Disillusioned.
I have a 17yr old daughter, who is in the second year of her college course, hoping to go to university in September. Over the last two years she has applied for local part time work, but to no avail. I really do not know what people expect! She is a bright, intelligent, friendly girl, and although she has very little experience in the job market she is eager to try anything. Vacancies asking for experience are of no use, as 16 year olds don't have experience and neither will they if employers don't give them a chance. Then there's the issue of computerised application forms, with there questionnaires. They can take almost an hour to fill in. Some replies come back 'Sorry you've been unsuccessful', others don't come back at all. How can anyone know what that person on the other end of the computer, filling the form in, is like.!
Another thing that angers me, is that on two occasions she has worked the Next sale, one last summer, and the last one at Christmas, with the very unsocial hours that this brings. (5.30 am and 6.30am starts on sale days). However, when she has applied for permanent part time work, she has been unsuccessful.
She has filled in numerous applications for this company, on line, and although they reply, they never give any feedback, as to why she's been unsuccessful.
i understand how young people can become demotivated and disillusioned, when this is the way they are treated. I'd like to say that not all young people are lazy. Please see it from another angle.
Would you like a professional to review your CV and give you some constructive feedback?
contact BlueSky CVs for an honest review
Terms: 1 per person
Contact: 01538 710408
Valid until: Friday, May 24 2013
Does anyone share these experiences? Does anyone from a company have any answers for me?
4 Comments
by PaulF430
Wednesday, February 27 2013, 3:52PM
“Think about how many applications somewhere like Next receives every day. Does she stand out by walking into their head office and screaming for a job? Stop following the standard processes and make people recognise that you're looking for work. Go and camp out on their doorstep and prove you're committed to getting a role with the company. If I came into my office and saw someone sat outside desperate to learn my industry, I'd listen to what they have to say. An email that arrives saying 'PLEASE GIVE ME £40k A YEAR I'M VERY SKILLED THANK YOU' simply gets deleted.
It's tough but there are plenty of jobs. Youngsters cost less than adults so I don't buy the experience excuse, just like most senior roles ask for a university education - it's nonsense if you can prove you know what you're talking about.”
by mommanoesbest
Monday, February 25 2013, 5:28PM
“My 3 teenagers are in the same position as your daughter and I empathise with you. It's so frustrating for them and for me as I am the one supporting them through college with another 3 years minimum to support them financially (as well as grants and loans) when they go to University. Perhaps if they paid police officers a decent wage they would give up their second jobs.”
by pj123
Monday, February 25 2013, 4:39PM
“We import cheap labour while our own is thrown on the scrapheap by employers who slate English kids off as "lazy and not willing to work long hours for pennies".
How can they just dismiss generations of our kids for greed and profit.”
by Clozzer
Sunday, February 24 2013, 9:57PM
“MY step daughter had similar experiences and applied for so many part time jobs. Eventually she got work with McDonalds after applying a few times to various stores. It's disheartening but then I had the same issues looking for work even though I had years of experiences. The problem is for every job there's 100s people applying. Just never give up.”