Advice for a 16-year-old struggling to find a part-time job

[Jobseeker16]

Any advice for a 16 year old looking for part time jobs? It feels like the applications she's doing are just sent off into a black hole as rarely hears anything back. CV is fine I think - as good as someone at 16 who's never had a paid job can be anyway. Volunteering experience, extra curricula stuff. Just seems so hard to find any one willing to give her a chance.

She's tried online applications for chains, fast food places etc. Has alerts set up for things going into job sites so can apply quickly. Has also tried from tip offs from friends etc about vacancies in local places. Has dropped into local pubs and independent shops. Everytime something sounds promising they just end up never getting back to her despite her following up. She has had one interview since starting to look in June but didn't get it. If she was getting regular interviews I'd be less worried though as that is something concrete that she could improve on. But with no interviews at all I don't know how else to help her. She can be flexible with the shifts she works and is willing to do anything so not fussy!

Advice particularly wanted from anyone with experience in the last year really as things have changed a lot I think (getting fed up with advice from relatives - 'my son/daughter has 10 job offers immediately 10 years ago by doing xyz'...)

Some of her friends are getting jobs so not sure what's different about her. We don't have any local contacts to pull strings for her that we haven't already tried I'm afraid. That feels like the way a lot of them have found things.

It's really hard out there for young people as employers have cut back so much. I don't know what type of place you live in but my children have done and do gardening and handyman jobs for people locally to earn money. I think you can reasonably ask for £10/hour which is roughly the minimum wage for a 16 year old. They got plenty of work mowing lawns, weeding etc as everyone needed something done. Once your DD has done some work for someone she can ask for a reference to put on a cv.

I think at the moment with the jobs market as it is sometimes they have to just rely on themselves to drum up work. Its certainly not like when I was 16..I wouldnt have known where to start, being a complete incompetent!

It is incredibly disheartening when you keep applying but have no luck when it comes to jobs (so far), especially when people tell you that you are just lazy, as their child had 10 job offers immediately!

I work with a fair few teens (mostly from agricultural backgrounds, to be honest, but a few are new to agriculture) aged 16-18. Most of them have part-time farm jobs on top of college, or in a butcher shop. I've recommended farms that I hear of, especially dairy ones, because the early morning milkings fit in around school/college hours, and quite a few keep it up right through university! It's not a physically easy job, and a lot of people turn their noses up at it, but it's easy to learn, and milking is repetitive, which I have been assured is good even when you're hungover! If you're in a dairy farming area, milking could be an option if she's willing.

Well that is not a recommendation I've heard before! I will get her to look into it. Thanks

We paid £300 for a lifeguard course for DC in July. Got a job immediately, is now on zero hour contract at 3 pools and picks up shifts as and when it suits. Plenty of shifts available. Must complete training every month at the pool (paid).
Need to be decent swimmer though!

Can she swim? Lifeguard training is open to 16 year olds.
Where I live the local authority pools offer the training, the training isn't free, but they guarantee to offer shifts afterwards. It's a good earner and depending on where you live can also be a good option for seasonal work.

She can swim but not sure to the level required for a lifeguard. I feel like that probably is one thing that we would have to rule out unfortunately.