I am 17 years old and looking for a job. The thing is I have no job experience and no refrences. How am I suppose to fill the application out?
My first couple jobs I already had an in at the company (one was working for an uncle, the other a woman at my church worked at), so that may be one way to go. Ask parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, friends parents, etc. if they know of any openings.
As far as references, I always used a couple teachers who I knew well and a neighbor. The application doesn’t say work-related references, does it? If so (a few do), you could use coordinators of any volunteer projects or activities you’ve done. For a start.
Everyone’s first job is without references and experiences. In my experience, no matter what your qualifications, you have to start at the bottom. You have to get yourself a basic job to sustain you while you look for one relevant to your qualifications. You also may need to blag it a bit (try to pretend you want to stay in the job for a while, or you want to do some honest hard work before you get a more ‘respectable’ job)
Any place will look favourably on you if you have had a job where you have turned up on time every day and impressed the supervisers/bosses (Things that are easy to do in a basic job)
p.s. For references, I think I used a college teacher and my local shopkeeper (because it was ‘people who know me’)
You have references, you just don’t realize it. Think of a neighbor, teacher, or friend of your parents who’s known you for at least a year. It’s OK if you’ve never had a job, you’re only 17 fer cryin’ out loud. Just say so. It will be helpful if you’ve done well in school. Have you ever had responsibilities outside your home that aren’t exactly a job? Walked the neighbor’s dog, taken their newspapers when they’re on vacation?
You want to impress upon your potential employer that:
You are responsible
You are reliable
You can follow directions
You can think for yourself
So think about who could say that about you.
One tip:
Don’t just hand an application to anyone. Dress up fairly nice, and go in an hand it to the manager. You will probalby be able to set up an interview right there, and depending on the type of job, you may have an interview right there.
Don’t worry too much about this – any employer won’t expect much ‘job history’ for a 17-yo.
But consider including any volunteer work you’ve done, explained as if it were a job & demonstrating the qualities that would make you a good employee. For example:
“Taught a Sunday-school class for 5 & 6-year old kids at my church for the past 16 months. Responsible for planning lessons in advance each week, obtaining needed materials, leading the class, and cleaning up afterwards. During the entire year, I missed only 4 classes (due to family trips). The kids enjoyed my class, and the pastor asked me to teach it again this year. See attached reference letter from the pastor.”
Listing a couple of ‘job experiences’ like that will make your application stand out clearly from the rest of the teenagers applying.
P.S. Don’t lie! Most employers do check. A little bit of exaggeration is OK, but not too much. Dishonest is a major flaw to employers. If they see it on your application, you will never become there employee.
Drepends on whether you’re a roustabout or not. If, deep inside, you know you’re a shithead who’ll skip work for a party, or when your girlfriend’s folks are in Mexico, you should do some research to help your situation.
If you really want the job, what you need is a reference that will make you sound like an upstanding citizen. Watch certain episodes of Seinfeld and follow George’s job search.
Also, know what you’re getting into. If you’re gonna work in a grocery store, learn the lingo: like, these persimmons are a bit overripe, or, these radishes seem to have gotten the plague. I t worked for me, my boy, and I’m sitting here not working but collecting a few thousand dollars a month. All you really need to do is go crazy.
get any job you can (even mcdonalds), and stick around for 6 months doing the best job you can do.
After that, go searching for something you probably want. Then you’ll have something nice to put on your resume, and you’ll be a lot more employable.
But remember, never pick your first job. Get anything you can, Im serious, I saw so many of my friends fart around at your age (16-20), refusing to get a job unless it was a playboy bunny inspector or something close to it :rolleyes: . Now they need to get a job, and they have no experience. “I wish I took that job at Arby’s…”. Oh really? :smack:
thanks for all the help.