Agreed. My first real job was at a Burger King - I didn’t love it, but getting hired was a matter of walking in and seeming sane. (And even the sanity may not have been a prerequisite - one of my colleagues was a man with poorly-managed bipolar disorder).
Beyond that - does your daughter own a suit? Or something comparable? If not, she should really try to get one. If she wants to interview for any sort of low-level white-collar work (data entry, admin assistant, etc), she’ll need a suit.
Has she reached out to people at her high school? Guidance counselors might have leads. So might some of her teachers - plenty work at summer jobs, and might be able to put in a good word for her. For that matter, some of them might be looking to hire someone to work over the summer on special projects - I worked for my school’s IT guy over summers, for example.
First, it is really hard to get a job these days. My daughters friends, who finished college, are mostly struggling. They are crowding out high school grads for the kinds of jobs she is applying for.
Could you have a friend do a test interview with her? She might be doing something to turn off employers, something you probably wouldn’t notice.
Think about some non-traditional jobs. The bakery stuff was a good idea, but maybe there are some local caterers who would hire people interested in food on an as-needed basis. My younger daughter loves animals, and she worked for a dog-walking company in high school and on breaks from college, and made more per hour than any of her friends working retail - and also made a bundle because she took every gig offered. That needs a license where we live.
This is perhaps a red flag of sorts. The fact that she had a face-to-face conversation and then didn’t get the job makes me think she might have said something the manager didn’t respond to well. Not that she was rude or stupid, but perhaps there was a lack of confidence, or perhaps she said too much or whatever. Interview skills are learned over time and not everyone is great when it comes to speaking with a future employer.
Then again, it could be that the other girl was hired because her aunt knows the manager.
Still, she might need some practice with interviews to ensure she is attentive, not saying too much or too little, and is able to sell herself. This is not an easy thing to learn - some adults have few skills doing this as well. I am sure everyone reading this can think back on interviews that went well/badly and can relate.
I have two siblings, and out of the three of us, I was the only one who didn’t have a problem finding jobs. The reason was that my brother and my sister were both much pickier than me. When I was sixteen, I went to the mall, and applied for six jobs in a single day - five retail and one food service. I believe I also applied at the grocery store. Anyways, the only place that contacted me back was the food services place. I noticed you didn’t mention her signing up for any food-related jobs. I’d recommend looking there, as their employees tend to skew slightly younger than retail does.
Also, like even sven said, it’s really a question of coming in when they need someone, and stores usually aren’t great about their “Now Hiring” signs coordinating with when they actually are hiring. Again, it’s all about not being picky. The more applications you fill out, the more chances that someone will be hiring at that moment in time. There’s a time to be picky about your job, but high school ain’t it.
When my son was seeking a job in high school, I noticed that pounding the pavement no longer applies to major chains. Everything is done on line. He was getting phone calls months after he had applied for certain places. It was strange.
I think not having a license is holding her back. Employers may assume she can’t get to work without a license and may be unreliable. Unless your area is a place where no one really drives like NYC, it is probably noted.
Employers absolutely care. I work in a library and supervise the teenage shelvers and I never hire a senior after Christmas (though I did make an exception to that rule recently). In fact, part of the interview is a discussion of post high school plans and I absolutely give preference to people who say they plan to stay local.
But absolutely pay attention to this. I interviewed a girl a few months back and it was going pretty good. She was smart and personable, but when it came time to ask “Do you have any questions for me?” she shot back with “What’s your favorite color?” I still wonder if she heard my brain slam on the brakes.
Another thing to remember is that interviewing teenagers (especially ones without a job history) is a crapshoot at best. No matter how personable they are, that doesn’t really matter when the job is shelving books at a library or stocking shelves at a grocery store or unboxing clothes at Target or a mall store. The only way to gauge how an untested teenager would do a job is to give them the job and wait a few weeks.
Sometimes it’s clear I should have hired Billy over Sally or Veronica over Mikey, but it’s really hard to tell from an interview.
+1. You know for certain it’s a big issue, and it’s one that’s completely within her power to fix. Besides the transportation issue, having a driver’s license signifies at least a modicum of responsibility. When they discover that your adult, high school senior daughter doesn’t have a license they probably wonder “Why not?” If I had to choose between two candidates, I’d take the one with the license just because it shows they’ve jumped through one more hoop on their way to adulthood.
Nitpick. Although I agree with rachelellogram’s sentiment that vocational training can be just as valuable as a college degree, an offshore oil rig is NOT the place I would suggest an 18 year old girl go looking for work. Unless she’s a really, really big 18 year old
(1) GO ALONE. This is not time to take a gaggle of girlfriends with you. And PLEASE do not pick up an application today so you can do another round-robin trip with the girls next week to turn it in. Ask for an application, then SIT DOWN AND FILL IT OUT RIGHT THEN. Bring a list with you of references. And make sure you’ve asked those people if it’s okay with them to put their names and addresses on your application!
(2) FOLLOW UP. Call the manager. Ask if he or she needs any additional information. Thank him or her for taking time with you. Call next week. If you don’t do this, your application will eventually see the trash can, sooner rather than later.
Too many teens think their job is done once the application has been submitted. And teen girls: please learn to write like a grownup. Do NOT dot your i’s with circles. Don’t use smiley faces. PRINT. Spell correctly. It’s the little things that count.
~VOW
One more thing, and this is for everyone. Interviews are little performances. Would you go back to see an actor who was dead on the stage, who spoke in a monotone with no energy? Not likely. Would you hire someone who gave the impression of being half asleep or not really wanting to be there? Not likely either. Being properly dressed won’t help.
Some people are naturals at exuding charisma and some people have to fake it. But energy is important.
I also suggest she look for babysitting jobs. Don’t laugh.
Parents always have a hard time finding baby sitters. Many look for someone the same time/days each week, making it a regular job. If you’re responsible, you can get something and parents usually pay over minimum wage (very location dependent). The work is tough, but no harder than fast food employment.
The important reason is that after a few months she can add this to her resume and use the parents as references. Having some experience makes you much more attractive to potential employers.
Since she volunteers, make sure she lets everyone at the food bank know she’s looking for a job. Have her get a letter of recommendation from the food bank director. If you know someone who is in a position where they often interview prospective candidates, ask them to do a mock interview and give your daughter constructive feedback on her interview skills.
The driver’s license thing is pretty big, unless you’re in a city where the public transportation doesn’t stop. And even if you are in such a town, employers like to know their employees can make it in if there’s a bus strike or if it’s cold and they don’t want to wait outside.
I’ve got to say, this seems pretty damn important to me. Literally something like 90% of the people I know around my age and younger have “because I know this guy” or “a friend of a friend” or “my uncle’s cousin” somewhere in their how-I-got-a-job story. Like everything else, it’s an edge that probably wouldn’t be that important in less worrying times but a big problem if you don’t have any useful contacts (no, i’m not bitter).
Seconding the notion to get reference letters, and with so much online nowadays if possible people willing to have their name put down to be contacted at some point by prospective employers.
Does she have to go on your insurance if she gets a driver’s license? What if she gets it and isn’t allowed to drive your car? I can’t say I’d refuse someone a job just because they didn’t have a license, but if all other candidates had one I’d probably go with one of them assuming there were no other big differences. Many people have had experiences with that one co worker who was always 10 minutes late for a shift because of the bus schedule and would rather avoid that.
I have to agree with those who have mentioned waiting tables. It’s hard work and can suck at times, but you make much better money. It can also be quite a bit of fun when you’re young and don’t get tired as easily.
If she really doesn’t want waitressing, there are other restaurant jobs like hostessing or busing tables. They pay less, but you don’t have quite the same demands (and the servers usually tip you so it’s a bit more than minimum wage).
When I meet a kid who is old enough to have a driver’s license, but doesn’t have one, I immediately assume they are timid, immature for their age, and probably still haven’t cut the umbilical cord. Not the kind of employee I look for when I’m hiring, when I’m working on finding entry-level employees.
Thanks for all the responses. We’ve been discussing many of the points you all have brought up.
Many teens around here do not have licenses as it is an urban area and bus service is very reliable. The vast majority of places she has applied to are within walking distance. She has decided she does want to push forward with obtaining her license. She has her permit, so it’s only a matter of getting behind the wheel. Her goal is to have her license within the next three months.
She is going to try more mom & pop places, for the face to face aspect of applying. She is very personable and it would work to her advantage.
Unfortunately, there isn’t any networking available through me or through the Food Shelf. The shelf is very small, and the one actual employee is also the church youth director. She has passed a few leads to TheKid, but none have panned out. The rest are retired / unemployed volunteers. I, myself, have no network.
She has talked to her guidance counselor at school for assistance in interviewing. She doesn’t know if she interviews poorly as she can’t get to that point.
