Job Offer? Or Kidnapping? My Journey finding a Job

Finding Part Time Work With No Experience

In July last year I got my very first job.
Previously (when I was about 14) I’d applied for McDonald’s. Didn’t get the job though as there were a lot of applicants that were already trained.

This time I started by searching job sites, but found lots of jobs that needed years of experience and qualifications… that didn’t stop me for applying for them though. If I had a feeling that there was even a slight chance that I could do that job, then I would apply. After applying for all that I could and setting my standards lower and lower, there was nothing left. I’d check daily for new jobs but there was nothing that I could do. That’s when I started checking Gumtree.
I found a lot of cafe and takeout jobs, so I applied to almost all of them. I finally started getting interviews! I ended up going to 3 interviews, and got offered all 3.

My first one was a group interview at a cafe. It seemed like a great place and was a wonderful first impression. At the time I didn’t think that the reason why I was chosen was that I was young, and they could get away with things they couldn’t with other people. I was offered a trial session along with a few other people and it was scheduled for the following day so I was ecstatic.

My next interview was 2 hours after the first one. This is my most interesting story and is where I work now. The advert for the place was very dodgy. It was on Gumtree and said something along the lines of “Asian Takeout, Elizabeth shopping centre”. And that was it. No more info. I got a text message saying that I had an interview in the Elizabeth Shopping Centre food court. I asked which store to meet outside of (assuming it was the store I was applying to) and he said that the store hadn’t opened yet, so to just call him when I got there. This rang alarm bells for so many reasons. There are 2 asian food stores there already, so I assumed it was one of them. I go to the shopping centre regularly and didn’t notice any spots in the food court where a new store could be, so I thought either I’m going to be kidnapped or this just isn’t a real job offer. Sure enough though when I got to the food court one of the stores had been boxed up, so I figured that must be where the new store would be. The fact that he didn’t say to meet in front of that one was strange, but I still went despite being almost certain that I was going to be kidnapped or something. When we found each other he got me to sit down in front of the closed store; it seems he was very new to all of this so I guess that’s why it all looked so dodgy.

I went through the interview amazingly. I was so happy about how the last one had gone that I was smiling pretty much the entire time. About 10 minutes in he said that I had the job, and that training would start in about half a month. I was a little shocked that it all happened so fast. He finished by asking if I had any questions - my question was “so what’s the store I’m applying to?” We had a laugh about the whole process and how some things had been missed out, and that was it. I didn’t hear from him again until closer to my training day, which I’ll get back to.

The next day I had my trial at the cafe. I did a great job and got offered a job there. I was being paid a little bit above minimum wage, so I was really happy. What I wasn’t happy with though was the fact that I wasn’t being paid on the books. As time went on my boss made it very clear to everyone that if you weren’t happy with anything about your pay you should leave. They’d made such a big deal about people quitting though that I was determined to stay on and show that I wasn’t a quitter. The conditions were horrid though.
I generally worked quite well, but there were times even I got into trouble if I didn’t know what to do. There was no training at all, and we were expected to do things that went against my moral code (using food that was definitely not fit for consumption). He’d get angry a lot if the other girls weren’t going fast enough and throw things, overall it was a terrible place to work. Problem was though, I thought that this was how work was and figured I just needed to get used to it. I thought that sobbing in the bathroom and crying while cycling to work because you don’t want to go was just me being a wimp, and it was normal. I ended up working 8 hours a day some days, without a break, even though this was supposed to be a part time job and I had studying to do. Quite often I’d only get paid for the 5 hours I was scheduled to work even though he asked me to stay on.

I had an interview at the third place now. It was a little patisserie in a shopping centre near me, not my regular one though. It was what I’d call an average interview. They got me to do some basic math like doing percentage discounts in my head, and explained what would be required. They called me afterwards to say that they were interested in me working there but I politely said that I’d been offered other jobs (they’d taken so long to get back to me I assumed I hadn’t gotten it).

After what seemed like ages I got a message from the takeout boss that I needed to come in for a quick meeting to sort out my training and first day. It was much more professional this time and I wasn’t worried about being kidnapped or anything. I got given a uniform and a start date, and it was all so supportive and friendly. Thing is… I’d forgotten about it! I just put it to the back of my mind in a I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it way… the bridge being how to deal with having 2 jobs.
I ended up explaining to my cafe boss the situation. He was actually okay with it. I left that job though because it was tearing me down so much and working the two jobs side by side showed me just how bad it really was.

My first day at the takeout job was great! I was told when I’d get paid, how much (almost twice minimum wage for my age!) and that my first two training days would be unpaid. I learned fast and I’ve now been there for over 6 months. I work about 20 hours a week now and it’s a wonderful community. We all get along really well and my boss is definitely not a kidnapper.