Saturday job/volunteering 15 year old

Jagraf

DD is in year 11, she has loads of GCSEs coming up but think its about time she had a few hours work on a Saturday or Sunday.

She is only 15 and won't be 16 til the summer, so I know that is limiting.

We have quite a few village shops and restaurants / garden centres etc quite locally, which is good as I want her to make her own way there and back and do the whole thing independently and start taking some responsibility for time keeping, reliability and so on.

Is it best for her to telephone or drop off cvs or just walk in and ask?

stejobeth

Go in with a cv. My daughter got her first job in a cafe at 15. Don't go at busy times. Always give the cv to a manager/supervisor. Also keep going back. DD handed a cv in and didn't hear anything, 2 weeks later she heard a friend of a friend had an interview. She went and handed one in and they phoned her back within the hour. She's been there 2 1/2 years now.

kingfisherblue

I agree with the above. My son volunteers at a local retirement village (he is 15 and in Y10). He loves it. From tomorrow, he is also going to be volunteering with a small local mechanic, learning more about car engines, break downs, etc. That's right up his street, although he is unlikely to be able to follow it as a career as he is colour blind. That would be one of his dream jobs though.


Smartly presented, polite teenagers asking to speak to the manager, and then asking if they can leave their (well presented) CV is more likely to reap rewards than a phone call.


Good luck to your daughter.

betsie

I know lots of places will not consider employing them till they get their NI number which arrives shortly before their 16th birthday.
The GCSE work does start ramping up and lots of schools do extra revision lessons on Saturdays and in the half term holidays so she might be better to wait till they are over.

shoe*diva79

My daughter turned 16 in October and found it near on impossible to get a job with any type of company until she turned 16. Everyone kept saying it was insurance issues and they couldn't employ. The week after she turned 16 she landed a seasonal xmas job with a well known retail company and her contract has now been ended until the end of May.

She does some volunteering at the local Rainbows/Brownies group as part of her Duke of Edinburgh Award so if volunteering is your daughters thing then try that?

kingfisherblue

shoe*diva79 wrote: »

My daughter turned 16 in October and found it near on impossible to get a job with any type of company until she turned 16. Everyone kept saying it was insurance issues and they couldn't employ. The week after she turned 16 she landed a seasonal xmas job with a well known retail company and her contract has now been ended until the end of May.

She does some volunteering at the local Rainbows/Brownies group as part of her Duke of Edinburgh Award so if volunteering is your daughters thing then try that?

My son has had the same problem with finding paid employment.


If the OP's daughter does want to volunteer with Guiding, she can do so here:


www.girlguiding.org.uk


I'm a Rainbow and Brownie leader; so is my daughter. We love it and can't wait to go back on Monday.

Person_one

Isn't school and studying for GCSE's her job for now? There are plenty of years (decades!) ahead for work, would 't it make more sense to wait until the summer when she'll be 16 and she'll have a long holiday after exams?

girlycara

There are virtually no jobs she can legally do until she turns 16, I know a lot of 15 year olds work but many are in jobs that legally they shouldn't be doing

Spendless

Even back in the early 80s after we'd sat our exams, and had a long summer ahead before starting sixth form/college my friend with a July birthday struggled to find a part-time/Sat job as she was still 15, everywhere told her 'ask again when you get your NI no'whereas I'd had my 16th birthday the previous September and walked straight into the first Sat job I applied for.

I have worked somewhere in the late 80s that employed a 15yo but it's the only time I've come across somewhere doing it.

stormbreaker

Walk in and ask. Have a CV handy. Both my sons worked locally from 14. Shows independence,gets them experience of time and money management. If it is working with the public increases their confidence.

As someone already mentioned, if she knows somewhere does take on 15yr olds, do return a few weeks later, shows that she is keen

If she intends to go on to further education, sets her in good stead to hold down a job whilst studying.

My eldest graduated this year with a masters degree having worked throughout.

He has been fortunate to be offered every job he applied for. In his last three years he worked in the union bar during term time and a local bar during holidays.

Got the first 'real' job he applied for and the one he wanted having identified the company he wanted to work for in his second year !

Oh.....one BIG thing.....it's something that SHE has to want to do! Not just because you think she should

Jagraf

Thank you everyone. She would like t be paid for the work she does, Im not concerned as I feel volunteering will be good for her, to give something back without reward. I also think it will boost her confidence and although she is going to be very busy with her GCSEs it gives her a break from revision as school is very intense and there is a lot of homework.

Is the age 16 limit more to do with insurance (ie, employing children, CRB etc) or about paying them? I'm wondering whether she will struggle with volunteering too from an age perspective.

The other thing I thought about was if she raised money for something. She's very interested in dementia and its close to her heart so maybe she could do some research for a charity (she's quite resourceful academically).

I really just want her to not be handed everything on a plate and to get some experience outside of me mollie-coddling her