How do you get older teenagers interested in getting a job?

[tony64]

DD is 18 and very hard working she is looking to go to Uni and thinks nobody will want her for a part time job until college finishes and possably a few more hours during the summer so what would be the point of even looking?
DS is 17 and to be honest will avoid work like the plague. we are about to cut off pocket money (£5 a week) and hope that they will both get off of there backsides and get into the real world.
We have had long conversations on the subject and we are queit open about the family income so they are aware that we will be lossing all the family benefits soon with the drop in household income this will produce.
They understand why we are looking to them to start supporting themselves but aren't prepared to do anything about it.
Has anyone been through this as a parent or as the teenager, any advice or comments would be greatly received.

 

[lexie32]

trust me once the allowance stops and you stop treating them to the little things ie clothes, hair products, take aways ect, they will quickly see sense and you have to be cruel to be kind , my parents did that to me at 14, within a week i had 3 part time jobs and they then restarted my allowance, so compared to all my friends i was loaded!

 

[tony64]

Cheers Alex
I've just got to toughen up DW as she caves to easy.

 

[lexie32]

Cheers Alex
I've just got to toughen up DW as she caves to easy.

i now look back and know it was one of the best things my parents did for me! making me stand on my own two feet!

 

[emily1982]

I started having a paper round when i was 13, it was the worst job in the world and the money was terrible but i really wanted my own money, the novelty wore off after 6 months and i left. At 16 i got a job at Merry hill shopping centre one xmas, but a 10 min journey there took an hour during rush hour, so during the holidays i did odd jobs for my parents/family to earn extra money.

Is there any job he would particulary be interested in...like music stores etc always seem to me a cool place to work or maybe weekend jobs at local zoo's etc...im sure he'll work out that he has no allowance he can't do anything.

 

[tony64]

Emily you hit the nail on the head with music store but in his case it's instruments. Only trouble is there are loads of kids that would like a Saturday job at the one and only music shop in our town. He will just have to try further a field.

 

[emily1982]

When i left college i needed an inbetween job, so i just sent loads of application forms off to various stores that i wouldn't mind working in...if he's into music prehaps he could go into a specialist music store and see if they need any casual help.

 

[natalielongstaff]

i now look back and know it was one of the best things my parents did for me! making me stand on my own two feet!

i agree, my btother and me both had paper rounds and i worked in a greasy spoon for a while
my mum was a single parent and an extremely hard workwer herself and im sure that motivated us both

tony, don't give in you are doing the right thing

 

[Claire L]

A clsoe family friend's husband worked in a hotel as a chef and when I was 15 he heard of a room assistants job on Saturdays that was vacant, so my I was asked if I would like to apply for it. Much to the surprise of my family I did and got the job. This suited me well for about 12 months until another family friend's daughter heard of a job at the supermarket where she worked. I applied for the job even though it was the Easter beofre my GCSE's and I got the job and stayed there throughout college and then went full time for two years until I got my current job

So just to say employers don;t mind if you are studying as the hours are often minimal ie 8 or 12 a week, and more in school/college holidays It certainly helped me as I couldn't of gone to college unless I was working as I virtually supported myself.

Claire

 

[Lisash]

Try the pub/restaurant chains Tony. My DD (18) had a very good little job working for Brewers Fayre which she fitted around full time college. They mostly want evenings/weekends anyway and worked around the hours she could do with no problem. She used to earn £80 - £120 a week. As for getting them off their backsides we encouraged her from when she left school to look for something as we were having to give her ridiculous amounts of money each week (sadly still are!) and like your kids she was a bit laid back and was looking buy only half heartedly. In the end I got so fed up of nagging I was in Matalan one day and saw a poster for part time work. I picked up an application and sat in my car and filled it out for her so I could take it straight back in. She got the job and it was a good start. She moved on to the pub as they could offer more hours. I'm happy to say she starts full time work at the airport tomorrow and looking forward to the day she finally stops asking to lend a tenner Good luck

 

[scottishsue]

Tony, I sympathise with you completely. I am having the exact same problem. My oldest boy is 22 and is absolutely hopeless. He has had jobs, but not for long, as he gets fed up with them.

Youngest at 17 is so different - he is still at school, doing his A levels next month, and has a job in Morrisons 2 nights a week. Gives him some pocket money as he likes to go into Aberdeen with his pals, and has the very expensive hobby of golf.

PM me !!

 

[jen_uk]

If your dd gets a job at a large company when she goes to uni she should be able to transfer to a branch in the area she moves so.

 

[jns]

My boys have always worked
as we have our own bussiness they worked there DS 8 even works packing shelfs most of his holiday money is made this way
DS works in the local garage , I was just in at the right time when they were looking for help if I had to wait for him to go and look he would be still in his bed , DS 19 has left home and is working at the moment trying to buy a house,
you are not doing them any favourites giving to them all the time ,
I do not give my kids money they have to earn it themselfs, by doing stuff around the house or out working
now I help them out , they never go with out
if I was giving to them all the time , we would never be able to go on holiday

 

[MazdaUK]

Supermarkets etc expect p/t staff etc. of that age to be there only a short time - it doesn't bother them as the next age group is coming up to fill the gaps. I worked in M&S on Saturdays during my A-levels and loved the money - it also paid better than a lot of stores (I got as much if I did a half-day as my friend got for a whole day in BHS). Some of the girls I worked with are now mums at DS(7)s school, which is nice! Get both of them to write letters to every store in your local High St/shopping centre until they get something.

 

[florida sun]

Tony, I had a part time job at 16 in the local shop and loved it, My daughter Vicki is in college at the moment and hoping to go to Uni and has a part time job in a childrens fun factory on the weekends, she is desparate to change her job as the fun factory is only giving her a couple of hours on the weekend now and as she has had a taste of having her own money wants more, however she has applied to every large supermarket in the area with no success at the moment but she is still trying. In the holidays she works in my office and loves it. As a single parent I cant afford to give Vicki much, so getting her little bit of spending money by working is a blessing for me and she loves the independence of having a few bob going into her bank account.

Im sure once they both start and realise how handy the money is, they will love it.

 

[tennisfan]

Supermarkets are usually great in letting the students work part time. The one where I work allows them to come back during the holidays if they want to, so they can earn a bit more money to get them through college/uni.

I was lucky to go to uni locally so I carried on working my normal shifts, I just had to swap my hours about to fit in with my timetable.

Basically I agree with what the others have said you need to be cruel to be kind. We all have to stand on our own two fet sometimes and this is a great opportunity to do so.

 

[Laurafoster]

I started working at Pizza Hut when i was 15! It was fantastic! The wages were pretty average but the tips really bump up the money! The were really flexible too! Always working around what hours i was at school or college or any other commitments! We had a lot of uni people who worked at one branch during term time then came to us when they were not at uni so it was flexible there too!

I had a great time working there!

 

[AliceGardner]

Just be careful that the job doesn't become too demanding... especially during A-levels... especially for academic kids.

I worked in a shop during 6th form and I can honestly say that my A-levels suffered because of it. I had brilliant GCSE grades, a good degree (upper second class honours - despite ending up hating my course) and an excellent post-graduate degree (I didn't work before 6th form and only worked during University vacations). But my A-level grades were disappointing: I got BCC, when I should have got AAB or better. As you can imagine, that caused me some grief (not getting the grades I need to fulfil my university offers and having to go through Clearing). I think much of that was the amount of time required by working - my employer even made me come into work the night before an exam to carry out an inventory (we had to help with at least one night of the inventory and all the options were before one of my exams...).

To be honest I knew quite a few people who "under-achieved" academically and who also worked. Most of the people with the top grades, where I studied, didn't have regular jobs.

I don't think that "holiday work" caused the problem, it was working each Saturday and sometimes evenings.

On the other side, I certainly did enjoy working and the money was useful. But when my daughter Lucy grows up I wont be encouraging her to have a regular job whilst she is still at school. I will be encouraging her with her studies, sports and enjoying a bit of freedom before she joins the "real world". A short holiday job might be ok though.

Just a "different side of things" to look at. All kids are different and cope with things differently. If a child is academic and hardworking, then I would let them get on with things. If they aren't, then maybe some "professional experience" would be an advantage (or could be an excuse to slack for academia even more?).

Hope that you don't mind me sharing my experience.

Good luck,
Alice

 

[carolfoy]

I had a few different jobs when I was at school. the rubbish cafe where the people were mean but the tips were good, the hairdressers where the wage was rubbish but the haircuts and products were free, the chemist where the owner was mean but the wage was alright sounds like a right bunch. I do think though if you expect them to study hard you may find that something has to give, I think Alice has a point, and if they work too hard their studies may suffer.

 

[tony64]

I don't disargee about the studies suffering if they work to many hours but I know there is a lot of time they could be doing a little work if they wanted too.
If I can just get them to the stage of holding a nice wodd of cash in their hand that they have earned for themselves I'm sure they will like it.