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.

I feel your despair, my daughter has been through similar circumstance, she finally got a part time job at her college canteen, but then I was talking to someone who does uber bicycle deliveries and I thought

Sports coaching a lifeguarding are the main ones that our dc and their friends have done.

Lots who do other jobs have family connections to get them started.

Do you have a careers advice centre?We have one set up inside our local library.
They can give advice and they have lists of apprenticeships. They have a list of all the local employers too.
It's hard out there.

Has she tried places like Costa and Starbucks - the latter has a high turnover of staff here (I think many treat it as a bridge to something else). Also, most people think of mainstream supermarkets, but Co-op might be worth a try. Also, do you have any local festivals, particularly racecourses - it's very much adhoc but she might get experience serving food, making coffee, marshalling, cleaning.

It's worth her continuing with volunteering work, whether a shop, charity based animal charity, if she went to Brownies/something similar that might be worth a try. Maybe a local library or museum.

I have a dd16 and she can’t find work either. She isn’t trying very hard!

Of her friends: one has a job with the drama and dance school in her local community centre - she pops in as she walks home from school and sets up the room ready for the classes that start at 4pm. They give her a few £ three times a week for this and she is proving her reliability.

Another one has a paid job working as a junior karate instructor.

Another one helps out with parties at a local gymnastics club and so on.

Sometimes you can “create” a job at one of your extra curricular clubs by offering to do a small task for a few quid each time.

If you know anyone that works at Tesco there is an automatic interview if you are referred. (Was the case last year anyway)

Any visitor attractions near you? Our local one employs loads of young people and students with a high turnover because of colleges and universities!

So a month after I posted this she has actually got a job! It came through just persistence and probably a bit of luck with timing. She had probably applied for 120 jobs in total and was losing all hope. Most of those were through Indeed and I'd started to think it was hopeless as she never heard back from any of them on there. But out of the blue she had an interview last weekend and had her first shift yesterday clearing tables / glass collecting in a pub. It's a trek for the amount she's paid, about 40 mins away on the bus, but it's a job and if she sticks with it long enough hopefully she can get something closer when she can say she has experience.

Good luck to everyone else who has kids looking. It's hard out there. Thanks for all the advice too.

Oh that’s great @Jobseeker16 , good for her.

The costs involved & waiting for tests means most 17 year olds aren't driving.

I don't know where you are but we no longer have a rural bus service & most farms are not easily accessible.

Have you checked your insurance covers under 18s working on your farm. Ours doesn't. It's really hard to even offer lambing experience to prospective vets.

We used to have students wanting labouring - ragworting, fencing, poo picking , wood yard, lambing etc but it's become impossible to offer that to an under 18.

Brilliant news!

Does she like children at all?

i run a private nursery and we have a few 16/17 year olds who work for us half terms/easter/summer!

it’s great as lots of our perm staff have school kids so always have a lot off work during these times - these young girls are great and just literally play with the children - we don’t have them doing nappies or food or anything - just play, read, help get the babies down for naps - kids love them

maybe something like this would suit!

I know some of the girls have ended up getting ad hoc babysitting from some of the parents as well as a result

It’s so so hard for kids to get their first job now, it’s nothing like when I was a kid.

my now 17yo daughter started at next just before Xmas last year, but I filled in all the applications for her and was relentless in applying for literally any and everything that came up. The assessments and questionnaires they require for the most basic of jobs are insane. The interviewer made a point of saying she’d stood out becuase she’d applied for so many positions in the same store so they assumed she must have really wanted to work there 🙈

Ive been employed full time since I left university and have never had any issue finding work in the past when I’ve wanted a change, however in the last two years I’ve started looking again and have been lucky to hear back from maybe 2/3 employers in all that time. My CV is perfect for the jobs I apply for and no reason for me not to be considered for any of the jobs, so I think it’s just tough out there.

My daughter volunteered at a family run cafe, with the plan of doing up to 6 months for free so when she turns 16 and hospitality jobs come up on indeed at least she could say she had experience. Just a few hours each Saturday. At a random cafe that chat gpt suggested.

She got lucky and after 4 Saturdays, someone left and they gave her the job.

I know your daughter now has a job - well done!

But for other people looking, I do think more targeted volunteering could be the way to go. The job she has now wasn't advertised, and I think that is so often the case.

Mine volunteered with kids on play scheme over the summer then got a job instructing at a climbing centre.