I'm 20 and never had a job. What should I do for the summer?

LegacyUser · 12-06-2010 10:17PM #1

Hi everyone, feeling really down at the moment,maybe some of you could give me some advice. I'm 20 and just finished 2nd year in university so I'm free for the summer. College doesn't start back until mid-September and I'm so bored already. I don't know is it normal to be so easily bored? I just feel like I'm never happy and I can't sit still and watch tv for hours like other people! Another thing is, I'm 20 and have never had a job. Do you think this is really pathetic? I've applied to loads of places since May for summer positions and I've only heard back from one place, got an interview and they turned me down. I find nowhere wants to give me a chance without any job experience! Anyone any advice on how to keep myself from being bored during the summer when all my friends have jobs and boyfriends/girlfriends and I have NOTHING! It'll be a long summer with no money, no company and no plans

I really feel stupid.

hug0 · 12-06-2010 10:31PM

Why dont you try some bars or cafes, theres always jobs there. When I was in college I went door to door with my cv and called in personally. Its much better for them to put a face to the cv. I always got something that way. Its a great way of meeting new people and keeping busy.
Try not to be so negative, only you can do something about it. Once you are working and busy you will feel so much better.
You are only 20 plenty of time to get some experience. Go and enjoy your summer!:)

Miss Fluff · 12-06-2010 10:49PM

I don't think it is pathetic but I do, if I'm honest, find it very strange that you have never had a job. Where do you get your money for the summer? I think working is your ONLY option for this summer. Applying for jobs simply isn't enough, you need to pound the pavements. Quite literally. What is your degree in? You could perhaps try getting a low-paid placement to gain some experience in your chosen field. Failing that, try local bars/restuarants/hotels/shops/cafes until you find something. Depression won't be an issue if you fill your time with work.

LegacyUser · 12-06-2010 11:00PM

Usually I'd get money from my parents but I really don't think at 20 I can do it this year! My degree is in the science area but I'm told that labs will only take on 3rd year students so I'm not sure whether to try anywhere. When you say pound the pavements, do you mean print out a load of cv's and hand them into shops? I just fear most places will throw the cv straight in the bin when they see I've had no jobs, no work experience from school or no voluntary work. I'll go crazy if I've nothing to do!

Esoteric_ · 12-06-2010 11:14PM

If you can't find a job, look for volunteer work. It might not pay, but it'll fill up vital reference space on your CV and will stop you going mad with boredom.

As for a summer job, google the Hanly Center. they're always advertising that they're looking for students to sell scratch cards for them. I had a friend work with them and she said they're pretty decent about wages and whatnot. She had no experience either, they just want students because it's only a summer job.

Miss Fluff · 12-06-2010 11:15PM

Well to be honest you're being given very good advice and you are being very defeatist/making excuses. Any potential employer will be looking for eagerness and enthusiasm. If you really want to find a job for the summer you will. Print out copies of your CV if you wish but aimlessly dropping them into shops or pubs isn't going to work. A bar manager isn't really going to give a sh1t how many A1s you got in your leaving. You need to ask to speak to the manager of everywhere you go and tell them you really want a job. You may strike gold if they have been let down at the last minute for example by someone not turning up for a shift. You just have to try and try hard and you will find something very quickly if you put your mind to it. If you showed yourself to be a little bit more enterprising I'd say to you to see if your parents friend's have businesses where they need a hand but it seems like for your own personal development it would be good for you to find your first job off your own bat....Just be confident, show willing, and don't give up after the first rejection!

Dave! · 13-06-2010 02:51AM

I'd be less concerned about being bored for the summer than I would be about getting into a career in a few years' time with no work experience! Apply for every job you can (McDonald's, Dunnes, etc.), and you should probably do some volunteering or somethin to demonstrate a bit of responsibility, cop on, etc.

BTW you should "enhance" your CV somewhat if you can. Find a family friend or a mate that you can put down as a reference and say you worked for them "on a casual basis" or somethin.

Bizarre that you haven't had a job at 20.

LegacyUser · 13-06-2010 10:16AM

Most of the other posters have given good advice but they make getting a job sound easy! You're all being very hard on the op too. I am also 20 and jobless this summer and have only ever had one job before which was gotten though my dad's connections when I was 17.
I've dropped in over 20 CV's to places this summer and I have asked for the manager everytime (of course there wasn't always one around) but still I have only heard back from one place telling me "we're very sorry etc.".
I also don't think that it's *that* wierd that you have never ahd a job, I know one or two people who haven't ever had jobs until they graduated!
If you don't have anything else to do volunteering is probably the best answer or you could look into au pairing (if you're a girl, anyway) altough I'd say most summer positions are filled now.
Anyway, good luck and I hope you find something to do!

KiLLeR CoUCh · 13-06-2010 10:19AM

I'm imagining your CV is a little sparse if you've never had a job before so why don't you put in more information about what you do in college. I briefly took a communications course in college aimed at science students and we were told that if you're low on experience, add a "skills" sections to your CV which outlines your main skills and where you developed them. For example, you say your in a science type degree so could you mention lab work and how that shows you're efficient, perhaps project work done could show your enthusiasm and that your not an asshole to work with.

I can only imagine you're confidence is a little low if you've never had a job but you should really try to get some experience in now. Do you have any friends or relations that work somewhere that's maybe looking for staff? Don't give up on the basis that "there's nothing out there".

Bob the Builder · 13-06-2010 10:48AM

Well, it's odd that you've never had a job. But not pathetic. On the other hand, I've been working since I was fourteen and am now working in a particular exploitive workplace that don't care whether I'm sitting the leaving cert now or not. You were probably better off not working for the most part. I may be repeating now, simply because I neglected my study to go working.

I looked at my CV with some foresight when I was 14. I think you should join Order of Malta, Red Cross or some other voluntary education where you will get a foundation first aid certificate and will then move on to a higher level. It really does gain attention from an interview panel.

Also, it might be no harm to do a week here and there for organisations, companies and hotels and work for free to make up lost ground. This will 'fill up' your CV and show enthuasiasm.

Also, educate yourself by way of technology, and upskill on Microsoft Office and the internet.

Try to look for the Safepass course and see is there a way of doing it cheaply. It's usually expensive but there's ways and means of getting it cheaper and then if you can find people that you know who worked in construction, do a week's work exp. and then use them as a reference.

An employer will look for eagerness, enthusiasm and will look positively upon you trying to upskill. And where you are coming into contact with other people, you will see that opportunities will arise. Who you know will probably account for a lot more than what you know, or what experience you have.

Firetrap · 13-06-2010 02:12PM

Years ago when I started college, we had an orientation day where one of the speakers was the career guidance officer. It's the guts of 20 years ago but two things stick in my head from what he said. One was that getting into university isn't a career. And, secondly, and more importantly in your case, he stressed the importance of getting work experience. Even if you spend the summer selling ice-cream out of a van, it shows that you are capable of holding down a job and are willing to work.

If you can't get any sort of summer job of any sort (I'm guessing they are much harder to come by these days), try to have something to show on your CV. You could of course upskill like the others have said and that would be a good use of your time. Or volunteering. It doesn't solve the lack of work experience though. Is there anything you could put on your CV that passes for a summer job? Any friends who are a bit older who you could have as referees? Really when you're at the stage you're at, I don't think employers are all that massively fussed about what you did as long as you've some sort of track record. It becomes different later on when you embark on a career proper.

weiland79 · 13-06-2010 02:51PM

I don't understand how you have never had a job. At twelve we were out cutting hedges and grass. At 16 clearing glasses in pubs, at 18 behind the bar. How can you have survived without your own form of income for this long. You seriously need to pick yourself up, shake yourself up and get yourself out there. whats with the defeatist attitude, nobody will want to employ you if you go around like that. Any manager worth his title will spot it as soon as he sees you. I'm sorry but i do find it pathetic that you have never had a job.

I take it you still live at home? This is a good thing as it doesn't really matter what you work at or what your take home will be, so long as your out there doing something and getting some job/life experience.

I wish you all the best pal, and if it's any help Marks and Spencers are hiring at the moment as are Argos ( at least in Dublin they are) and both these companies are quite student friendly..

13-06-2010 04:08PM

first job was at 17 in mcdonalds, nobody else wanted someone with no experience. Give them a go, or other fast food places.

13-06-2010 04:36PM

I definitely think a lot of posters here are being harsh. I'm 19 and have only gotten my first job this summer. I applied for LOADS of jobs, even told some places that I didn't care bout what the wages were, just wanted any work they could give me. I also know a good lot of people my age that can't find jobs at all, some of them 21 or so. It is unbelievably difficult to get a job at the moment. Of the people my age I know who have jobs or have had jobs before, 70% of the time they had a connection to the owner or some people who work there.
As for people thinking that the op isn't pushing hard enough, not asking for the manager, etc., a good few places (in my experience a lot of shops in Dublin city) won't even take the c.v. off you. Honest to god. I'd give in a c.v., they'd say they weren't hiring, I'd say well would you hold onto it anyway, and they wouldn't even take it off me, even though they could have thrown it in the bin they wouldn't take it out of my hand because the owners or whoever was above the manager had ordered them not to accept any c.v. from anyone. There are so many people looking for any work thats going, that it's actually a pretty big nuisance for shops to deal with people who are looking for work. It would almost be worth it to hire someone just to pretend to be the manager so that the actual manager didn't have to keep coming out and talking to people.
Obviously, you should give the c.v. in by hand yourself, and see a manager if possible. If you can't get a job (and as soon as the leaving certers are finished it will be even harder as they'll be looking for work too) then get some volunteer work. It will fill up your days and your C.V. But don't for a minute feel pathetic. Understand that it's only weird to people who have jobs and don't realise how difficult it is at the moment. It's TOTALLY understandable. Just don't stop trying. If by some chance you can't get volunteer work, think of some sort of project to do over the summer, maybe something to build up your skill-set.
Keep trying!!!!

13-06-2010 06:25PM

Agree with the post above.
I had a fair few 'joe' jobs in the last few years, mcdonalds/clothes shops/toyshop/civil service etc etc. There were always a load of studenty type jobs going.
But at the moment it's practically impossible to hear back about anything. As said above, most places I tried weren't even taking in CV's. I went well beyond what I would consider reasonable travel distance and still had no luck.

I don't think that when you're applying for a job in the science field that they're going to give two fcuks that you worked or didn't work in mcdonalds. There's simply little to no jobs going for unqualified people, perhaps you could go door to door cutting grass for cheap or something like that if you want a few quid in your pocket.

Life is too short so just try and make the most of your summer, learn a skill/volunteer/HAVE FUN and don't be listening to these 'I WORKED 18 HOURS A DAY WHEN I WAS 5 YEARS OLD' biddies.

14-06-2010 09:01AM

It's not that unusual not to have had a job by 20 and I'm offended by the generalisations here. Perhaps those saying they were working since they were 12 didn't live in a rural area with no public transport or car. I would have loved a job as a teenager, as I sat at home bored every summer, but I simply couldn't get one. There were few jobs to start with (and this was back before the recession) and then on the rare occasion I did get a call back, I had no way to get there. My parents worked 30+ miles from where we lived and the local town was 6 miles in the other direction. The 'village' I lived in was really a stretch of road, with nothing but a school. Even the nearest small garage shop was 2 miles away. It's easy for people to say 'you were lazy' but the fact is, it was practically impossible to get a job. I worked in Spain as an au pair for free for a month in the summer after first year just so I didn't have to spend yet another summer on my own in the house. I gave grinds for money during college but I didn't get what you would consider a 'proper' job, with a proper employer, paying tax, until I was 22, had finished college and was able to fully support myself in a city and work full time hours to cover my rent, bills, food etc.

People who didn't grow up in the middle of nowhere just have no idea what it's like. I simply had no money of my own, and I had nowhere to spend it anyway because I couldn't get out of the house. I was well aware that this might be a problem in the future but there was nothing I could do about it until I had the ability to live in the city. OP has said they have applied for loads of jobs and heard nothing back. Jobs are scarce right now, student and temp jobs even moreso, I'd say. Those with no experience are less likely to get hired than those with experience so it's a vicious circle.

OP, assuming transport isn't a problem I would try perhaps giving lessons/classes in a subject you're good at, perhaps you could wash cars or cut hedges for people you know, definitely try to do some voluntary work. And it is definitely worth handing in CV's in person if you can. Why not? You don't have anything else to do, and if you get even one reply out of 50, it's worth it.

dan_d · 14-06-2010 11:19AM

My sister is 18, doing the LC, has never had a job, and is struggling again this year to even get a refusal back from some places.
All she can do is keep trying. Maybe volunteer locally even OP? Anything to get out of the house and show you're proactive.

14-06-2010 05:39PM

I dont know if you will get a job....but if you dont here are few suggestion try not to get in to the habit of staying in bed then getting up and randomly watching the TV for the day.

Make a decision to get up by 11 each day...have shower and then do some exercise for and hour...have a goal i.e being able to run 5k by the end of the summer...down load a training log from the internet and stick to it.....or buy a book on how to play the tin whistle or how to play the guitar and set your self the goal of teaching yourself to play.

if your in college you obviously intelligent so offer to help child who is struggling with school ( for free ) its something to do and makes you feel good about yourself..maybe ask in your old school... or help with a summer project get in touch with the catholic youth council or some organisation like that....or if you wouldn't like that what about helping with the tidy towns in your area...the thing about doing stuff like that is it fills your time and your networking and meeting new people.

Do some stuff around the house...offer to cut the grass or do some painting again it fills you time and you parent will love it.

I think people are being a bit hard on you...on the other had you do a sound a bit childish for a 20 year old

good luck!

LegacyUser · 14-06-2010 06:50PM

Hi guys, thanks to everyone for their replies. There were some good points made and I already know I am a little immature for 20. I'm going to continue looking for a job but I won't be completely heartbroken if I don't hear anything back because as one poster said, it's not like I'll need to have worked in retail to get anywhere in the science world, a job is really only to keep me from being bored for the summer. I have organised some volunteer work since I first posted, so that should be interesting and will fill up my CV a little more. Thanks again for the suggestions!

Misty Chaos · 14-06-2010 07:11PM

Firstly full disclosure: I'm 24 and haven't had a proper part job since I was 18 and I'm on holidays from college too at present.

Anyway, it can be really hard to get a job, regardless of where your living. The only job I had, at a local hotel when I was 16 - 18, was gotten for me by my brother as he used to work there too.

Following that, it was just a combination of bad luck and my own laziness, admittedly, that have prevented me from another proper job. Granted, I did go to work with my father in the Summer of 2008 but I wasn't exactly enthusiastic about it. Its not like I haven't tried either but I repeatedly found myself in the same situation as you, OP.

All I can offer as advice if that if your parents are giving you money every week, you should really be doing something in return for them, even if its only painting and doing the garden up. Not exactly my idea of fun but I'm not in a position to say no either.

Also, do as much as you can to fill up the CV, in spite of not having a proper job since I was 18, I had plenty of little things from the past few years to help bulk up CV a bit be it voluntary work or even short term paid work.

Anyone any advice on how to keep myself from being bored during the summer when all my friends have jobs and boyfriends/girlfriends and I have NOTHING! It'll be a long summer with no money, no company and no plans I really feel stupid.

Trust me, there are plenty of others in similar situation to yourself so try not to get too down about it. Another very important thing I state is that you mentioned that you feel that others have it good and your getting shafted. Well if you think that grass is greener everywhere except where you stand, you'll go insane. They don't all have it good and I can assure you on that.

Keep your chin up, man.

Magenta · 14-06-2010 08:51PM

Pathetic wrote: »

Hi guys, thanks to everyone for their replies. There were some good points made and I already know I am a little immature for 20. I'm going to continue looking for a job but I won't be completely heartbroken if I don't hear anything back because as one poster said, it's not like I'll need to have worked in retail to get anywhere in the science world, a job is really only to keep me from being bored for the summer. I have organised some volunteer work since I first posted, so that should be interesting and will fill up my CV a little more. Thanks again for the suggestions!

Umm, no.
First off, if you go to a job interviewer when you graduate and have no work experience, retail or elsewhere, how far do you think you are going to get?
Having work experience shows you have drive and ambition (doesn't seem to apply to you with your "poor me" attitude), it means you can work well in a team, that you can get off your ass every day and earn your own money rather than live off Mammy and Daddy, and that someone thought your time was worth spending money on.

That statement I have highlighted is pure immaturity and naivety and also slightly snobby- and those are the nicest words I could think of.
Almost EVERYONE works in retail while they are in college, YOU are the exception here.
And FYI, if it wasn't for the work experience I got while I was in college (science degree), I would never have got my first graduate job, which led to more graduate jobs (and you would spew if I told you what I earn now).

14-06-2010 09:14PM

OP a job is good experience both for CV and in general. I had a crappy fast food job as I mentioned earlier and even a few week stint temping in an office, and the job I'm in now, they wanted to know about both these things. Even though neither of them have anything to do with what I am doing now.
When I was in uni and I was looking for a job (before McD) they wanted to know why I didn't have experience already and said it would be a mark against me.
People hiring want to know you can handle a job of any description. You need to get over the attitude and look in earnest.

Magenta · 14-06-2010 09:18PM

bluewolf wrote: »

OP a job is good experience both for CV and in general. I had a crappy fast food job as I mentioned earlier and even a few week stint temping in an office, and the job I'm in now, they wanted to know about both these things. Even though neither of them have anything to do with what I am doing now.
When I was in uni and I was looking for a job (before McD) they wanted to know why I didn't have experience already and said it would be a mark against me.
People hiring want to know you can handle a job of any description. You need to get over the attitude and look in earnest.

Yep. I have actually only ever been asked about my degree once, and that was for my first graduate job. Since then, all I have ever been asked about in my job interviews was my work experience. When I am asked about dealing with a stressful situation involving conflict, I still use examples from my retail days, being in the customer firing line all day every day means I have dealt with a lot of conflict!

14-06-2010 09:39PM

Magenta wrote: »

Yep. I have actually only ever been asked about my degree once, and that was for my first graduate job. Since then, all I have ever been asked about in my job interviews was my work experience. When I am asked about dealing with a stressful situation involving conflict, I still use examples from my retail days, being in the customer firing line all day every day means I have dealt with a lot of conflict!

Yeah it's the best example of any customer service questions

Wasn't the nicest job, but it meant a lot of non-specific-work experience that you can bring anywhere.

14-06-2010 09:42PM

bluewolf wrote: »

OP a job is good experience both for CV and in general. I had a crappy fast food job as I mentioned earlier and even a few week stint temping in an office, and the job I'm in now, they wanted to know about both these things. Even though neither of them have anything to do with what I am doing now.
When I was in uni and I was looking for a job (before McD) they wanted to know why I didn't have experience already and said it would be a mark against me.
People hiring want to know you can handle a job of any description. You need to get over the attitude and look in earnest.

That is true actually, I did my 'stage' (work experience) after second year of college in a French hotel and was basically cleaning toilets all day every day and employers sometimes ask about it. I guess they're impressed I stuck at it so long.

Squeeonline · 15-06-2010 03:40AM

I agree with all the posts suggesting volunteering. That'll really look great on a CV, even if it doesnt pay the bills.

Another option is using a skill that you have and making money out of that. it could be building/designing/maintaining websites for local businesses, helping out locals with basic computery tech support, hiring yourself out as a gardener to cut peoples lawns over the summer while they are on holiday...

seriously, the list goes on. I'm lucky enough to be employed this summer abroad, but if I were in your situation, I'd get off my ass and stop waiting to be offered a job and make one myself.

The last recession in this country (and others) gave rise to some of the richest people today. Richard Branson set up his record company in the 70's and made it big a few years later. Bill Cullen made it big while this country was still backwards... You could be the next one.

Firetrap · 15-06-2010 08:46AM

I think you are being too selective about what sort of job you're expecting you should have in the summer. Work experience at your age isn't as much about what you worked at but more that you're capable of working and holding down a job. That's what employers want to see every bit as much as what grades you got.

LegacyUser · 15-06-2010 10:48AM

Magenta wrote: »

Umm, no.
First off, if you go to a job interviewer when you graduate and have no work experience, retail or elsewhere, how far do you think you are going to get?
Having work experience shows you have drive and ambition (doesn't seem to apply to you with your "poor me" attitude), it means you can work well in a team, that you can get off your ass every day and earn your own money rather than live off Mammy and Daddy, and that someone thought your time was worth spending money on.

That statement I have highlighted is pure immaturity and naivety and also slightly snobby- and those are the nicest words I could think of.
Almost EVERYONE works in retail while they are in college, YOU are the exception here.
And FYI, if it wasn't for the work experience I got while I was in college (science degree), I would never have got my first graduate job, which led to more graduate jobs (and you would spew if I told you what I earn now).

Do you not think that what you said about how I would "spew if I told you what I earn now" is slightly more snobby than what I said? I couldn't be further from a snob! I said I was still going to look for a job and that I've organised voluntary work...really don't see what's so snobby about that? Also, next year of my degree I've got a 6 month placement to do which I'm sure I can use as experience on a CV and I hope to go on to do a Ph.D so I don't think in 6+ years they'll be asking what I did in the summer of 2010?

15-06-2010 11:29AM

Pathetic wrote: »

Do you not think that what you said about how I would "spew if I told you what I earn now" is slightly more snobby than what I said? I couldn't be further from a snob! I said I was still going to look for a job and that I've organised voluntary work...really don't see what's so snobby about that? Also, next year of my degree I've got a 6 month placement to do which I'm sure I can use as experience on a CV and I hope to go on to do a Ph.D so I don't think in 6+ years they'll be asking what I did in the summer of 2010?

What are you going to do after the phd, if you get it? What if you get sick of research and don't want to finish it, nor get a postdoc? You'll still want to answer how you can cope with a non-research environment job!
Anyway if you're still looking for a job in earnest that's grand, just don't shoot yourself in the foot now, it can be a lot more important than you think

prinz · 15-06-2010 12:09PM

Pathetic wrote: »

... I don't think in 6+ years they'll be asking what I did in the summer of 2010?

Hah. How wrong can you be. For the interview for the job I am currently in OP I was asked about all work experience and summer jobs, and just recently a summer job I had in 2003 got me a senior role on a job the company I work for is undertaking, simply because I had experience in the area the client operates in. I sat the interview for this job in Dec 2006 and my manager remembered it only a few weeks ago and suggested me for the role based on that.

ash23 · 15-06-2010 01:14PM

OP, I did a science degree (didn't finish it) and all of my class worked in retail, pubs etc while in college.

Many went on to furthur their education.

Part of part time work is proving you can be relied on to show up on time, work and follow instruction and are reliable.

Honestly, if an employer has the choice between someone who worked in a pub every weekend for 4 years while getting their degree and someone who has never worked and has the same degree, they'll opt for the person who has the good reference.

Go for the volunteering work and work hard. Show up on time and work as though you were getting paid. Don't let anyone down and you'll walk away with a glowing reference which will stand to you when you try to get a job later.

Experience is valuable.

I'm 20 and never had a job. What should I do for the summer?

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