16 y/o finding it hard to find a job.. just about to start sixth form!

marie_16

Hia!

I'm a 16 y/o girl and i'm about to start sixth form in september. I'd really love to get a job and earn my own money so i can pay for my things myself instead of my mum paying for food etc.

In addition i'm not entitled EMA.

At the end of year 8 i was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma which was also in the ball of my hip joint. This meant i had to be home tutored for 2 years until year 11. As a result of that... and the fact that i had no friends while on treatment as my only school friends decided to stop talking to me... i got very shy and now I am finding it very hard to socialise.
I get very panicky/nervous/anxious around people I don't know and i find it really had to think clearly and i've been known to get panic attacks!

Despite this i'd really love to get a job and be more independent and i'm sure my mum would love it too! So i've been frantically thinking and looking on websites for ideas of jobs that don't involve waitressing or til work etc anything that doen't involve speaking directly to the public all the time basically! Unfortunately i can't think of anything but home crafts,like scrapbook making and card making and selling them on ebay etc. But i don't have any money to buy he kits for this... so i'm still stuck! ha

I've had counselling (which i don't freaking need but i said i would go!) and for anyone living in Nottingham i've also been to the Thornywood unit for my confidence (i'm also extremely unconfident about my weight) but everywhere i turn to i seem to get t drilled into me that i need to lose weight. Which i obviously know about, and that's why i'm going to them!

I'm not able to exercise or walk much as i have bad problems with the leg my cancer started in which i'm hopefully going to get physiotherapy for. I can't swim either because I get very very bad cramp i my legs... stupid menopause! It's a shame cause i've always really like swimming for exercise but after my chemotherapy and now during the menopause I found that i just couldn't do it without screaming in pain every 5 seconds haha!

So again back to the subject... I was just wondering whether there's anyone here that has any job ideas that don't involve working with the public directly etc?!

I'm sorry for the LOOONNNGGGG story, but i just thought i'd need you to know the full story to prevent anyone asking questions that i've answered in this post.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

shelley_crow

Hi, couldn't read and run.

I admire your strength and courage for coping wth everything you have been through in the past few years.

Work wise, you may be able to do an office job which does not involve direct contact with the public, such as typing and filing etc. Is it face to face contact you are struggling with? Maybe something like a call centre where you can't see the person but can speak to them may help build your confidence?

Are you getting support for your panic attacks/anxiety? MIND are good, although your doctor may be a good starting point too.

Good luck hun x

marie_16

shelley_crow wrote: »

Hi, couldn't read and run.

I admire your strength and courage for coping wth everything you have been through in the past few years.

Work wise, you may be able to do an office job which does not involve direct contact with the public, such as typing and filing etc. Is it face to face contact you are struggling with? Maybe something like a call centre where you can't see the person but can speak to them may help build your confidence?

Are you getting support for your panic attacks/anxiety? MIND are good, although your doctor may be a good starting point too.

Good luck hun x

Heyyy thanks! Those actually never came to my mind.... thankyou for the ideas, i'll get finding those kinda jobs right away!

I've been to the doctors loads of times to try and sort my nervousness out.... but everytime they go on about my confidenceand how that's the main course of my nervousness. That's when i got sent to Thornywood.. which is like a child and adolescent psychiatry unit, where they just told me to exercise! I guess i'll just have to try to build my confidence in a different way than losing weight :rolleyes:

Again thankyou for your help!

RachelRa

How about a library job? Most of the time you'll just be sorting books. It'll be a chilled out environment too

Gemmzie

Hey, I really admire your strength too. Any job you go for need to make reasonable adjustments for you so don't panic and don't be afraid to let them know of any difficulties you have. They can't hold it against you.

kettlefish

Hey
Well done for getting this far, I'm sure many employers would love to have someone so detemined & strong on their team! All I could think of was the job one of my friends used to do - he used to shelf stack/ help tidy at the local supermarket (round here just so happens to be Somerfield but I'm sure many big shops do the same) usually staying until about 2-3 hours after closing time! It was a nice chilled environment and usually 3 or 4 people of our age there too, so could help you build your confidence and make new friends while not throwing you TOO much in at the deep end! Also a large supermarket will quite often be able to offer extra hours in summer hols etc when you want to do a bit more! Although not sure if this would be ok for you as depending on job description might be quite exercise-y... Good luck with it all HTH xxx

elj2287

shelley_crow wrote: »

Maybe something like a call centre where you can't see the person but can speak to them may help build your confidence?

Hi

The call centre is a good place to build up the confindence in speaking to people. When I was 16/17 I worked in one but was quite aprehensive as I hated talking on the phone...oh the irony! It certainly built my confidence up with talking to people over the phone.

Have you tried www.boots.jobs they are currently looking for christmas temps. (I know it's not right at the moment but they pay well and you get a fantastic discount!!) If you didn't really want to be the first point of call for a customer, they have operations assistants who stack shelves, and, as it's a christmas job they will have shifts when the shop is shut too. Plus it's not permanent so if you don't like it you don't have to stay. Ohh look at me, you would think I'm on commission!!

You could also try the temp register at the county council? www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk They may have part time office jobs where you aren't having to deal with the public face to face.

Hope some of this helps?!

marie_16

Those are really good ideas!

I'd phoned up boots before asking if they had any kind of shelf stacking job but they said that they don't have a seperate job area where you just stack shelves.. but i'll check to have a look.

I didn't think people would wanna help haha

thankyou all soooo so much!!

xx

Oldernotwiser

Whilst I admire your determination and your will to work, don't forget that doing well at school is more important than earning money. If you've been ill and home schooled it will be challenging enough doing a full week's formal education and you may find that your energy levels are low for a while. I'd concentrate on integrating successfully into mainstream education and getting on top of your studies before worrying about looking for a job.

All the very best, but keep a firm grasp of priorities; your health and your education come first!

marie_16

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Whilst I admire your determination and your will to work, don't forget that doing well at school is more important than earning money. If you've been ill and home schooled it will be challenging enough doing a full week's formal education and you may find that your energy levels are low for a while. I'd concentrate on integrating successfully into mainstream education and getting on top of your studies before worrying about looking for a job.

All the very best, but keep a firm grasp of priorities; your health and your education come first!

Hi, thanks for the advice but i have been off treatment since 2006 and back in school for a year! While i only did go back to school and do only 3 subects, i was there everyday all day except friday.... and although i found that it did tire me out i was able to manage and get the grades i had been predicted after treatment
I don't need to catch up with any studies as i am startingsixth form which means all new courses/ subjects so i'm good for that obsticle lol

My energy levels are still low... i've been told that i'm a rare case in which my chemotherapy is still affecting me a bit even though i've been off treatment for more than a year! But they are not as low as they used to be.

I am fully prepared for work, apart from my leg (i am registered disabled as i have an ongoing problem with my leg.... but it doesn't stop me majory in my every day life).

But thankyou for your reply!!

xcat_girlx

my friend had a similar cancer in her shoulder and had part of it removed. she's never had a part-time job while at school/uni because so many e.g. bar or shop would involve lifting which she couldnt do.

you should defo try maybe a small office, they might let you just work during the holidays or something if they're open while your at school/college.

some call centres can be stressful if they are target based so make sure you check that environment out before you start anything like that.

have you looked at something even like being an avon lady? you could get some cash and build up confidance just talking to 1 person at a time.

or......(i'm on a roll here) if its a case of building up confidance, why dont you see if you could maybe volunteer at the hospital where you were treated going in and talking to patients of your age going through a similar thing. the experiance would probably be beneficial to both parties and then when your used to talking to people you dont know, you could apply for jobs in busier places