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So I'm new to this website but I needed a place to vent and a place where people could read my frustrations and hopefully relate or something.
I thought last year in April that getting a job in a big city like Miami would be easy, especially minimum wage jobs for a 17 year old. I was excited to get my first job. I applied to 3 places that Friday night, going in to speak to the managers at the locations. I felt good, expecting that within a few days, I would be called back from one of those 3. After about 4 days, I called in to see and they hit me with the BS "We'll call you if we need you." Upset by that, I decided to go even lower on my job search and apply to all 20 McDonald's within the distance I am able to commute to. I even applied to other restaurants and retail stores such as Panera Bread, Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS. A week later I called all of these places one by one and they said the same thing. I then began to realize that this system of online applications was horrible. So I eventually applied to countless "apply in person" jobs. I've been told by at least 10 managers that they would call me within 2-3 days, none of which did. I've been to job fairs, hiring events at places, and even one of those "career builder" events at the local library. 11 months down the road, I've gotten maybe 5 or 6 interviews and I still have no job. I turn 18 in 2 weeks. Since then, I've applied to every McDonald's location twice a week for the past 11 months and have even gone in person and called in, essentially begging for them to hire me. I've been told that once I turn 18 it will be easier. I believed that for a minute before I realized that a lot of the 18+ jobs require a high school diploma which I won't receive until May. After submitting hundreds of applications and resumes, I have lost all hope. This economy is horrific and minimum wage is preventing me from working. I don't want or need 8.10$ an hour. Why can't I go into a McDonald's and tell them I want to work for 5$ an hour? After all, the job I want is only for spending money and saving up. I am beyond frustrated and I don't know what else to do. This sh*t-hole of a city is the worst place to live. Any advice on what I should do?
Thanks for any replies in advance, I know this was kind of long.
Are you getting call backs? If not it might be your resume. You want to list your great skills like math skills, customer service, even just lying and saying you volunteer at a church and that you help people out wash cars, help supervise kids, do basic building maintenance
Are you interviewing right?
Are you applying right?
You have to be applying or looking at places agreesively at least 20 to 70 ever week
Twice a week doesn't cut it.
The harsh reality for a 17 year old high school student is that very few places want to hire a High school student.
It's not as easy as it was back in the days where you can apply at a newspaper job and get a permit and then just simply get a job it's not like that anymore.
Have you tried getting help from your parents or the school? If you go to church ask people around there too
You never know try asking in your school if maybe you can help in the office or something and they might pay you or hook you up with something.
Don't give up hope someone will give you a chance but you gotta play the job search game
more aggressively.
Apply online, go to the McDonald's manager in Person ask them for an application if you apply there show up again in a week and they may call you back
Don't call you still? Show up in person again next week.
Last edited by CosmoStars; 03-12-2017 at 10:48 AM..
The key is to find the untapped market of jobs - such as family run restaurants, churches and other places that are willing to hire for less, maybe even tips and no hourly salary. If I were you I'd look for places that look really busy and stay away from corporate chains because they will always take the person that has the most qualifications versus the people willing to work hard. Also try running your own small part time gig - ask what people need and figure out what you can do. Whether it be running errands, delivering newspaper, groceries, dog sitting, cat walking, house sitting, etc.
Some chain retail stores want you to have experience and a list of references of 3 minimum, which means you need a minimum of 3 jobs but wont work since you are only 17. Those places would not be for you. You can just take the application home and make them think you are filling it out, but just throw it out. Its the requirements on why I suggest doing that because at 17 you wouldnt have had a job yet, yet they require you do.
Try places that hire anybody or a lot of people. I know someone who didnt work in college but tried those retail places once he graduated. Apparently lots of places wouldnt hire him because it was a chain (according to him, so not sure how accurate that is) so he tried AMC Movie Theatre and similar places, including family run business and small businesses. He ended up getting the job at AMC Movie Theatre. So, I suggest trying at the movie theatres in your area to see if they will hire you.
I also know someone who graduated from college and tried looking for job for 1 year for what she went to school for. Apparently she couldnt get anything because she never had a job before. So she tried retail places and basically wherever. She ended up getting 2 job offers - Burlington and AMC. Apparently they told her at both places that they hire a lot of people who do not have work experience. Of course I would not know about every location, but some in her area hired a lot of people with no work experience because you cant get a job in real world without work experience and thats probably why she couldnt get job - she did not work during college or once she got out for that year.
no mention of what skills you have, or plans on getting skills
many entry level into trades/healthcare/etc that require weeks/months to get certified for and because of that, limits the competition
by the time you would have been certified in something, you could have had a job in this past year
yes, I know you were 17, still in high school? but even the high school should have had certification programs for some of those for seniors or do it over the summer break
even the 3-4 month EMT certification lets people become EMT/security guards. With all those clubs in Miami, should be able to sell yourself into one of those roles. If not a guard, a hospital would hire for entry patient care tech, and pick up a few more skills
So I'm new to this website but I needed a place to vent and a place where people could read my frustrations and hopefully relate or something.
I thought last year in April that getting a job in a big city like Miami would be easy, especially minimum wage jobs for a 17 year old. I was excited to get my first job. I applied to 3 places that Friday night, going in to speak to the managers at the locations. I felt good, expecting that within a few days, I would be called back from one of those 3. After about 4 days, I called in to see and they hit me with the BS "We'll call you if we need you." Upset by that, I decided to go even lower on my job search and apply to all 20 McDonald's within the distance I am able to commute to. I even applied to other restaurants and retail stores such as Panera Bread, Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS. A week later I called all of these places one by one and they said the same thing. I then began to realize that this system of online applications was horrible. So I eventually applied to countless "apply in person" jobs. I've been told by at least 10 managers that they would call me within 2-3 days, none of which did. I've been to job fairs, hiring events at places, and even one of those "career builder" events at the local library. 11 months down the road, I've gotten maybe 5 or 6 interviews and I still have no job. I turn 18 in 2 weeks. Since then, I've applied to every McDonald's location twice a week for the past 11 months and have even gone in person and called in, essentially begging for them to hire me. I've been told that once I turn 18 it will be easier. I believed that for a minute before I realized that a lot of the 18+ jobs require a high school diploma which I won't receive until May. After submitting hundreds of applications and resumes, I have lost all hope. This economy is horrific and minimum wage is preventing me from working. I don't want or need 8.10$ an hour. Why can't I go into a McDonald's and tell them I want to work for 5$ an hour? After all, the job I want is only for spending money and saving up. I am beyond frustrated and I don't know what else to do. This sh*t-hole of a city is the worst place to live. Any advice on what I should do?
Thanks for any replies in advance, I know this was kind of long.
You are young and have a lot of career potential. By applying for these jobs, you understandably feel a lot of frustration. However, the experience of job searching is valuable within itself. Each "failure" gives you experience for the next one until you hit success. In 2001-2002, the job market died for experienced engineers like me out west. I had about 30 interviews. I actually succeeded in two but the company went on a hiring freeze after the 911 attacks. The only job I could get was in Tallahassee, so I moved there in 2002. I have since earned three graduate degrees in FL and have no problem getting a new job.
I have two solutions: (1) short term and (2) long term.
In the short-term for temporary jobs, I learned from experience that night stocking is probably the easiest labor job to get. First of all, no one wants to do it. So the demand is generally high. Next, it's easier to do night stocking than day-time hard labor in construction (which I have done). So try night stocking. Go to "Labor Ready" or some labor day-to-day assignments to find a labor gig just to get some quick cash.
Long-Term:
Take a hard look at all your options at MDC for new job skills. Balance (1) your aptitude, (2) your interests and (3) the job market to make a decision on a career path. I would recommend MDC or Broward CC. The job market is roaring right now for information technology. I know an 18 year old who got a high-paying job in tech support for computer repair/networking. There are many young programmers, network technicians, AUTOCAD technicians, web site adminstrators, etc. all in South FL. There are many jobs down there. Jobs like cybersecurity, web site programming, UI/UX graphics designers, data mining, Java programming, test automation, etc. are all in hot demand right now. But there are mechanical jobs available as well. The nation's infrastructure is in bad need of repair. Many bridges, buildings, civil engineering projects, etc. need a modern upgrade. There is a lot of work there as well.
But you could also look at business majors and allied health. There are many good options in those fields: dental hygienist, physical therapist, EHR technician, physician assistant, healthcare finance, etc. MDC has one of the best rapid physician assistant programs available.
Try MDC for a long-term solution. Meet the career counselors. Get on facebook and blog with alumni. But you are smart in trying city-data. You can get a quick associate's degree and good paying job. Then work and take online courses to get a degree at FIU or FAU to save costs. Best wishes.
As for me, I have since moved back to Phoenix and work in data warehousing. The supply does not meet demand in this field. So I am at a very good point for job stability these days. But I've seen the other extreme (2001-2002) when jobs were scarce.
Use the local resources near you to get the assistance to improve. It is much harder for a high school kid these days to get a job than it was when I was in high school. These days you have adults working jobs high school kids worked - especially in fast food joints.
I didn't make it to where I am now by having it easy. I have been fired, rejected from well over 100 interviews since my high school days but I never gave up. Now I go after targeted companies to negotiate employment opportunities. I NEVER saw myself doing what I do today when I was in high school. Literally never a second of through that I would be where I am.
I was dead broke more than once, more than twice, more three times, and it wasn't until recent that I "broke" the barrier. By no means am I a saying I have money in the bank to do anything I want, but I can a least buy more than one milk at the grocery store and not have to blink at a $65 purchase of only fruit at the grocery store.
You will learn in life that those who don't give up and learn from a lot of failure will be the ones to make it big in life.
So I'm new to this website but I needed a place to vent and a place where people could read my frustrations and hopefully relate or something.
I thought last year in April that getting a job in a big city like Miami would be easy, especially minimum wage jobs for a 17 year old. I was excited to get my first job. I applied to 3 places that Friday night, going in to speak to the managers at the locations. I felt good, expecting that within a few days, I would be called back from one of those 3. After about 4 days, I called in to see and they hit me with the BS "We'll call you if we need you." Upset by that, I decided to go even lower on my job search and apply to all 20 McDonald's within the distance I am able to commute to. I even applied to other restaurants and retail stores such as Panera Bread, Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS. A week later I called all of these places one by one and they said the same thing. I then began to realize that this system of online applications was horrible. So I eventually applied to countless "apply in person" jobs. I've been told by at least 10 managers that they would call me within 2-3 days, none of which did. I've been to job fairs, hiring events at places, and even one of those "career builder" events at the local library. 11 months down the road, I've gotten maybe 5 or 6 interviews and I still have no job. I turn 18 in 2 weeks. Since then, I've applied to every McDonald's location twice a week for the past 11 months and have even gone in person and called in, essentially begging for them to hire me. I've been told that once I turn 18 it will be easier. I believed that for a minute before I realized that a lot of the 18+ jobs require a high school diploma which I won't receive until May. After submitting hundreds of applications and resumes, I have lost all hope. This economy is horrific and minimum wage is preventing me from working. I don't want or need 8.10$ an hour. Why can't I go into a McDonald's and tell them I want to work for 5$ an hour? After all, the job I want is only for spending money and saving up. I am beyond frustrated and I don't know what else to do. This sh*t-hole of a city is the worst place to live. Any advice on what I should do?
Thanks for any replies in advance, I know this was kind of long.
why not offer babysitting or pet services to your local neighbors? There's always people posting for wanting something done that's too small to hire out an actual company for.. There's a social media site called "next-door" that is only for people in your vicinity (verifies by address) or you could join rover.com for the pet gigs.
I've gotten maybe 5 or 6 interviews and I still have no job. I turn 18 in 2 weeks. Since then, I've applied to every McDonald's location twice a week for the past 11 months and have even gone in person and called in, essentially begging for them to hire me.
Okay, stop, breathe.
You are essentially going to blacklist yourself from any of these places of employment by applying twice a week (you must be exaggerting, you've applied over 88 times to each location). You've gone in and begged. Stop. You do not understand how businesses work and the managers will never hire you with this behaviour.
You've got to find a different approach. First of all, you've had 5-6 interviews and no offers. That suggests that you need to learn how to interview properly. Read up on how to interview, watch mock interviews, and ask for a mock interview from a family member. You may be conveying desperation and immaturity, in fact, I really suspect that from what you are posting.
Next strategy - if you are willing to work for peanut wages, find jobs were this is permitted. You can look at newspaper delivery, childcare (yes, some parents are fine with male caregivers), senior assistance, lawncare, poolcare, anything where people can hire you privately for cash. You need SOMETHING on a resume. Going to below minimum isn't going to work (that's not fair to people who have to support themselves, you understand that right?), so instead of lamenting about the law that protects people, look at ways to sell yourself.
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