DS18 can’t get a job

[Nojobs]

My DS is in his final year at Sixth Form, he has been applying for jobs for months, about 90% of employers don’t respond and 10% offer him an interview, he feels it goes well, but then he doesn’t hear back. He was offered a job at a hotel, but he didn’t hear back for a few weeks, so he emailed them and 10 days later after he sent the email, they said the role had been filled by another member of staff, it appears they weren’t going to tell him.
He feels really deflated, he wants to earn some money to start driving lessons and save for university.
He has very good GCSE grades and predicted good grades for his upcoming exams.
What could be going wrong? Or is this just the current job market at the moment?

Pretty much is the current job market, it's very poor form from the interviewers to get no feedback but not uncommon. Somewhat depends on employer too
he could maybe be more 'on it' or try different methods
Post on local FB groups looking for jobs/recommendations. Don't be afraid to apply to companies he really likes that may not be actively hiring - some just have applications open year round so always worth a good CV and a short descriptive cover letter/email

Also local charities and some companies never show up on indeed or Google so he could research local organisations and then go through to their pages to see if they're hiring

Send a follow up email for feedback/info about next steps after a week
Use chatgpt if needed to quickly fire off. Obvs adapt it
Look for some local job coaching charities or have a look at his CV and applications - is he linking job description skills to his studies. Star method and what not?

Alternatively lots of young people at my last work found jobs/traineeships with local employers- eg Rolls Royce hires mathsy/engineering types and trains them up. Big salary and they pay for degrees

For very part time casual work I always think catering/temporary job agencies are the best - always hiring, always wanting reliable teens for catered events, bar tending etc

Everyone needs to start somewhere, and work experience is always looked on favourably. Is there a Wetherspoons or McDonalds or similar near you? They in my experience are always recruiting. Once in a job ( despite it not being what you want to pursue as a career) it's easy to look for something more fitting and employers like the fact you have employment history. All be it a long time ago my dss worked in a supermarket and now has a very successful career in engineering management. Sadly I do agree some employers do not acknowledge applications or give you feedback. Wishing your son the best for the future, think positive and persevere, he will get there.

It’s a numbers game, tell him he needs to be applying for a lot of jobs, took dsd 2 years to get a proper training position, 7 months to get retail

I don't believe that

Tell him to go to a temping agency, and tell them he will do anything

He'll be working the day after

Oh yes this too, I remember coming home after work and asking my dss who had just graduated, how many jobs he had applied for that day. He answered "one"! Once his Dad had had a chat, he was a lot more productive with the applications!

How about job fairs? Depends on the area that you’re in as to how big they are, but it’s worth a try. I went to one as a recruiter a couple of years ago, and the few people that had clearly taken the time to look presentable, show an interest and have a cv to handover really stood out! Sometimes it’s much easier to talk in person than be a faceless application amongst the many others.

Is he just looking for a part time job to fit around school until starting university in the autumn? If employers know that, they may be reluctant to hire him as they want people who can work whatever hours are available, rather than fixed ones to fit around studying. And they may also not want to hire and train someone who is going to be leaving in a few months. Are there any more seasonal employers around who might want to take him on just for the summer?

If he manages to secure a job in for example a supermarket or Wetherspoons, they can transfer to another branch where they are based for Uni ( and indeed transfer back and forth when they return home out of term)

This hasn't been the case for a very long time.

Train as a lifeguard. Good money. In demand. Flexible hours. Can work almost anywhere. Takes a week and normally courses run in school holidays. So do it May half term and can work all Summer! It's rightly tough though.

If he’s planning on moving away for uni that will put people off for sure.

saying that a friends 16yo recently applied for 94 jobs before he got one. 92 companies didn’t even get back to him!

It's very hard for young people particularly at the moment. I'd agree with a pp, took my dc (and friends) about 7 to 9 months of continual applications to get a retail job part time.

I would advise to think of all the businesses around your area and look on their individual websites. The odds are better than those that advertise on Indeed and Reed.

One of mine did GCSE tutoring for half the price other tutors were offering it. Would that be a possibility? Once my son had one student, he got others by word of mouth and he had to turn some away. Lots of parents want tutoring for year 10 and 11 and continue it over the summer.

He did also manage to get a job in a supermarket but he applied for a lot of jobs before that happened.

It’s really hard, very different to when we were teens.

It’s absolutely dire out there. Figures released today showed employers hiring intentions are at record lows. It’s a combination of employers NI increase rise, labour market reforms and general uncertainty about global economic growth given US trade tariffs.

www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/uk-employers-stay-downbeat-hiring-plans-surveys-show-2025-05-11/

DD1 (18) is a qualified lifeguard and can’t get a job. She has recently managed to get a job in the bar of a small local theatre, as she is also generally willing, she spent yesterday in costume at a local summer fair promoting the theatre.

She has applied for hundreds of jobs, life guard, shops, cleaning hotels, anything.

And DS (20) has worked since he was 13, he started uni this year and it took him almost 2 full terms to find a job there

I saw a nmw barista job advertised in Manchester last week, stated it needed 4 years barista experience!

It's the job market. If it's just for the short term what about making leaflets up for grass cutting, dog walking, car washing etc I know its not ideal but it's a way to make some money.

Sorry to read that. I think her experience is unusual though. All the teens I know who have trained have got work straight away. And I get ads every day via indeed for local lifeguarding jobs. Is she signed up to indeed alerts?

Just to add, he is planning on working and taking a gap year.
He has tried so many jobs, housekeeping, hospitality, bar work, retail etc. He also applied to Wetherspoon's, they were interviewing when he got there and there were 3 others waiting to be interviewed, the woman interviewing had said, she had lots of applicants (they were running 30 minutes behind), he never heard back.
It probably doesn’t help that he’s not as flexible as he could be at the moment, due to studying, but his exams are next month, so hopefully with more flexibility he may find something.

Thanks for the information regarding Rolls Royce, he is studying Maths and is looking to do engineering type jobs, I will pass this onto him.

This is a real problem isn’t it, every job says ‘must have experience’ - but how can a teenager get any experience if nobody will give them their first job!!

Just wanted to say persevere and reapply with companies such as Wetherspoons and supermarkets .Just because he didn't get the job or hear back the first time doesn't mean you should be putting off or not reapply. I know it's awful the lack of acknowledgement and also lack of feedback from companies but I know numerous people who have been successful on there 2nd or third attempt at applying.I even know numerous people this has happened with when applying to the NHS. Stick with it (however demoralising it is). Good luck

@AuditAngel https://www.charityjob.co.uk/jobs?keywords=admin+assistant&workplace=on-site&workplace=hybrid&workplace=remote

Entry level admin jobs available here. Search the site for other interesting roles in the charity sector. Your dd can filter the search criteria to entry level.

What area are you in op im looking for 2 workers.