31 May 2009

Jobs for late age teenagers?

| Tristan
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Hey everyone

I’m an almost 17yr old boy and have found it increasingly hard to find some part-time work to mix in with my studies. I know it’s supposed to be a recession or watever people want to call it but i was wondering if anyone had seen any job advertisements that would suit me? I live in Campbell (near Civic) anything around there would be a really good help

Cheers

Tristan

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I know that DFO and Brand Depot always have signs up – it might be a hassle in terms of transport though. I suspect that might be one of the reasons they’re always looking for people.

ahappychappy10:53 am 01 Jun 09

Tristan, if you approach them with an open mind and expect nothing in the way of loyalty by the employer, you would be fine…

The same can be said about many employers. Including the APS.

Deadmandrinking said :

Speaking of which, Ant, I noticed Harris Scarfe in dickson (closer to your location, Tristan) is advertising for staff.

my wife worked for the HS in erindale. they reduced her hours, and those of several other people due to the “economic downturn”, until she received a letter stating that she could reapply for her job, if she wanted. amazing the way casuals are treated there. more amazing the way she was terminated. not even in person.

HS are a chain that has grown in canberra via acquisition. Unfortunately, they have acquired the old mindset of the prior company. Tristan, if you approach them with an open mind and expect nothing in the way of loyalty by the employer, you would be fine…

Clown Killer10:10 am 01 Jun 09

For my two cents worth – there’s nothing like starting your own business. Think about the things that you could do – maybe gardening (lawn mowing etc.), cleaning, child minding, dog walking, house sitting, academic tutoring, etc. and offer those services to the market. In most cases you should be able to structure the delivery of services in a way that doesn’t conflict with your studies.

The ACT government, ASIC and ATO websites have great information for people looking to start up a business and at the ‘sole trader’ entry level the tax and other legislative requirements aren’t prohibitively complicated or expensive.

^ I totally agree. I have an 18 year old brother in the same predicament. I don’t know if it is due to his lack of experience in job searching or what, he seems to need to be spoonfed in every aspect of his job searching. Yes. The jobs are out there, you have to be proactive in looking for them.

ahappychappy12:33 am 01 Jun 09

Hi Tristan,

I was only in your situation not 2 years ago, and found that the best way to get your name out there is do exactly what VY has said above. Try and think of places that aren’t usually the norm. I worked at a sports stadium through college… awesome money ($22 an hour isnt bad) and its perfect for students as its open late and shifts start after school. Think of places that are open on weeknights (cafes, clubs, sports centres, gyms, fast food outlets, supermarkets, that sorta stuff) and just go in with a CV, speak with the manager and go from there!

Just be friendly, and most places will be open and give you a run =). Good luck!

barking toad11:07 pm 31 May 09

Do something to get a stint in the new partly occupied motel.

If you can stay awake for 15+ hours they’ll try and teach you how to make a cuppa and then you’ll get any job anwhere you like with your certificate signed by the minister for lunch.

Deadmandrinking10:42 pm 31 May 09

Speaking of which, Ant, I noticed Harris Scarfe in dickson (closer to your location, Tristan) is advertising for staff.

Heaps of help wanted signs up in the businesses around. Places like KFC and other retail outlets are always looking, all you need to do is get up and put your application in.

There’s still “wanted” signs up in a lot of shop windows. Just today, they had them out in Qbn, at Coles and Spotlight. Given that families with kids are now out in Woden, Tuggeranong and Gunghalin, I imagine Civic is gagging for young workers.

The after school carers at our school love their job and they can’t believe they get paid to have fun with the kids. But we do have a pretty good school, with predominantly nice kids.

Deadmandrinking6:51 pm 31 May 09

I think it’s also the weird swings between lack of attention and too much attention. 95% of the time, these parents won’t pay attention to their children, but come the time these children need to account for their actions in the playground, the parents are up in arms and screaming, “What?!! My child??!! My baby-boos would never hit anyone!!!”

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy6:33 pm 31 May 09

You’ll also learn that some children are the spawn of hell and you’ll spend the rest of your life determined that if you ever have children, you’ll raise them PROPERLY!!

What’s really interesting is how so many parents have such low behavioural expectations of their kids. Experience has shown that if you don’t communicate that high standards are expected, you get lots of bad behaviour.

Deadmandrinking5:16 pm 31 May 09

deezagood said :

After-care school facilities are always desperate for fun, friendly, responsible young staff to supervise and entertain the kids from the hours of around 3pm – 6pm (which suits many older students). They also like to hire older kids (17 and up) rather than 15 and 16 year olds. Another bonus – they are usually keen to hire blokes too, because boys tend to respond really well to male influences (and the young males are great at organising team sports etc…). You’ll need to have a police check and most places will provide the training you require. Why don’t you pop in to the Campbell primary school and see if they are looking for staff?

+1. That’s what I did. It’s a good experience as it teaches you to behave maturely and responsibly in a workplace, as there are little-un’s depending on you.

You’ll also learn that some children are the spawn of hell and you’ll spend the rest of your life determined that if you ever have children, you’ll raise them PROPERLY!!

After-care school facilities are always desperate for fun, friendly, responsible young staff to supervise and entertain the kids from the hours of around 3pm – 6pm (which suits many older students). They also like to hire older kids (17 and up) rather than 15 and 16 year olds. Another bonus – they are usually keen to hire blokes too, because boys tend to respond really well to male influences (and the young males are great at organising team sports etc…). You’ll need to have a police check and most places will provide the training you require. Why don’t you pop in to the Campbell primary school and see if they are looking for staff?

I started at the bottom feeder of bottom feeder of jobs… Glassy at a nightclub.. eventually turning into someone that pours liquid into glasses and handing them to people(revers Glassy). These jobs (supermarket/servo/waiting) are good because you’ll gain a lot of humility and respect simultaneously and if you have an opposable thumb you’re a perfect candidate – i.e. no real skills required.

After leaving hell… I mean hospitality I went into retail where you earn more, stand around more but also have to use your brain a lot more. The only issue is that most places want people with some sort of work experience and whilst ‘helping out at school fete’ sounds good it doesn’t mean too much in the real world. However a slight exception to the rule, if there’s a particular interest you have- try getting a job at a related store/business. I was a big bushwalker back during school so I sold my soul to Kathmandu and Mountain Designs. I later got into velocipedes in Uni so I started working at a bike shop etc.

Also another tip- if you need money, one should leave one’s ego at the door. I worked at a luggage AND handbag store. Whilst selling handbags was not really difficult, friends would make jokes. However getting paid $16-17 (can’t quite remember) an hour when they were all pulling minimum wage at Woolies- well there you go.

Get your CV together, and go speak with people. Ask places (shops etc) if they have any positions available (also look on the web and in shop windows). Don’t bother leaving them a copy of your CV if they don’t, just come back again in a couple of weeks time and ask again. If you leave your CV with someone it’ll probably end up in the bin.

Walk through Civic and look in the shop front windows. Plenty of job vacancy signs around.

Service stations are often a good place to look.

Woolies, Supabarn, Coles, Big W

They’re always after Checkout or Nightfill staff.

If you don’t mind what kind of work it is, i’d suggest just plugging your resume to various cafe’s, Subway, retail outlets, Woolies (I think it’s Superbarn in the Canberra Centre).

Another option is to apply as an office cleaner with one of the big cleaning companies here. Morris Cleaning Co and Morgans are both options, and i’m pretty sure they are always looking for people. It might not be the most glamourous job in the world, but you’ll make some money and be able to do it part time.

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy12:23 pm 31 May 09

I’d get together a CV (2-3 pages maximum), and get a couple of smart adults to help you tidy it up, then make lots of copies together with a covering letter along the lines of “keen, intelligent and motivated teenager wants job to help support themself while studying”.

Then take the CV and covering letter and drop it off off with “attention manager” on the envelope at as many businesses you can find that employ guys like you.

For example, fast food shops, supermarkets, restuarants, warehouses, etc. I suspect that if you send out 20 or so CVs and letters, you’ll get a few calls and perhaps some interviews as well.

Then, do the right thing by your new employer, and you’ll be fine.

Apply to work as a Food and Beverage attendant at the Convention Centre. You can apply for this job through Drake. This would be perfect for you due to the locality. You get shifts whenever there are functions.

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