'Finding summer jobs is the hardest work for teenagers today'

05 July 2023 , 18:30

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Young people faced with the extra challenge of online forms (Image: Getty Images)

The school summer holidays are fast approaching. My teen son breaks up next ­Friday, and I’m already determined that this year will be different.

No more sleeping all day, only surfacing ­mid-afternoon to eat and then back to bed to watch Netflix or YouTube videos. Instead, the soon-to-be 18-year-old is getting a job.

Trouble is, how do they find one? Back in my day, jobs were advertised in a shop window. You could stroll around the local area, or go into town and hand in an application and a CV and wait for the phone (a landline in the hallway, with a dial that went round) to ring.

Not these days. Looking for part-time work is a full-time job in itself.

There’s no going into a shop or ­restaurant and building up a rapport with the manager. Now it’s all about ­faceless online forms.

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First the youngster has to find a job they’re just about qualified to do. Then they must send off the online application, upload various documents, sometimes take an online test... and the chances are they don’t hear back at all.

The one interview my lad managed to get was via Zoom. He did well and a few days later, was offered a job via email. However none of the shift patterns worked – all the weekend work required the candidate to take on ­additional early morning or day shifts. If he’d been able to speak to someone, he could have ironed these details out, no doubt, but these days there isn’t anyone to actually talk to.

Job hunting is daunting. I hate to think how young people who aren’t tech savvy or have limited access to computers or the internet cope.

I imagine they get left behind in the race for summer employment.

But these summer and weekend jobs are vital, so they can learn about the world of work, build confidence and earn their own money. Surely there has to be a middle ground? Away from computers, connecting face to face?

How did your kids find their summer jobs? Let me know.

Eva Simpson