AlmiraGulch Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 DD16 (my Aspie) had a job interview today at the local water park. She was so excited, and even figured out what bus route to take to get there when I wouldn't be available to take her. They were making offers on the spot, and she was turned down. The poor thing is so disappointed. I told her that I'm so proud of her for trying, and that you just don't get every job you apply for, and now she knows what to expect on her next interview. She's sure she did something "wrong", and says it will be hard for her to get a job because she "isn't good with words". She does get flustered when someone asks her something and she isn't certain of an answer, but we reviewed what they asked her and her responses and she really did fine. Anyway, I'm disappointed for her. If any of you have been through this with your kids who then later did get a job, please chime in. I want to be able to show her some real life stories, because I'm the mom and it isn't the same coming from me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_JWM Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Well, my kid is only 7, so no kid-related job stuff yet, but I was turned down for every. single. job I applied to at the beginning of the first summer I could work. Pizza place, restaurant, and a few others that I've thankfully forgotten. I finally got a great first job as a motel maid. It was the perfect job for me; I realized soon after that I would have hated all of the others. I worked for a wonder older husband and wife; the husband was the one of two Holocaust survivors from his family and he treasured every day. He once practically chased two women out of the office because they questioned whether our rooms were clean. "You see our girl? She keeps these rooms CLEAN!" They said they'd look somewhere else, but when they came back - because the other place was probably dirty! - he told them, "No rooms! Ha!" I wouldn't have gotten these experiences at the other places I applied to, and I worked for Mr. and Mrs. H. for two years. They were wonderful. Your daughter had the experience of applying, interviewing, and not getting the job - all valuable experiences! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 It might be easier to ask if anyone ever got the first job they ever applied for! Might get fewer responses though! I remember applying at a Baskin & Robbins, and not hearing back. I think they knew I might eat all the profits! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Agreed, you don't always get the job, hard lesson. I would interview her, help her with her confidence skills. Practice appropriate eye contact, practice how to smile well and maybe some other display of attention while she is forming a response. Have you ever seen the reporters in the field when you know there is a delay in their response? They maintain some eye contact and nod. I'm about to head out into the working world again and am blasted afraid of interviewing and I'm old. I tend to grimace when I'm nervous, so I'll be working on my smile without appearing over-eager. I would also encourage her to get right back out there and put in more applications. The longer she waits, the more anxious she's likely to become. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted March 23, 2013 Author Share Posted March 23, 2013 It might be easier to ask if anyone ever got the first job they ever applied for! Might get fewer responses though! I remember applying at a Baskin & Robbins, and not hearing back. I think they knew I might eat all the profits! That's true! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Aw, I hope she tries again and it end successfully. I agree with practicing the interview skills; they can be nerve racking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbecueMom Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 DH and I were just talking about the time in high school when he applied at Taco Bell and was turned down. They gave him a "personality test", and he failed it! It's quite hilarious now, because he has recruiters in his field calling him every week, offering him jobs that he usually has to turn down. Several times. He's even in a senior team lead position - not bad for a 28yo that wasn't personable enough to make tacos ten years ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandelion Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 First off, congrats to your DD on taking the initiative and doing this job interview! That's huge! :hurray: :) My Aspie is only 9 years old, so I don't have any BTDT advice yet, but I'm sure he'll have similar experiences along the way. One thing that might be helpful is for your DD to internalize the fact that getting a job offer is really a numbers game. You have to apply to X number of jobs to get an interview, and you have to do X number of interviews before you get offered a job. And the more you put yourself out there and do interviews, the better you'll get at it and the better your odds become. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted March 23, 2013 Author Share Posted March 23, 2013 Agreed, you don't always get the job, hard lesson. I would interview her, help her with her confidence skills. Practice appropriate eye contact, practice how to smile well and maybe some other display of attention while she is forming a response. Have you ever seen the reporters in the field when you know there is a delay in their response? They maintain some eye contact and nod. I'm about to head out into the working world again and am blasted afraid of interviewing and I'm old. I tend to grimace when I'm nervous, so I'll be working on my smile without appearing over-eager. I would also encourage her to get right back out there and put in more applications. The longer she waits, the more anxious she's likely to become. We did quite a bit of role-playing and reviewing what they may ask, they types of answer they'd be looking for and so on. For whatever it's worth, I was a recruiter for many, many years, have a Master's in HR, and work now in HR consulting, but it's been years since I've interviewed anyone for that level (non-professional) of a position. Like you said, sometimes you just don't get the job. That, and sometimes I still forget that she has some issue, being an Aspie, that others may not. Good advice on the eye contact thing. I'm sure she got flustered when she struggled with a question and that probably threw her off. So, back to the drawing board. And yes, we're going out tomorrow to put in more applications. Good advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted March 23, 2013 Author Share Posted March 23, 2013 First off, congrats to your DD on taking the initiative and doing this job interview! That's huge! :hurray: :) My Aspie is only 9 years old, so I don't have any BTDT advice yet, but I'm sure he'll have similar experiences along the way. One thing that might be helpful is for your DD to internalize the fact that getting a job offer is really a numbers game. You have to apply to X number of jobs to get an interview, and you have to do X number of interviews before you get offered a job. And the more you put yourself out there and do interviews, the better you'll get at it and the better your odds become. :grouphug: Why I didn't think to put it in these terms myself is beyond me! I'm a "professional", for crying out loud! It really does make a difference when it's your own kid interviewing, and not some random person you don't know that you're counseling on this stuff. I'm so glad you said this. I'm going to be sure to put it in these terms for her. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 fwiw, my daughter spent 2 years job hunting on and off before getting her first job. its not like it was when we were kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 I think a lot of the jobs at said water park were already promise to people... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 :grouphug: to your daughter. I had a friend get fired after less than a week at an ice cream store because he couldn't get the soft serve ice cream to swirl correctly on the ice cream cone. I lasted a week at a shoe store. Teenagers are not meant to be fitting young children for shoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted March 24, 2013 Author Share Posted March 24, 2013 I think a lot of the jobs at said water park were already promise to people... Could be true. My daughter was also in the last group of interviews after they interviewed since 8:00 this morning. Her number was 458. Or, she just didn't do well, which still isn't the end of the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted March 24, 2013 Author Share Posted March 24, 2013 I had a friend get fired after less than a week at an ice cream store because he couldn't get the soft serve ice cream to swirl correctly on the ice cream cone. That's funny! I worked at an ice cream store in high school and had to spend extra time with the soft serve because I couldn't get it to swirl correctly, either. I'm a champion now, though. I defy anyone to make a better soft serve cone than me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 My dd who is cute, personable, smart, persistent, really has always been a "superstar" in anything she tried (people come up to me frequently and tell me how impressed they are, applied 37 different places before getting her second "real world," but not Christian summer camp, job. At every one of those places, she had spoken with a manager to drop off her app and/or resume, because that's what we taught her to do. She talked with countless managers, and interviewed with quite a few. And this was *after* her freshman year in college, she had worked in a job in the finance office for a semester, and after she had been through umpteen competitive scholarship interviews. Truly, there was nothing wrong with dd, it was just a numbers game--probability at its worst. LOL! Tell you dd not to take it personally, just to try until she lands the fish that bites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawana Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 It might be easier to ask if anyone ever got the first job they ever applied for! Might get fewer responses though! I remember applying at a Baskin & Robbins, and not hearing back. I think they knew I might eat all the profits! I actually did get the first several jobs I applied for, and it didn't set me up for success in life. Please try to help her understand that success at that particular point in life is not relevant to the rest of her career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 Could be true. My daughter was also in the last group of interviews after they interviewed since 8:00 this morning. Her number was 458. Or, she just didn't do well, which still isn't the end of the world. #458??? :eek: I'm pretty sure Michael Phelps would have been turned down for a job at the water park if he'd been the 458th person they interviewed that day! After hearing how many people were interviewed, I can quite confidently say that your dd probably did perfectly fine, but with that crazy-high number of applicants, she would have had as good a chance at winning the lottery as she did for getting that job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 Congratulations on getting your first job interview! Everyone (usually) has to go to several interviews before getting a job. This is like a practice run for the next one. There are also sites online that have tips on how to answer some common questions. Get looking again, send out another resume and try again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 My oldest tried to find a job for several years. She got a couple of interview, but never got a job offer. She is 19yo now and still has never had a job. She has got to find one this summer though. She's going to try a temp agency. My middle dd got the first job she applied for. It is doing childcare at Jazzercise for a morning shift. The job is just 2.5 hours, 1x/week, so it's not enough hours to get a lot of people applying for it. They hired her on the spot. She loves it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted March 24, 2013 Author Share Posted March 24, 2013 Thanks for all the responses, everyone! It's helpful to have things to say that I hadn't already thought of. I also cannot believe how hard it is for teens to get jobs these days. I mean, I understand it intellectually, particularly when experienced adults have a hard time, too. But I did get the first several jobs I applied for. I was a professional adult before I didn't get a job I wanted. I think a lot of us of a "certain age" had similar experiences. Times are just different now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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