The Student Room Group

Getting a job at 16

I would like to get a job this summer but most waiting jobs say you have to be 18 and over (because they sell alcohol) so I was wondering where I should look, what places hire 16 year old?

Thanks! :smile:

Scroll to see replies

I waitressed when I was 16 in a pub. However this was in 2006 so it may have changed since then! Try cafes/shops. I think there are rules on how many hours you can work and what times.
Reply 2
I am working with a technology company and my manager said that they were looking for students to do some research.. Think it's plain stupid Internet stuff. But it's paid :-P
Try retail =)
Even at places that sell alcohol you can still work there at the desk/receptionist, that's what I did
McDonalds
Reply 6
Original post by nasm
I would like to get a job this summer but most waiting jobs say you have to be 18 and over (because they sell alcohol) so I was wondering where I should look, what places hire 16 year old?

Thanks! :smile:


I would recommend you check your local shopping center's website as they tend to have a "vacancy" section in which they display all the shops who are looking for employees...and even so just hand in your CV to shops you would like to work in (include your availability). I believe as long as you have your NI number you are eligible for a selection of jobs.

Good luck :bubbles:
Supermarkets are a good bet- I got my first paid job in one as a general assistant (you can get cashier trained but you have to call over a supervisor to scan through age-restricted products). However quite a few do like you to sign up long-term.
Beware of apprenticeships, with the standard rate of £2.38 per hour, and no guarantee of employment at the end.
Reply 9
I'm also 16 and to find my job I just rang around local takeaways asking if they had any part time vacancies. I found one place that did and they asked me to go in to the shop that night to talk about wages, hours etc and the next day I went in for a couple of hours for training and now I am working there Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights :smile:
Original post by Alice__90
I waitressed when I was 16 in a pub. However this was in 2006 so it may have changed since then! Try cafes/shops. I think there are rules on how many hours you can work and what times.


I think thats mainly for under 16's
Original post by nasm
I would like to get a job this summer but most waiting jobs say you have to be 18 and over (because they sell alcohol) so I was wondering where I should look, what places hire 16 year old?

Thanks! :smile:


What sort of a job are you looking for?

Shop assistant, data entry, call centre, customer service, home shopper?

Be more specific, or are you looking for any job that's available?

Posted from TSR Mobile
Try looking on gumtree.com! I found my first job there when I was 16 (admittedly I hated it lol but still). You can just search your local area and by job type so it's really convenient. It shows vacancies in smaller, independent cafes and shops that won't necessarily have websites advertising their jobs.

Also just fyi you can serve alcohol if you're under 18! (https://www.gov.uk/alcohol-young-people-law)
Reply 13
If you're a competant swimmer i'd recommending doing an NPLQ which is the lifeguard course, i done mine when i was 16 and got a job almost straight away. One thing though if you go to a leisure centre in the summer you'll 100% pop your rescue cherry straight away
I applied for and got a job at HSBC very recently. I'm doing their 12 week full time training programme over this summer before college and then will reduce my hours to 16 in September. It's in a customer support call centre but pay isn't bad, it's flexible, and because I'm interested in a career in finance this is probably a sensible place to get a part time college job before moving onto internships and the like for IB later on.

Retail would be awful for me. I don't think I could deal with that all day.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by nasm
I would like to get a job this summer but most waiting jobs say you have to be 18 and over (because they sell alcohol) so I was wondering where I should look, what places hire 16 year old?

Thanks! :smile:


I got my first job when I was 16 as a Kitchen Porter for a pub. I then moved on to another KP job at a restaurant which was higher pay. Some people stick their noses up at KP jobs because it's washing up dishes, but to be honest, it's a great starter job. If I didn't start out as a KP I wouldn't have then been promoted as a waitress and then managed to get waitress/front house jobs at other places.

Supermarkets are good too. A lot of people I know either work at Sainsbury's or Tescos. Anything in retail or hospitality is the best bet because they mostly want people to work weekends, which with college and stuff is really the only time we are available to work.
I started looking for part time work at 16, as soon as I left school. Even though it's pretty embarrassing, I applied for fast food places like McDonalds (they have really good hours), and eventually ended up getting a job at Subway (8-12 hours a week).

I suggest thinking about everyone company/shop you know around your area, and looking to see if they have any openings for jobs on their websites. E.g. Wilkinsons, Pizza Hut, Nando's, New Look etc. :smile:
Try jewellery's, I had my first job at goldsmiths when I was sixteen, i know i was very lucky but theres no reason why you can't do the same.
Try tutoring places like Kumon or Explore Learning - it's relatively easy to get a job there
I work in a sweet shop :biggrin:

I spent 18 months volunteering at a highly respected local charity so when a job came up in the sweet shop I was head hunted and recommended. Volunteering was one of the best things I did to get a job.

Quick Reply

Latest

Trending

Trending