Does anyone work in Clarks? Or high street retail in general?

[SwayingInTime]

Hi there

My 16 year old daughter is getting knocked back from everywhere she’s tried to find a job at so far. It’s not surprising as she has no experience at all!

Does anyone have any tips for constructing an application or CV at this stage? She is especially enthusiastic about Clarks so childcare orientated stuff would help there a bit there I assume as it’s highlighted in the advert?

Her dad works in a food shop - is it worth her working there for a week if they’ll allow it and putting it down as work experience or would it not make much difference do you think? It would be a bit awkward for both but I could persuade them I think. The shop doesn’t employ under 18s.

Is she showing enthusiasm for the product range? That has always helped me get jobs in retail.

I don't think anyone interviewing a 16 year old is expecting experience, so wouldn't think too much about that, but perhaps she could include any examples of when she's held a position of responsibility for example helping out with younger pupils at school.

My 16 year old got a job in a shop with no experience but it did take persistence and applying to somewhere where young girls shop helped as I suspect they prefer young women working there.

My son managed to get a job at our local home bargains when he was 16. I know it's not what she wants but like you say a bit of retail experience might help.

Thank you, she’s not getting any interviews!

Better cover letters (there’s less application forms with boxes to complete now and more uploading cover letter and cv which surprised me) with enthusiasm for the product range I think, good idea. It’s difficult to not get down about it but there’s a lot of teens and students about so she’ll get something eventually I hope.

Home Bargains would be great, she got knocked back from Savers (Superdrug’s discount arm)!

My 17 yo is going through the same. I think it's just a numbers game tbh. Her friends who got jobs applied for loads before getting lucky so that's what she's doing she actually just had an interview for Clarks and said there was a lot of focus on them wanting to be trendier and they had to describe what shoes they liked. She also said she was the youngest there and there were a lot of older people with more experience so she doesn't hold out much hope...

Ah yes definitely a numbers game if she's not even getting interviews.

Just a thought but has your daughter considered babysitting, as you mentioned 'childcare orientated stuff' babysitters are always in demand and it would be a good way to gather references showing she was capable and responsible, also if she's leaving school for good and wanting to take up a retail position it may be worth her contacting your local Jobcentre as they'll be able to advise on 'retail apprenticeship' schemes available in your area, this is how most employers take on young people now.

I work in next and we are ALWAYS recruiting and are taking on loads of 16 year olds at the mo! Get her to apply on line at next careers

My first job was in Clarks. It was fun and useful now knowing how to properly fit kids shoes.

I remember that they asked me how I'd sell a pen in the interview.

I got my first paid by working in Oxfam for free first. Try the charity shops. If you can support here for a couple of months (my grandparents helped me) then it’s not difficult.

Not super helpful if she’s not getting interviews, but for my Clark’s interview I got asked how I kept up to date with trends, what shoes were currently in fashion and what I thought Clark’s target customers would like

I second @MrsPear suggestion of volunteering whilst job hunting as it would stand out on a cv and provide experience to discuss in an interview

Just some advice, if she sees a job advertised on any of the recruitment websites such as Indeed/Monster/Cv library etc, tell her to apply directly to the company if she can. It will show she's researched the company rather than being one of the many 1000's to click 'apply with one button' and the like.

Last summer my then16 yr old daughter did her NPLQ lifeguard course and got offered a job at the pool where she took the course straight away. A few months ago she also did her Level 1 and 2 Swim teaching , that is great money £20 an hour and she does both now. Might be an idea if your daughter is a good swimmer though we did have to pay for the courses.

If you are near enough to an IKEA they will certainly take 16 yr olds with no experience

I managed recruitment for a number of high street chain stores for a few years. I did employ quite a a few 16 / 17 year olds but only the ones that came across as very confident & capable. I never counted someone out for lacking experience but I didn't employ anyone who seemed very shy & overly nervous. This was purely because we had a big shoplifting issue & some very rough "customers" & our fair share of creepy weirdos. I would never want to put a timid young person in a situation where they could find themselves facing off against an agressive idiot or an absolute creep. It's obviously not okay and very intimidating for anyone to be in that situation but some teenagers just need a gentler start.

Confidence is key. Oh & I never offered a job to anyone whose parent applied for them, turned up at the interview with them or harangued me afterwards, demanding to know why the process took so long or why I didn't want to employ their child. If you're not mature enough to handle it yourself, you're not mature enough to have a job.

Came here to suggest volunteering for 6 months or so if possible. Would boost her CV and experience.

Bit surprised to be honest.

dd is now 17. Her first job was in Clarks and it didn't take much to get it.
They take on a huge number of young people about now, for over the summer with the run on school shoes. As few then get offered saturday jobs after the summer (dd did)

She got the job through and agency. There are a load of them who went for the interview. They didn't care about experience etc.
She eventually left though becuase they are always short staffed so they wanted 2 evening per week plus weekend to cover all the gaps, and she was in sixth form and had work.

But she has had no trouble getting other jobs.
Do you have a soft play centre near you? They take on a lot of extra staff for summer holidays too.

And I should say, dd doesn't have a trendy bone in her body and they were not remotely interested in that.
But it is an outlet shop and massively busy with a huge turn over of school shoes.

I think doing work experience would help and also volunteering, in a charity shop if she is interested in retail.

Mcdonalds is great experience to have.My son and his friends all worked there through sixth form and pay is good and will be able to gain a reference too.

I’m a retail manager and have done my fair share of hiring and firing 😊 (for another footwear store! 😊)

I’d never be expecting a 16 year old to have much experience at all but having a volunteering role down on her CV certainly wouldn’t hurt if she can get one 😊 In a CV and cover letter I’d hope to see a bit of personality and some general information - what she’s interested in at school? is there a particular career she’s working towards? What skills and qualities does she have? If she has any limitations to her availability then I always appreciate it when that was in the cover letter too 😊

At interview I’m looking for them to be happy, easy to talk to (it’s fine to be nervous! 😊) and to show willingness to learn!

Has she tried smaller independent stores? Have her print out some CVs and walk in to places and hand them in 😊 Don’t do it for her - its amazing the number of mums/dads I’ve had come in and hand CVs in on their child’s behalf while they stand outside 😬 or they come in with their child and they do all the talking! If you’re not confident enough to ask me about work then I don’t believe you’d be confident enough to offer our customers the level of help and service that we’d want you to give!

a lot of interviews now are very scripted to avoid any form of bias and usually have the same questions, some websites may even have copies or you could pop into the shop and ask the staff for a bit of inside knowledge. I interviewed loads of young people for retail Christmas temp jobs last year and what i looked for was the ability to communicate. one question asked was 'tell me about a time when you overcame a problem at work and what the outcome was?' but i encouraged answers about school, hobbies, scouts , guides , etc.
Also look at agency work for brand reps, the turnover is pretty high but instore consultants earn a bit more than the store workers.
Good luck