Teens and Jobs.....

[traces7]

Need some advice about teenagers and jobs. My DD who just turned 16 in May got her first job, started yesterday. DH and I were really excited. It's at a store, like a department store, I guess you'd call it. (Shopko for anyone in Wisconsin). She was told she would be stocking, etc. But now, they're training her as a cashier, which she didn't want to do. And she hates it she says, she's only worked one day though! I told her tell them she'd rather stock, but I guess there's no jobs open for that right now. She acts like she wants to quit, but says she won't. She keeps saying she hates it and is moping around and so on.

I think she should just stick with it, at least through the summer. (I was never sure about her working during the school year anyway.) Does anyone have any advice? I hate for her to be so unhappy. But she does need a good lesson on how the real world is. She really could use the money too. (she's always asking me for spending money.) There really aren't a whole lot of places to work in our town, so I think she should definitely keep this one until something better comes up.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[sksjasams]

Need some advice about teenagers and jobs. My DD who just turned 16 in May got her first job, started yesterday. DH and I were really excited. It's at a store, like a department store, I guess you'd call it. (Shopko for anyone in Wisconsin). She was told she would be stocking, etc. But now, they're training her as a cashier, which she didn't want to do. And she hates it she says, she's only worked one day though! I told her tell them she'd rather stock, but I guess there's no jobs open for that right now. She acts like she wants to quit, but says she won't. She keeps saying she hates it and is moping around and so on.

I think she should just stick with it, at least through the summer. (I was never sure about her working during the school year anyway.) Does anyone have any advice? I hate for her to be so unhappy. But she does need a good lesson on how the real world is. She really could use the money too. (she's always asking me for spending money.) There really aren't a whole lot of places to work in our town, so I think she should definitely keep this one until something better comes up.

Thanks for any advice!

I think she should stick it out for the summer. They may very well rotate duties and she could mention she would like to stock if anything opens up in the future. If she is still unhappy near the end of summer, she has the perfect reason to give her two weeks notice....saying school is starting and she has a heavy class load. If she does a good job, she is able to leave with her first good job reference! Good luck to your DD

 

[SEA333]

The "right" answer is: "Tell her to stick it through. It's good for her." But I won't lie - I don't know if I would be able to tell my own kids that in this situation.

Personally, I think that most jobs for teens stink. They have to do all of the crappy work for the least amount of pay. I get it that everyone has to start somewhere, but I remember how much I hated my jobs as a teen. And I worked from before I got my driver's license and ever since. I did not have parents who were willing to support me, other than providing a house to live in and the basic utilities that came with it, past the age of 13 or so. I was on my own as far as paying for everything else I wanted or needed, including lunch money and toiletries. So, this is not coming from someone who was spoiled by any means!

My DS has held a little job since he was about 11 - he takes out the garbage and helps around the house with little jobs for a woman with MS who lives down the street. He also mowed the lawn at our old house once a week last summer for the new owners.

At 16, my summer job was for Meijer, which is similar to Shopko. I hated every minute of it. I don't know if I would make my kids work in a place like that if they hated it. I don't think they treat their teen employees very well. My DS15 will probably never work a job like that because he doesn't have time. He trains for his sport 49 out of 52 weeks. If he sticks with this sport for the next 3 years, he will never have time for a paid job so I don't know if I will ever be in this situation with him. I'm interested in other parents of teens' experiences with this!

 

[McKelly]

I agree with you, have her stick it out through summer. Maybe something in stocking will open up and she can move. I mean, how many people can actually say they love their job? I have a DD16 too. She doesn't like her job either. I told her to suck it up. It's not forever. My DD's job is actually in the field she wants to major in college though (but entry level). I told her to remember everything she hates about it so when she's the boss, she remembers to treat those with the entry level jobs with respect.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Tell her to stick with it, at least through the summer. You're not always going to get a job you love, and you're lucky if you ever do. Best she learn that now.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Learning how to do retail at a register is a good skill to have on your resume anyway.

There is always food service.

Does she play sports at all? I know a coworker whose kids make money working as referee's for sports.

 

[Dizlvr]

I would tell her to stick with it, she is lucky to have a job as a 16 year old. Where we are its very hard to find places that hire under 18 and if they do, there are way more applicants than job openings.
If she stays with it she may find she likes it, and like a pp said its great to have on her resume, or if a stock position opens they may be more inclined to give it to her than hire an "outsider".

 

[bsblady01]

make her stick with it.

 

[Allison]

Everybody is overwhelmed the first day on a job. She should stick with it.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

There are a LOT worse jobs for teens than cashier. I hire teens to unload shipping containers. These kids carry cartons weighing up to 65 pounds each out of a 120 degree box with no windows. My nephew (18) works for a paving company slinging hot tar. The grass is always greener.

There's no shame in wanting to do something else. But, suck it up until that something better comes along. If everyone who hated their job quit, there would be a LOT more unemployed people.

 

[hereyago]

They are probably cross training her.

She wants money? She can either give this job a chance, first couple days are always rough, or she can babysit, cut grass, etc.

 

[barkley]

I don't know how easy it is in your region for teens to find jobs, but around here it's really rough. part of it's because of competition from college students but it's also because of the restrictions w/work hours placed on those under 18 as well as dealing with their schedules once school starts up again (most places don't hire for just summer positions). if finding a job is difficult where you live I would say she needs to stick with it b/c a job can lead to a better (or more preferable) job down the line-and it's surprising how some of the duties a teen can have w/ a less than preferred (on their part) job can open doors when they actually enter the real job market.

as an example-I sat on hiring boards for well paying professional jobs. we would get flooded with applications for a couple of classifications in particular (we were among the highest paying for it in that state). all the applicants met the degree requirements but many were eliminated because of one element-a requirement for a minimum of 6 months in any paid position that entailed 'handling of confidential information'. applicants would get very frustrated when their applications were bounced based on not meeting this requirement, swearing that it was 'impossible' for anyone newly graduated from college to have met it. they were WRONG b/c we had many applicants who had worked as cashiers where they had to request and visually scan driver's licenses for check purchases, and credit card purchases that entailed a call to the issuer who instructed the cashier to cut the card in half-both of which involved and met our criteria for handling confidential information. every skill/duty an individual can gain before entering the real world of job hunting can make or break their opportunities.

I worked tons of jobs as a teen but I lived in a time and place where jobs were very available. my dd (20) has not had that advantage-however, when it came to finding a job on campus this past year while she was passed over for many b/c she had no job history she ended up in a great position w/the university library specifically b/c she had done multiple years of volunteer time at our local library (which allows volunteers who serve over a year to list them as a job reference). every experience helps.

 

[ksjayhawks]

Everybody is overwhelmed the first day on a job. She should stick with it.

This. She has only been there ONE day. Most jobs will cross train workers so that they can do more than one job. This is a good life lesson because when she has a "real" job later on she may not like everything that she does. Is she going to quit every job because she has to do something she doesn't like?

She will survive and so will you. Encourage her but don't buy into her pity party.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I am not sure how valid my advice is: i have two older teens but we live somewhere that working while in school is not really an option (beyond babysitting jobs and the like) so I don't have experience with one having a job and wanting to quit (DS16 wants to be able to work and our local Subway wants to be able to hire him, but that is different).

Here are my thoughts anyway:

The only valid reason I can see to quit a job after ONE day is if you are being put in a dangerous or immoral situation, which is not the case here.

After only one day, she is really not even in a position to know if she hates the work or is just overwhelmed with everything. It will take a few shifts to really figure that out. And even then, taking a job at a retail store and wanting to quit after day 1 because you are not doing the task you wanted, as the brand new person, with no prior experience, lowest on the totem pole, kind of reeks of the entitlement mentality. I think I would be saying to suck it up buttercup for at least the summer, and trying to teach some work ethic.

 

[traces7]

Thanks so much everyone for all your advice! I basically agree with everyone. I think she should keep giving it a try. I hope that they are cross training her and she won't always be a cashier. It's 15-20 hours per week at this point, I think she can suck it up for that amount of time! I also told her to keep applying for other jobs too. If she sticks with this job at least she'll have something to put on her resume.

 

[NHdisneylover]

It seems like a compliment that they are training her as a cashier, really. It has been a while since I worked in the US, but last time I did, handling money in a retail environment that has so many other tasks was not generally the first choice for those under 18 or the newest employees, much less one that meets both of those criteria. Maybe if she thinks of it as them showing how much they trust her, she'll feel better about it.

 

[Riff Off Gal]

I am going to be turning 16 next month and I would just die to have any job that was making any money. No one highers around here until you turn 16. I guess it is some kind of rule. I would tell her to be thankful that she is making money and to at least stick it out until school starts which shouldn't be to far off anyway.

 

[mjkacmom]

Tell her to suck it up! Teen jobs are hard to come by, especially the first. If my teen got a job, and it required shoveling poop, that's what they'd be doing. Dd18 has been working summers at a garden center as a cashier for years. It's hot, lots of standing, and certainly not her future career (graduated HS with a 4.3 average, and is in the business program at a great university). She's gotten raises, and makes the schedule. Ds17 started there in the winter. Since he is male, he lifts heavy things all day, and gets lots of tips. He's grateful to have a job, working to save money for college.

Dd's first boyfriend was quite the loser. He got a job at our local grocery store, and was happy he got he bagger position, because he thought being a cashier would be too hard. Really?!

 

[morgan98]

It seems like a compliment that they are training her as a cashier, really. It has been a while since I worked in the US, but last time I did, handling money in a retail environment that has so many other tasks was not generally the first choice for those under 18 or the newest employees, much less one that meets both of those criteria. Maybe if she thinks of it as them showing how much they trust her, she'll feel better about it.

This is exactly my thought. In many businesses, including my experience at Burger King 28 years ago, they usually trained you on cleaning the dining room or assembling the food before you got to work the register at either the front or the drive through. There is both a trust element and dealing directly with the customer element that makes most managers think about who they put in those positions.

Have you asked her specifically what she dislikes about being the cashier? I know I would have much preferred the cashier position (and did).

 

[Sgt Mickey]

I worked at a grocery store as a teen. I didn't want to be on register either. I was a shy teen. I eventually worked the register and it wasn't so bad. I wouldn't make her stick with it but just encourage her to give it a try.