How did you get 16 year old part time jobs

[whenwillthemadnessend]

My 16 is applying for part time
Work now waitressing. Sale assistant supermarket etc

No
Bugger has got back to her

How did your sixteen year olds get their first job.

She is bright and articulate so it can't be that. I thought places were desperate

My DP's DD was in this position (helps to look after her younger brother) and made a statement in her CV to the effect that: 'I help to look after my younger brother with ASD. This has allowed me develop skills like dealing with challenging situations with patience and resilience'.

I think she also stressed practical skills too, like being good at clearing up after herself and others and not minding getting stuck in to cleaning and tidying.

Also, notwithstanding the provisos on permitted working hours that pp rightly mentioned, 16 year olds can often be more flexible about early starts and later finishes than staff who have to do school/nursery drop-offs and pick-ups. If she could get to a shift for 7am or 7.30am, say so. If she can work into the evening past 6pm, say so.

Just some ideas, really. Feel free to ignore

My DD just searched online and applied through indeed for the jobs she liked. Her first job was at McDonald’s which she hated so she applied for a few more, got an interview at Thorpe park and was offered the job but the journey was too long realistically for that to work, she then applied to a hair salon, also through indeed and was offered the job as an assistant. She has been there a few months but has decided hairdressing is not for her, so is looking for something else now. She will be 17 in a few months.

Yes, Dd spoke about her caring responsibilities (grandparent with dementia)

In our town I regularly see 16-17 year olds post on the local Fb sites asking if any PT jobs going and there is usually lots of replies like XYZ chip shop has sign on window looking for someone, ABC cafe has vacancies etc.

Ds got his first job at local dominos by going in and asking.

BHS restaurant, 1991, £1.86 an hour and the kitchens were minging. Sacked if you were caught eating anything leftover at the end of the day, it had to be thrown away. I hope things have improved!

This really isn't good.

If she's too lazy to do this entirely independently, what makes you think she'll be able to hold down a job?

In order to do this properly, she has to really want to do it. Also, if she wanted a new email account she's quite capable of quickly making one herself.

It’s tough out there. Supposedly lots of jobs. Yeah right?

my 17 has applied for 100s of jobs on indeed. He was interviewed by a well know outdoor shop - a 7 hr contract at the weekend. 70 applicants, 6 interviewed. They said he came across well but there were more experienced candidates.

most of the time he gets no feedback at all.

it’s not like the olden days where you popped into the local shop with your CV and they said come back next week. Now it’s all online. 3hr online tests to clear plates at £5 an hour. Trail periods on a Saturday night at 5 Guys never to hear from them again or get paid.

This is a nice lad. What it is doing is teaching him that he needs to stay in education for the next couple of years and also that it is bloody hard to get a job even though everyone says there are lots.

I live in Ireland where at age 16 it is popular to take a year between exam cycles (transition year). It is intended to be a year of class bonding, extra curricular activities and work experience. None of that is any good to you of course but what might be is that during this year they do at least three stints of work experience (for free). So my DD did two work experiences that she was interested in as a career but the third was a bar/restaurant where she worked for a week for free/learning the ropes. She worked there part-time for the rest of her school time (well paid after the initial week). This would be a common enough thing to do here and most kids have a part time job from that age. We do live in a touristy area though where there are service jobs aplenty.

Would that be worth a try?

Trial periods on a Saturday night at 5 Guys never to hear from them again or get paid.

Yeah, I am pretty suspicious about this outfit and their unpaid 'trial days'. They get six triallists in, for free, to make a tonne of food. Then wave them goodbye.

When DS finally got a trial at a decent restaurant, they paid him for the whole day (and hired him, happily).

Mine went round local cafes etc with CV. Many places do still take them.

This is a nice lad. What it is doing is teaching him that he needs to stay in education for the next couple of years and also that it is bloody hard to get a job even though everyone says there are lots

This is so true, also depends who you know and where you live.

Even after graduation it can be tough. DS got a 1st in a science subject from a top uni. It still took him several months and 100s of applications to get a proper job.

Mine had a friend who worked in cafe and she introduced him. He worked there for about 6 months, then did some work experience at a theatre and really enjoyed it, started volunteering there 1 evening a week and after a while they offered him a paid job. Good timing as the cafe seemed to be struggling and didn't really need him any more. He loves his theatre job, but he did it all himself. Being confident and polite and being able to look adults in the eye etc probably so much more important than CV. No point you trailing around cafes and restaurants OP. Your DD needs to do that.

We were out walking the dog, stopped at a cafe where the waitress apologised for taking so long to get to us. I asked if they were looking for staff as dd (who was with us) was looking for part time work to fit around her college course. Two weeks later she had the job.

At the time dd was mortified but if you don't ask you get nowhere and all they could say was no.

Same thing happened in another cafe so we asked again and she got that job too.

Also when she went to uni we asked at a nice pub we went to for food see if they needed staff, she got that job while at uni.

My 16 year old DD is volunteering for the library summer reading scheme.

She also has a very sparse CV due partly to Covid and partly to a physical disability meaning that just going to school all day pretty much exhausts her leaving no energy for much else.

My 16 year old has just got their first job. Lots of applying unsuccessfully for the last few months, but got an interview and has started this weekend. Did it all themselves. The pay is minimum wage, but it’s that first bit of experience to put on the cv. For me the money isn’t the issue (I could give more) but it’s about learning some all important life skills and independence. Perseverance and resilience and some luck I think are the name of the game.

@SpinningRoundRightRound
Those are fab ideas - thank you for sharing them. I think we've now got something to work with.
I took a look at Indeed and noticed that the charity shops in our local town advertise for volunteers and it might be worth her while doing something like that before looking for paid part time jobs. Otherwise it's agricultural work like rogueing the fields which I know she wouldn't be up for.

I know a lot of people have said it's terrible to have your parents enquiring on their dc behalf, but it is very difficult for dc with SEND. My ds would need a lot of support.

Dc1 got a volunteer job which then turned into an adhoc paid job. From this he could show that he was committed /had a good work ethic and started applying for every possible job on indeed. He got a 15 hour contract with B and M (but often does more hours).

You're welcome, @42isthemeaning - glad our family experiences have been of some use. Tbh, a lot of 16 year olds need support. The world's a much scarier place than it was when I was a teenager.

@42isthemeaning I have noticed that our local branches of M&S have employed deaf staff, and staff with learning difficulties like autism and Down's syndrome before, so that might be somewhere to look into. I think needing a parent's help to draft a CV or fill in an application form is fine because many DC would welcome support the first time they do something like that. But if the SEND mean that the young person isn't confident or able to be autonomous then possibly the part-time jobs might need to be those offered by charities specifically for people with learning disabilities. I guess it depends on the nature of the need.

Dc went to a local attraction spoke to them started following day. 0 hr but in half term he did 5 days. And 1 day each weekend since starting

They’re so desperate for lifeguards that the local chain of “council” leisure centres and my gym (and possibly others) are offering to hire people and pay for their training. I’ve even considered doing it myself for some weekend/evening work and extra cash!

Mine had paper rounds first which they got by their pushy mum asking the newsagent.

after that they got jobs in the local chippy working on the counter which gave them the experience to get jobs in Tesco, H Samuel and River Island. All were advertised on line. Tesco had a minimum 18 year entry but the other two took mine on at 16. Oh, DS has also done casual zero hours work at the local rugby club on match days glass collecting then bar work.

To add, IMO, the best time to get jobs is August when those in work starting handing in their notice as they’re off away to uni.

My 18yo's helpful advice: get them smoking weed, then cut their money off. They'll get a job.

Seriously: I had no part in getting my 16yo a job, he did that himself. I would say if they need Mum to get them a job, they're probably not ready to work.