How hard is your young person fining it to get a job?

[Dapplesun]

DD is 18, she’s applying like crazy, it’s been weeks and she’s only had one interview in person! Couple of phone interviews…no job as yet! I’d say 90% of the time she hears nothing back at all! She’s not been fussy, and started applying for anything after a while in desperation. She’s well presented, drives and has a car, well spoken etc and has lots behind her, are agencies the way forward now? Don’t know what to suggest next she’s getting depressed about it and said she feels like giving up, it’s knocking her confidence. (She does volunteer already too and has done for the last 3 years)

@itsmeafterall i have met a woman who just got rejected from the fast stream yesterday. She’s going to apply to go in at Higher Executive Officer level instead and my dp who is a civil servant says there’s a lot of benefits to that route and a lot of progression.

OP I don’t really understand why she’s not with agencies already! Of course she should go to them.

As far as care work goes, it could be worth looking at companion care roles which are less about bum wiping/personal care and which need a lot of patience and skill, while being potentially quite rewarding though demanding - could even involve some pet care.

My own young person has done temp jobs before, usually washing up jobs in kitchens but also tutoring clubs, but since starting uni he’s only done internships which he’s worked incredibly hard to get, starting with 5 stage applications the previous November for each summer job. He finished his postgrad internship in September and started permanent work with them 3 weeks ago.

@PermanentTemporary thanks. I started off in CS moons ago so have suggested this. He might go for it now. In 'my day' the CS mideked itself as the exemplar employer - ie leading the way in how it should be done. It seems like that no longer applies as they are just as bad as most of the rest in giving feedback.

I've done hiring in my career and always given feedback or at the very least a response , but even that seems to be lacking now. I think that's pretty rude TBH and given the easy availability of automation, is unforgivable too.

Fingers crossed for all of our young people.

I think the problem is that there is a huge shortage of graduate jobs. Desperate graduates are now applying for jobs in retail and hospitality, which in the past would have been available to younger people.

No issue for ds17. He took a pool life guard course & qualification at Easter, started looking for work in July and found a job in August.

Good for his skills, confidence, reasonable pay and conditions. He enjoys it and he can transfer to a local pool when he goes to uni.

I think we've been lucky.

I don’t know any young people who haven’t found a job, though it has taken some of them a long time. Feels very like when I graduated tbh.

This is a big worry I have for my children in the future. I just had a quick look online and it says last year, there were 1.2million applications for just 70,000 jobs (a ratio of 70:1), which highlights the scale of the problem.

For 18yo the new better min wage disincentivises employing them as it is only £2ph more to have a 21 yo graduate.

16/17 year olds have a chance for part time work still.

My daughters boyfriend has been a shift manager for a well known fast food chain for a few years, having worked there since he was in school. He spent the best part of last year applying for jobs and received lots of interviews, and you were our second choice candidate, but only 1 offer which was for a company that treated his awfully. Out of a cohort of 8 in his training, there were none left 6 weeks later, he stuck it out longer than the rest. He's now gone back to his old job.

Dd is still at uni, but it is horrific for them at the moment.

Same as us. As people are leaving they are not getting replaced anymore. We used to employ loads of Christmas temps and if they were any good we’d keep some on, this year we haven’t got hardly any.

An actual job or just part time work after school etc? My 16 year old managed to find a job a month after his birthday but he’s into a sport and has qualifications etc through his hobby so was accepted almost immediately. Tbh I’m hoping he keeps this up and can end up doing it for himself to see him through uni etc as I keep hearing how difficult it is for them to find shop or office work etc. We have a few friends with bars and restaurants so dd will probably end up working at one of those when she starts looking.

My 18yo found it difficult too. She got Xmas retail work last year while still doing her a'levels, but nothing else despite lots of leg work. She hasn't applied for uni, wanted to earn and travel. Finally at the start of summer got a zero hours hospitality job at a posh hotel. Still had its downsides though, real feast or famine - sometimes no shifts for 2/3 weeks, then 10 hour days for 5 days (starting at 6am!). The very telling thing is that she mostly works with older (20s) people most of whom seem to be recent graduates - this is the best that they can find! All the agency staff for events are also graduates. She is very seriously considering whether university is even worth considering anymore if she is likely to end up back in the job she started (with a heap more debt).

I'm sorry to have to say it, but this is the result of millions of immigrants taking low skilled jobs like waitressing, bar staff, supermarket jobs etc, that young British people would have traditionally done to get their first step on the employment ladder.

Many jobs won't take under 18's though as they need supervising if they are selling alcohol etc which cuts out bar/ reusing and till work in supermarkets. Even or local McDonalds is hiring over 18s only.