Ds struggling to find a job

[mugsandcups34]

Son is almost 18 and has finushed his A levels he started looking for and applying for jobs. He has decided like alot of people say that indeed is useless as nothing come of it and when applying direct through websites he sends his cv or application form and within 5 minutes he gets a rejection e mail so they are obviously not looking at it.

He volunteers one day a week in a little community cafe works for a childrens activity club on a saturday and had a seasonal job last summer so he has a fair bit of experience.

He just wants a job as he isn't the type of person than just sit around for 4 months.

DD 5 yrs ago applied for 3 jobs and got interviews for 2 and then got offered one of the jobs!

He is auitistic and getting very frustated with being ignored or rejected.

How are teens supposed to get interviews?

So tough out there.
My daughter says that she is shocked if she gets a rejection- most don’t even bother.
Really disheartening.

DS2 walked into the local Papa Johns at 16 and is still there four and a half years later. They keep his job open so he works when back home from uni each half term and all summer. Staff turnover is really high in these places, they’re glad of his reliability. He’s now the longest serving member of staff.
DS1 worked at JD Sports also for over four years on a similar set up, but got that through Indeed. It was very highly sought after and that was several years ago.

He just wants a job as he isn't the type of person than just sit around for 4 months

So he just wants something for the summer? With his café experience, has he visited every café and eating place he can reasonably get to, including tourist attractions, National Trust places, wedding venues, pubs etc? Independent businesses are probably more likely to respond to a personal visit than to advertise on Indeed.

Though they'll probably want him to be available on Saturdays, so his other job may get in the way of that.

If he’s getting very quick rejections I’d assume the cv is being reviewed by automation and it’s not picking up either relevant experience or skills or can be the format.

had anyone looked at his cv to give some ideas to stand out?

My dd has been looking for 8 months, been volunteering in charity shop for all that time three days a week. She will do anything. Sorry but it’s impossible

What format are the applications? Skills based ones need a bit of thought. When DD initially dropped out of university I spent a lot of time with her spinning 15 days of volunteering into the sort of responses that got her an interview for every application. I’ve shortlisted so many times and it frustrates me how bad so many applications are.

Failing that, there are companies who manage events. Especially if you live near a large city they are worth looking up for crowd control, security, cleaning, waiting gigs. Google Event Crew jobs

He may find that a lot of summer jobs have already been filled, and applications may have closed earlier in the year. If he is proactive about going round in person, with his CV, he should be able to pick up some shifts for sure.

If he’s getting rejections minutes after applying then there’s obviously something ‘wrong’ with his CV that means he isn’t getting through the preliminary round of automated AI screening. Can he get someone to review it, including skills he’s listed and format? I also don’t think Indeed is inherently useless but likely he’s come up against the same issue with screening (and also stiff competition).

Also he should go and visit places in person e.g. cafes, shops, pubs, hotels and ask all of his friends with jobs if they know of vacancies at their work. Would he consider working with kids? Lots of camps recruiting teens at the mo for their summer holiday programmes.

You have to, have to show up in person at the moment. My son just got a job in response to a FB ad which had asked for DM responses. He knew where the company was so got on his bike to go and say hello. The guy said he was overwhelmed with the DM responses, was impressed with my son’s energy and gave him the job on the spot. I think you need to give people a chance to see who you are and it is hard to do that on paper.

Get him signed up with a temp agency. And look for large contractors for shift work like CSP.

As others have commented, what worked for my son was to actually go in person. He went into a pub/restaurant that he had previously sent his CV to by e-mail (with no response) and asked to speak with the manager. He took a typed copy of his CV with him and tried to look smart and enthusiastic! The manager offered him a trial shift which went well and he has been working there, and enjoying it, ever since.

It’s sooooo tough. My daughter is exactly the same. It’s such a shame.

Sign up to Facebook groups for local areas. Sometimes independent places advertise on those as they cannot afford to advertise online.

Do you have a national trust place near you? Where my DC works they employ people with no experience.

Do you have a shop near you that sells school uniforms? They often need temporary staff for August when they are super busy.

Has he tried signing up to agencies who do events, parking attendants etc...

Can he drive?

Both my DC got more job offers once they were 18.

It’s very late to be applying for seasonal jobs.

Thanks for all the ideas. He tried a few cafes etc with CV but they won't accept paper cV's and say if they need staff they advertise in the windows so he walks our local high street every couple of days but no adverts in windows as yet.

He was originally going to have a job at the kids activity club ,he works at on a satuday, all summer but due to financial pressures they are no longer running a holiday club - he has his saturday job up until end of July, so he wasn't really actively looking then he was really busy with A level revision and then the actual A levels so has been applying solidly for a couple of weeks.

A friend who is a recruitment consultant has had a look at his CV and made a few tweaks. He applied for 6 today and 3 instant no thanks within 10 minutes.

He hasnt passed his driving test yet so has to be walkable or on a bus route which does limit him a bit.

He has so much to give and is so hardworking i just wish his applications were ay least looked at by a human!

My teen works at mcdonalds 2 weekends a month (we're about 45 mins from uni) and all the shifts she can get in the holidays. They are good to work for tbh.

Try coop. They seem to have constant churn of 12-16 hour contract jobs. Out of 12 months of job applications 17yo DS got 6 interviews, 3 of which were with co-op and he was offered the third. At age 18 he should be able to get a supermarket job if he's flexible with availability.

My ds took a lifeguarding course at 16 and got his NPLQ, and then we rang every leisure centre, private school and lido within 10 miles, every Monday morning until an opening happened. Then we took his cv and certificate in within the hour. He was invited in for interview four days later. It took persistence and no delays to get him through the door.

The pool is 4 miles away but we found a safe (no-traffic) cycle route so he can get there without my help. A year working there with an increased level of responsibility has given him a huge amount of confidence, a year's customer service experience and a reference, as well as an income.

Your ds could add qualifications appropriate to the jobs he is targeting, eg a food hygiene certificate if he's applying to work in a cafe, or a FAIW certificate if marshalling at a sports venue. Both relatively inexpensive to achieve. Anything to give your child an edge.

Hes re writte n his CV he used char gpt this time we used hus friends mum who is a recruitment consultant last time but is AI scanning the CV's when they are submiited jot a person so hoping tbis one will meet AI criteria.

No luck habding out CV's - only 1 place would take it as agsinst GDPR havibg his details in tbeir posession.

He's going to e mail sone local places tomorrow rather than go in as they then can't refuse the CV's.

Dd1 got her first job taking her cv and letter into the local garden centre and second one she applied to national trust and so moved there. Indeed interviews were awful. Costa coffee gave me the rage - 3 interviews, one online and 2 in person for a baristas only for them to decide that they wanted over 17yos and dd was 16! The manager was 15 minutes late for the interview and no apology. It was very unimpressive so I think dd had an escape there.

Keep going with Indeed, every day check it and put in applications.

You have to be really persistent and relentless in applying for the jobs.

You also have to be very unfussy.

I think you're barking up the wrong tree trying to hand over paper CVs and email them. All businesses these days recruit online and most through 3rd party sites. He needs to get accounts on Indeed and Glassdoor etc and apply for everything online he can find. Not sure if you saw my tip about coop? They gave my DS 3 interviews for 3 positions and offered him the last one - better response than any other employer anywhere