. It did seem to support your comment regarding her considering herself to not be very 'adult' in that instead of having the common sense to just google 'tesco jobs' (or similar) she asked her mother to ask randoms on the internet.

However your initial posts have provided some context, and in fairness some posters have provided suggestions that I wouldn't have thought of, so happy to admit I was wrong to some extent. I also fully agree that there are going to be some types of degrees that are just not the same re: teaching this year so a very understandable reason to drop out.

The only thing I would say is to echo the posters saying that it is HARD out there at the moment, so if she wants to get a job, particularly in the more traditional places like the supermarkets, royal mail, amazon, etc, she will need to go hardcore at it for the next few weeks, starting immediately, i.e. spending at least five hours every day filling in all the application forms, because the majority of places are already advertising for their christmas placements and will be sorted by the end of october, if not earlier. That's not insulting your dd or her work ethic, just something I didn't realise myself when I was doing the same a few years ago (thought I could just fill out one or two forms a day and then wait a few weeks to see if any of them came back to me before trying some others) and it's going to be even worse in the current situation.

Then if none of these work out she could try some of the alternative suggestions put forward but if you leave it a week or two while she has a think about which job she would prefer, maybe contacts her old school and waits for them to come back to her before then applying for Asda when they say no, it probably will be too late.

Good luck! Hopefully she will get something really great where she can have a laugh and meet some friends as well as picking up some skills. I honestly think I learnt more from lots of my part time jobs than I did from my degree!

Parker231 · 10/10/2020 11:07

Care homes and supermarkets are often advertising.

corythatwas · 10/10/2020 11:13

The only thing I would say is to echo the posters saying that it is HARD out there at the moment, so if she wants to get a job, particularly in the more traditional places like the supermarkets, royal mail, amazon, etc, she will need to go hardcore at it for the next few weeks, starting immediately, i.e. spending at least five hours every day filling in all the application forms, because the majority of places are already advertising for their christmas placements and will be sorted by the end of october, if not earlier.

This is very good advice. Tell her to treat job searching as a job in its own right- you spend a certain number of hours on it a day and do the very best job you can.

Original poster
LimitIsUp · 10/10/2020 12:48

Some excellent advice from everyone, so thanks all. Tonnes of job applications to be prepared (and will look for job fairs)

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Original poster
LimitIsUp · 14/10/2020 19:24

Pleased to report - not doing too badly. She updated her CV at the weekend and has submitted 11 job applications so far in the last three days. First interview has come through for part time fixed term work at Tesco (for the Christmas period). This is more than fine for her first experience of work (assuming she gets it).

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OddBoots · 15/10/2020 09:24

Great news, even if she doesn't get it then it is interview experience, it all leads in the right direction. :)

Original poster
LimitIsUp · 15/10/2020 10:56

Exactly Smile

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FabbyChix · 15/10/2020 11:28

Can she get an internship most dont pay though, or do charity work, in these trying times its near on impossible. Sainsburys pay good though, as do Aldi and Lidl.

doadeer · 15/10/2020 11:34

Well worth making a LinkedIn account and following lots of businesses she's interested in. So many jobs listed on the site. There are lots of articles online about how to make a good profile.

Recruitment agencies can be good too

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