To think that getting a job at a supermarket is impossible!

[Supermarketreject]

Ok, it obviously isn’t because there are thousands of people working in supermarkets but here’s the problem...

DS is 17 and will finish A levels this week. Predicted AAB
He’s really friendly & just a normal, nice lad.
Going to University (in home city) next year so will be able continue p/t work.
Applying for temporary supermarket jobs (advertised as such).
He has stated that he can work any hours/days.
He has filled out the online questionnaires/multi-choice questions (trying to answer them so that he puts customer first/doesn’t pester managers too much/shows initiative).
He gets almost immediate rejection e-mails every time!
What is going wrong? Is it his age? (17)
How do you actually get past the questionnaire & get an interview nowadays?
The computer says no every time!! 😳😓

Can anyone advise or give tips? Or does anyone know how it works?

[Maray1967]

Mine got nowhere with the application for the major supermarket and I sat with him while he answered the questions. In his case he was starting year 13 and couldn’t do unlimited hours, we reckoned, but he got a Christmas temp post there as he had a friend there and the Christmas applications asked if you knew a member of staff and could give their staff number. That was his foot in the door. He was kept on after Christmas for Friday evening and all day Saturday. They have let him do holidays while at uni do he’s been working there for over 3 years now. Good pay, holiday allowance and we get staff discount as well as him. Keep trying for the supermarket as the pay is usually far better than clothes shops etc. I had a 20-year old student on far less ££ per hour than mine when he was 17. He works at Tesco, she worked at Dunelm. I also had students on very low pay at clothes shops eg New Look, and the phone shops. In my experience, the supermarkets pay best.

[Supermarketreject]

@kay3

What about trying Macdonald's or domino's?

My DS’s friend works for McDs. The manager said they looked for students who had done Food tech.and H&S! The interview was gruelling apparently! 😅

[Blueskythinking123]

When my DC applied it really was a numbers game, they must of applied for around 100 jobs each before they were successful.

Both have worked from the summer they finished GCSEs and both in retail. They both got jobs in shops that do not sell alcohol, one working in fashion the other in a book shop.

Pre 18 they are excluded from minimum wage, so I think this made them more desirable for those two years. My DD has also just finished her A levels and will increase her hrs over the summer.

[Maray1967]

If he can’t get in now, and goes for waiting on instead, he could have another look at the supermarkets in the autumn, for Christmas temp posts.

[cronk23]

Tesco manager here. Employing under 18s is basically a ball ache because they can't work certain hours, breaks have to be documented and the obvious they can't serve age restricted products. As for the answers to the questions on the online application, they can be found on the student room along with every other supermarket. For me the questions are now pointless because it's too easy to find the answers online. Also Tesco expect you to stop whatever you are doing and take the customer to whatever they are looking for, pointing them in the right direction isn't enough.

[minniemomo]

Many (most probably) employers have a minimum age of 18 due to child protection laws, it's complicated employing under 18's. McDonald's does but the coffee chains for instance don't.

[Supermarketreject]

My friend has teens working in her shop. She would never employ anyone whose mum does the asking!

God I wouldn’t dream of it!!

I have a friend who does this. Still contacts college tutors on her DS’s behalf asking about assignments etc. (Year 13)
It’s not the done thing!

[alrightfella]

@Supermarketreject you would be amazed at how many do. Some even drop their darling dc's cv's into the shop for them

[Supermarketreject]

@cronk23

Tesco manager here. Employing under 18s is basically a ball ache because they can't work certain hours, breaks have to be documented and the obvious they can't serve age restricted products. As for the answers to the questions on the online application, they can be found on the student room along with every other supermarket. For me the questions are now pointless because it's too easy to find the answers online. Also Tesco expect you to stop whatever you are doing and take the customer to whatever they are looking for, pointing them in the right direction isn't enough.

Thank you SO much!
This is what he needs to know.

One more thing... does the computer automatically reject after the questionnaire is submitted or do you look at applications yourself in the first instance?

[Supermarketreject]

[quote alrightfella]@Supermarketreject you would be amazed at how many do. Some even drop their darling dc's cv's into the shop for them

[/quote]
😞😞😞😞😞

[emmathedilemma]

There's also hardly any staffed tills these days, in our big Sainsbury's there's often only 2, maybe 3 staffed and the rest are all self service whereas previously nearly every till would have had someone on it at busy times.

[BarbaraofSeville]

I know supermarkets have lots of applicants and need to screen to help choose a manageable amount of suitable candidates to interview, but making them guess which counterintuitive actions they'd expect them to do is a strange way to do it.

[Supermarketreject]

@BarbaraofSeville

I know supermarkets have lots of applicants and need to screen to help choose a manageable amount of suitable candidates to interview, but making them guess which counterintuitive actions they'd expect them to do is a strange way to do it.

This is why I wondered if it was simply a matter of ‘computer says no’ in the first instance... A weeding out process due to the number of applicants?

[TeeBee]

Hmm, my son applied last week, they sent him an interview appointment to attend within the next hour (!!) and called this week to say he had the job. Didn't ask much about his previous experience, asked him 'what would you do if...' questions and he said they more of less told him the appropriate answers. He's 18 though so it's probably an age thing.

[stressbandit]

Most supermarkets are hiring through recommendations of other workers.

[cronk23]

@Supermarketreject if you don't pass the questions you won't progress further. If you do your application is on hold until your right to work documents are verified and then we get to see the successful applicants. If you know someone who works in Tesco you can put their employee number on the application and that usually goes in your favour. The job market is so tough right now that for every job we advertise there's loads of people applying. Plus every supermarket recruited during the pandemic and even though they already work there they still have to apply for any permanent jobs that become available so it's especially hard to get your foot in the door lately but not impossible. Don't apply for checkouts, customer service or beers, wines & spirits if you are under 18 or anything with a shift pattern before 6am and after 10pm because they can't work past these hours.

[luxurychocolate]

What do his predicted grades have to do with it ?

[eurochick]

Would he be willing to do labouring? I've seen several adverts on my local FB group for people to help various tradespeople or builders. They all seem run off their feet at the moment.

[TeeBee]

My son had a previous job in catering...these are excellent jobs for 17 year-olds. The caterer had an app where they could each add their availability (so very flexible around studying) and then they were contacted when events were running. Did all sorts...weddings, local fairs, parties. Good experience of grafting.

[greymayday]

@Supermarketreject

My DS’s friend works for McDs. The manager said they looked for students who had done Food tech.and H&S! The interview was gruelling apparently!

Don’t let this put him off applying there because it’s not necessarily true, at least in our branch it isn’t. They take on literally everyone, DD applied and had an email about an hour later inviting her for a trial shift and then had the job and started the next day. About ten of her friends work at various Mcdonald’s throughout our city, all of them with no prior work experience and no food experience at all! They’ve actually been a great employer as far as I can tell, very flexible and whenever she’s needed to change shifts because of exams or assignments etc they are very accommodating. But I really cannot stress enough how quickly they employed her so definitely give it a go - she’d been through the similar pain of being rejected from just about every supermarket ever!

[Oblomov21]

I too, like FredaFox think there now limited jobs.

Ds1 is got a job in Sainsbury's at 16, last August, and was let go last week at 17, after 9 months. Apparently Sainsbury's area sales are down 27%. They Deliberately didn't offer anyone a permanent contract on purpose. No training. No till training despite being repeatedly promised. Just stacked shelves for 9 months. Treated like dirt.

[VeganCow]

you can find the 'right' answers online as answered by succesful applicants

[BarbaraofSeville]

Labouring might be a good call if he's willing to do hard physical work in all weathers although less likely to get him a foot in the door for something he can keep up with when he's at university, like a supermarket or cafe/fast food/restaurant would.

[TheAlphaandtheOmega]

DS worked at Waitrose when he was 17, he got a xmas job and they kept him on, I don't recall that he had to do a questionnaire just fill in a CV type form with his qualifications and stuff like that and he got an interview.

Directly he was 18 though they made much more use of him as he could work past 10 o'clock at night and sell age restricted items. There is a lot of extra H&S with under 18s

[Comefromaway]

These online applications are hell to fill in for autistic young people like ds. He would be really suited to retail. His work experience in a shop was one of the best weeks of his life so far. But he never gets anywhere with applications.