Jobs for local teens?

Eren · Mar 3, 2007

the new greggs cycle at alderwood mall is hiring, they just opened a couple weeks ago, if even then

bent^biker · Mar 3, 2007

go to your local shops (Tim's, greggs, bicycle center in everett (not silver lake)), hang out a bunch with the guys, get to know them, prove you know your shi!t, and then ask if they'll hire you. Better get on it though, bike shops are employing now and wont be later in the year.

oh, and be persistant.

stgil888 · Mar 3, 2007

If you can work on your own bike, you'll be one step ahead of some of the other guys (adults included) who are applying for the same job. There are some problems you'll face, like age discrimination. Usually that's a phrase that's associated with old people, but I remember being your age. Employers will go over your DOB and be worried you won't show up for work, won't be responsible...etc. It just helps to try.

Re: getting a job at a bike store vs. anywhere else, you have to look at your situation carefully. Bike stores don't pay very much, in general. I'd bet that you could make more money somewhere else and not work as hard. If you will only be spending the money on bike parts, it makes sense to work at a bike shop, because the discounts you get will make a marginally lower wage more than worthwhile. If you need to make car payments, buy food...etc then you might want to think about it for a while. Good luck!

bent^biker · Mar 3, 2007

stgil888 said:
I'd bet that you could make more money somewhere else and not work as hard.

that depends, weekends during summer=busy weekdays, not so much. working at a shop during the winter...well its not really work

Garrett 0 P · Mar 4, 2007

you have to not post stupid worthless forum topics on ride monkey and actually know how to maintain a bike properly

hungryleprican · Mar 4, 2007

I need a job too

Kornphlake · Mar 4, 2007

muddy beast said:
P.S. Im a soon to be Eagle Scout if that means anything?

As an Eagle Scout myself and a former Scout Master it does mean something but it can be either good or bad. If you are the type of Eagle Scout who really enjoyed scouting for what it taught and actually moved through the program as it was designed, consciously showed scout spirit for each rank advancement and live the standards contained in the Scout Oath and Law it will be pretty obvious to any potential employer that you are more mature than the majority of kids your age. If you are the type of Scout who looked for loopholes to pass off requirements, if you were just involved with Scouting so you could go camping, light fires, shoot guns and arrows, paddle, swim, hike and overall just act like a big kid it will be obvious too.

If a shop has an opening advertised you will be competing against people who may have a lot more experience than you, if the shop doesn't have an opening you may be able to get a job regardless if you can razzle dazzle the owner.

First impressions will be the biggest deciding factor, you are trying to get a job at a bike shop, don't wear a suit and tie, you'll make your prospective employer uncomfortable, don't wear some ratty jeans and a pair of Birkenstock's either, wear nice clothes that are wrinkle free and fit well. Try to wear something that doesn't scream "I'm 16." A polo shirt and a pair of dark jeans or a nice pair of cargo pants would be fine, tuck in your shirt, wear a belt and make sure you have clean shoes with the shoelaces tied. Comb your hair, even if your hairstyle doesn't "need" combing you're not trying to make a statement about your individuality, you are trying to get a job and your potential employer won't view individual thinking as a desirable trait.

Prepare a thoughtful resume, don't use a template from word or some website. Go to the library and find a book with example resumes and find one or two example resumes that match your level of experience and try to improve on them. I don't imagine that many shops get a lot of resumes, they are more likely to hire based on referrals from other shop employees but you'll still want to pass on a resume, it is part of showing that you know how to communicate effectively. You should list things on your resume like work experience, if you don't have any work experience list things you've done in Scouts, particularly list leadership positions you've had, if you've been a Patrol Leader list how many Scouts were in your patrol, how many rank advancements and merit badges were earned while you were a Patrol Leader, how many activities did you help plan. List any significant projects you may have had in school, if your GPA is high list it on the resume, if it is low don't list it but beware that omitting your GPA can suggest that it is low, if your GPA is in the 2.5-3.0 range I'd still list it, but be prepared to explain why it is low and show that you have improved it lately.

If you walk into a shop and the owner isn't available leave your resume and ask for a business card with the owner's name and jot down when he may be in the shop, be sure to call as soon as possible to make sure he received your resume. Rather he's seen your resume or not try to setup an interview. If the shop owner is there the day you drop off your resume try to get an interview that day, if necessary come back later that day, suggest that you could meet the shop owner just after closing time.

In an interview try to stick to the questions the interviewer asks, don't start asking about employee discounts or other benefits. Answer the questions honestly, try to be confident but not cocky. If given the chance to ask questions try to ask questions that show you can do something for the shop. A good question would be something along the lines of "I've come in the shop several times and noticed that every time I come in I forget to buy extra tubes because you keep them by the door, I don't see them until I'm heading out the door and don't want to make a second visit to the register, have you ever considered moving them next the register?" Be careful though the shop owner may consider himself a marketing genius, you don't want to bruise his ego by criticizing one of his brilliant ideas. When you feel like the interview is winding down you might suggest a skills demonstration, say something like "I noticed that the bike you have sitting back there needs to have a chain installed, I've replaced the chain on my bike 3 times and a couple of my friends have had me replace their chains, can I show you how quickly I can work with tools by installing the chain and adjusting the derailurs?"

After the interview be sure to send a thank you letter, tell the interviewer how much you appreciate him taking the time to talk to you. You may comment on something that didn't come up in the interview or clarify something that you feel like you may not have explained well. Be sure to include your contact information again in the thank you letter.

I've had quite a few jobs and honestly the jobs that I've liked the most weren't the ones that paid big bucks, but they were the ones that I feel like I was able to do the most work. One job was cleaning carpets during college, I worked with 3 other students who I got along with really well and we all worked really hard to get as much done in the 4 hr shift, our supervisor took time to acknowledge it too. My second most favorite job was just after graduating from college, I still wish I hadn't quit that job even though my pay went from about $20/hr to over $27/hr, I had a lot of freedom for creative thinking and I was able to prioritize my workload myself as well as identify my own projects. Don't let people tell you that you can make more money doing something else, if you really want to work for a bike shop then do it, by the time you are my age you might look back and say that the summer you spent working at the shop was the best job you ever had.

Garrett 0 P · Mar 4, 2007

muddy beast said:
And Garrett, thanks for the useless help.

useless but logical.

thats what im here for

ChelanDHer · Mar 4, 2007

Get a job in a restaurant and bus tables. I'm 20 and that's what I'm doing while going to college. I work 25 hours a week bussing tables and make $1400-1500 a month during the slow season. That's more than you'll EVER make at a bike shop working part time, ever. I'm pulling in $15 an hour including my tips as a busser. If you're not doing the math, that's about twice what you'd make at a bike shop. Go for the money at your age dude, you'll have some cash for parts and save the rest for college/girls/cars/whatever.

stinky6 · Mar 4, 2007

If you need to buy a bunch of bike stuff, get a job at a bike shop if you can because the money you save vs the lower wage thing will balance out. If you don't need a bunch of bike stuff get a job at a restruant, bussing is hard work, but you make good money; not to mention a lot of people have a restraunt job when they are in college and expierence never hurts.

Milton Burl · Mar 4, 2007

Fluidride is accepting applications, call or stop by to set up an interveiw. We are open 12-8...mon.-sat.

Krosskountrykid · Mar 4, 2007

Hopefully they won't ask you to spell DILEMMA.

bent^biker · Mar 4, 2007

Milton Burl said:
Fluidride is accepting applications, call or stop by to set up an interveiw. We are open 12-8...mon.-sat.

o rly

Eren · Mar 4, 2007

Milton Burl said:
Fluidride is accepting applications, call or stop by to set up an interveiw. We are open 12-8...mon.-sat.

i may just have to hit that up. damn dream job, Fluidride, haha

hungryleprican · Mar 4, 2007

I'd be all over that If I could drive

ffonsok · Mar 5, 2007

Garrett is a slut, don't listen to him.
Just be ready to do the bitch labor... i'm starting at GI Joes really soon and they basically told me I would be doing the crap nobody else wanted to do for the first month or so.

bent^biker · Mar 5, 2007

^^^or until they hire another new guy

bent^biker · Mar 5, 2007

thats good too because you get full benefits at ups

edit: not that it really matters for you

ChelanDHer · Mar 6, 2007

Tellin you bro, restaurant jobs is where it's at. No glamor or anything like that, just realize that if you work in a restaurant and you're 20, like I am, that you don't want to be there in 5 years or your life will be pretty much over. Work isn't too bad, some days blow terribly, but $14 an hour at 16 years old is damn good money.

geargrrl · Mar 6, 2007

Just a thought - both my sons worked in supermarkets, one as a bagger. Not a bike shop at all BUT the jobs were pretty darn flexible in that there was always someone to trade a shift with which is important when you find better things to do that go to work. Also, the work was pretty easy, and they got over minimum wage. PLus, if they like you, you will always have a job when you go off to college and want to pick up a few shifts over breaks...

Kornphlake · Mar 7, 2007

I had a job working at a shop that manufactured gas log sets when I was 16. It wasn't really that cool to tell people that's what I did but after 2 years of lifting 25-30 lb logs hundreds of times through a 4 hour shift my hands got so strong nobody could beat me at grip contests. Aside from getting paid to work out I learned a little bit about driving a forklift, a little about welding, a little about inventory control, a little about buying and planning, I'd say it definitely helped me 6 years down the road when I graduated with a degree in Manufacturing Engineering and had some low level work experience in manufacturing.

Unless you are planning on going to culinary arts college skip the restaurant business. There are people who really need those jobs a lot more than you do, I know it sounds kind of un-American to think about someone besides yourself, but there are single moms who can't do anything but bus tables because kids need her at home after school, there are people who for one reason or another need a low skill job so they can qualify for low cost health care for their families... You're still a kid, there's no reason you should need to make $14/hr, especially if your parents are helping out with your car and insurance. You don't need a job, you just want it, whatever job you are offered is a job that someone who needs a job can't have.

I don't know what I would do if I were 16 again and was given an offer for a job that paid $14/hr and an offer for a job that paid $5.50/hr, I just might take the job that pays almost 3 times as much, looking back from where I'm at now it sure does seem silly though, you'll have a lifetime to make money, right now is about the only time in your life you can pick a job just for the experience.

ChelanDHer · Mar 7, 2007

One thing I kinda forgot to mention about the restaurant deal is that it will give you some work ethic. I mowed tons and tons of lawns in high school, had a business, sold it, ran shovel for a couple years doing landscaping. 3 years ago I never would have dreamed I'd end up working in a restaurant, completely not my scene, but I'm glad that I did it, I've learned a lot. I have a strong work ethic and I get pushed in the restaurant almost daily. If you find the right restaurant, it'll put hair on your chest for sure. I've been through some difficult 14 hour days working in construction and landscaping, but there are some 5 hour shifts in the restaurant that really tax me mentally, it's balls out through the whole shift and it'll teach you to work hard. We are well compensated for our efforts, but I don't want to do this forever nor am I recommending that anybody try to make bussing or serving in a restaurant a profession. In a nutshell, it's honest work, great pay, it'll teach you to work hard which is the most important part of the whole deal. I see way too many people my age that have absolutely no work ethic at all, they're all looking for handout from their parents. Not accusing you of being like that, I don't know you personally and would be a fool to assume, but it never hurt anyone to bust some ass and work a somewhat crappy job at some point in their life. It'll make wherever you end up after college seem like a godsend and you'll appreciate it so much more. And at your age, you may not need $14 an hour, but there is no such thing as too much money. College is damn expensive, regardless of whether your parents are covering that cost for you or not, or if you even choose to go to college at all, I guarantee you'll find a use for some extra money along the line. If anyone is thinking about doing the restaurant deal, seriously don't work at Denny's or some crap hole restaurant. Get a job at Anthony's or somewhere with some class, you'll be well trained in how to effectively communicate with customers, a skill you can use ANYWHERE. Just my .02.

hungryleprican · Mar 7, 2007

well said

Wigga · Mar 9, 2007

get a job in a restaurant. tips are sooooo sweet

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