My 17-year-old son has been looking for a job since December. He hasn’t had a single bite, not one call for an interview. So last week when McDonalds had a “National Hiring Day,” he went in to fill out an application.
Well so did a whole lot of other people, so we knew the chances might be slim. However to our luck a friend of mine has a daughter who happens to work at a McDonalds close by, so my son was able to use her name as a reference.
Finally, after almost five months of applying for jobs, he got his first interview. My husband happened to have a day off so we both drove him to his interview. Yes, he could have driven himself but for whatever reason, he wanted us to drive him (there is still that little bit of kid inside him).
I was so nervous for him. In fact, I was probably more nervous than he was. We spent the drive there going over interviewing etiquette, presenting him with possible questions and asking how he would respond.
We reminded him to speak clearly, to speak up and to look the person in the eyes. Since my husband is a store manager, he was able to offer some really great tips.
We waited in the van while he went inside for his interview. He came out about 15 minutes later with a soda and seemed to think it went well. It was kind of funny to us because of all the possible questions we thought he would be asked none of them came up.
Maybe it’s the fact that he has no job experience but she asked a lot of personal questions, learning that he has three dogs and wants to become a commercial airline pilot. He was also able to share his experiences with flying for Civil Air Patrol.
So now we wait to hear. If anything, I told my son that at least he has gotten some experience with being interviewed. Of course we hope he gets the job but that remains to be seen.
What tips can you offer a teenager who will be facing interviews for jobs? With summer around the corner, many teens will be out there trying to find something. Do you have any advice you can offer parents whose teenagers are entering the workforce?
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