20 replies to this topic

[TonyW]

I've never had a job before and I'm really nervous because I have no idea how to start! I never know which stores are hiring. My dream part-time job for high-school would be at Chapters because it's the type of environment that I would like to work in (I'm sure a lot of IB students are familiar with the smell of coffee ). How do I approach a store like Chapters and ask if they have job openings? Also, does anyone have any tips on how to write a resumé and how to balance work on top of First Year IB?

[Emy Glau-ski]

I had a job for the entire length of IB1. I ended up leaving during the summer (the upcoming workload wasn't the main reason, I just hated it and my boss and was having problems with some co-workers). I don't really advocate having jobs in IB; they take up a LOT of work, and I ended up missing out on lots of fun stuff, lost a lot of sleep, and ended up not doing as well in visual arts because of it. But if you really feel you can handle one, more power to you. I applied to several places before I got the job I had, so I'll share some tips.

If you are looking for a job, you can find out if they are hiring two ways. The first is to go to the place itself and ask a manager if they are hiring. Nothing fancy, just walk in and ask. You could call the store as well. You can phrase this as "Are you currently hiring?" "Are you currently taking job applications?" or anything like that. Just be polite! If they are, they might ask you to fill out an application there, or may ask you to fill one out and then come back when it is complete. The second option is to go online and see if it says they are hiring. I would rather go to the store itself and ask or just call them; it's more direct and you can get a much faster response.

When I applied to my jobs I didn't need to submit a resume; however, some jobs may require one. Ask if you are required to have one. Don't be afraid that just because you are a teenager your resume is no good. Find a good template or model resume (I found a good one on Microsoft Office Online) and use it to write yours. When you write your resume, you'll want to include:
- Your name, contact information (address, phone number, email address)
- Your education (where do you go to school, how long have you been going to that school, are you in any special programs like IB, etc)
- Any past work experience (this doesn't necessarily have to be a job! You can include volunteer work here. If it is relevant to the job you're applying for this can be seen as a bonus )
- References (usually two or three people that will say good things about you. Make sure you ask these people beforehand and give your potential employer their phone number or email address, as sometimes they will contact these people.)
- Any other information you find important

To balance your workload, you've got to have excellent time-management skills. You really can't procrastinate on your work when you have a job, especially if you are required to work during the week when you have school earlier in the day. This might cause you to stay up especially late or pull an all-nighter. If you have the opportunity to get work done, get it done! If your employer lets you bring work to do when business is slow, that could be a good time to read a book for class or finish a homework assignment. Take advantage of that, mine wouldn't let me do it. If you can plan well, you shouldn't have too much of a problem. The only problems would be when you have several big projects all due at the same time, such as a couple of IAs. Those would have to be managed, and if you are having trouble, you can always talk to your manager or your teachers and work something out.

Good luck I hope you get a job you like.

Edited by emyski, Nov 08, 2011 - 01:25.

[Vol de Mort]

Ask the cashier for the manager. If the manager isnt there, don't bother 'dropping' off your resume to chapters or whatever. Come back another time. When you finally find the manager, have a pleasant conversion with him or her and then give him or her your resume and cover letter. Tell him or her how much you want to work at Chapters.

Then - to show continue interest- do a follow up call ever so weeks to see if there are new openings available.

I repeat, do not just drop off your resume at a bunch of stores, they almost never get read by the manager.

[Summer Glau]

I am in IB2 right now and I have a part-time job. It doesn't affect my school life too much because I only work on Saturdays.

If you really want a job, go for it. As mentioned above, dropping off your resume at a bunch of stores is not the best idea because the managers probably will not bother reading them if they're not hiring. So just go to Chapters and ask the manager if they're hiring, or give them a call. Be courteous and polite. If they are hiring, awesome! Go to the interview and wooooow them There are lots of good templates for writing resumes on the internet. I just found a good template and I based my resume and cover letter off of those.

A part-time job can be difficult to balance with school. If you can pick your shifts, ask for Friday night/weekend shifts if you can so you don't have to worry about not having enough time for homework or studying on weekdays. If not, try to limit the number of hours you work during the week and get more hours on the weekend. I think 10 hours a week is more than enough; any more than that is too much in my opinion since you have other things to do besides school and your job. If you find that your job is affecting your grades negatively and you have absolutely no time for anything else, quit. A part-time job isn't your first priority when you're in IB. Your grades are more important.

Like emyski said, take any opportunity you have to get work done. Procrastination can really screw you over in IB, and even more so if you have a job in IB. Your boss/teachers may not always sympathize with you when you have lots of work (school and job) to do...sometimes you will just have to get it done with all the time contraints you have. That being said, it doesn't hurt to ask.

Good luck!

[TonyW]

All of these suggestions are fantastic! I learned a lot from them and I've already started typing up my resumé. What I forgot to mention is that I'm not sure what to do at an interview. Any tips?

[URA BOAT]

well they are trying to find some one that they won't mind working with on a daily basses....so be your self...to cocky or shy might not be the best attitude...be cheerful, friendly, but at the same time also be professional...

[Szczebrzeszyn]

Erm. Sorry for asking a stupid question, but I have always thought that part-time jobs like working in a cafe don't require going to interviews. Why bother, if the employee is most likely to quit the job after a couple of monts anyway?
I never had such job myself, but none of my part-time working friends mentioned being interviewed

[Emy Glau-ski]

TonyW, on Nov 08, 2011 - 03:21, said:

All of these suggestions are fantastic! I learned a lot from them and I've already started typing up my resumé. What I forgot to mention is that I'm not sure what to do at an interview. Any tips?

I had to do three interviews, two at one restaurant (where I ended up working) and one at another (they didn't call me back because they were unorganized and forgot, so I gave up on them). It depends on the place. Some will not require an interview, but some will, so ask. When you go in for an interview, you don't have to wear super fancy clothes, but you should be wearing something decent. No jeans, T-shirts, cut-off shorts, flip flops, sandals, nothing like that. A nice shirt or blouse and decent pants or a skirt is more than enough. When you go you'll be asked a series of questions. Usually things like "What would you do in this situation?" or "I see you listed _____ on your resume. Can you go into more detail with that?" or "Why do you want this job?" Things like that. Just respond to the question, don't try to come up with a perfect response or say what your employer wants to hear. The point of the interview is just to get to know you a little bit better before you start working to see if you would be a good fit with the company. They want to see if you can hold a conversation and have decent social skills.

[khalid]

If you manage to balance your Job with your IB work, you should be fine. The fact that it is IB1 Should make it easier, just make sure you complete your IA's and CAS hours in time.

[Ezak]

If you get a job in the weekends you should be fine. It's all about time- management.

[ifacebookedyourmom]

it's hard to manage time...

[vestes22]

Through a miracle, I somehow managed to juggle IB, a part-time job, AND cheerleading. Time management is huge in getting a job, and it's best to work somewhere where they work with your schedule really well (for example, I work at McDonald's. Not the most prestigious job but they work with my schedule really well, and it's done wonders with my Business Management IA!)

There isn't any reason a job should be a problem though, as long as you stay diligent with yor schoolwork:)

[Ezak]

The good thing with a part time job is that it not only makes you earn money, but it is also a good thing to have when you are applying for university.

[Yap]

Well I'm currently in IB1 and having a part time job, working only on sundays. It doesn't affect my work at all. However, I think you shouldn't work too much and preferably work only during weekends when you have time off.

[gg14]

I'm in IB2 and I do babysitting a couple of nights a week. I just got asked by a couple of people I already knew if I could do it, so I can't really help with the interview and application stuff!! But what I would say is that babysitting works pretty well for me because I'm basically being paid to sit and do my school work... if any IB-ers are trying to work out what job will fit in with the IB I would really recommend it!!

[frayedpages]

Hi all.

Does anyone here have a part time job and is doing the diploma programme? What has your experience been? Is it manageable? What about if you are already struggling a little bit in IB1? How badly were your grades affected, if you don't mind me asking?

Many thanks,
FrayedPages

[Emy Glau-ski]

I had a part time job for the entire length of IB1. I ended up leaving during the summer because of unresolvable problems with coworkers and my boss and because I just hated it. But I would have had to quit anyways because the workload in IB2 is insane. Now, every school is different on how they run IB and things, but I found it to be extremely time consuming and I don't recommend having a job. The reason being is that you will probably have a LOT of projects, work, IAs, and tests and having a job will cut into the time you have to work.

When I worked, I worked every Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and one day during the week that varied from week to week. On the weeknight I had to work I would have to make sure I got all of my work due the next day done before I went in otherwise I wouldn't have time to do it. If you want to have a job, you have to be extremely diligent and not procrastinate, like, at ALL. At certain points in the year when we were extremely busy (I worked in a restaurant) I ended up talking to my teachers to extend deadlines for me/pulling all-nighters because I didn't have time to finish my work because I was scheduled to work more.

I still maintained good grades throughout the year, but I lost a lot of sleep and missed out on fun things because of it. Like I missed my friend's going-away party when she was about to move to another state, I missed some birthday parties, I missed hanging out with friends when they came into town, I missed club activities, and I missed fun school events. I feel that it also caused my grade in IB art to suffer because I couldn't dedicate as much time to my art as I wanted. (I still got a 5, but I was aiming for a 6.)

If you really want to work, I recommend a job that you will not work more than 15 hours in a week, you only work on the weekends, or you only work in the summer. If you're already struggling in IB1, you won't be able to handle a job added to your plate. Find a place you will enjoy working at and you think you'll like for the entire duration of your job. Although my job was not difficult to do, it was boring, stressful, tiring, and filled with unnecessary drama that I didn't need in my life. If you want any tips about the interview process or how to apply for a job I have another post here where I mentioned some: http://www.ibsurviva...948#entry137948 or you can send me a PM.

[frayedpages]

It's not so much that I want the job as certain people in my family are starting to give me a hard time about it. I tried to find a job last year, but either they weren't hiring or they wanted 18+ years olds. The whole thing is getting rather frustrating very quickly. If I ended up having to get a job, is there a job you would recommend that you know of that would not be so bad? Anything that you have heard?


Thank you for your quick response and advice!

[Emy Glau-ski]

Places that usually hire 16-17 year olds are:
- Restaurants (things like Subway, McDonalds, etc are usually good places to check)
- Retail stores (usually you'll be a cashier or sales associate)
- Grocery stores (you can be a bagger/cashier)

If you work in a restaurant requirements will vary. At mine you could be 16 and work as a seater (what I did) or clean tables but at another restaurant you had to be 18 minimum for any position. But for most places it's 16. Restaurants suck to work at though, I wouldn't recommend it unless you have an unusually high level of tolerance for rudeness and a boatload of patience. Retail stores it's usually 16 or 17, and grocery stores I know for certain at like 90% of them it's 16 because my cousin who is an assistant manager at supermarket asked me if I was interested working there when I was 16.

[ChikkyD]

I started work when I was 13, at a large supermarket, however only started IB in 2009 (I did 1 year of pre-ib and 2 diploma years), My grades did suffer a lot during IB. Pre-ib was fine, and I worked something like 2 shifts a week, both weekends. Then IB1 it all went downhill. I ended up failing HL physics and SL Maths since I worked 1 full weekend day and then wanted to go out with friends on the other weekend day. So that didn't go well . I had a long discussion with my parents and my boss and then I quit. After 4 years of working there. After quitting at the end of IB1, my grades were back to what they were and better!

However, right before my IB exams, I got a new job at a jewellery store, just so I could work there in the summer, but they needed me to start immediately. I worked about 5 or 6 shifts during my 3 weeks of exams, and I'm pretty sure that didn't hinder my performance .

Jobs that are good to get (as Emsky said ): Supermarket (like, checkout chick/chap), clothing stores, pizza delivery (if you have a car/license), babysitting. There's heaps of nice places you can work which will only give you like 1-3 shifts a week to fit into your IB schedule .