Alright so let me first say that i've been looking for a job for approximately...umm..well since last summer. i am currently 17 and 8 months young and i need a job to make some extra cash and get some work experience.

sounds pretty desperate to ask on a Honda Fit forum, but....well i am. i tried at gamestop, best buy, eb games, starbucks, lots of mom 'n pop stores, family owned restaurants, sears, movie theatres, NADA! its frustrating

so i was wondering if anyone knows a friend of a friend that can offer a job, or some tips or places where i could apply. I know that if i get an interview i'll land the job (yes im that charismatic ), but i dont get the interview....so any tips or places you guys/gals know of might help me a whole lot

 

Try circuit city, it sounds like you like video games, judging from where you applied, they'll hire about anyone. I had very little computer knowledge in the grand scheme of things and they hired me as a pc tech. First of all when you apply online and they ask you all the ghey questions about all the personality stuff make sure you answer in the most customer friendly way possibly, this is how the computer program judges who to give interviews to.

Then in your interview, wear a tie. I don't care where you are interviewing, the better looking candidate almost always gets the job, when I interviewed at Circuit City, I walked in wearing black pants, a nice shirt and a tie to "tie" it all together, they offered me a job within 2 minutes. Also try to appear committed like you wont be leaving and going off to college soon (they're probably seeing how old you are and judging that you'll leave soon.)

Cliffsnotes: Be presentable, be knowledgeable, and act committed to the job your applying for. Try and sell yourself to them, make yourself sound so good that if they pass you up they'll be shooting themselves in the foot.

Most of all be confident in yourself, I know it sounds ***. But you have a 50/50 shot of them believing in you as the perfect candidate for the job, and confidence will sell you to them.

Good luck!

 

well i like video games and i love cars. its a lot harder to get a job at an auto shop when you're my age, besides i dont personally know anyone who works at a car place. as far as the interview tips, thanks, i'll remember the tie and the stupid personality questions. so far the places i applied i actually talked to the manger and he said he'll call me back to set up an interview but he didn't. i don't know if he forgot or just didn't care.

 

Ditto to everything said above. Nothing used to piss me off more than some 'kid' showing up in jeans and a t-shirt wanting a job from me. I don't care if you are applying for a warehouse stocking job, look presentable and like you actually give a damn. Either means that he really doesn't want a job or his momma wasn't smart enough to teach him how to care about how he looks to the rest of the world.

Unfortunately your real problem is your age. Many employers don't like hiring under 18 because of the restrictions that are place about when and how many hours you can work. There are also other considerations. For me it was the fact that my employees had to be able to drive customer's car in and out of the install bays and be responsible enough to not screw it up. Can't do that when you are under 18 and have a provisional license. Fast food is one of the business' that specialize in the under 18 employee crowd so you might try there, or wait another 4 months.

BTW you need to say where in socal you are for people to help.

 

im in west covina, so around the city of industry/puente area

 

yes i understand its hard to get a job at an auto shop. it would be my dream job but its hard unless you're 18 and you know people. i don't particularly want to work at fast food places because of a couple of reasons. I want to enjoy my job as much as i can (hard, i know, especially your first), and i want to learn something from it. A car shop would teach me a LOT of things. working at gamestop, etc. gets me discounts, and the working environment in a family owned business is more relaxed i think

 

Working in a car shop isn't all that its cracked up to be, I worked in an independent shop (my boss was an uber scumbag) and I worked at a dealership and all the techs were scumbags.

 

Check out your local dealerships, and see if they have any positions in detail/lot attendant.

 

I thought you had to be 18 to do that!?!

Tyler

 

You can be a porter if you're under 18, not the most glamorous job, but a job with cars none the less

 

Are you serious..Whats a porter?? How do i do that? I really want that job haha. Beats a grocerie store.

Tyler

 

Moves cars around the lot at the service managers request, moves cars from the drive to the back lot, washes car. I'm not 100% that you can be under 18, but the dealership I was at had 3-4 under 18 porters

 

Cool. When i call to ask what do i say lol??

Thanks man
Tyler

 

i know one of my friends applied at Diamond Bar Honda but he got turned down

 

I am the Executive Director of two non-profit employment sevices funded by our provincial government. And while I am way far north, there are several aspects of job search that are universal.
After 25 years in the business, I can say that so far the advice you have received (especially re interviews) is bang on.
But it sounds like you are not getting to the interview stage, so I would take a real close look at your sales tool..your resume and see what it says about you.
Under skills and personal attributes or Qualifications, you should include both hard and soft skills. Soft skills are things you can't teach someone like reliability, honesty, the ability to get along with others, teamplayer etc. Hard skills are things like cash experience, fork lift certificate, etc.
Don't kid yourself that soft skills aren't important. I also hire people. I can teach someone how to fill out paperwork but I can't teach them common sense, good judgement and honesty.
Those are attributes that are very valuable. And the fact that you would fit in and get along with my staff, for example would be a well sought after bonus. Who needs discention in the workplace with a "know-it-all for example. (an example only)
Many of our young clients write a letter instead of a resume that also kind of looks like a resume.
It starts with
Dear Employer or Dear Hiring Manager
Please accept this letter as an application for a position with your business.
Although I lack experience due to my youth, I am a very energetic person with the following to offer
bullet form your soft skills
Don't forget the fact that you own a reliable car (ha ha)
etc etc.
Finish by saying that you are flexible, etc and end with....
Thank you for your time. I look forward to the opportunity to meet with you to discuss how I might contribute to your business.
(every employer is looking at what is in it for them. As someone else indicated.........why should they invest in you?
Another tip as this is getting too long. Call in advance for the manager's name. Address your letter or resume to them on the envelope - it will go directly to them.
Oh and you can add in your letter that you will follow up in a week. Keep a list and make sure you do.

Anyway, there are tons of tips on the internet. Main thing to keep in mind is
what are you selling - is it marketable and is it clear?
don't forget to highlight soft skills
target employers using their name
keep record and follow up
They will be impressed with the time you took to find out who they are.

Best of luck to you. If I can help in any way....I would be happy to.

 

wow.......

 

that was extremely helpful. i'll try again a couple of places this week

 

hey good luck on your job search! looks like you've been getting a lot of good advice here. I just recently graduated and spent a few weeks looking for jobs and i accepted an offer about a week ago. one tip i found useful from a friend is to be confident in yourself and your skills. when you're being interviewed, your confidence will show and will help persuade your interviewer that you're the right person for the job. he said to think of it as you asking the interviewer, "why should I work for you?" don't ask them that literally, but think positively in that manner.

there is a lot of information out on the internet, especially on monster.com that can help you prepare a cover letter or resume. just remember that employers are people too, and some differ in their opinions of what they like to see in a candidate. overall, i think you should be all the positives about yourself, and be confident! good luck!

and be polite and smile! haha.

 

GL on your search man. Its tough out there. At your age, try the career offices at your local college or school. They usually have some job placement services. I know they had one at CSUF, as well as at OCC.

Worse case try a temp agency. I use them as a last resort when the job market is in the toilet. You might not get a perm job but at least it will put a little change in your pocket until you do find a job.

 

College helps out a lot with finding a job. My advisor emails all the Mechanical Engineering students (including me) about ME related jobs in the local area.

I had a job, but got tired of bagging groceries after 2.5 years.