Getting a part time job with no experience

[mumtosnchild]

Just seeking advice on how your teenagers have been able to get a part time/Saturday job, particularly those who have no work experience.

My DD is 17 but now needs to get a part time job to help save up for uni. She doesn't have any work experience. What does she put on her CV or on linked in etc?

Currently looking on websites for jobs but useful to understand how other teenagers have been successful at getting a job in similar circumstances.

Any tips really welcome!

Haven’t a clue, and would love to know! DS applied to some on linked in but has rapidly lost mojo - they don’t even bother to computer a n email to say sorry no thanks. I HATE that, after spending hours filling in stupid forms, to any hr people out there, it’s RUDE.

My DS17 has found it really difficult to- a lot of jobs are for 18 and over. The only people that he knows who have a job have got it via a family friend etc.

He trained to be a football referee and now refs junior matches on a Saturday morning.

We are still on the look out for other work as the season is over so he won't earn until August.

Yes, that's what DD said that all her friends have applied for lots of jobs and got nowhere.

My ds is 22 and still struggling to find any kind of work during Uni holidays. he has only ever managed to get about a months work at a supermarket last Christmas. It seems really dire.

My 22 and 19 year old have both held jobs at McDonalds since they completed GCSEs. Not the most glamorous but the available hours and pay are/is good!

Do you have any connections that would take her on for a few weeks of work experience? Volunteering is also looked at favourably.
DS17 detailed his work experience with school, his summer helping out at his father's job, his captain role at rugby, head of debate club for 6th form and he is also a part time lunch supervisor for yr 7-11 and gets £5 each shift.

He's also classed as a young carer because he has a disabled sibling so has lots of experience with people requiring adjustments, knows some makaton etc.
He has applied to lots of places but only had one interview so far, he's really keen so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and we practice interviewing techniques when he asks.

It's definitely changed a lot since I was his age, by 17 I'd already had a handful of part-time weekend jobs, summer jobs and regularly babysat for a group of mothers who used to go out together.

The main thing is a good enough CV that gives a sense of who the young person is. More about life experiences and interests than going into great detail about 13 GCSEs.

Don't know if it applies to many other retailers but if they know anyone at Tesco they can be recommended and it would be unusual for them not to be taken on.

Paper rounds still exist, my 14 year old grandson has one to pay for his cycling hobby. Other grandson at the same age worked on Saturdays at a local garage, they made a job for him because he asked them!

My DD just went to local cafes etc and asked. She left her contact details (not CV). We are in London though so perhaps more to apply for.

Lots of the teens round here get jobs as pot washers or kitchen porters in pubs.

Check local Facebook community groups , lots of businesses tend to advertise for staff in ours . As a previous manager though I would say get the child to respond to vacancies themselves - it shows they’re confident. We found that if a parent replied to the advertisement they tended to want to be involved and it was hard work with them trying to dictate shifts etc when we’ve employed their child not them - sometimes a parent response is a red flag x

Also agree with PP walk in to local pubs , cafes etc I’ve given loads of people a chance from them walking through the door x

DD18 currently works in a local Gardens cafe (from 17 and from website vacancy application) and cleans an Air BnB which she has done since she was 14. Also babysits and does some dog walking.

DD2 started at 15 pot washing at a local golf club, then moved to food prep area. A few months ago (16) she left there and got job in a local cafe doing food prep and soon getting Barista training.
All through direct (speculative) approaches with the businesses.

DS took a year out after A-levels last year while he decided whether he really did want to go to uni. He applied for countless retail and warehouse jobs, had a couple of interviews but by November was getting nowhere and was a bit despondent. I ended up asking a friend whose partner is a builder if he had any labouring work and so he's been doing that off and on since then. Jobs market is really tough for young people at the moment.

My son at 15 typed and printed a CV. He went to the next village one Saturday lunchtime which has lots of bars, cafes,shops and walked into each place introducing himself and asking if they had any suitable positions, often a no but he was polite and asked if he could leave his CV. By 3pm he had an offer of a job trial that evening as a glass washer, and worked there for a year before moving to a local KFC, as it had more hours available. You may be thinking he is obviously self assured, nope it took everything he had to put himself out there.
On his CV initially he put his school, what gcse he had as they did 2 in year 10, his work experience from school and what he thought his selling points were.
The original job was most impressed by his initiative, once he started he was reliable and committed. It boosted his confidence and helped him to appreciate team work.
Good luck to those who have kids looking for jobs.

Dd had no luck in indeed etc but went old school. Printed a cv with subjects and predicted grades, Duke of Edinburgh, work experience through school and mentioned horse riding. Covering letter said something about her enjoying being part of a team and being keen to be a part of their organisation. She took it to two places then planned to drop a few more off in town the following weekend but one of the first two called her and asked you to do a trial. She was 16 and it was just before GCSEs so perfect to pick up shifts after.

She also had a 3 stage interview with Costa where they were disorganised and led her on then decided they wanted older employees. Good experience in learning the red flags of companies you don’t want to work for.

Kitchen Porter/hospitality are the go to teen jobs here.

On the CV for my DC they used extra curricular to highlight relevant skills - you can normally draw out: teamwork, leadership, multi tasking, physical ability, problem solving.

You can also add something around an objective. Why are they looking, what do they hope to gain. Closing with a brief why them.

Look at relevant job ad and draw out the key words they you need to have on the cv .

I’m older now but before my first job (which was entry level call centre work but full time as it was during a ‘year out’ before university), I had on my CV babysitting, a few hours at my mum’s workplace (she was employed in a shop for another family’s business), and some summer work I did at my school (they paid a few students to repaint the classrooms).

Having recently recruited in retail, here's some info from an employer:

18 and over, I'd want relevant experience, volunteering would be acceptable. If I had a 16 year old and an 18 year old in front of me, both with zero experience, I would choose the cheaper employee.
Don't use AI for a cover letter or CV. It stands out a mile off.
In retail I need someone who is happy and confident to chat. This is a skill severely lacking in teens these days.
I looked for people with some future plans and goals and those who had personality in the application. Ambition is good.
Don't understand estimate a little background research on the company you are applying to, it is noticed and matters.
Don't be the parent that gets involved with any of the contacting of companies. You come across as "that parent" and it's a huge red flag. I had this happen recently and the parent then contacting me again after interview to answer a question I had asked their child was the absolute tipping point in me not giving her the job.

I had 130+ applications for the one four hour job, so there were basic things I immediately deleted applications for. The use of AI and not following the application process of a CV and cover note, or messaging me on socials when it said strictly not to.

On the flip side, as the parent of one of those teens. DS got a job helping out at a local bar doing the sound and lighting. He got this by asking after going to gigs there and he spent 2 months doing every Friday night for free, then he started getting £20 for the evening as a trainee, £10 of which paid for a taxi home. The owner said to him if he showed commitment then it would turn into a regular job and it did. He's now got a permanent contract there earning £12.21 and hour, two evenings a week plus extra for holidays including working on the bar. He will go off to uni next year with bar experience, experience relevant to the degree he wants to do (sound engineering) and confidence.

MacDonalds are actually a very good employer, and they don’t demand experience, just the right mindset for customer service. It’s an online test, I failed it, my menopausal giving no fucks must’ve leaked 😂😂😂

DD got her first job as a swim assistant (in the pool with little ones) - she made an application based on being a prefect, helping out at cubs etc.

She then trained as a lifeguard -I always recommend it on these threads. Initial investment but she’s had lots of work out of it.

My DC was offered a job at the cafe where he did his work experience in Y10. I think they were impressed that he'd arranged his own work experience directly with them, whereas other students' parents had been in to ask on their child's behalf. By Wednesday of the work experience week, the owner had offered him a Saturday job.

My other DCs in Y9/10 printed off CVs and took them into bars and cafes and asked to speak to the managers to ask if they had any jobs. One got a job as a kitchen porter, then progressed to food prep, then working behind the bar, the others worked serving food in the local pub. My DS had a job from Y7 to Y10 walking a dog for a friend of a friend - that was actually really good money, and it was great for his CV

Good luck to all of your DCs - it's definitely not as easy as it was back in my day. My advice for anyone would be to encourage your DCs to use the work experience in Y10 as an opportunity to actually get a job. Loads of people in my DCs cohorts just went to their local primary schools, organised by their parents, because it was easy, but this isn't going to lead to them getting a job in the short term.

Even if they aren't offered a job, if they work hard in, say a cafe serving customers, and ask for a reference from their work experience placement, it can be attached to a CV and might really help them to get a local Saturday job for Y10 / 11. It'll stand out much more than, "I went to my primary school and listened to children in Y4 read, and played with the children at lunchtime".

Dd has just graduated from uni. She’s had a part-time job since she was 15: waitressing (she went to local cafes and restaurants to ask if they needed staff, didn’t apply online); social media for companies; admin work for a local company; shot girl and bar work at uni; now she’s tutoring online. Plus she did Serve Legal too.

id recommend that your dc print out copies of their CV and go to local businesses - independent companies are best.

She could also try volunteering - charities, local library, etc.

My DC went into local cafes and asked about work, rather than applying for jobs. Of course, it depends where you live and what is available but small, independent places like personal approaches and it shows the DC to be keen and willing.

I'm a university lecturer and my students often help at after school clubs (always desperate for cheerful bodies) and work in supermarkets (very flexible if you go away to university - you can work at home and uni branches.

Paid for a lifeguarding course and my teenagers both earn £14ph with more hours than they can handle at local leisure centres.