[TehAmo]

I always seem to find myself on this site when I'm searching for advice, so thought I'd Give it a go

I'm in serious need of a job this summer but the problem is, I have no experience what so ever. I know it's not ideal when applying for jobs. I've handed out CV's and applied online for various amounts of part-time jobs but had not even an interview! I'm not bothered about what job it is, like most students I just need money to pay off things! Does anyone know anywhere who will employ people with no experience?

A lot of volunteer jobs I've seen seem to last for months and I simply don't have the time to wait months

Am I completely f***ed and have no chance?

[Steveluis10]

(Original post by TehAmo)
I always seem to find myself on this site when I'm searching for advice, so thought I'd Give it a go

I'm in serious need of a job this summer but the problem is, I have no experience what so ever. I know it's not ideal when applying for jobs. I've handed out CV's and applied online for various amounts of part-time jobs but had not even an interview! I'm not bothered about what job it is, like most students I just need money to pay off things! Does anyone know anywhere who will employ people with no experience?

A lot of volunteer jobs I've seen seem to last for months and I simply don't have the time to wait months

Am I completely f***ed and have no chance?

Sounds like you're in the same poisiton as me.

I really fail to believe everyone requires experience for little jobs but I've handed in cvs and gotten nowhere, only last couple of weeks though but if places say they need staff then I'd expect a quick response

[tamimi]

All you /can/ do is keep trying. Aim for entry level jobs i.e. Mostly customer service and such.

Don't bother handing out your CV to big businesses. Only use this technique to aim local shops. Big businesses tend to discard any informal paperwork. I.e. your CV.

To target corporative businesses, go online.

What I did whilst jobhunting was built a list that I went through every single day, checking for vacancies.
I.e.:
Boots.jobs
http://www.tesco-careers.com/
sainsburys-recruitment.co.uk
so on so forth.
Most importantly, the Job centre plus website. That thing should be your bible. Browse it Every Single Day. New things come out every day and applications go in by the hundreds, so you need to keep checking it constantly.

[tobnot]

(Original post by TehAmo)
I always seem to find myself on this site when I'm searching for advice, so thought I'd Give it a go

I'm in serious need of a job this summer but the problem is, I have no experience what so ever. I know it's not ideal when applying for jobs. I've handed out CV's and applied online for various amounts of part-time jobs but had not even an interview! I'm not bothered about what job it is, like most students I just need money to pay off things! Does anyone know anywhere who will employ people with no experience?

A lot of volunteer jobs I've seen seem to last for months and I simply don't have the time to wait months

Am I completely f***ed and have no chance?

If you're not fussy, try supermarkets! Ok, so it won't be a thrilling job, but they often have vacancies and you won't need any experience.

[TehAmo]

So I'm not alone! It really annoys me the way some employers don't give inexperienced people a try, we've all got to start somewhere... what's written down on paper just doesn't fully express what the person is really capable of

[TehAmo]

I've tried supermarkets! But I'll give the job centre site a try!

[colef001]

Did you do any work experience in school that you could put on a CV? Get a character reference from one of your teachers.

Have you tried voluntary work, maybe getting some experience in a charity shop whilst you look for something else?

[colef001]

(Original post by TehAmo)
Unfortunately I haven't, the subjects I picked in school didn't have an option to go and learn some experience.

Only things I have volunteered for was the school Christmas choir, were we went to an old peoples home to sing for them. And knocking on old peoples houses and giving them gifts.

They ain't helping me get a job though

I think charity shops is a good idea, but do you know how long volunteering at a charity shop lasts for?

Well from my experience, as long as you want it to. Since you're not being paid, you don't have the same kind of formal contract. They are always looking for people and so are generally grateful for any hours you're prepared to put in, even if it's one shift a week. In some shops you might have a notice period but that's fairly standard in the job world.

I volunteered in a charity shop for about 3 months before I got my first job and I only did one or two shifts a week. When I got a paid job, I told them and left straight away because I didn't need to give them notice.

When you apply, you just need to tell them when you're prepared to work and how long for.

[colef001]

(Original post by TehAmo)
Only things I have volunteered for was the school Christmas choir, were we went to an old peoples home to sing for them. And knocking on old peoples houses and giving them gifts.

Also, if you haven't got anything else to put on your CV, you can still use this. Granted it's not ideal but extra-curricular activities look good when you're going for your first ever job, after all it's the only experience you've got. Everyone has to start somewhere!

[imrt92]

Keep trying!

I was looking for a part time job for over a year. I now have a permanent part time job since March 2011, working around 23 hours per week while studying!

Never give up, you'll find a part time job eventually

[jus2sik]

(Original post by tobnot)
If you're not fussy, try supermarkets! Ok, so it won't be a thrilling job, but they often have vacancies and you won't need any experience.

how out of touch are you, supermarkets have very few external vacancies going these days, most unemployed people in the country would love to have a supermarket job

[edd360]

Start a website with your friends selling used school girl underwear

[NJA]

listen to "The Daleks - Unemployed" about 70% down.

[TehAmo]

(Original post by colef001)
Well from my experience, as long as you want it to. Since you're not being paid, you don't have the same kind of formal contract. They are always looking for people and so are generally grateful for any hours you're prepared to put in, even if it's one shift a week. In some shops you might have a notice period but that's fairly standard in the job world.

I volunteered in a charity shop for about 3 months before I got my first job and I only did one or two shifts a week. When I got a paid job, I told them and left straight away because I didn't need to give them notice.

When you apply, you just need to tell them when you're prepared to work and how long for.

Thank you I think I'll give it a go then!

[TehAmo]

(Original post by edd360)
Start a website with your friends selling used school girl underwear

disgusting

[StarsAreFixed]

The problem is volume of applications and the difficulty of getting a proper job after graduations. Employers can and do get hundreds of applications and pick from them 20 people with experience to interview. It makes sense to hire people who will need basically no training.

[JordanS94]

I gave in my CV to Dunelm Mill yesterday then I got home and realised that I had printed off a corrupted unfinished CV from like a year ago (I don't even know why I still had it) and it was unfinished with no contact info and left many sentences left unfinished e.g. 'I am currently looking for part time work...' yes it had the '...' on the page! I had to go back and ask for it back and replace it with my real CV. I don't really get embarrassed but I felt like a complete idiot

[Perseverance]

You don't necessarily have to volunteer at a charity, I would phone local supermarkets/stores etc. and see if you could get 1-2 weeks work experience (unpaid), then try a similar firm and demonstrate you have said experience. This is what I did and have now been working at the same job part time for almost 2 years.

[clg86]

Try The Works if you have one in your area. If they're hiring they are forgiving on experience as long as you look like you will work hard.

[threeportdrift]

(Original post by TehAmo)

I'm in serious need of a job this summer but the problem is, I have no experience what so ever.

I've handed out CV's and applied online for various amounts of part-time jobs but had not even an interview!

The problem is your approach in the first sentence, which delivers the results in the second. Change your approach and work out what evidence you can transfer from other aspects of your life into the work situation. Employers regularly employ people who haven't worked in that specific role before, but have given evidence of relevant skills transferred from another environment.

Employers only interview people who show the best fit with the skills the jobs require. So if you can't show evidence of having those skills, you aren't going to get anywhere.