First Job Suggestions?

[Subb]

I'm going to turn 16 in December, so job opportunities are gonna open up for me. I do have a few requirements, though.

Not incredibly stressful.
Small to medium store. ( exeptions being bookstores)
NO FOOD! (Exeptions being convenience stores and tea/coffee shops)

Are these requirements too limiting? What jobs would fit? I'm thinking that it would be nice to work at one of the Teavanas around here. But I'm not sure.

[Miab419]

Retail? You could work at clothing stores. My friend basically talked a manager into hiring his girlfriend for Journey's. I think she makes about $15 an hour

[Subb]

I haven't thought about clothing stores, mostly because I hate the very concept of brand name clothing. But I guess I could just suck it up and do it, because $15 is better/more steady than $8 + commision.

[Miab419]

Sorry, other than that, I wouldn't really know...

[Subb]

No need to apologize.
Maybe Build a Bear Workshop!! That'll be fun... Wait, no. The kids would be oh so obnoxious. And loud. I would come home everyday with a migraine...

[Miab419]

Makes Chuck E Cheese sound like the worst kind of hell... Well, amusement parks are pretty good, I hear.

[Thought Criminal]

I work fast food. It's really not that bad. Though I do work for an unusual company. What city do you live in Sub, if you don't mind me asking that is.

[SoulRiser]

You said you'd make an exception for bookstores... so how about trying bookstores?

Also, video/game rental places, movie ticket places?

[Subb]

I think I'll say that live in SE Wisconsin and leave it at that.

The reason why I don't want a job as a food guy is because I hate cooking. I suppose fast food will be better, because I would hate being a waiter or a busboy more.

Yes, a bookstore is another good candidate. But not a video game store, because I'm not too much of a gamer, therefore there are people who are more qualified and want the job more than me. Also, the only video game store we have around here is GameStop, which is a bad company to work for. A movie theater is a good candidate, too...

[Thought Criminal]

Bowling Alley might not be a bad place to work.

[brainiac3397]

You do know that many of the low-rung workers in specific retail stores don't necessarily have much a knowledge?

There are people who work at those autopart stores, yet probably know only about how to change a car tire.

And it will depend on your definition of "stressful". I for one dislike dealing with egocentric consumers(I work at a local family-owned bakery that's both wholesale and retail. I do both cashier and work in the back, like having bread sliced and packaged for orders and all. About 25-35% of customers are usually "Why didn't you make extra?" one's, course they seem to disregard that things work on a first come, first serve basis. There isn't some sort of customer routine purchases, some days there are more products on the shelves, on other days people buy them out.)

And everyone who wants a job wants a job. Doesn't mean you should make way for them for simply wanting. It doesn't hurt to apply at the least.

[Subb]

(07-24-2013 09:57 AM)brainiac3397 Wrote:  You do know that many of the low-rung workers in specific retail stores don't necessarily have much a knowledge?

There are people who work at those autopart stores, yet probably know only about how to change a car tire.

And it will depend on your definition of "stressful". I for one dislike dealing with egocentric consumers(I work at a local family-owned bakery that's both wholesale and retail. I do both cashier and work in the back, like having bread sliced and packaged for orders and all. About 25-35% of customers are usually "Why didn't you make extra?" one's, course they seem to disregard that things work on a first come, first serve basis. There isn't some sort of customer routine purchases, some days there are more products on the shelves, on other days people buy them out.)

And everyone who wants a job wants a job. Doesn't mean you should make way for them for simply wanting. It doesn't hurt to apply at the least.

That's good news, because I know a hell of a lot more about tea than the average joe.

Hmm, what makes me stressed? Well, there's a sensory aspect to it, because I get overwhelmed in bright lights, loud places, tight spaces, etc. Yes, I don't want to deal with customers that are complete idiots, but there's no way to get around that. I guess what matters most is the higher-ups. I don't want the people there to be complete jerks. You know, fire people for arbitrary reasons, yell at people for standing up for the customer, make people use shady selling tactics, jump in and steal someone's sale if it's a commision job. I think I'll be fine if the manager is a nice person.

You do have a point on me not getting a job at GameStop. But GameStop is a terrible place to work at.

[brainiac3397]

I like tea.

I agree with the higher-ups. The one's in charge at my workplace are very nice people(family-owned means more than one boss, though the father of the family is the main one who actually started it) and even give some of the food or sweets for free to some people they like. They also treat the workers pretty nicely, though the main boss(the father) can be somewhat quick to anger.

I'm always hearing not-so-good stuff about Gamestop nowadays. I also did experience it once when they practically ripped me off when I traded-in 3 games many years ago.

Local businesses can be nice places to work, since the owners are local and are the "highest" on the chain. Bigger businesses can have that de-personalizing effect when the higher-ups aren't even in the same state. And small businesses can have more flexible rules and such.

[Subb]

Yes, local businesses are ideal, but I haven't found any that hire at 16. My guess is that because they are local, they have less money to work with, and they don't want to risk it on teens. Yes, it's ageist, but there's other reasons for that, too. We have to go to school, and we can only legally work a certain amount of hours. Anyway, I doubt that I'll find a local business that hires at 16.

[Thought Criminal]

Food service can get pretty fucking stressful, especially during a rush. However you get used to it after a while and it becomes alot easier. I remember when I first started my goddamn head was spinning trying to keep up with everything. Now that I've been there for about a year though I pretty much know what I'm doing, rushes still suck but I can deal with it no problem.

[brainiac3397]

I get rushes sometimes as well. What makes it worse is how a group of people walk in together but only one of them is purchasing somehing. When you got multiple groups, it all gets confusing when you dont know who is buying or who is simply just standing there.

[Alucard483]

People always going to pay to get their dick sucked.

[queen of evil !!!!!!!!!!]

i think your first job should start off small and as you get older you go higher and if you don't want to get a new job as you get older that is fine too

[brainiac3397]

You could also start big then end up in jail or on the streets as a homeless bum.

[Absnt]

I recommend checking out glassdoor and reading about your local store(s) before singing on. They list most places, and there are usually worker reviews of the store, and they also give you a list of jobs and who's hiring in the area. Usually they don't have a lot of small businesses, but sometimes they do.

I work in a grocery store. (Not wallmart, I'd stay away from wallmart...) It's sort of local to the NE. Anyway, it's not that stressful. I got lucky getting the job because they were building a new store near the one I applied to and asked if I wanted a job there, and I took it. I started off at like 8 bucks an hour, now I'm making like 8.50 or so. It's not bad for a first time job. Once you learn everything and get the routine down, it's easy peasy. If you need help with anything, just ask.

I don't think I'd want to be a cashier but eh, doesn't seem TOO bad either. I work as a stocker, and it's pretty straightforward. So that's an option I guess. I'd love to work in a small bookstore though. That'd be kewl. Don't think there are any near me though.

[brainiac3397]

I make 7.50 an hour.

I actually applied for a non-cashier position, and that's technically what I do, but working at the cash register in the store front is a "secondary" duty I'm tasked with at my job. It's also why it's hard to say exactly what my job is, because I do a variety of things.

[Alistoriv]

(08-01-2013 07:04 AM)Absentinsomniac Wrote:  I recommend checking out glassdoor and reading about your local store(s) before singing on. They list most places, and there are usually worker reviews of the store, and they also give you a list of jobs and who's hiring in the area. Usually they don't have a lot of small businesses, but sometimes they do.

I work in a grocery store. (Not wallmart, I'd stay away from wallmart...) It's sort of local to the NE. Anyway, it's not that stressful. I got lucky getting the job because they were building a new store near the one I applied to and asked if I wanted a job there, and I took it. I started off at like 8 bucks an hour, now I'm making like 8.50 or so. It's not bad for a first time job. Once you learn everything and get the routine down, it's easy peasy. If you need help with anything, just ask.

I don't think I'd want to be a cashier but eh, doesn't seem TOO bad either. I work as a stocker, and it's pretty straightforward. So that's an option I guess. I'd love to work in a small bookstore though. That'd be kewl. Don't think there are any near me though.

What grocery store is it, if you don't mind me asking?

[Absnt]

http://www.giantfoodstores.com/

[Subb]

I might be able to work at a grocery store. Maybe. Definitely not a cashier, though. I've always had this fasination with lining things in shelves up to look more presentable. Not in an obsessive way, but something I do when I'm bored. I would love/hate a job that was just organizing the shelves.( Hate because of the people that would mess it up.)

[brainiac3397]

Organizing is something I sort of have to do at my work. However, I don't enjoy working with women(my shift is usually two people, me and another guy about two years older), because they obsess about cleaning in-depth, and I don't really like doing any of that sort of cleaning(If I wanted to clean, I'd sign up as a janitor).

Not that I don't like clean, but it isn't necessarily my area of responsibility and working as a cashier already fills in the "space" I left open for other secondary responsibilities. And the salary isn't enough to motivate expanding my responsibilities.

[Alistoriv]

(08-01-2013 09:20 AM)Absentinsomniac Wrote:  http://www.giantfoodstores.com/

Giant's a pretty good store. I'd go there more often (because the local Gerrity's always gets rid of the stuff I like) but the closest one to me is like 20 minutes away.

[Absnt]

Yeah, I have to drive like 40 minutes to get to work lol.

[brainiac3397]

(08-02-2013 02:07 PM)Absentinsomniac Wrote:  Yeah, I have to drive like 40 minutes to get to work lol.

I don't have a license yet, so I usually have to take a para-transit bus(NJ transit is expensive for the drive all because of the goddamn zone boundary, which doubles the fare. Hence, para-transit buses are cheaper though perhaps not as comfortable since the drivers like to blare their Spanish radio).

It takes about 15 minutes to get the stop, then another 5 minutes to walk to work.

Sometimes my mother will drive me, but that's not often. It costs me 1.50 a day to take the bus, but the tips I earn at work cover that cost(along with any loss of pay I may have when I arrive late on some days.). I average about $6 in tips a day, which is not bad when I'm simply a cashier