SCHOOL LEAVERS CV!!!!

[GloomyWaters]

DS has come home with hardly anything on his cv.
got me thinking other than personal statement, education to date, predicted grades, outside interests, referees what else is there to include!!!!

What?

Does he not have a job?

exactly!

sorry he's just turned 16 and now looking for a job until he starts college in Sept

No job or voluntary work? Did he do DofE (and associated voluntary role to go with it?)

Any volunteering or work experience - even baby sitting or lawn mowing?

What kinds of job is he applying for? He'll need to do a couple of drafts of his personal statement to fit the role.

Ooo he did do pot washing at a local chinese for 6 weeks he needs to include that

Included some sports coaching he's done

I can’t recommend lying enough.
Tell him to pop down that he worked at his uncles shop last summer, which has now closed down.

Has he had any part time jobs? Volunteered anywhere? Played football for a local club when he was little/ younger and won medals/cups? DofE awards? My DS built his own PC from scratch so he put that on there. Anything to pad it out and shows initiative/commitment etc.

Due to the pandemic he didnt do work experience and due to his age (15 then) the only job he did was pot washing no one would employ as he wasnt 16 until now

@GloomyWaters

DS has come home with hardly anything on his cv. got me thinking other than personal statement, education to date, predicted grades, outside interests, referees what else is there to include!!!!

There isn't much to add if he hasn't done anything else. To be fair it's a 16 year old school leavers CV, nobody will be expecting to see much.

My daughter is 16 and has a part-time job, before that her CV is fairly blank, GCSE results, A-Levels she is studying listed, alongside school, personal statement with her plans for the future, and a bit about why she wanted to work and what she could offer, they don’t expect much from that age, what got her the job over nearly a 100 applicants was her phoning the owner to check she had received her application, the owner was impressed with her doing that, they had an informal chat and she booked her in for an interview during the call and she got the job.

Thanks everyone I think with these extra bits he'll have enough - he is a really confident kid and face - to - face could win anyone over!!!!!

If you both wanted to, would there be value in a skills and competences section to communicate his abilities and try and separate his from similar CVs with descriptions or examples from his (pot washing) job and sports coaching of any of the following: effective communications, working with the public, solving problems, working in a team, working with the public, managing finances and so on?

Good luck.

Work experience (Saturday or holiday job; volunteering for charity)
Sports, hobbies, activities that demonstrate acquired skills, energy, persistence, tactical thinking, planning, ability to lead, work in a group, or be independent . Evidence of social/ organisational skills " I run the school dance and a chess group".
Membership of Scouts or Duke of Edinburgh award.

Firstly, nobody expects a 16 year old to have a full CV.

Put down any sport and musical accomplishments (my friend who had a brown belt in karate was specifically asked about it in her interview, as it showed discipline and ability to commit oneself). Lots of education institutions and employers care for 'social impact', so any type of activity that appears community-minded is a plus. Was he on any committees at school? Anything showcasing organisational skills and teamwork is great. His sports coaching, great, shows leadership. Also let him write down any training he received for this work.

Please don't listen to the PP to embellish the truth. I work in a sector regularly interviewing young adults and assessing their applications. If we find out people fibbed, it is an instant 'No'. Moreover, you then may edge out a candidate who has been truthful, which would be unethical.

@GloomyWaters

Thanks everyone I think with these extra bits he'll have enough - he is a really confident kid and face - to - face could win anyone over!!!!!

I do hope that's not code for cocky bullshitter. Nothing would put me off a candidate more than a 16 year with no experience of anything making out he was world's best employee.

What jobs is he applying for? A part time position while he studies or an apprenticeship?.

Is it something that has to happen today, your shouty title implies a crisis situation.

Duke of Edinburgh award
Volunteering
Paper round
Etc etc

My brother is quite high up in a pharma company and he was allocated two school leavers looking for apprenticeships.
They'd done fuck all research about how you apply for an apprenticeship. Didn't know what sort of field to go into, hadn't even thought about it. Their CV and statement was pathetic. Answered one word answers and showed no enthusiasm.

But they'd been given no help from school. Kids really are let down. The kids told my brother "everyone keeps telling us we will be helped but no one actually does!"
So my brother has really taken then under his wing, given them lots of support, links to Information resources, government websites, tips to out on CVs etc. Given them challenges and projects etc (this is not an apprenticeship at his company it's just like a guidance thing)
He then wrote to their school giving them some ideas and stuff and the teacher replied "wow that's amazing! So insightful"

And its like for fuck sake, come on!! Put a bit of effort into helping these kids understand what's involved in the world.

@GloomyWaters

Thanks everyone I think with these extra bits he'll have enough - he is a really confident kid and face - to - face could win anyone over!!!!!

You might need to modify his expectations if he thinks this/you encourage this view, otherwise he will might fall hard and you’ll need to pick up the pieces.

You can have a look at My World of Work which is the Scottish careers service website. It's Scottish obviously but does have lots of information on CVs and job seeking generally.

@Horehound

My brother is quite high up in a pharma company and he was allocated two school leavers looking for apprenticeships. They'd done fuck all research about how you apply for an apprenticeship. Didn't know what sort of field to go into, hadn't even thought about it. Their CV and statement was pathetic. Answered one word answers and showed no enthusiasm.

But they'd been given no help from school. Kids really are let down. The kids told my brother "everyone keeps telling us we will be helped but no one actually does!"
So my brother has really taken then under his wing, given them lots of support, links to Information resources, government websites, tips to out on CVs etc. Given them challenges and projects etc (this is not an apprenticeship at his company it's just like a guidance thing)
He then wrote to their school giving them some ideas and stuff and the teacher replied "wow that's amazing! So insightful"

And its like for fuck sake, come on!! Put a bit of effort into helping these kids understand what's involved in the world.

Could say the same for parents. 😉

@Horehound, that is brilliant of your brother. I just wish it weren't necessary, and all children received this assistance.

Don't forget to look at unis' and companies' own resources in this matter. Lots of them have outreach and mentorship programmes to ensure they are open to talent from all places.

Work experience?

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.reed.co.uk/career-advice/school-leaver-cv-template/amp/

Don’t use their template though as it has Reed watermarked and I couldn’t work out how to delete. But the advice and examples are good.