Hi guys, i am only 17 and looking for a job to fund my mtb’ing so i can get out again. I have good GCSE’s (do they even mean anything nowadays?) and will pretty much do anything. i’ve already tried applying at mcdonalds but they said that i’m over qualified!! 😯

I have been applying for jobs now since last christmas and everyone has denied me!! I was hoping you guys could suggest some points!! PLEASE

What qualifications?
What do you want to do?
Where are you based?

I have just been made redundent so if you are an IT consultant in the south of England, **** off! 😉

Try Burger King.

You may need A-levels for KFC though. 😉

Paper-round.

Heehe yeah paper round sounds good. it’ll take me 6 weeks just to save up to get a new innertube 😯
grades – ive got grade B in english, C in maths and B in science. and a few others subjects too like electronics, i got a grade B. Im also based in nottingham.
I suppose i could try at burger king. see what they say 😉

Move to another city for a few months and become a cycle courier? 17 is a great age to move away from home if you feel up to it.

…also, suggests to me that your CV is crap. sort it!

fruit picking though it may only be ripe in australia

If you’re 18 soon enough then get a job as a glass collector with a view to becoming a barman-easy money and a good laugh. Failing that work in a restaurant as a waiter or kitchen porter??

Caffe Nero.

Good career development if that’s what you’re after. A mate started there as a coffee dude and is now an area manager earning 35k pa. No qualifications necessary.

contact a local painter and decorator and ask if they need a “mate”, tell em you’ll work for cash 😉

I can’t believe nobody has suggested working in a bike shop!
The wages might not be massive but you’ll be able to get a big discount on bike part!
😀

How about doing some A-levels and maybe some Uni now instead of sitting there in 15 years time trying to find the time to do it in the evening. Tis not the time for a genius entrepreneur such as yourself…wait till the credit crunch is over till you unleash yourself. In the meantime, keep thinking of ideas while you get some more ejikayshun.

Obviously I’m not sure of your beliefs but have you considered joining the RAF?

Out of the three branches of the military they are the branch that treats their personnel the best and if you are of a technical mind they provide excellent opportunity to learn a skilled trade and even if you aren’t there are plenty of other trades available.

The pay is pretty decent all things considered. With a current starting wage after training of £16,277, which when you factor in the very low outgoings (subsidised accommodation and food) plus facilities such as free education and fitness facilities, opportunities for heavily subsidised adventure training activities and a number of other perks its a pretty decent wedge.

They have a very good cycling club (RAFCC), with which I took part in many cycling races and expeditions and due to it being considered as duty and as representing the RAF (good for PR) for some events you are able to claim for costs of transportation to the events.

If you are worried about being too far from Nottingham (your home town?) there are loads of RAF stations close by and few of them up this way are likely to close any time soon. RAF Cottesmore is in Rutland, about 30 miles from Nottingham, RAF Scampton is in Lincoln, RAF Wittering is near Peterborough and RAF Conningsby is on the way to Skegness. Of course there is the likelihood (unless you join a trade such as Steward) that you will have to deploy to places such as Afghanistan occasionally but if you wanted to join a military service that rarely goes anywhere dangerous then the Royal Navy (excluding RM) is for you.

If you find you don’t like the military life then it is possible to PVR (premature voluntary release) and leave after about 12 months of putting the paperwork in (dependent on trade) but I’ve heard of folk leaving a lot sooner if going to another job.

I spent 12 years in the RAF and whilst it has its bad points, as any job does, I look back on it overall with fond memories. Its not the marching about, being shouted at by power-hungry nutters and having kit inspections every morning type life you see in films, its a professional organisation (well in the most part ;0 ) that contains a huge amount of well-trained people and can offer to a motivated individual many opportunities to better yourself.

If its a McJob you are looking for though good luck. I now work for a company that before the recession had a large amount of very experienced agency staff working for us but now many of them are looking for/have found other work within the Nottingham area utiising a well-padded CV full of both academic qualifications and actual work skills (I wrote 6 references last week alone and other managers at my site have written a similar amount recently). Boots have trimmed back their staff and graduates who have had work placements are struggling to find work in the area so there are a hell of a lot of experienced people out there to compete with, I really don’t envy your position right now.

How about being a Postman? Early start but you’re finished by early afternoon leaving time for riding. Decentish pay and keep you fit with the walking about delivering

Obviously I’m not sure of your beliefs but have you considered joining the RAF?

when i was trying to get more info/visits with the RAF years ago, their recruitment and ability to return calls/provide further info was shocking. i decided if they couldn’t figure out how to return calls, they prob. weren’t that great to work for… shame, as i really liked the idea.

Most people who consider joining the military go to a careers office, this is usually (and historically) a fairly good method of recruiting.

The need to attend a careers office for more concise information also shows an actual interest and degree of motivation rather than just looking for the next job that comes along.

Out of interest, what information were you after ‘CP’? Its just the military is probably the branch of government that its easiest to find out careers information on, especially if you have access to the internet.

Rolls Royce? Bombardier?

not a great time to be looking for jobs, but if your after something technical getting an aprenticeship (sp?) there would be about the best you can get.

GCSE’s are worth something, I was asked for my GCSE english certificate not long ago, despite having done a masters degree in engineering!

Don’t look for a job, think what you’d like to do as a career, otherwise you’ll end up at 40 still asking the same questions. the fact your applying to McDonalds says you’ve not thought it through realy?

Are there any call centres near you? I worked in a bookies call centre for a while and it was pretty good – not bad pay, lots of sitting about reading papers and watching sport in between calls. Don’t think there was many qualifications required.

Could try and do it part time and do some A-levels or whatever at the same time – I would disagree with trying to go to uni too young though.

Nottingham has a strong project developing cycling in local communities, try looking into it.

+1 for cycle courier or bike shop. It’s what I’d do…

Rolls Royce at Derby have recently cut a load of jobs and are in talks about cutting more at the moment.

The downturn in the aviation industry is actually one of the reasons that certain trades in the RAF are quite well staffed at the moment. The grass is suddenly not so much greener.

Are there any call centres near you?

There are a few in Nottingham (Boots and Capital One among the biggest) but they’ve both recently cut hours and are relying on a pool of experienced agency staff (my niece among them) to make up number during peak periods. This is one of the worst times of year to be agency staff, even without the current recession.

Bike Shop – What i did at 16. However i would have a guess that i came out of the job worse off, as i just spent everything on bikes 😆

or you could do the easy thing, so A-levels, then Uni. Free money 🙄

Bike shop. Perfect choice. Cheap bits, enjoyable work, plenty of riding and meeting like minded folk.

I did this at 17 and worked all through Uni doing it. Had some great times and made lifelong friends. We still go riding now 20 years down the line.

definitely bike shop. you make money and the things you want to buy become much cheaper – win win!

Well there are only a few half decent bikes shops to choose from in Nottingham and I’m not sure any of them are recruiting at the moment. But off my head heres a list if you want to give them a try.

Freewheel in Hockley.
Leisure Lakes near Long Eaton.
Evans? (Well its a bike like a bike shop)
The Bike Shop in Arnold.

Err, thats all I can think of at the moment. I don’t really use bike shops unless I have to.

Hi guys, Thanks very much for all your consiferation and thoughts. Sootyandjim – believe it or not, i have actually been to all of those bike shops and none of them are recruiting.

What about a toy boy , somebody was asking for one on here yesterday.
Sadly youre in the same position as most young people no experience, young and reasonable qualifications, just keep trying.
You cant get the experience without the job.

I hear there’s good money to be made at the docks for a young lad….

What other sports are you into?

At your age, while I was still at school, I was a swimming teacher and lifeguard. It was very well paid for my age, back in’t day it was up to a tenner an hour, often cash in hand.

A dock? in nottingham? 😯
I would like to work in a bike shop but ive already asked most the shops around here. I have all the basic knowledge about bicycle repairs and mechanics. but its just proving it to them – i cant!! If they gave me the job then of course i will be able to prove. 😉

A dock? in nottingham?

Well it might involve some travel; or maybe there’s somewhere else in Nottingham where you could meet the right sort of guys?

If you can find someone who might need a mechanic, offer to work for free (or at least for travelling costs and a butty at lunch). That way they see what you can do without the risk. Course last time someone told me they’d work for free I told them to go away because they seemed desperate so it might be all down to how you word it 🙂

I’d look into apprenticeships. There’s that advert with Alan Sugar at the mo about them and it’s something that a lot of companies seem to be takin more seriously.
Car manufacturers also do apprentice schemes to get people trained up young as mechanics in service centres.

Short of that, look for manufacturing companies local to you that need operators for assembly jobs, partiuclarly if you have some knowledge of electronics. Try and get in somewhere that offers you the chance to actually progress your career.

Have you gone along to any recruitment agencies and looked at temping work. None of it is particularly well paid (although not badly paid, either) and it will give you the opportunity to work in various sectors and perhaps find something that really floats your boat.

full time or a filler?

H Samuel, the jewllers, have a good policy on taking “first job” people with no experience.
the work is awful and all the full time staff hate you because they are stuck there and they know its just a stepping stone for you

Argos is much more fun, i was a warehouse pixie for the summer hols for 2 years and loved it.

when are you 18?
male strippers are still in an expanding industry ime…..

Can you get jobseeker’s allowance?

Write down all the things you might like to do (no matter how unattainable you think they are).

Would you like to work for yourself? I wish I had started out on my own from the beginning, but it’s not for everyone.

Go online and search for free psychometric tests. Whilst these are a bit vague and quirky, some of these will give you an indication of what you might be suited to and might give you some inspiration as to what role you could aspire to. Why spend you life in the wrong job, unhappy and unsucessful?

Identify and write down your strengths and weaknesses – be honest with yourself. THis is an exercise to help you and only you.

Look at further education and how this might help you get to where you want to be. If no job is available then this will keep you occupied. It will demonstrate that you are keen to learn and aren’t content to sit at home doing nothing. Qualifications are very useful for job hunting too.

Be realisitic – your first job will probably not be what you want, but try and see how that experience could be advantageous down the line.

Get some careers advice.

Seek advice from your parents and friends etc.

Network with everyone you know and others to see if they know of any opportunities.

Oh, sorry I forgot, you just want to earn a few quid for a bike. My advice is to forget about the bike until you have sorted out a rough plan for your future.

You have your whole adult life infront of you – time is on your side. What an enormous opportunity you have to make something of yourself!

Good luck!

Thanks guys for all your support, all of you have been very inspirational to me!! i really do appreciate it.

Does anyone know any recruitment agencies in nottingham? and im sure you have to be 18 to join a recruitment agency?

If you are looking for agency work then two that we use that operate in the Nottingham area are Blue Arrow and Right 4 Work, though the second one can be hit and miss miss for staff quality.

Out of interest, what information were you after ‘CP’? Its just the military is probably the branch of government that its easiest to find out careers information on, especially if you have access to the internet.

i’d had a fair amount of face-to-face discussion… it was actually kicking off the application process, and arranging for a weekend visit for more of an in-sight event that they failed miserably to achieve…

“will pretty much do anything”

This isn’t what employers want to actually hear! (though deep down its probably what they’d like).

You need to figure out what you’d like to do. If you get a job working in McDonalds with no longer term goals you’ll be doing it forever, and you seem pretty bright.

If i had my time again i’d look at apprentiships, plumbing, mechanic, electrician etc.. Maye volunteer to start with to get your foot in the door. You’ll be training through the recession and hopefully when you start working we’ll be out of it.

A temping agency might be useful, but most recruitment agencies look at previous experience and aren’t ideal for getting someone their first job.