Struggling to find work at 17, any advice for teenagers?

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I'm 17 turning 18 soon and I'm finding it really hard to get a job. I've applied to so many retail jobs and keep getting rejected everywhere, is there anything I can do to get a job or are there any jobs that only hire teenagers?

Are you still in education? If not have you looked at apprenticeships?

Yes I'm doing a levels and going into uni next year

Apply for every possible temporary Christmas retail job. I've done two temporary contracts ( M and S and Sainsbury's ) and was offered a permanent position both times when the contract ended.

Fotstly its not your fault that you can't get work, everyone is struggling so dont get too downhearted. Go into cafes and restaurants and ask, you are more likely to get taken seriously then. Also are you any good at swimming? My 17 year old works as a Lifeguard at the weekend, he did the Lifeguard course, its not cheap but it's an investment and got him a job.

Is there a Job Centre you could pop into? They have job adverts on a notice board downstairs at mine - you can go in and browse the vacancies advertised.

Places the teens I know work / have worked.....
football stadium hospitality waitressing
cafes - look at small, local independent places
garden centre
fast food restaurants - McDonald's, Dominoes etc.
lifeguarding
baby sitting
hairdressers - washing hair, sweeping floors, making clients drinks etc
there's a lad on our local facebook page who does driveway and patio power washing and seems to do quite well out of it! And someone else does grass cutting for £20 a mow.

I dont know if you have a John Lewis in your town? But ive just seen them advertising on FB for Christmas staff.

Many of ds’s friends work as sports instructors or lifeguards.

That will take a bit if time but seems to pay better than in hospitality or shop work

Are you applying online or in person?

There's still something to be said about walking into stores, asking for the manager and handing over a CV whilst being charming. I worked in luxury retail and majority of our Xmas temps were from people who did this that we thought had something about them. We had hundreds of faceless, blah online applications.

Confidence and lack of experience is generally the main issue with teenagers so you face to face instantly you can prove you've got confidence.

Try to think of ways to make yourself a more valuable employee. For example, if you are targeting jobs in a cafe, you could get a level 2 food hygiene certificate. It only costs £20 but it gives you an advantage over other candidates, and means you can hit the ground running.

My ds got a pool life guard qualification, then applied to leisure centres.

Keep asking. Choose where you want to work, and keep popping in. Vacancies change all the time, so if you have a specific place in mind, put your head around the door every two weeks and ask if anything has changed.

Ds had applied to the local pools and been rejected but I asked again six weeks later, after I'd been to a class and found that an opening had just come up in the next town. We drove straight there with a cv.

Keep printed copies of your cv with you, to grab any opportunity.

I think the reality is that for mny of these jobs, it does help to have an "in". It doesn't have to be someone you know - but absolutely, go in person to ask. Lots of people will say no or just pass you to a website, but you'll get some insight which might help your application and ifyou do connect with the person, they might be able to help. x100 if it's a store/restaurant etc you maybe go into anyway and know the staff already. This is a good time of year to do it too. Places that might already know you and be mroe open could be a local coffee shop or hairdresser perhaps?

Do you have any skills that you could use? Eg if you're good at some subjects, become a tutor? if you are good at cooking - is there a local cafe that might need a bit of extra help?

Is there a farmer’s market near you? The one I go to employs lots of local teens and is a nice community… (less fun in the rain though)

My son hasn’t been out of work since 16. He goes in person. Either he hands in his CV or they say to apply online. Then he goes back once a week to remind them of his interest - this is independent shops or small chain. First job was at a golf course but they didn’t give him enough hours. Second was KP at a cafe/sandwich shop and he was made redundant second lockdown. As soon as lockdown was over he got a job at a men’s boutique. He worked all those part time while at college, now he’s at the men’s shop full time. All applied for in person. All he returned to a few times to demonstrate his keenness! Other youngsters I know have got jobs at pubs and even a department store by going in person. Harder to ignore someone standing in front of you.

Try and target independent businesses rather than large employerswhere your CV will get sifted through online. My friend’s 15 year old daughter applied for one job at such a place (rural area, quite affluent but not off the scale) and got it whereas I live in a big student city and the only school kids I know that have jobs have them via connections. Any independent garden centres and the like might be staffing up for Christmas. Do you have any sports skills as swim teaching seems to be a good option where I am.

Lifeguarding. You have to do a week’s course first though

I really wish local people your sort of age would hire themselves out (at a decent rate for the area, nobody should take advantage of you) to do jobs in the garden and outside. For instance, I have a professional gardener every 2 weeks, but in between I still have to do some jobs. Some of them are really hard as I get older. Such as carrying the watering can round, running the mower once a week in summer, moving bags of compost and plants round. Power washing the drive. Cleaning the cars. That sort of thing.
my friends and I regularly have a moan about the lack of odd job people. Big gap in the market!
Start by asking friends of your parents and grandparents!

I don't know where you live but being able to drive was the biggest differentiator for my 17 year old, as we live fairly rurally so places not walkable or cyclable (like National Trust places) were easy to get employment from because there was not much competition. Not sure if that helps?

I also second any Christmas temp jobs - my daughter was with Tesco and was offered a permanent job after the probation period.

I would also pop into supermarkets and shops and speak to people and look at their notice boards. Sometimes people let you know about jobs that are about to come up, and maybe give you some hints about what they are looking for.

Its worth making a plan about how far you are willing to travel, in case job opportunities come up in different branches.

I have heard that hospitality are sometimes looking for people, so restaurant and hotels - especially around Christmas when all the parties are in force.

Good luck.

Hospitality. Try local hotels that have restaurants, bars or events or look on Indeed. All the teens in our family and most of their friends have been employed since 16 this way.