<p>“If he went in, spoke to manager even if he had to follow up with online application, he got a call back for an interview.” - My kids never had much luck on the in per “cold calls” at big chains. They just got referred to the website. </p>
<p>A few times I was able to pick up an application. Once it was after waiting in a lonnnnng line a drive up window for a milkshake after DD’s wisdom tooth removal. I made a comment something like, “Gee… it seems like you may be short on help. Are you taking applications?”.</p>
<p>For summer work only, it can be kind of tough unless you are a certified life guard or have child care experience. Day camps and parks and rec are about the only places to get work for summer only. Now, if a someone can work year round, even if it’s just a few hours a week during the school year, it is much easier.</p>
<p>My son had success through a local employment agency. He is just finished with his freshman year of college and really wanted full-time work for the summer (okay, we, his parents, really wanted full-time work for him this summer!). He landed a full-time job at a local design/manufacturing company doing mostly assembly work. It’s not something he’d want to do for the rest of his life, but for the summer, it’s just fine. The agency asked what date he’s available to start and how many weeks he can work, which allowed him to have a couple of weeks off at the end of summer for a family vacation and packing before heading back to college. He starts his third week of work on Monday.</p>
<p>I have heard of others in our area working with Manpower, so if a young adult is willing to take on a non-glamorous position, they may just find something through an agency.</p>
<p>I remember getting really frustrated with this in high school and early college. It seemed like everyone who was getting temporary work had some sort of connection that got them in, or that they had been working for the location since before the recession. I was also limited in terms of transportation, since I had to be able to walk there or get there by bus. </p>
<p>I tried everything to get my first part-time job, and put in dozens of applications to the local places that were taking apps. I tried stopping in and speaking to people too. I didn’t succeed until I got to my junior year of college and got a part-time job working at the dining hall, where they would hire basically any student worker willing to work weekend evenings. Since then, I haven’t had nearly as much trouble getting work. So I guess perhaps my best advice is to be willing to work strange hours, and if you can’t get work in high school, college dining halls are a great place to get early work experience so you have a history of being employed. </p>
<p>Additionally, I will say that if there is a university in the area, it’s possible that they may also employ high school students in dining services. I don’t see a lot, but I know that they do hire them, especially mid-semester when student workers either quit or get fired. I know there are at least a few because they wear a different uniform color here.</p>
<p>A lot of my classmates in high school seem to have no problem getting jobs, during the schoolyear at least. And I heard a lot of those jobs actually prefer hiring high school students, so I can’t really tell if it would be the same for someone who has graduated.</p>
<p>It’s hard just trying to find a job anywhere. But if you really want the job make a good resume and attach it to any application. Dress nice for each visit and be sure to present a professional demeanor.</p>
<p>It’s been my observation among my D and her friends that the kids who have jobs in the summer tend to be those who were working during the school year; they just increase their hours in the summer. It’s increasingly hard for a kid who just wants to work for three months to get something.</p>
<p>It’s so difficult out there. Both of my sons have found nothing so far. My younger son is debating a summer counselor job that pays $350 for the entire summer! My older son went for a “prescreening” interview at a fast food restaurant, after filling out the obligatory 18 page personality questionnaire (!), and never got a second call back. He is an honors student, and dressed well and used good manners during the interview. Did not get called back. Tough job market out there.</p>
<p>D got hired today as a pool monitor, not a lifeguard. She monitors the chemicals in the pool, cleans the restrooms, and checks i.d.s, to make sure the people using the pool are residents. S directs traffic and works the tollbooth in the zoo parking lot.</p>
<p>Last summer my son applied like 20-25 places at every place he could think of.He just walked in and asked them if he could fill out an application, also looked online. He left no stone unturned. After 6 weeks, he finally went to Burger King and got a job as a cashier. He was 19 at the time and had just finished his freshman year of college. This summer he decided to stay where he is going to college for the summer, and started doing the same thing as last summer, filling out applications online. After a month or so, he found a job at Taco Bell for minimum wage, which he took as the only way we would let him stay in his college town was to have a job. Jobs can be found but you have to fill out a lot of applications and be very persistent. I do think this summer is better than last summer for teens and college students.</p>
<p>It’s me the OP, with an update. DD got her first interview (yay!) but still no luck. It went approximately as follows: “Oh, you are 16, are you?”… “Have you worked before?” “Volunteered at a hospital? That’s cool. Did you have a real job though?” That was at a local pizza place that is just opening. She says it looked like about half of her classmates showed up to apply. When they finally open, it would be interesting to see if they hired HS school kid(s) or some unlucky adult soul(s)</p>
<p>PoJ, your DD should get a better paying camp counselor job now that she went through a CIT program already. That’s actually a really good transition job: lots of outdoor work, spend it with peers who are also counselors, and kids. Too bad she decided it wasn’t worth it. </p>
<p>I suggest your DD put up signs for small jobs, like babysitting (which can be really good pay), pet care, lawn care, or even tutoring. She should still try to get some kind of pay or volunteer work beyond something with an individual family though. That’ll be helpful to get recommendations later (needed for the NHS, for instance.)</p>
<p><needed for="" the="" nhs=""> She is already an NHS member, not that it has done her any good so far :-).</needed></p>
<p>The camp job would be ok, if not for transportation. Gas money would eat all she earns. Also for whatever reason, it seems it is not considered a ‘real job’ for resume purposes. At least the pizza place was obviously looking for some other kind of experience.</p>
<p>Okay, then see if she can get business-type job. Ask all your doctors if they could use some helper with their filing. Or retail. Or grocery store or a restaurant/fast food or drug store.</p>
<p>The NHS is at least good to add to college applications, but even better if your school has those kids work for it. (Our hs has kids act like mentors, or tutor kids, or play “big brother/big sister”)</p>
<p>Miami: really? Even babysitting, retail, or food establishment? None of these are appropriate for my son, who needs a job, but it’s not like those jobs don’t exist. And yes, it takes a lot of persistance, but impossible? :(</p>
<p>Just apply new, improved! “Nepotism Lotion” to your child, and he or she will be almost irresistable during the job search process. Calling in some favors from your LAC network is usually a good solution unless you want to do it the hard way.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for advice and sharing your experience! It does sound that DD is doing it somewhat wrong, not calling to follow up and not using her friends who are already working to get her foot in the door. I will tell her about it and we shall see. I would not call our area ‘impossible’, at least there are some ‘Hiring’ signs. At any case, it will be a good experience for her, seeing that jobs, like money, do not grow on trees.</p>
<p>Don’t do “job fair” days at places that have those as the interviews given tend to be much more challenging to get hired from. I’m 18 and got a job at a grocery store at 16. I went in, asked who to talk to about getting a job (not a manager as managers don’t care), got referred to their online app, filled it out, waited a week and called to ask the same person if they received it and all that, got an interview about a week later. </p>
<p>My new job is at an amusement park. I went online, filled out the app, called about a week later and they immediately scheduled an interview with me, which basically consisted of the person telling me how awesome it was that I called and how nice I looked, etc before scheduling me for an immediate second interview (usually applicants are forced to wait a week for the second interview), and got the job all in the same day. </p>
<p>I had applied to a couple other places both times but these were the only two places I followed up on.</p>
<p>Try practicing interview questions with your daughter, as this is the most important part and make sure shes not nervous. Have her practice turning negative things into positive things (she’s young and this is her first job so make sure she says she’s very excited/enthusiastic to start working). Also, make sure she looks VERY nice. It seems odd showing up somewhere where you’re uniform is shorts and a t-shirt in slacks, a very nice blouse, and nice closed toe shoes wearing professional looking makeup (just make sure she still looks a bit young), but they don’t want you if you’re not dressed up.</p>
Since then, I haven’t had nearly as much trouble getting work. So I guess perhaps my best advice is to be willing to work strange hours, and if you can’t get work in high school, college dining halls are a great place to get early work experience so you have a history of being employed. </p>