My rising college sophomore had a similar issue. Wound up working at a local private school “camp” since they were the only ones who called back. Tons of help wanted signs and places that say they have limited hours due to staff shortages but no call backs.
3 Likes
Ahh. Makes sense. We live in a place with lots of local businesses ( no real chains). The only chain stores are Starbucks and a couple of fast food places. I know they are paying $17/hour (It was 15.50 posted on the boards but changed recently). I bet they can’t find people.
Locally, kids make $16-18. There aren’t enough kids here working.
Our landscaper had to cut some of the services we contracted for since he can’t get people. He’s only doing the higher end stuff. They make $20-30/hour. Doesn’t look like they have college kids. My spouse worked in landscaping Summers during college. I don’t think that’s common anymore.
Oh one more thing. One year H talked to the manager (his friend) at Toys R Us about younger S getting a job. Manager wanted to hire him and told him to apply online. He did but his application never made it to the manager. Why? He failed the personality test. Apparently if you answer with too many 1s or 5s you’re considered to be difficult to work with. So maybe that could be happening?
1 Like
My college daughter with a typical job history in high school (camps, party host at kids bday place and tutoring) had a paid internship lined up for the summer in her field of study (hired in Dec) and in April the company notified her they lost funding - way to late to find another position in this industry.
She immediately found another full time summer job (applied, interviewed and onboarded in April) with a camp that would start early July. 6 days in to the job, the camp director said they over hired and laid off the 3 college students.
She applied to 12 jobs (in person and on line), received 3 emails asking for availability for interviews, she replied to all and only 1 got back to her with a time and Zoom link - the time came and went and the interviewer was a no-show.
Frustrating, life lessons and not the summer she anticipated.
2 Likes
A surprising number of employers for full-time college graduates do not bother responding to applicants
2 Likes
Did he apply to this place again this year?
We have a lot of state and county parks in our area, and all are still trying to hire summer help. It was hard for my kids to find summer jobs back in the late 2000’s; it’s much easier to do so now in our area.
I’m surprised, OP. I see signs everywhere, too, and would assume they’d want someone who could work into the fall.
We have a ton of landscaping companies here, pretty much all of the staff are older Hispanic men, no teens.
It’s the same around here. Tons of help wanted signs but I know multiple teens that applied to many places and they weren’t able to find a job.
I am also seeing hearing this from professionals, they apply to a job and they never hear back and that same job gets posted month after month.
2 Likes
Yes but for two different positions. His coworkers from last summer also applied but for the same positions they worked in last summer. None of them got calls/emails. Their supervisor no longer works there so maybe something happened and they don’t want to rehire her employees. That’s just a guess.
He dressed up for the two interviews he had. Button down oxford shirt, khaki pants. His resume is great because he had so much time to perfect it! He left his phone in the car with me during the interviews because his pants pockets really don’t fit a phone very well. At his first interview, he said the manager commented on how prompt (I made him go early) and prepared (he brought his resume) he was. That position was at a restaurant and he said they would call him in August when the college students started going back to school.
He isn’t even getting to the point to even get interviews (other than the two he had) because everything is applying online. I’d say he went into 20-25 places to ask about the Help Wanted signs and they all told him to fill out an online application. He always asked for the manager and most of the time, he said they brought the manager out so he could talk to him/her. We don’t have too many “Mom and Pop” type businesses around here.
Anyway, I just thought something seemed fishy about all of these Help Wanted signs but they are still up months later. Obviously, they aren’t hiring teenagers since his friends have had the same issue. He always put down that he was available after-school and all weekend during the school year so they were aware that he wasn’t just seeking summer employment only. He said his bosses are very flexible and most of the bussers, servers and hosts are students so that’s good.
He did apply to a few landscaping companies but since he is only 17, I don’t think they were interested in him. I’m sure there are limitations on what he is allowed to use in terms of machinery. His friend works at a restaurant and kids under 18 can’t use or clean certain food slicers, etc.
That’s terrible. He sounds like a good worker. My '22 has gotten a few friends who’ve been complaining about not having money to come and work with them. So far, two of them. These kids were also having a hard time finding a job. It’s odd because both are really nice kids and very hard working.
My '22 also recruited my '24, though that isn’t going so great since '22 is the manager and '24 doesn’t want to follow directions. Still they are making money and out of the house, so I am happy.
Did he try Starbucks? It’s not a fantastic job experience, but if you get a good crew it can be good and the pay is decent. They hire a lot of teens around here and will work around your high school schedule. My '19 worked there and two of my D22’s friends worked there through high school. One nice thing about working at a Starbucks is if you leave on good terms you can pretty much get hired again at a different Starbucks (college job maybe?) and there are Starbucks everywhere.
My D22 got a job where an old friend/acquaintance worked. I think that kind of networking still helps if he (or you) have any friends at jobs that are looking for work.
The teenager aspect was an issue here, too. Last summer, my then-rising senior applied at several places that were actively hiring here in our town. The owner of a small pizza place was desperate for help, and yet he posted in our town’s “support local restaurants” Facebook page that he would not hire teens — he wanted adults, and because teens leave or have to go to their family’s lake house for the weekend, etc. Well, adults need more money to support themselves, so teens and college kids are a great option (and cheaper if under 18 I believe). I mentioned that lots of teens in town were looking and available, and if they hired an incoming senior then they wouldn’t have to hire again the following summer! My D ended up getting a job at a fro-yo place, and worked there last summer, all through her senior year and this summer as well.
Now she’s getting ready to find work at college. We’ve encouraged her to consider the dining services for freshman year — they’re giving $500 signing bonuses and scheduling around school will be easy.
2 Likes
He probably had a few bad anecdotal experiences (which may or may not be representative), so those became the basis for his policy. It is not uncommon for a (not necessarily representative) anecdotal experience be the driver for future decisions.
1 Like
He didn’t try Starbucks because they didn’t have Help Wanted signs outside. He focused on ones with visible signs and ones online. I never saw an ad for Starbucks.
Starbucks also gives stock after a certain amount of time. My friends daughter works there and is going to be able to start close to her college in DC. She’s excited to get stock ( I think they call it beans or something). She makes decent money and can work as much/little as she likes.
2 Likes
I can’t speak for the specific businesses to which your son or many of the other kids applied, but I can share my experience as a small business owner who hires part time employees including many high school age kids. I realize not all kids are the same and this may not be your child. However, one of the biggest issues we have found with high school and college kids, especially in the summer, is that they often want A LOT of time off. It feels like many of the kids who have worked for us are on vacation more than they aren’t. (Weeks at the beach, weekends away, family trips, parties) We try to be understanding but after a while it gets old.
Also, I think businesses are also looking at the cost of training a new hire vs. how long that employee will stay. Training, even in a fast food place or gas station costs time and money. There is also the added costs of all the Human Resources paperwork, tax documents etc. If a business knows that person is only going be there for 6-8 weeks, it’s almost not worth it, even if they are short staffed. When I hire high school students, I look for someone who will hopefully stay with me for 18 months. My points are only valid for year round businesses and wouldn’t apply to seasonal ones like amusement parks etc.
One other point, it was mentioned about landscaping businesses. The equipment we use today is much bigger, more complicated and more expensive. Landscapers are hesitant to put teens behind something that they have no experience with. It’s not just getting on a small lawnmower anymore. The liability to the owner and time required to train on equipment might be a deterrent. It’s hard to find kids that come in with some basic background experience in running equipment. I know most kids can learn, but the learning curve and training can be time consuming and expensive.
Many business owners we know dread having to train new people. I’m sorry if that offends anyone, but that is how we often feel. I could share many experiences I have had with high school and college kids many good, many that would make you understand why your high schooler isn’t getting hired.
11 Likes