How do very shy/introverted people get a job?

[PoliteSquid]

Teen DS lost his job today. Just a Saturday job in a little shop. They said he hadn’t picked up customer service quickly enough. He has done 3 afternoon shifts.

He is incredibly shy and even speaking to new people is massive for him. Getting this job was a big deal and now it’s gone.

The job market is already tricky, but how is a shy inexperienced young person meant to get work?!

There's plenty of free opportunities to get free practice.

Can you afford for him to volunteer in a charity shop?

What do you mean?!

Absolutely, he doesn’t ‘need’ to work. Our little town has a couple of charity shops - I’ll encourage him to take his CV down there.

I just wanted to pick up on what seems to be your belief that introvert and shy are the same.

That's not always the case, I find. I'd call myself an introvert. I prefer my own company and rarely get lonely. Yet I used to work, successfully, as a trainer. I had no problem at all standing in front of a group (anywhere from 3 to 300) and talking to them.

I found I needed alone time, that I'd get what I termed "peopled out". And would need some time alone to recharge my batteries.

Maybe your child is shy OR introverted. Not necessarily both.

For your child is an introvert, like me, I'd suggest making sure your child's "batteries" are fully charged prior to interview.

If your child is shy, I'm sure others who are shy will give you some hints.

Same boat. Mines holding out for a back room techie job.
Tesco are very good at diversity. Lots of staff with zero social skills were great at just getting on and putting stuff out.

Sorry to hear that. I bet that has been a huge blow to his self confidence. 3 shifts is nothing at all. It sounds like he was not even given the chance.

I second the poster who suggested volunteering in a charity shop if he does not necessarily need paid employment. Lots of people use them as a stepping stone to gain experience and confidence.

Good luck.

It's very tricky to get a job when you're a shy and introverted person!

I live very rurally, and appreciate that you might not, but some of our most "ew, people!" teens around here get jobs milking on dairy farms. That way, you get paid, with morning hours that fit around college/school, plus weekends, and you spend more time with animals than people!

Other than that (I mean, does he want a job with people?), perhaps a supermarket, Wetherspoons/chain restaurant or a garden centre? If not, perhaps an animal sanctuary might help with increasing his confidence without wearing him out due to time spent with a lot of others.

I am exactly this. I work in a job that is client facing and I have to be an excellent communicator. I'd much rather be sitting on spreadsheets all day but I can't. I am exactly the same regarding recharging the batteries. I need peace to cope at the end of the day. One thing that worked for me when younger was just acting. Acting confident. Being interested in other people. Being aware of body language and above all else, remembering and using people's names. It is exhausting but it has given me a very successful career. I think of it as an 'on' me and an 'off' me. The charity idea is great and also just finding a way to get him to talk with people. People love to talk about themselves.

Great. If you have big supermarkets near you, he could also look at the ‘picking’ jobs for online shops. Less directly peopley but might build his confidence.

I second what @TheeNotoriousPIG has said. As a very shy teen I worked on farms and helping gardeners. Very quiet work, not customer facing, lots of time working away quietly on your own.

Another idea might be volunteering for the National Trust. They have garden volunteering jobs and back room positions and really care about the young people who volunteer with them.

Housekeeper in a hotel. I did that when young. Was alone all the time. TV on in the room, clean, on to the next room. Occasionally had to speak to guests who asked for some more loo roll but nothing more. Supervisor would check rooms but usually after you’re done so again not much chit chat.

How does a shy person get a job? By getting over themselves and learning how to talk to customers. Observe others and practice.

Shyness is not a disease, it can be got over (I did it) and your son can learn how to be polite and talk to people.

This is something you should have been aware of and helped him with. Rehearse speaking to customers for example.

I also encourage this. It’s nice work and something I did as a teen. Itll build his confidence- the more volunteer work the better. He’ll get there. It’s really hard when you start.

Kindly, it doesn’t sound like a customer service role is right for him. It’s like a technophobe choosing to work in IT.

What are his strengths? Is he strong? IT literate? Great at driving? There are other types of work that don’t involve customer service.

As someone who was painfully shy in my youth, you just have to fake it till you make it

Yes there are jobs that don't involve human interaction but they don't really help you get over shyness. The best thing is just to pretend your confident, come up with a "speil' a confident person would say for customers and build on that

Introverted doesn’t mean shy or unable to speak to people. I’m introverted but I do a job that involves lots of communication with colleagues and clients, and a decent amount of business development-type socialising. I find it exhausting at times but I just put on a front, and fake sociability and social confidence.

The best thing I ever did when I was a painfully shy teenager was get a job in a pub. Sociable, forced me into social interactions, and working with loads of other people of the same age.

Don't take this advice, but any excuse to air it!

You can work stacking shelves etc in a shop, the ‘operations’ staff always had more fun than the customer service staff when I was a youngster.

Im introverted not because im shy, but because i cant deal with people and all the crap that comes with them.

Excellent advice

It is possible to be shy and introverted. I wouldn’t call myself a people person and I worked at getting over shyness.

As previous poster said fake it until you make it. I volunteered to be part of the school play when I was 12. My form tutor was shocked. And I did fart and slightly wet my knickers one night before going on stage but I survived. Could he try a drama group?

Your son needs to put himself in others shoes. Get him to think about what makes a great customer experience. He should also keep in mind that customers are not always sure of themselves either talking to the assistant. An example when a customer asks a fully kitted out employee do they work here?. That’s not really what they mean. What they mean is I need to find something but I don’t want to make a fool of myself if you just
happen to be wearing similar clothing to the real employees.

He is both introverted and shy. He has always been the same and so is DH!

He is very happy in his own company but has a small group of close friends. He’s off to uni soon (currently in Y13). I knew a customer facing role might not be right but he got through the recruitment process and part time work is very very scarce in our small East Midlands town!