Upset that DS let down by McDonald’s recruitment process

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DS aged 16 has been looking for a job since he started college at the beginning of September. He has basic retail experience (paper boy then taken on to stack shelves and serve on till until he has to quit to work on his GCSEa) and is hardworking, smart, kind, reliable and lovely (biased I know!). He had 2 interviews for McDonald’s and I had always heard they were good employers. He researched, dressed well, practised answers with me etc.

Interview number one: Sat down at a dirty table, interviewer (in son’s words) slouched at the table and just chatted. Seemed to go well in terms of his answers. Son said he had brought his CV if the interviewer wanted to see it. Told, ‘no, it means nothing to me’. Fair enough if it was not needed but odd turn of phrase! Got an email saying he had been unsuccessful. No offer of feedback, just a request for HIM to give THEM feedback on their process! 🙄 He really thought it has gone well so phoned 4 times to get through to a manager to ask for feedback. Eventually (after speaking to abrupt staff) spoke to him and was told it was literally his availability that didn’t match what the store needed. Was told he did really well and when DS asked could he give him advice for a future interview was told no just to do exactly as he did first time. Fair enough.

Interview number two: Followed the link to book an interview and was offered 3 slots, all within 40 mins of each other, the very next day. He was due to perform at an event in college at that time but really wanted the job too so booked the latest slot with the intention of trying to sort something with college. Went to college and was told although he would have finished performing at that time, there was an important session he needed to be at. He then phoned McDonald’s (all off his own bat btw, none of this did I even know about until later), and they said he could go the following day. The next day he was on his way, about to board the train, and got an email saying he had been unsuccessful! He phoned to clarify and they said it was an error and still to come. Arrived and felt they had no interest in him whatsoever. Again sat at a dirty table, interviewer didn’t want to see the documents he’d been asked to bring, was completely disinterested in DS or his answers and even walked off at the end leaving DS sitting at the table. Interviewer said he’d hear back the next day. He knew from the email he’d got on his way and the way he’d been treated in the interview that they’d already recruited. He didn’t hear back the next day or the day after. He phoned and spoke to the store manager to ask for an update who said oh yes he must have forgotten to send the email, I’ll make sure he does. Almost 2 weeks on now he’s had nothing.

Shocking way to treat our young people. I don’t believe he’s have had the same as an adult. What kind of message does that send to them about respect, their worth and the world of work in general? He was more professional throughout the whole thing than any one of the staff members he encountered. He’s left deflated and wondering will he ever get any work. He’s applied for upwards of 50 positions and is getting nowhere. Indeed usually says he’s one of 965 or one of 568 who have applied so he stands no chance 😩

It’s his introduction into the real world!

Has he tried Greggs? They might be recruiting

To be fair my son had a completely different interview experience with McDonalds. Had a group interview then 1 to 1, was told didn't need 1 to 1 offered a job in his group interview performance alone.
He worked there for 18mnths. They were pretty good giving him responsibilities a few shift managers weren't great but I'm sure at times he wasn't a model employee 😉
Maybe your son just unlucky with the Branch recruitment

Maybe they are looking for someone who takes the initiative to clean the dirty table if both interviews have been at one?

Most McDonalds stores are open until midnight, and quite a lot are 24 hours. He could easily have rung the store when he received the email at 8/9pm. That isn’t late in hospitality.

Said store would also have been open for hours (if it had even closed at all) before he rang at 9am.

The McDonald's near our house were recruiting. My Son and 2 of his friends from same Sixth form applied. My Son and one of the Friend put Grammer School and Sixth form. The other just wrote College down on the CV. The one who just wrote College got an interview and a job even though all three had no work experience were the same age. God knows what they look for. Anyway Son found a job the following week packing Chocolates in a factory.

Hmmm. Reminds me when my flat mate and I applied for a checkout job at waitrose.
We got turned down.
She was outraged. So she went over there and demanded to speak to the manager.
We got the jobs!!
We were both graduates and at law school. They decided we couldn't do the hours they wanted. She told them they should have spoke to us as we had both offered to compromise.
Anyway. We worked there for the whole academic year and had a great time!!!

Worth applying to a different Macdonald's franchise.
Alternatively you go in and speak to the actual manager of the franchise and ask them what's going on and can you help to sort this out.
Everyone needs a little help sometimes.

@MindfulBear They won’t be able to speak to the franchise manager. They don’t work in the stores. They own several and have their own offices, HR departments, area managers etc.

They might be able to speak to the assistant or the store manager, though, if they are then when they’re in.

I work for a local franchise and dabble in the recruitment for our store. More than likely, his availability didn’t suit what they needed. They like well dressed, outgoing and ideally someone that will work a decent amount of hours on the weekend and weeknights. We are keen within our store to encourage social lives and hobbies but really weekends with full flexibility are a must!

I onboard an incredibly high number of staff weekly for a high turnover role. We use candidate management systems where we list interview slots which update automatically when we put up more slots. I can only manage to do this about three times a week due to time constraints and staffing availability for interviews. A lot of chain organisations use similar software. Just a heads up for your son next time to not feel like he needs to take an interview there and then 🙂

The applying for a million roles and hearing F all back is pretty normal. I applied for hundreds after finishing my MA... took me 6 months to even get an interview in my industry.

I’ve done a separate post about it yesterday but my 17 year old has a job in a zoo near to us (well 10 miles away as we are quite rural). He was employed last year at £9.50 an hour, now they are basically halving their wages to NMW which is £4.81 due to “operational issues”. There are no other jobs locally. Tesco are only employing 18 year olds here. He tried for 6 months to get that job and now can’t even afford to do it as it’s going to cost nearly as much in petrol as he earns. That money was to save for Uni.

Unfortunately this.
Job searching is soul destroying. Recruiters are rude, dismissive and have no problem wasting your time.

THIS!
Its simply that a lot of middle-class mums are not used to working in these kind of jobs.

With the greatest respect OP let go! Your son will have more knock backs than this in life...if losing out on a couple of job roles at Mac D's gets you this worked up (to the point you are posting about dirty tables at interview) how will you cope when he goes for his first 'proper' role.
Unfortunately this is how it works, we don't always know why we are unsuccessful at interview. It really is preparation for the adult world of work.

Dd has been messed about by them as well. She was told she has the job and just needed to complete some form via an email. The email never arrived. She sent several emails trying to sort it out which were all ignored. It's a bit disappointing for her as she wanted to work there but I've just told her to apply elsewhere.

But he's not applying for the employee graduate scheme.

I know people who've had really good long term roles at McDonald's and worked their way up the ranks. You have to be flexible and reliable. DS was neither.

I don’t think he’s been let down at all to be honest. First one he couldn’t do the shifts they wanted - not sure exactly what you’re expecting them to do about that? Although would have been useful for them to ask that up front - if he’s dissatisfied then why doesn’t he put that on the feedback form.

Second one he has messed them about by accepting an interview and then asking for a different time after accepting. Lesson to be learnt there!

But he's not a graduate looking to join their management programme. He's a 16 year old looking for shifts around his college course. It's not their fault that he couldn't do the shifts nor that he cancelled his second interview.

And if grubby tables shock you, I'm guessing you've never worked in fast food. The staff room is always minging.

They probably want someone who is going to hang around for a while and not disappear off at the first whiff of something better.

Some people are too over qualified for shop work. I used to get it over 25 years ago when I was a student. Shops etc would tell me they didn't want someone who only wanted a summer job. They wanted people who would stick around for a few years. A 17YO student who has clear oxbridge intentions isn't going to be hanging onto their £4ph job at Poundland for long are they?

Yes it’s just a shame they are happy to not bother giving any response at all and leave young people hanging like this. I can’t help thinking an adult wouldn’t be treated the same way.

Both a small local charity and a major supermarket did this to my DH recently. I think it's very rude but it seems common sadly.

That is shocking.
My DS went for a tea cook job at a nursing home and was treated with tremendous respect. They kept him 'on the books' until a place came up that suited his availability, he was paid for a ton of online training he had to do, they taught him how to book holidays, and he ended up working under a chef who has become a bit of an uncle-he-never-had. He absolutely loves it there.
Tell your son that there are good employers about there and to maybe avoid the chains.

The 'manager', is a duty manager and probably a teenager barely older than your son. They haven't been taught all the ins and outs of hiring.

Honestl op. I mean this gently. But I think it would be good to work with your son to help guide him and mentor him

the first manager saying it was availability after your son had to chase for a response, if you think logically about this , if it was availability your son would have known at interview he couldn’t get the job, they would discussed availability. there woupd be no reason to ask for feedback, he’d have known.

Many managers just don’t want to engaged in a discussion with a 16 year old on their interview skills, so just give a reason tell them they were great and move on. it Clearly wasn’t availability.

I agree it’s poor he is getting no feedback but it’s quite common sadly.

id focus on helping him , as the whole shoulders slumped, dirty tables etc comments makes me think potentially he is being superior or judgemental and they can see it. I’m very surprised at a 16 year old making these disparaging remarks, however valid they are.

the bottom line is someone is getting the job. It’s not your son. So why isn’t it? Why are they not picking him, as they are picking someone. And what can you do to help him make sure it’s him next time. What responses is he giving, what questions is he asking, what is he saying about his availability etc. sometjing is going on that is counting him out, and it’s not the interviewer is shite.

Try Tesco, DS found them a great employer when he was a student. He also worked at HSamuel from 16-18 but Tesco were better.

you do have to be flexible though when doing these jobs.