Looking For Employment

No, not me - my son.  My sixteen year old, lay around the house, GameCube playing, needs to be gainfully employed son.  We just got a quote for car insurance, he wants $80 Driving shoes and spikes for cross country, gas is a fortune - in short, he just needs to BRING in some cash rather than being a drain on my pocket.

He submitted an online application for a grocery store.  Part of the process was a personality quiz - do you become angry easily, do you think people make mistakes, can you trust everyone, that sort of thing.  And now we wait.

This got me thinking about my first job.  I taught ballet to beginners, the baby classes of 3, 4 and 5 year olds.  In the beginning I made $5 an hour.  At my next ballet teaching job, I asked for $15.  The third one, $25.  I taught ballet from the time I was 14 until my third child was born at 28.  I loved it. 

I want him to get a job, not just for the money but for the experience.  I think a person's first job is invaluable - it teaches you to follow commands from people other than our parents, and that rules are made for a reason.

What was your first job?  Was it a positive or negative experience?

Comments

[CJ]

I worked in a bakery owned by a tiny little woman with a serious Napoleon complex. But I had a lot of fun anyway.

[Tammy/Photography For Fun]

My first job was definitely a positive experience and I LOVED it. I was the snack bar attendant at the local roller skating rink. I loved my job and the managers of the rink. It broke my heart to have to quit the job to work full time at another before moving away to school.

[Mary]

My first job, I was 17 and a senior in high school. I worked for an optometrist at the mall. He was not enthusiastic about his job. I got minimum wage, $2.75 an hour, until I asked for a raise. He graciously gave me a raise of 25 cents an hour, and I was thrilled until I read in the paper that minimum wage had just gone up. My main duties were calling his appointments on Saturday to tell them that once again, he couldn't be bothered to come in on a Saturday. I taught a lot of people how to put their contacts in, though.

[Liz in Seattle]

Picking strawberries for a buck a flat (hulled). Had to be at the school at 6 AM sharp to catch the rattly, stinky old school bus. I lasted six days.

My best jobs were teaching English in China, and a couple of software projects around the country. Oh, and being a mom :-)

[Grace]

My first paying gig was at a new McDonald's. We trained at the owner's first store and then we moved to the new store a few weeks later. It was SO fun but a ton of work (as it was on a military base). I learned how to be pleasant no matter how busy, how tired, or how sweaty I got. It was a valuable lesson on how to cope in a work environment that I've carried throughout my professional career.

[DJ]

I worked at a Barratts shoe store as a saturday girl - I hated every minute of it, but boy did I learn how to sell!

[Katie O]

We are Americans living in France so my 16 year old can't get a regular job because of French laws, but he is quite musical so he got a few piano students and a couple of trombone students this year and taught lessons at school. Charged about 1/2 of what 'real' teachers were charging, gave great lessons and made out like a bandit. Changing euros into dollars (because of the current lousy dollar) he made about $50/hour. Not bad for a 16 year old!!

[Katie]

My first job (besides the odd ball babysitting ones) was at Hardees, a fast food joint. It was fine, a lot of my friends worked there too.

[Headless Mom]

My first job was at a gift store. Since I was a kid I mostly wrapped presents, checked in inventory, and was the second person in the store. It was super flexible and I was there from about 15-18 when I went to college. As first jobs go it was a great experience!

[Headless Mom]

BTW- We're trying to 'encourage' HG to get a summer gig, too. Not going so well...

[Average Jane]

I worked at Sears in their cashier's office, handling each day's receipts, collecting cash at the end of the day, and occasionally selling baseball, football and lottery tickets. It must have been a decent experience - I stayed all through college.

[Anna]

"Paper, or plastic?"
It was a pretty good experience, I guess. Nothing major happened, but it got me out there, gave me the experience to know what to expect at other jobs along the way.

[Pat]

I was a waitress in a restaurant in a strip mall working split shifts. I had to learn to pour draft beer when I didn't even drink it--can't say that skill has had much carry-over value. Being able to make decorative napkin folds did carry over--my Mom always asked me where I learned to fold such attractive napkins.

Our state had Blue Laws much longer than other states and every Saturday night I had to wrestle beer bottles off tables after "last call." Praise God, that was the last time I had to put up with tipsy men flirting with me.

Must say, I have always tipped extremely generously ever since. I always thought my parents tipped on the stingy side and if I was with them, I would always slip some more money in.

[Tina]

I worked with my sister and cousins at the stables at a state park taking care of the horses, guiding trail rides, shoveling (well, you know where that's going...)

Still say it's the best job Ive ever had.

[FishyGirl]

I worked in a Stride Rite shoe store for 2.5 years. I started out making $3.50 an hour but got a raise to a whopping $3.75 shortly thereafter when the manager learned that I was a hard worker. I got 4 of my friends hired there, and we all worked there through HS and part of college. It was a great experience and one I hope to get my kids to have.

[Sarah L.]

Aside from babysitting, my first job was as an assistant couselor at a horse camp (a day camp). I did that during the summers from 8th grade to junior year of high school. College girls were the couselors, so we assistant couselors got to do everything the older girls didn't like to do. I loved it. The pay was peanuts, but I got free riding lessons for the summer and adored being around the horses all day.

The worst part of the job was dealing with some of the parents. Our gentlest, most reliable horses were generally very large and old. We put beginners on these trusty old guys, and usually some parent would freak out over the size of the animal and demand that their child ride "that cute little pony over there," who was usually a crazy, bucking little monster.

[Urban Mom]

Waitress at the local Pizza Hut. I learned 1.) to always tip well, 2.) esp when you have kids with you and 3.) my kids will not work late at night.

[Brandy]

My first job sucked. I worked for Olan Mills cold-calling for photo package deals. For an introvert this is NOT a good thing and probably why I have problems making phone calls now!

[Brenda]

My first job was working in a grocery store. My friend's mother was the front end manager.

My 17 y/o has yet to have a job besides cleaning his dad's office (not in our home) on the weekends. He's just so busy with school and extracurriculars that there just isn't time for much else.

And this summer he is going to Boys State (one week) and the Governor's Summer Residential School for Humanities (four weeks), so that only leaves August. I don't think he can find a job for just the month of August!

[LeeAnn]

I was a lei greeter. Great job for being in Hawaii. I would meet people and place leis around their necks and hopefully not get kissed. Most of the customers were older couples but once I got two guys who had just graduated from high school or college and boy did they kiss me well! I was almost 15 at the time and loved working.

[AJMick]

I started babysitting when I was about 12 or 13 and the parents always loved me because I washed dishes and cleaned up after myself and the kids (thanks for the tip Mom!).

One of my babysitting gigs landed me my first *real* job at Godfather's Pizza. I worked there about a year and moved on but wound up back with a different GF's when I was in college. We would eat pizza and drink 'free' beer from the keg after close. :)

[Megan]

I graduated from high school and went to work part-time at a daycare center two days later, to earn some extra money before I started college. I really loved it, for the most part. I was probably not a particularly standout employee, however. I got sent home to change clothes one morning because my shirt was "inappropriate" - it was black, with a cartoonish picture of a couple of punk rocker teens on it, and my boss said it might scare some of the small children. Looking back, I think she was more worried that the parents might think I was a bad influence. I had assumed anything was okay as long as it didn't have bad language, advertise alcohol, etc, but I learned that there was more to dressing for work than that.

[Angie McDowell Garza]

My first job was at Baskin-Robbins. During my "training" I got to keep all the ice cream I scooped. My boyfriend would meet me after work (his sister worked there too) and we would pig out on the ice cream. I worked there for 1-1/2 years. Then, I moved onto retail...Shelper's western wear. Most of my checks went to pay for the multitude of lay-aways. My daughter is now 14 years old and she is on the babysitting circuit. Good luck..ang

[Des]

I taught ballet for my mom, but she didn't pay me until college. My first paying gig was as a certified nursing assistant. I worked nights, had experiences that not a lot of other folks will ever have, got strong and learned a ton which prepared me for my job out of college; RN and prepped me to take care of my grandma and ma, now both departed.

[amy]

I was a cashier at a local drug store. Loved that job..worked all through highschool and the bright lights of the big mall lured me away

From the prospective of a retail manager who is in the throes of taking applications, interviewing and hiring for the summer. Have your son personally go into prospective place of employment, ask for the manager, introduce himself (important that he make eye contact and shake hand with a firm grasp), state that he is looking for employment and was wondering if they were hiring. Upon completion of application follow same steps (get it into the hand of the manager!!! not just any employee that he sees first) After a few days follow up with a phone call to see if they've had a time to review application and would they like any more information.
For me it shows maturity, follow through, commitment. It makes one hella first impression vs the insecure kid who comes in with a gaggle of friends and they all ask anyone for an application and then give it back to anyone behind the counter. Rendering me, overwhelmed store manager, with a stack of applications with virtually no info except what is on the paper to conclude whether it's worth my time to schedule an interview. Hiring the underaged is really hard. We've never done it in the past. This year I have hired one 14 yo (my dd) one 15 yo who will be a sophomore next year, who came in well dressed and well spoken and had many follow up phone calls, and a handful of graduating seniors (whom I will likely have to replace and go through this entire process again in August!)