I am in employment myself so not sure what it is actually like at present - my 19yo is looking. There seems to be a lot of jobs advertised but are there just 5 times as many people looking too? I don’t know what she’s up against to be honest. We are in the SE
It seems to be pretty brutal - short phone interviews that she spends ages preparing for (some last less than 5 mins!) and then either never hearing again or saying no - can you really judge someones character and skills from 5 mins on the phone? I’ve heard her, she’s trying they barely ask her anything.
She’s applying for min wage hospitality or retail, they seem to come across as pretty inflexible and looking for a much higher level of experience. So they can afford to be fussy? Her CV is as good as a young persons could be really, she has 2 years experience in hospitality and her qualifications are ok (GCSE and a BTEC). She can’t afford to stay at her current job as only 1 shift a week available so she’s been looking at 20 hours +. She can’t drive yet as lockdown put a stop to learning but she has a test booked. Despite this she’s more than happy to get herself places
I just am not sure what they are looking for - a 19 year old who can start the same day, has no other commitments, is flexible and been employed for 2 years is not a good fit to work in a shop or cafe? 