DD18 got fired

[ElChapo]

So DD didn’t do very well at her GCSE’s. Got a couple at grade 4 one being maths but essentially didn’t get English despite taking it twice. After applying for around 200 jobs she got a position in what is effectively a call centre. Not cold calling but answering calls for a breakdown company. It was quite a distance from
where we live and the travel really got her down and started being late. Just before she’d complete 6 months there they called her in and fired her on the spot so is now jobless. My question is does she have to be completely honest with a prospective new employer that she got fired and if so is there a way to word it that doesn’t come across so badly?

Getting fired when you are young might be a good thing, she got a good kick up the ass early on in her career and it may make her value her job / jobs in the future more

She sounded like she was unhappy there though so it might not be a good idea going into the same line of work in the future, apparently call centre work can be quite soul destroying

why are so many people getting on about how often she was late or why
eager to stick the boot in to a complete stranger who isn't even going to read any of their bitchy posts?

OP didn't ask "were the company justified in firing her?" she asked how honest her dd needed to be to her next employer.

She's only 18, so I think she did well to stick it out for so long with such a difficult journey. Would she be willing to do some training now? Could she get advice from her old school on what's available?

Immediately after being sacked, I started temping. Temp agencies will be less fussy and will allow her to have another employer on her CV after this one.

that is exactly what i did

Its not the end of the world. 18 year old fails to take first job seriously, gets the sack, learns useful life lesson for next time. I agree with all the advice to get her to sign up with a temp agency - but she still needs to be on time for any job she goes for.

@ElChapo I think in the last month it was probably most days but only by about 10 mins or so I believe

I have interviewed/recruited hundreds (if not more) of people in the last 30 years. Here are a couple of points:

Always list previous work on a CV. If you don't, it's an unexplained gap and this always raises suspicion - unless there's a very good reason that can be evidenced (a broken leg, caring duties, etc.)

'Only' about ten minutes late. It's not 'only' ten minutes, it's not arriving on time, as expected. Being late is disrespectful to colleagues and the employer. I would not recruit someone with a history of lateness.

GCSE English. Please, please, please stress to her that she needs an English GCSE or equiv. She's 18 and so there are plenty of options available to her to obtain this. English is a gateway qualification.

Travel time. You need to help her to manage her expectations. Many of us travel 1-2 hours each way to our work. Unless you have a good reason, e.g. a disability, then she does need to be prepared to travel.

I hope it works out for her.

Personslly, I'd say it was a temporary position on my CV. I used to commute for jobs but the stress of being late isn't worth it. Sign up with local agencies, they have loads of local job that aren't advertised. If you're reliable and on time, then they'll employ you directly. Another option would be to work from home via a laptop. There are numerous customer service and call centre roles available, working from home.

Keep digging.

I called you out for your blatant lying - this has nothing to do with superiority and everything to do with me calling you out for your lies and you have been caught red handed / pants down.

You falsely claimed I'd targeted the OP when my posts in this thread have only been about the feckless time abusing daughter of hers.

I've made fuck all comments about the OP. You really ought to quit while you are behind - everyone can see my comments in this thread - and yours - and its only yours that are full of BS and lies targeting me.

Have a day off.

jesus @HelplessSoul
it wasnt only you, now you are simply paranoid
and obviously having a go at the dd in this case is having a go at the op.
Chill out why dont you

No it isn't. It's a true dead end job. And can everyone bloody calm down ffs? She's 18! This job isn't exactly going to affect the trajectory of her future career!

You specifically called me out on your post at 10.09.

So I'm bound to react/respond, especially when you lie about it too.

Seriously, stop your digging or I will report you for targetted harassment. The evidence here against you is not good.

Because the OP is minimising it and MNers suspect that will be how she is handling with her DD too so they are trying to get her to see this and see that this is possibly part of the problem in the first place.

I would just say that the contract ended and push on OP. She will find her feet but if she starts to fade away again in a job, she would do well to hand her notice in early and keep looking.

I think temping is a great idea now she has some experience, for her to see what sort of company and environment she would like to work in.

Usually it is better at least not to "maximise" it. The OP's daughter will be feeling rubbish enough. They can have a post-mortem on whether she could have done anything differently when her DD gets her confidence back.

@ElChapo I think @BananaPeanutToast makes some excellent points.

If your DD didn't do well at GCSE level because she wasn't motivated enough perhaps being a little older has given her the maturity to have another go at passing GCSE English?

Full time education is funded up to age 19 and passing GCSE English will open a lot more doors in terms of job opportunities.

One workplace of mine sacked an employee for constantly being 10 minutes late. The irony was that she lived the closest out of all of us to the office - just 10 minutes away. She had had several warnings before she was sacked. Are you sure your DD wasn't given any warnings?

OP's DD should have worked harder at school. Does she want to be stuck doing these jobs all her life?

You've been reported.

Companies with a high turnover of unskilled workers usually give a standard reference of dates and positions.

I was sacked from my first job after about 9 months or so. I then worked on reception in a corporate company and was late once by 5 minutes and was reprimanded. I now have a senior leadership role and was never impacted by being sacked.
Call centre work is exceptionally tough and they aren’t the nicest of work places. I have young team members and they can be a bit ‘lax’ with time keeping but we generally don’t get too worked up about it. So there are jobs out there but the job market is very tough for everyone let alone a 18 year old.

Thank you. Yes you’re right it’s not ‘only’ 10 minutes. I do think it’s made her realise she can’t take the piss like that. We (me and DH) are impressing on her how important getting her English gcse is and we’ve said we’ll find it if she has to go private now she’s 18. I will let her know that she has to own it (the lateness) and take responsibility for it

Your DD will have to admit to the job on her cv though hopefully the reference she gets will only confirm dates of employment and she will be able to say it was only a temporary position. I have dyspraxia and timekeeping is one of the lesser known issues with dyspraxia. I had to learn and quickly though how to manage my time. No employer will put up with someone being consistently late as they are then paying them for work they haven’t done. I have in the past worked in retail and there not only does being late mean you potentially get paid for time not worked but it can impact colleagues who may then have to stay beyond their contracted hours to cover the shortfall until the next person shows up. Some people I have worked with in the past have had children or second jobs so being late could seriously impact them and create a difficult workplace environment.

Getting her English GCSE will definitely benefit your DD so it is something she should continue to work towards. I’m in Scotland so it was Standard Grades rather than GCSEs but because I had English and Maths one of my jobs paid for me to study a modern apprenticeship. Hopefully your daughter finds something she enjoys doing. My DH left school at 16 to become a mechanic but he soon decided that wasn’t for him and did some courses at a further education college which allowed him to go to university and he is now a chartered building surveyor. Who knows what your DD can achieve but she has to work for it as nothing is just handed to you. DD also needs to improve her timekeeping.

That's one free hour a week she was getting, or a free week a year.
Hopefully she's learnt from the experience.

Have to say though if I'm late, I work an extra bit to cover the difference

its a life lesson. 18 is a legal adult but still child minded about some things!

Id have sacked her too, and given a generic reference!

She needs to job hunt again, and not be late again