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Good point. That poor work ethic still gets the best of me. In this case, not the work itself, but the search. I did that for one restaurant and never got a call back, despite the woman saying she thought they were hiring dish washers, and became totally discouraged after that. There's a fairly new one right near me. I'll go there for starters.
Most kitchen jobs in restaurants are word of mouth. Every place has a solid cook/dishwasher who has an uncle, cousin, friend they will vouch for that an owner will jump at before seeking strangers, especially with no experience. Fast food, food court, snack bar is a better possibility as there is more turnover. Busboys are usually in demand but that isn't much different from retail. Labor jobs are scarce unless you have an "in." LI has an army of union, ex-union, illegal alien skilled guys with cars, tools, experience and references ahead of you. You have little to lose going door to door near home and asking if anyone is hiring. Especially warehouses, distribution facilities, trucking firms. They tend to need help and will train. ABSOLUTELY DO NOT CALL. No one has time for phone calls and they won't respond. Either have a resume or have the nuts to walk up and give it a try. Like sales, sometimes timing is everything. You will get plenty of rejection but might hit a home run. Also, try labor temp companies. Some crappy work but temp gigs often lead to full time jobs. It's easy to stand out against some of the nightmare employees the labor temp companies send out. Accept that it takes more "work ethic" to find a job than it often does to keep one.
He said he was perfectly content, because what else was he going to say? The fact that you're still jobless in spite of his "contentment" with your transportation situation speaks a lot louder than whatever words he said that led you to that conclusion, don't you think?
ETA: I should note that I'm not generally anti-public transportation, and personally would prefer to live somewhere where cars were more likely to be perceived as optional/unnecessary (family obligations, however, keep me here for now). With that said, there is a HUGE car culture on LI, and a significant negative perception around non-drivers in the LI businesses where I've worked, both because non-drivers are perceived as "less reliable," and because older folks - say, beyond college age - without licenses were viewed as somehow suspect. It's perceived as being highly unusual to live your whole life here and not acquire a license at a relatively young age. People will wonder if you've lost your license due to legal troubles or have psych or physical problems that prevent you from driving (not to your face, of course, but definitely behind your back - I've seen it happen). I don't necessarily think that's right or fair, but I do think it's going to limit you in your search.
I agree LI has a huge car culture. Its also true that the NICE bus is PACKED solid on the reverse commute 7 days a week. Many of the lower wage earners flock to LI to work from Queens side.
Are you comfortable with animals? North Shore Animal League has openings for kennel associates, includes benefits so definitely worth checking out.
Good suggestion, they are always looking for people, good first job. This is especially true if you have social skill issues.
Stop and Shop is always hiring, so is Petland discounts. If you are low skilled I wouldn't be too picky about not wanting to do retail.
If you want landscaping work you better speak Spanish because the owners want the crew members (mostly Hispanic) to be able to speak with each other.
Do you have Autism/Aspergers is that why you haven't worked until now? If so, I highly recommend the North Shore Animal League, lots of people there with issues (and I mean that in a good way)
I don't think for the type of job that you are looking for that you would be discriminated for not having a car. You see lots of workers waiting for the bus outside of the Long Island malls. In front of any of our local hospitals, you see workers dressed in scrubs waiting for the bus. When I do take the bus, that is usually who I see on the bus, low wage workers.
You might find it easier to get a part-time job at first. Certainly try the supermarkets as they will hire people to do mannual labor, including retrieving shooping carts from the parking lot. You probably would have to work nights and weekends. You can also try some the remaining mom and pop type of stores that need a young man to help with some of the heavy work, stocking shelves, etc. But these are all retail jobs and they are a good place to start in order to establsh some work history. The only other place that is nonretail that you could try is a hospital or try to find some custodial work.
It's true that many employers ask if you have a reliable way to get to work, especially at the level you are looking at. As MrBitterness said it's a no brainer if you have two equal applicants and one drives and the other doesn't.
Your age and lack of job history and skills is already going to work against you, so get some nerve and get out and start asking. The worst you will get is a "no". Not such a big deal, right? But if you never ask you'll never know. Don't be afraid to ask. Port has tons of restaurants so start there. And when asked why the lack of job history don't tout your recent revelation overcoming your formerly bad work ethic.
PS Starbucks offer benefits for 20 hours a week, if you don't mind the smell of coffee.
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