Getting A First Job

I HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM! I know that pretty much everyone has a job but I don't. its summer break for me and I am one broke kid XD I'm only 16 and have like next to no work experience :( I was on the honour roll last year and was also valledictorian (I know its spelled wrong and its not in auto correct >.>) for my grade 8 class but... I have long hair which I refuse to cut because I'm donating it to cancer when its long enough so I know that automatically is a bad thing but is there anything I can do to seem more professional to help me get a job? I have handed out 20+ resumes in the last 2 days to every store in my town, hiring or not XD If anyone has any questions for me to clarify something, or tips on how to increase my odds of getting a job, please let me know. I have also never been for an interview so if anyone can give me some insight on that, it would be amazing also :) thank you guys

This is just personal experience, but, you might try some places like a car wash, washing dishes or another more labor intensive job than just retail. Usually, the hair won't be a problem at all. And, I developed my work ethic more there than I did at my next 4-5 jobs combined. Plus, tan, free exercise. Good luck.

Optimism is your best friend. Don't go into any interview with a poor attitude, and express yourself with an outgoing personality, and of course tell him your strengths.

Nothing to be nervous about really, everyone starts somewhere. Also, I wouldn't really say anything on the lines of "I just want to make money/get out of the house" type of stuff, that won't get you anywhere. Just tell whomever is interviewing you that you would be beneficial to the company, and be reliable if needed.

Also, I see you may have beaten the Water Temple, you shouldn't have a problem beating real life then.

I've only had one job and that was at Wal-Mart. I used two of my teachers at my old High School as references(Ask first). Had to go in for 3 interviews as well. During all three I was asked questions about leadership ability, charisma, and critical thinking. I was extremely nervous as well because those were my first interviews ever.

I just tried to be kind, polite, smiled, and answered everything without using like or umm a million times. If whoever decides to give you a call back asks about your hair, I would just tell them why. I don't think it will be a big deal unless you work around food. Sorry I can't offer more, leaving for college in 2 weeks though, so I'll have to find a new job when I get there. D:

Actually it's not a bad thing. Well how long. Longer than shoulder length? So long as its groomed and tied it shouldn't be an issue. Now if your looking scraggly then yah.

Biggest problem with resumes from teenagers is length

HR or managers dont want to see more than 1 page from a teenager. (You simply don't have the work experience to produce a 3-4 page resume. That's something applicants with 10+ experience years provide.) So make sure your resume is 1 page max. Make sure its professional dont be using any "trendy" or "cool" looking fonts, Arial or Times New Roman 12 point is fine. Spelling, spelling spelling! Make sure that thing has NO spelling errors.

Your resume needs to also be tailored to the specific job industry your applying to. You cant have 1 resume and hand it out at a retail clothing store and then a bank. They have different expectations. Look online to see resume formats for the particular job industry your going for.

I'm assuming your going for retail position since your 16. Retail positions don't want to know about your hobbies or interests. They want a resume that shows them you are about sales, loss-prevention, great costumer service and teamwork.

Remember hiring managers and human resources are going through dozens possibly hundreds of resumes, thats not including those forwarded to them by staffing agencies. For non-executive or non-manager positions they spend no more than a glance at a resume then trash it. They skim resumes looking for key terms, such as the ones i mentioned prior.

Also dress professional. Make sure your wearing slacks,shirt and tie that has been starched and pressed before an interview. Dont be going in looking like a fashion model. Retail clothing stores, you can be a bit more casual, but its fairly risky.

EDIT:
Sorry barely saw this part. Umm ok what you want to do when you have work experience is you want to create an ENTRY LEVEL RESUME. There is a specific format to these. Go onto google (e.g. entry level retail resume or entry level bank teller resume)

Basically its the REVERSE of a regular resume. since you have no work experience you want you experience, or lack there of to be at the very end. You want potential employers to see EVERYTHING ELSE first.

----------------------------------
ENTRY LEVEL RESUME TEMPLATE -----
First Last Name
Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone (Landline or Cell)
Email Address
Education
In the education section of your resume, list the school you attend and any awards or honors (like the National Honor Society) you have earned.

High School
Awards, Honors

Skills
Include skills related to the position / career field that you are applying for i.e. computer skills, language skills.

Experience
This section of your resume includes your work history. If you have had a job before, list the company you worked for, dates of employment, the positions you held and a bulleted list of responsibilities. If you haven't had a regular job before, it's fine to include positions like baby sitting or pet sitting and any volunteer experiences you might have.



References available upon request
There is no need to include references on your resume. Rather, have a separate list of references to give to employers upon request.

------------------

Best of luck on the job market!

My only advice would be, you might be 16, but what is your experience when it comes to life?

Even through simple things like video games, you can easily find abilities that are asked in about any job. From management to teamwork, to patience and so on.

You have a good thing though, you had the balls to hand out resumes, that's a good start. Worst case, you can always ask these stores what are the advices they could give you in order to improve and be more appealing.

And don't worry about your look, with what I have at my work, I can tell you that unless you are directly in contact with people and look like a circus beast, you have nothing to fear, long hair for a man is ok.

As for the interview, it varies based on the guy recruiting. My little experience in this domain would make me say that it's something "fun" and "relaxing".

If you don't have any specialty, and have to aim at jobs that doesn't require any specialty, it's gonna be hard because anyone can do jobs like those, and you will have huge competition. You probably need connections, or try to talk to their store manager in person if possible.

Thank you all for the advice! its going to help a lot ^^ I will keep handing out resumes and try to be specific to each different store and such, I'm going to take into account everything :D so thanks a million again!

About your hair being long, there is one simple solution, ponytail.

Present yourself in a very clean way, if you can put your hair into a pony tail, then I would do so.
That alone can help create your outward appearance to be clean and sharp even with a pony tail.
Shave, shave your face! No one wants some lazy bum that cant keep a clean look in a public area.

Dress nice, slacks and a polo or button up, even if it's just for dropping of your resume and application.

If you are in a interview, and they ask if you have any questions, ask some.
Things like asking about the company, how long that interviewer has been with the company, what that person likes about the company. Those can all be great questions.

Smell good.

Good luck!

Not going to read everything, but sound excited when you talk. No one wants to hire someone they think will slum around.

Make sure to smile.

my first job was at the movies when i was 17, i enjoyed it a lot

These are the key terms I was talking about to include in your resume and REPEAT during your interview.

Retail Clothing - KEY WORDS
Loss Prevention, Sales, Customer Service, Team Work, Problem Solver (aka you can resolve a customer's issue)

Food/Restaurants/Fast Food - KEY WORDS
Sales, Customer Service, Food Waste Prevention, Team Work, Problem Solver

Bank/Finance - KEY WORDS
Loss Prevention, Customer Service, Team Work, Problem Solver, Accountability, Leader, Organized

Clerical/Mail Room Clerk/Receptionist - KEY WORDS
Team Work, Problem Solver, Perfectionist, Great Writing/Communication Skills, Leader, Organized

TRICK QUESTIONS
Employers LOVE to ask interviewers trick questions, particularly teenagers.

1) What are some of your hobbies and interests?
They don't care about your hobbies in interests. Employers want to know you are genuinely interested in the position. So tailor your answer to the type of job. If your going for a clothing position say something like..."i enjoy going shopping seeing the latest trends in GQ/Elle" this is just an example...

2) I see that you are a highschool student, what are your plans once school resumes? Employees want LONGEVITY. They ideally don't want seasonable employees. It costs a lot of money to train new employees. A good answer is... "Well obviously my education is the highest priority, but I applied at BLAH BLAH INC. because I love the company and so long as you would be willing to be flexible with my hours I can very much see myself working into the school year."

If you have any questions email me lol I'm sure I forgot some stuff but yah lol.