Working as a 14 Year Old

LOzbargain Lurker on 13/05/2017 - 13:16
Last edited 13/05/2017 - 17:34

I'm 14 and i'm looking for a job since i don't really have much better things to do anyways.
I have a few questions about working in general.

  1. How much are you expected to work as a casual employee?
    Casual work seems enticing to me however while scrolling through jobs, quite a few of them had high required hours worked per week and as a student, i have limited hours and days to work on because of school and other commitments.

  2. How hard is it to find a job with very specific desired work hours? I have 2 days free during the school week where i can shift around commitments and am free on Saturdays (with preferred morning shifts) and late afternoon on Sundays. Most retailers which aren't major have more restricted store hours.

  3. Is it possible to find a job with the intention of working on a specific day and time part time?
    By this, i mean that i desire to work specifically in the morning from about 8-9am to 1pm on Saturdays with little room for extra work during the rest of the week.

  4. How do i go around to stores asking if they have vacancies?
    I think that the best way to get a job with such specific requirements would be to go around my general area asking for vacancies on the specific day/time period which i desire to work on. However, how do i do this properly?

Btw, i am aware that working at major stores can solve flexible time restriction problems. However, i do not desire to work at junk food places (for understandable reasons) and the only major retailer near me is Coles. I am aware of the 14 years 9 months internal policy and plan on applying for the job after my yearlies at school as i would have reached that age at the time.

I plan on dropping by stores in my area. What do i need to bring? Do i bring a resume for each store?

Education & Work

Comments

  • Dennis3003 on 13/05/2017 - 14:00

    It is very difficult to find work at your age, especially with your requirements. As much as junk food places sounds like a bad place to work, it could be one of the only options, not to mentions they are very flexible and some offer great career and education prospectives.

  • scrambledeggs on 13/05/2017 - 14:03
    1. as much as possible for as little as possible remuneration
    2. very hard. any fast food chain will try and work you as much as possible, or not at all. having many employees work one day a week each sucks for employers. too much admin.
    3. not really. you can try, but at your age it's all about availability seeing as nobody has any experience doing anything.
    4. most job applications are online these days. only your local independent stores will hire from resume drops.
  • spackbace on 13/05/2017 - 14:24
    +6

    And the issue with fast food places is what exactly…?

    • Decent pay
    • Good conditions (now there's unions/HR departments)
    • Flexible hours given their opening hours

    Many people on here probably started in fast food jobs. A casual job now doesn't determine your career later, but it does put cash in your pocket.

    Might be worth not being so picky at 14yo…

    • ms_caz on 14/05/2017 - 20:20
      +1

      Conversations with local (non fast food) retailers tell me that they prefer to employ casuals/part timers who have had previous experience at McDonalds. They specifically mention Maccas as the training and customer service focus provided to their crew is considered to be first rate. Employers find that a young person with Maccas background does not need to have anywhere near the training that another young person, with or without training, will need. Along with the internal crew training, most Maccas will also put a young person through a Cert 3 in Retail, and maybe other qualifications such as Barista training if you happen to work in the McCafe, and your Food Safety/Handling qualifications.

      So my recommendation is to put aside the prejudice you might have about working in fast food and apply for a job at McDonalds. They also have an exemption which allows them to employ staff at a younger age across the company.

      Just a word on shifts though - you need to be as flexible as you can possibly be, in terms of your availability. I don't like your chances with such a limited schedule, unless you are something like an elite athlete who MAY be given some leeway - but it all depends on the manager.

    • ascorbic on 20/05/2017 - 16:29

      Good conditions (now there's unions/HR departments)

      I think you'll find that vast majority of fast food workers aren't in a union, especially in independent and small chain outlets. And remember that HR is paid by the company and hence works for the best interest of them, not the employees.

  • Baebs on 13/05/2017 - 14:36
    +1

    If you have other forms of education like music, you could consider tutoring. Working hours are completely flexible, it's rewarding + a good opportunity for testing out your communication skills.

    • Ughhh on 14/05/2017 - 20:30
      +1

      Unless you're some famous prodigy, I doubt anyone's going to pay a 14yo (who is just an inexperienced in life) to tutor.

      • Baebs on 14/05/2017 - 20:44

        I tutored primary school kids the violin at 14, it was bargain for learning the basics before jumping onto more expensive lessons.

  • Azrael169 on 13/05/2017 - 14:55
    +5

    Time to get creative. My recommendation is take up dog walking, car washing or lawn mowing (babysitting is a option depending on how reliable/mature you are). These are things easily done with minimal skill requirement and you can fit it into your schedule, plus people dont have time for these jobs. Gumtree your local area, word of mouth through your parents or mail drop the areas around you.

    Minimum award for 14 year old in fast food is what $7-8??

    You can easily mow most lawns in 30 minutes. If you charged $20-30 you'd be booked out. Start walking dogs, $5 for 30 minutes. Take multiple dogs at at time etc (2 dogs at a time, 4 dogs a hour is $20 plus your getting fit). Car Washing, last time I got my care washed it cost me $70 for a 40 minute clean. Granted the lawn mowing and car washing would require you to get a little bit of skill at it (not hard). You'll make alot more than you ever will working at Maccas. Plus its all cash :P

    Lastly get a nice couple rounds going and regular clients. Start sub-contracting it out to your mates and take a little bit of cream off the top for yourself as a 'management fee'.

    Think big!

    • kiitos on 14/05/2017 - 10:34

      Would you expect the lawnmower to be provided by the customer in that case, or would they have to bring their own? (ie, a parent would have to drive them, unload mower, wait around for the mowing, etc)

      • miicah on 22/05/2017 - 11:35

        There is a kid in our area who does it, uses the lawn owners mower. You could do it either way, would probably have to adjust cost though.

  • upsidedownlemon on 13/05/2017 - 15:02

    We had some people at KFC who were 14.

  • outlander on 13/05/2017 - 15:13
    +1

    1. The minimum varies, sometimes there is no minimum and you can go months without a call, but usually 10 hours a week from my experience. That is 2-3 shifts. As its cheaper to employ you over and adult ($8 vs like $20 per hour), they will try and push you to work as much as they can. It's up to you to refuse them. Especially over school holidays, they will try and get you working full time, 40 hours a week because they know you have free time.

    2. For an adult, its hard. You have the price advantage, so you can set your hours as you like and still get interest from employers

    3. Yes. When you apply for jobs they often have an availability sheet that you fill out with the hours you can work. Getting preference to work those hours is harder.

    4. With a smile. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there. Most adults see you, the way you see 10 year olds, so even if you get tongue tied or babble its not going to make a big impression. Generally you want to go to the first person you see, and ask to speak to the manager about possible employment vacancies (The more obscure you make the question, the more likely the manager is to come out). Earlier in the day is better, when it's quieter, but if they try and shrug you off always ask "what's a better time to come back". Be prepared to hear "It's all done online now" a lot if you're applying to places like coles or big retailers

  • scylla on 13/05/2017 - 15:15
    +1

    Currently 15 but started working at a fast food place when I had just turned 14 - since quit though. Personally I found the experience to be great; flexible hours, opportunity to meet new people around my age, pay was decent compared to some of my friends (around $10.50 ph) and customers were not all jerks. Apply to Coles, an advantage is that since you're young they can pay you less than everyone else so you might get hired, but if you can only work a bit then it isn't worth it imo

  • [Deactivated] on 13/05/2017 - 17:10
    -2

    Didn't think 14 year olds could work, legally…

    I guess it's a great work ethic you have, but shouldn't you be doing kid stuff at that age?

    • Ozbargain Lurker on 13/05/2017 - 17:15
      +1

      no age restriction in NSW, I could work at 6 years old if i wanted to. But noone would hire me for obvious reasons

    • scylla on 14/05/2017 - 13:07

      Nowadays you need money to do 'kid' stuff. Birthday presents, food, public transport, if you want to buy something you don't really need (ozbargain deals too hard too resist). Also just to save up for the future in general seeing current property prices and the recent increase in university fees

      • [Deactivated] on 14/05/2017 - 17:18

        Are 14 year olds really that concerned with the housing affordability?

        • scylla on 14/05/2017 - 20:52

          maybe i'm just weird…but it's never too early to start saving!

  • altomic on 13/05/2017 - 17:58

    when I was 14 I was delivering junk mail (weekend), the local paper (wednesday nights) and had a chemist round (tuesday and thursday after school)

  • AMLagonda on 13/05/2017 - 18:00

    Just need a letter from Parents giving permission to work under 15, so yes they can work legally.

  • mskeggs on 13/05/2017 - 18:30
    +5

    My now 16yro got hired at Woolies when she was 14 1/2. Their policy is 14 + 9months, but nobody looked closely at her birth date until after she had been offered the job and they were arranging training shifts etc.
    The processing between submitting resume to first shift was over 6 weeks, and the first several shifts were awkward to schedule as she needed to do training packages and things so she only ended up getting a half a dozen or so shifts before she was 14 + 9 months anyway. So I would say it is reasonable to for you to apply to Coles well before you hit their age milestone.

    Woolies has been a great first employer, in my opinion. They have a pretty sophisticated online shift management site so you can make yourself available only at certain times. That said, they tend to give more shifts to people widely available, and they also favour younger casuals over older.

    They pay as expected, train well and take safety seriously. So I back them for a first job.

  • dylanando on 13/05/2017 - 20:02

    I was 'forced' through school to do work experience, I ended up picking nothing so school put me in a major supermarket, I did a full week of work experience there doing bits of everything but was mainly in the bakery and at the end was asked if I wanted more hours to just ring, Got a job and was put through a baker apprenticeship when I left school, However not there now, I was grateful. So after that ramble from me id suggest work experience, ring up places and offer yourself for free. I do know getting into a supermarket might be difficult now as they're trying to reduce the amount of casuals they have. Good luck!

    • ms_caz on 14/05/2017 - 20:29
      +2

      In Victoria you need to be 15 to do Work Experience (can do it under that age but the people you are working with need Working with Children Checks and the employer needs to apply for an exemption from the Dept of Ed.) Also need to do OHS certificates prior to undertaking the placement. Apart from that, yes the Dept of Education Work Experience program or Structured Workplace Learning is an excellent way of moving into a part time/casual job. Employers get to try you out - to see how well you work, your reliability etc. There are many many options for work experience - get out there and draw on your networks and contacts, not just looking at retail. Be prepared for some knock-backs, but keep persevering and you will find something - and then be prepared to take the initiative to keep it going after work experience is over. Good luck with it.

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