I'm not sure what you can do at only 15 years old, you really have to be 16 to get a standard job bussing, stocking shelves, serving food, etc. My first recommendation would be to see if you know anyone who can hook you up with a nice job. My friend has been working at a restaurant since he was about 14 because the owner of the place is family friends of his family, its a good job and they actually gave him a shot even though he had no work experience. He gets some good pay, good hours, extra money from tips and hes working a job he likes.
If you're applying to a place with no job experience it's very difficult to get a job, luckily I do really well on interviews and the place that hired me (Longs) was in need of some young (16-18) males who could work the late hours, weekends, etc and could help move all the heavy stuff and do the **** jobs that the girls don't do, couple that with the fact that I go to a pretty good school and I'm 16 so I'll stick around for a few years and they hired me. When I applied to Target I guess I did so well on the interview that they had me do another 1 or 2 interviews than hired me and told me to take a drug test that day (lol, which is another story). Anyway what I'm saying is you have to make yourself marketable, that's basically what you're doing is selling yourself.
I'm 16, just got my first job a few months ago, and really you can't demand your hours, I'd prefer to have a day off on my weekends but if that were the case they never would have hired me. You're never going to get a job saying that you can work 1 day a week. I have to work from 8 AM to 5 PM tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday which makes today my only day off of my whole 4 day weekend; it sucks but you gotta do it. I'd just wait until you're 16 and get a job starting at the beginning of summer, otherwise you're options are very limited.
There are perks to having a job though. Once you get your first job it will be easier to get jobs in other places because you've got experience, so even if you don't get a job you think you'll like you should just try it for at least a few months and then try to get a job elsewhere since you've got some experience. Also, depending on where you work you could meet alot of really cool people who you enjoy being around. Luckily that is the case with my job and to be honest I think the reason I'm not looking for another job is because I really like the people I work with and I don't want to break my friendship with them because I want to work less hours or something like that.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">But yeah, get a job. The power to buy your own things whenever you feel like it is the best feeling in the world.</div>
Yep, this is really awesome. I only make $7.50 an hour but I've been buying alot more stuff for myself because I know every week I'll be getting a paycheck and can afford to buy some shoes and I'll have earned the cost of the shoes in my next paycheck. I'm also realizing its alot easier to buy Christmas gifts; you don't have to buy something cheap but you can just get what you know people will like because you know whatever you buy your bank account balance will probably break even once you put in the paycheck.
I'll leave you with some tips on getting jobs. LIE YOUR ASS OFF on your application (and in your interview for that matter), If you tell the truth you won't the get job unless you are a saint, don't be afraid to embellish your greatness
. Once you apply for a basic, entry level crappy job you have to call them and ask a manager for an interview, their attitude is basically that they don't give a **** about you and they're not going to go through applications looking for someone who is the most qualified. If they give you some bullshit excuse as to why they can't hire you just keep calling every day and they'll give you an interview eventually. When looking for a job alot of places are full with employees and applicants, you have to look for some underground places that aren't the most popular places in town.
Lastly, when looking for a place to work you should consider how happy you'll be working there; if you know people there or alot of people your age work there you'll probably like the job. You should ask employees if they like working there to see what you're getting yourself into. I have a friend my age who works in an office building )with a buch of 30-40 year olds) making/answering phone calls but mostly its down time where he does homework. He gets paid $10.50 an hour and chooses his own hours but hes actually going to quit his job because he hates working there, he doesn't need the money since hes pretty well off, and he can spend the time better doing homework, hanging out with friends, or doing community service that will help him get into college.
I'd wait until you're 16 and have free time to get a job, but in the mean time you should think about where you'd want to work; see where your friends work or if you can get hooked up with a job through someone else.
