DD really struggling to find part time work in London

[Newmeagain]

My 18 year old DD is having a gap year. She is currently trying to find a job - ideally something she can continue when she starts uni but really, she is happy to take anything on offer. As we are in London, I thought finding a job would be really easy - but it turns out I was very wrong. Her CV looks good - she has lots of customer facing volunteering experience and also a short stint of paid work abroad.

she has so far applied for around 15 jobs and so far not even an interview. The jobs she has applied for are all basic entry level jobs in retail and hospitality. She is not fussy. There are also not that many jobs to apply for - even all the main supermarkets don’t seem to have any vacancies except for more senior jobs or things she can’t do (e.g.delivery drivers etc).

I am starting to wonder if the problem is that so many young people in their 20s with lots of experience are applying for the same jobs. Any thoughts?

Dd2 did childminding via an agency during her uni years. To begin with she was sent different places then after a month or two she got a regular gig and looked after a set of twins after school.for 2 years

2 years on she is still in contact with the family

After school nanny? I know so many families struggling to find a good one!

My ds is a similar age and he and all his friends had difficulty finding work. Some are still looking but others have found work in fast food and restaurants. One was lucky and found work on a council community project.
It's hard work but keep trying. Good luck to her.

I would say, for basic entry level roles with no direct experience in London, you'd need to apply for WAY more than 15. There'll be huge amounts applying for every role, it's just what the market is like. Try and get her to apply for 8 or so a day - applications for that kind of role don't need a huge amount of work.

I used to recruit for a supermarket - even then (8 years ago?) we'd get 20 applications for every vacancy. Not even in central London! And of course, those with direct experience will be top of the list. It's just the case of keeping trying.

I think you are right, but there are just not that many jobs to actually apply for! She will obviously keep trying. I actually wonder whether many employers might prefer young people who are not progressing to higher eduction and are more likely to stay in the job…

They definitely do! From back in my retail days depending on the role it could take months to be properly trained so if I knew in an interview she was only looking for a few months I'd likely not take her on unless I was desperate. People like saying 'oh maybe I can keep some hours when I go back to Uni!' But in my experience they never do!

How about temping? My old office had a rotating cast of temps on reception for holiday cover etc and they were mostly gap year/uni students.

When did she start looking? My 17yo dd works in retail and at Thai time of year you may well have Xmas temps that have been kept on so very few roles coming up.

That said her high street chain didn't keep any Xmas temps to is year and they also seem to be keeping the house down for the ones they do have.

Royal collection trust are recruiting for the spring/summer openings at Buckingham Palace et al.

Has she tried to get work via an agency eg Adecco, Blue Arrow etc?

Children of friends in similar position have got jobs in local/high street cafes by going into each one locally and asking. There’s a lot of turnover.

Does her old school have any positions eg helping with open days, office admin. Someone I know got the job of “lettings manager” that way.

is she sporty? Prep schools often take on students on a short term basis to support their sports staff.

Are there any local community organisations that have part time admin roles? We recently needed someone like that to do social media and admin for our community centre.

These aren’t advertised roles and don’t have 8+ applicants.

Has she joined the various hospitality apps like Host which offer one-off gigs which can lead to more regular work.

Good luck!

She could apply some shoe leather - go into every shop, cafe, theatre, gym etc and ask. Can she drive? If so pizza delivery, Amazon parcel delivery etc will be a possibility.

However she may be a victim of bad timing: increased costs of employing people after the Reeves budget mean jobs are going to be even harder to secure

Does she have a bike? If she’s streetwise she could try Deliveroo.

Agree about asking in person in local cafes, that's how teenagers in my part of London including my DS have found jobs. Also, if she has time, volunteering in a charity shop for a short time can be very helpful for her CV. Best of luck!

Unfortunately a lot of large retailers have reacted to the increase in Employers NI by cutting jobs, so they're not hiring, hence tougher competition for the roles that do become available.

Agree with others that going in face to face to a smaller independent shop or cafe could yield better results than applying online

What about signing up for a temp agency? We’ve used one in the past to cover receptionists holidays etc.

My 86 year old friend had a lovely young carer who came to her home for some days per week, I think about 2-3 hours each time. She was a uni undergraduate from our local university.There was no personal care needed, just heating up food and perhaps helping her into bed…I know they became close and the girl said she loved chatting to my friend who had been a teacher then social worker before retiring. The girl had to stop attending when her uni work was too much. She sent my friend a lovely card. Might be something to consider.

What about ta type work? Does she have/ could she get a dbs- and also as others have said, before/ after school nanny? School breakfast clubs etc?

And definitely look at care type work- via agency? Meals/ shopping etc for older folk? Does not have to be personal care. Maybe look at The Lady magazine?

We are not in London but tourist area south coast.
Here, you literally just go in every cafe, restaurant, pub and ask!
Also don't forget to tell everyone you know that she is after a job.

There is absolutely no way I would think this is a safe and appropriate job for an 18 year old girl in central London.

But thanks for all the other suggestions.

She should sign up with a temp agency and tell them she's willing to do pretty much anything their customers need at a moments notice with full time availability this year. Once she has a bit more proper (paid) experience from this she'll become a more attractive prospect and more likely to get part-time opportunities.

I would look at various care type roles - to be honest many can be hard work but feel you are gaining skills and can feel very rewarding - depends if she's good with kids or the elderly or disabled etc -

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The son of one of my cousins is on a gap year and working as a lunch time supervisor in a private school and also does other bits of supervision work in the school. It's a nice safe environment and actually requires him to be very aware and sensible ie developing good skills.