ughhh i am SO going through this right now.

i teach piano so i kind of have a job, but i really need another to save for college. it is so hard to get a job when you havent had any "experience".

It's so hard to get a job no matter where you live! I'm in Leeds and there's no jobs, and before then the town I lived in had no jobs either!

My advice (which has recently worked for me) is to travel a little way out of the city to a suburb or village. The trick here is not to go too far away, or it won't be financially viable to travel there and back every day, but far away enough for the city people not to bother trying for jobs there.

It's amazing how a few miles can change the employment situation! Here it's ideal because all the students who take every single job in Leeds as soon as they are posted will not travel out to the country to work, leaving places like Harrogate lacking in young people to exploit-sorry-employ.

If this doesn't work, try beasting up your CV. I thought my CV was good, but after getting some help with it, it was about 56993758 times better, and people were actually READING IT instead of shredding it!

ALSO (sorry, i'm going on a bit, but jobs are my "thing"...) the experience circle of doom will always be a problem, but what you need to show your potential employer is that you are fast to learn, easy to teach, and will get on with small menial tasks until they feel you're up to doing the real job. It sounds rubbish, but honestly, it's worth it, even just for the experience. I wanted a retail job soooo bad, and I only had chef, bar staff and cinema experience. You just have to persuade them that they need you on their team because you're helpful and you don't give them any BS.

Finally, BE PERSISTANT! If one place says no, don't let it get you down. Easier said than done, I know, but most of the time if they are saying no, you probably didn't want to work there after all. As I always say after an awful job interview, if they don't want me, then they must be the ones with the problem, because I'm awesome

Good Luck!!

hey.

this so reminded me of where I was years ago. But you can also try babysitting. People always need babysitters or nannies, especially for the summer when kids are out of school etc. Put an ad in the paper or make a few fliers and post them around town. People will call you!

Good Luck!

oh the dreaded summer job...no one wants to hire you because they know you'll be leaving in like three months...i actually found a temp positin at my local hospital doing a temporary research survey, it's pretty fun...

and i don't know, most of my friends who have worked at fast food places kind of got turned off the food because it's so disgusting to work there all the time.  the only exception was a friend who worked at the chocolate factory, and to that, well, no big surprise, right?

anyway, good luck :)

I love experience double-edged sword. It just makes so much sense.

You think it's hard getting a job? Try living in Michigan where unemployment is rising and adults with thirty years of experience at factories are competing for jobs that students normally get. It's very depressing. Thank god I'm prepared and I've built up a wonderful reputation at the library by volunteering, so when I apply this summber the job is all but guaranteed. Hooray for books, now and forever by best friends. Next stop Barnes and Nobles!!! (I doubt it).

Aww, I'd totally LOVE a bookshop job....I could potter around all day, pricing books, looking at wooks, reading books, recommending books, wearing nice cardigans and having a pencil in my hair.

Unfortunately everyone in Leeds somehow knows about a job opening, applies for it and gets the job even before the "vacancy - part-time staff wanted" poster goes up in the window. I hate psychic job hunters with tons of experience :(

SO now I work in a boring stuffy old department store, when clearly I should be working in a tea shop, or a nice cafe, or a bookshop. Somewhere where I can wear frills and plastic jewllery, and not get reproachful looks from orange-skinned Clarins girls from the ground floor when we're all in the lift together.

Hey!
So I just got a job at my local Abercrombie & Fitch- they had the most efficient application process from any of the places I've ever applied so if you have one in your area, i would consider it. Basically you walk into the store and you apply right then and there on a computer (and no experience is really necessary to qualify) and then the next day I had an interview, and the day after that I got the call saying I got the job. The training/orientation was a couple days later and now I'm working there :)...whole process was less than a week. Though the pay isn't sky high, the discounts are decent and the atmosphere is fun- just my two cents

It's really hard to get a full time job if you are under 18. Kids under 18 can find jobs mostly at kids stores and fast food resteraunts. If you are 18 or over you can register with a temp agency and get an amazing job that lasts the summer and pays well.

Original Post by finskafisk:

Hey!
So I just got a job at my local Abercrombie & Fitch- they had the most efficient application process from any of the places I've ever applied so if you have one in your area, i would consider it. Basically you walk into the store and you apply right then and there on a computer (and no experience is really necessary to qualify) and then the next day I had an interview, and the day after that I got the call saying I got the job. The training/orientation was a couple days later and now I'm working there :)...whole process was less than a week. Though the pay isn't sky high, the discounts are decent and the atmosphere is fun- just my two cents

When I was in H.S. I knew people who worked at Abercrombie.  They were told not to give out job applications to those who didn't have the "Abercrombie Look" meaning you had to be hot enough to even get an application, otherwise they'd say they weren't hiring.  I think that's utter BS and personally wouldn't work there because I don't agree with that kind of mindset.

I did work for 4 years in fast food in H.S. and college (Chick-fil-A) and didn't gain any weight from it.  I stuck to eating grilled food and soup, and an occasional breakfast item (SO good!) and the standing on my feet and moving all day took care of the rest :)  I even drank soda all day and didn't gain.  You get bored of french fries really fast, so don't completely discount ff.  I know some of my best friends came from that job!

One word: Craigslist.com

Seriously, go to your city's Criagslist and go to part time, retail/wholesale, or food/bev/hosp or even the 'etc' section and you can find tons and tons of jobs! A lot of places post there. Also, if you go to Myspace and look in the job section you would be surprised how many there are listed, and it pulls jobs from all these other websites too! You can type in your zip code or town and keywords like 'part time' or 'server' and it will show you tons of jobs, pay, and how long ago they were posted. Hope this helps!

I HIGHLY recommend babysitting, I have a job this summer for 2 1/2 months, twice a week for 7 hours a day, $5 an hour.  So I'll be making $70 a week, thats $700  by the end of the summer.  (idk if thats considered a lot because I'm only 14, and this is my first job.)  But babysitting is also good because you don't get taxed, and its very flexible schedules.  AND its fun! :D