Suggestions for finding a first job?

In My Humble Opinion
1

TheKid has been looking for a job for the past 4 months or so. She’s 18, a high school senior.

She has been turned down by Target, Kohl’s, Home Depot, grocery stores, you name it. All of them basic customer service / cashier in retail jobs.

The biggest issue seems twofold: No previous job experience and no state issued drivers’ license. She has volunteered regularly with a food shelf, doing customer service type things, and she does have a state issued ID.

Every place has been online applications, some with those additional personality tests.

I have no idea how to assist her. Do any of you have any suggestions?

2

Did any of them say why no driver’s license is a problem? Are they concerned that she won’t be able to get to work?

Is it possible that they are not interested in hiring a high school senior because they believe, correctly or not, that she will move away for college after the school year is over in a few months?

3

I have no idea why a license would be a big deal - none of them are driving jobs. At least one employer, when she clicked “no” to whether she had a license, said “Thanks, but no thanks”. She has been adding her state ID in that spot.

I can understand what you’re saying about hiring a HS Senior, if a multitude of her friends haven’t found jobs in the past 6 months. Her biggest frustration is how some of her friends managed to obtain employment at places she was rejected from - a few are serious stoners (though the employer supposedly tests), one can barely remember where her head is let alone be in charge of a till. Some are planning on quitting come June. That’s not TheKid, though. It appears college will have to be pushed back a year due to finances. It’s all around kind of sucky for her right now.

4

Most of the big box retail stores don’t usually muck around with minors, especially in this economy. Heck, I’m 32 and when I was in high school, I applied with tons of stores, even grocery stores, and couldn’t get anyone interested when I had zero job experience. (Heck, even in college, I couldn’t get a retail job because they assumed I’d ditch the job when school started up again after the summer.) Ultimately, after a parental ultimatum, I ended up working fast food. It’s even less desirable than working at a grocery store. Once you can hold down a job for awhile it’s easier to move on to something else.

FWIW though I did get a grocery store job after that and my sister, who was 15 at the time, got a job there also – it was a new store opening so they needed a lot of staff. Typically the “full service” type grocery stores, the kinds with a full salad bar and a bunch of departments with hot food and a sit-down cafe and all that, have a lot of scrub jobs than your typical grocery. Think dishwashers, food prep, cleaners, that sort of thing. My sister’s job was basically stocking napkins and wiping tables in the canteen area for a few hours during peaktime.

The no drivers’ license thing I get – anyone can say “Oh, I have reliable transportation”, but then after they get hired it’s “My mom won’t pick me up after 7pm” or “I have to go early to catch a ride”. Been there, done that, when I used to hire in the call center I used to ask a lot of questions about that. (You take the bus? What happens if your work schedule is assigned outside bus hours? What happens if the bus doesn’t come due to weather? What’s your backup plan, etc.?)

Right now they can afford to be choosy, there are a lot of people looking for work. My best recommendation? Keep trying, keep applying, look for different kinds of work than just the obvious. One of my other sister’s first jobs was at a nursing home as a ‘food aide’ (prepping food, helping in the dining room). They had trouble with applicants because most people just didn’t want to deal with that kind of work. Working as a restaurant dishwasher is equally thankless and rapid-turnover. Check the want ads regularly, ask around with employed friends, etc.

5

It could be they have rules for proper ID in order to avoid illegal aliens. It’s really hard to get a job right now. And high school seniors aren’t considered long term potential. Even if she can’t drive there may be an alternate form of ID in your state that will help.

I think the part about being college bound may be a factor. She wouldn’t be seen as a long term prospect, and may be considered overqualified for the jobs. But it can help in other areas. Networking is the key here. If she has the time, she may want to do some volunteer work that will put her in touch with people that can help out. A personal recommendation from someone with the right contacts is invaluable. And if she can’t find a job, it doesn’t hurt to help someone else out. I hope she can find something to help her earn some college money.

Could you tell us a little more about her? How are her grades? What is her scholastic strength? How about social skills and appearance? Is she simply walking into retail stores and filling out applications?

6

Her grades are meh. She will graduate on time, at least. Unfortunately, she chose to spend more time being social than hitting the books. Her strengths scholastically are English and Science. Higher Math has been her downfall. Her social skills are fabulous. She is very personable. At the Food Shelf she is a meet/greet person, and always receives compliments. Her appearance is “normal”, I guess. She doesn’t wear make up, takes care of herself, dresses prudently. Her only visible ‘outsider’ traits are almost white hair and a penchant for oddly colored nail polish.

She has applied online, she has obtained applications in store. At one store where she thought she would be a perfect fit, she chatted for a while with the manager. It is a store that caters to a certain subgroup, and she used to look like someone who shopped there. No interview. She went back a few weeks later, a girl she goes to school with had been hired - that girl in no way fits who the customer is.

7

I always do better at places with paper applications. For some reason I just can’t manage to answer the personality test questions right.

8

She has almost white hair? Is this something she does to her natural hair, or is it just a really, really light blond? If she’s making her hair look odd/weird, she can stop it, or she can color it something else that’s not so “outsider”

Tell her to knock it off with the weird nail polish as well, these things matter to employers.

She needs to dress very nicely and professionally when she goes to apply. That definitely matters as well.

Tell her to try every single fast-food place in town. These have the best chance of hiring her.

9

I would be really surprised if her nail color and her hair are working against her in any but extremely selective boutiques and conservative shops.

10

With these jobs, it’s a manner of timing. If you happen to walk in when they need someone, you get it.

Maybe she should set her sights higher. Waitressing can actually make money. I one sent a paper letter to every restaurant in town saying is wash dishes and train to be a waitress. Got me quite a few offers.

I’ve also had luck finding low-end office work by posting funny, interesting resumes on Craig’s List.

11

My first job was at a library as a page. Maybe try looking for more local/mom and pop rather than the big box stores that don’t want to deal with minors/high schoolers.

12

Aim DOWN. Be willing to get your hands dirty. Any place with a floor needs someone to mop.

I believe everyone needs to do some sort of grunge work in his or her life. After you’ve scrubbed toilets and mopped floors, you know you can do anything.
~VOW

13

Well, you could do what I did when I was that age. Apply to all the local temp agencies. Then basically drive up and down your main street and the local megamall applying to every store.

14

She needs a driver’s license. There’s no reason for a senior not to have one. It doesn’t matter whether you think it’s relevant or not–her potential employers clearly do. Her lack of a license is obviously handicapping her job search, and it’s an easy fix. If it’s a cost issue, have her declared as an excluded driver on your insurance policy.

Employers are looking for employees who won’t be leaving within 6 months. And the job market now is a lot worse than it was just 5 years ago. My first employer hired me in March (back in 2003) knowing I’d be leaving in August. But these days, the economy has pushed that bar much higher. If there’s any indication that you don’t intend to work somewhere for life, they have a hundred other equally-qualified candidates to choose from who might. They would rather take the risk for someone who *might *stay for years, as opposed to someone who *definitely won’t *stay for years. So, your application goes into the circular file. They can pick random stupid crap to discriminate on (like whether she’s licensed to drive or intends to work there for years), as long as it’s not a protected category. And they will, because they can. It’s as simple as that.

The temp agency and restaurant recommendations above are good places to start. Waitressing in particular can be *very *lucrative, and minimum wage is guaranteed (but will pretty much always be exceeded, because of tips). Call center work is another unskilled option–steer her toward inbound customer service instead of outbound sales or cold-calling, though. It’s not a job for life (the burnout/turnover rate is high), but it could be a job for right now. Call center jobs tend toward full-time rather than part-time, but she could look into summer positions.

Also, there are serious worker shortages in a lot of skilled vocations, and being female doesn’t mean she can’t work on an oil rig or become an apprentice electrician/plumber/painter/welder/mechanic. Has she considered a vocational job? How about cosmetology school (she might have to wear makeup for that), massage school (it’s a physically-demanding job with *great *tips), or something in health care? She could start her CNA certification and start a full-time job before next August. Entry-level CNAs generally get better-than-minimum wage, and some hospitals will even hire someone before they start/during their training.

Honestly, this would be an *ideal *time for her to begin a vocation. There just aren’t enough white-collar jobs to go around. There are unfortunately thousands of intelligent, highly-motivated people with bachelor’s (or higher) degrees who are unable to get jobs right now. There just isn’t enough of that work to be done, qualifications be damned. Not to mention that once you have a degree, most unskilled jobs won’t even look past that on your application–over-qualification is currently a real problem for a large segment of the unemployed. Employers in the US have learned that they can cut the workforce and increase unpaid overtime hours for exempt employees, or outsource their unskilled labor, and keep turning bigger and bigger profits. It’s not going to get any better.

What does she want to go to college for? Does she have an idea of the career she’d like to have? If not, and her grades are “meh” because she cares more about popularity than academics, college is *not *her ideal destination. Now is the absolute BEST time to scope out jobs that a lot of middle-class people think are “beneath” them. An electrician makes as much cash as an engineer–probably more, because of the overtime potential. And electricians aren’t stuck in a depressing Dilbert-esque cubicle pushing paperwork for three-quarters of their day.

But if she’s been brainwashed like all of Generation Y (myself included) to think that vocations are beneath her, it might be difficult to motivate her to investigate those jobs. It might help to paint a picture: she could start working and getting paid immediately. She could get an apartment with some of her friends and start her adult life totally debt-free. College entails taking on an enormous amount of debt, which has a psychological toll that can be hard to understand–until you’re under a crippling amount of it. More importantly, a degree no longer guarantees a job. You have to be on top of your game to get a job offer straight out of college these days–we’re talking multiple internships, researchships, holding down a job while in school because it makes you better-rounded, and tons of volunteer work (and being on a first-name basis with faculty doesn’t hurt). It’s very possible that she could go to college, graduate, and end up on your couch 2-5 years from now with tens of thousand dollars in debt–and no hope of repaying it.

15

For the jobs a high school senior would be qualified for, I don’t think they care.

Statistically, the more educated you are, the easier it is to find a job, keep a job and find a new one if you happen to lose your job. This is especially true in this economy. I have an MBA, but I can still take on a job as a bartender or a construction worker (I used to be a structural engineer, so I know my way around a construction site). They don’t have the background or credentials to do my job.

One problem with middle-class thinking is that most people don’t really have an idea of what they want to do when they graduate. They have this mentality that as long as they keep jumping through academic hoops, they will just get accepted to some large company as if it’s just one more institution to provide them structure and guidance. Companies aren’t looking for people to hand hold and teach them about their business. They are looking for people who can come in and quickly perform specific tasks so the company can make money. When I’m looking for a job, I don’t say “I have an MBA, are you hiring?” I say “do you have a need for an experienced project manager with a track record of successfully delivering projects for XYZ industry?”

Same thing with looking for a high school job. Employers don’t want to scour the world looking for the perfect employee who will grow with the company. They want some clean-cut kid who wont be late for work, doesn’t drink or do drugs and won’t steal from the register.

16

TheKid will be going to pastry school, if we can come up with the money. If not, she will be going to community college for a year while we can save up. Her need for a job is primarily to contribute to paying for school. She has applied to 5 local bakeries - nada. Most of the restaurants around here are not hiring, or she has to be 21 to serve.

Her hair being almost white is almost passable - it does look natural. She said she will stop painting her nails, if it would help.

As far as a license, it’s not necessary since we live in an urban area. All places she has applied to are accessible by bus. She does want to obtain it, but is not in a rush. I told her that once she has her license, I would pay for insurance as if she was a good student. Since she’s not, she has to pay the difference. Well, without a job she really can’t do that.

She reached out on Twitter last night, and a few friends said they would talk to their employer for positions. One is somewhere where I would prefer she not work (a McDonald’s in a not so safe area) and one is at a nursing home (a few friends work there - none of whom I would consider respectable).

17

Have you looked into hooking up with your local One-Stop Career Center? They have youth programming, which generally means job developers assigned to help youth with resumes, interviewing skills, job search, etc. When I worked at a One-Stop, the youth workers all had fairly extensive employer contacts that they regular used for job placement.

ETA: Do you mind saying where you live (either in this thread or by PM)? That might help us help her.

18

We went through this for a few months, and my daughter finally was hired by American Eagle, which thrilled her. She was applying for stuff that didn’t actually interest her (and in the case of fast-food, what she actively wished to avoid). My suspicion was that she wasn’t following up properly on food places, but I’m really not sure. She’s stubborn. But anyway, my advice is to try clothing stores; that’s what worked for us. She got hired during Christmas and they kept her on. Her hours are pretty limited at the moment, but she was assured they’d pick up, especially now that she’s trained on the cash register.

19

Way back in the Dark Ages, when I looked for a first job all my friends did the normal thing. The equivalent of Target, or fast food or stores.

I wanted something DIFFERENT.

I fell into warehouse work. My first job was working in a tobacco and candy warehouse. It was different, let me expend energy physically (move crap around) and was much more fun than the jobs my friends were complaining about.

Try a less worn path…look for something different.

20

What sort of contacts do you have to help her find a job? What other networking can your daughter do? A lot of successful job searches are due to knowing someone who knows someone. Contacting her peers is a good start, but she should also ask adults with whom she has a good relationship - favorite teachers, coaches, neighbors, parents of friends, whoever. Her sales pitch can be that she’s very personable, with good communications skills, and she’s motivated to work hard in order to earn money for schooling.

Does she like kids? If so, there are a lot of opportunities for teaching sports and other activities to younger children, and for obvious reasons, most of them are at convenient hours for high schoolers. What is she interested in? What do your friends’ younger children do? Thinking forward a bit, she might look into working at summer camps.