I'm 16 and finding a job is difficult
I'm 16 and finding a job is difficult. I've applied for over 30 places near my area, fast food, and sit down restaurants mostly. One of which was a pizza place called Papa Murphy's. Now Papa Murphy's called me in for an interview, I missed the call by 10 minutes, I called back, and we arranged for a meeting, Saturday was the day scheduled. I immediately searched on google maps on the location to be sure that I knew where I was going, google confirms my thoughts and my worries are subdued. Saturday rolls around and I'm completely calm, which is unusual for me since I'm always anxious. My dad drives me to the location...and its not there,
Papa Murphy's is not where google said it was, we go up and down the road and no Papa Murphy's I go to the location on google maps from my dad's phone, and look up the street perspective. The location changed, I see the building that Papa Murphy's once resided in. I'm completely filled with anxiety and disappointment, and as the idea of giving up crossed my mind, my dad said,"Why don't we just call them?" I do as said, I call them, they give me the directions, in which they were only 2 blocks down the road from the previous location, I walk in and greet the cashier and tell him,"I'm here for an interview" he tells me to wait one moment, I wait a few more moments, I wait a few more minutes, and soon I'm feeling anxious, even more than I was before, on account for being 20 minutes late because of the location. I was and soon the thought occurs to me,"I forgot my resume, do I really need my resume? do they care?" The manager comes out and greets me and tells me to follow her into the back of the store, she leads me into a small room, sits down, and tells me to,"Take a seat." I proceed with sitting down and we begin my interview (I forgot to shake her hand) she asks me her questions a few of which I completely bombed, "Do you have any experience with trouble making customers?" I respond with "During one my times as volunteer parking security we had to see if they were on the list for entry, and a man rolls up in a small white car and says ,"President Barack, Obama" and I left it at that.Next she asks me "Why are you the best person for the job" and I respond with "I just am"
that was the last question, she tells me that she will call me on Tuesday if I had received a position. I thank her for her time (I forget to shake her hand again) and walk out. I never got a call on that Tuesday from Papa Murphy's or any other day since
I'm 28 and finding a job is hard. Unfortunately, it's not easy for any of us these days. It just takes perseverance though. Jump on every opportunity, take every interview you can and you'll get better at the whole process.
Finding a job is a skill like any other. It takes practice and patience.
Wish you the best in your search!
Much of the success of job seeking comes either from being in the right place at the right time, networking, or persistence. Assuming you're in the US, finding any job at 16 is going to be a real trick, since you have restrictions concerning when and for how many hours you can work, especially during the school year.
Don't be afraid to apply at places even if they tell you they aren't currently hiring. Many keep applications on file for six months to a year, and you never know when someone's going to unexpectedly quit or get fired.
Depending on the job market conditions in your area, you might find that getting a job is difficult until you turn 18. Don't give up, don't be afraid to call places, and don't be afraid to apply for a job you don't think you'll like--nothing says you have to stay there for the rest of your life, and it's always easier to parlay previous job experience into something different than it is to go into a new place with no job history. Employers like to see that you've been working somewhere, anywhere, and that you didn't get fired.
Most importantly, when you get that job, even if it's the suckiest job that ever sucked, give it 100%. Volunteer for the crap nobody else wants to do, make sure you're there on time (or 5-10 minutes before your shift), obey the rules for cell phone use (even if nobody else does), and don't give them ANY excuse to get rid of you. Keep applying to other places you would like to work so that when the time comes to jump shift, you can give your new job all the references from your current job that they want and have the best shot at a positive recommendation. When you're as young as you are, your work ethic is the only thing a company can grade you on. Maintain that and you'll stand out above the rest of the people who are only there to suck the clock and cash a paycheck.
I wish you the best of luck in your hunt. Don't give up just because Papa Murphy's didn't call you back. There may have been 500 other people applying for that job, and 498 of them got the same response you did. :)
Honestly, I'm just really happy that I had that opportunity, It was my first job interview and I really hadn't asked on what to expect. Chances are, I won't make most of my mistakes again on the second try, or the third, or fourth, and simply that experience is whats going to get me a job.