Ideas for gap year employment?

Parent Cafe
1

My son is on a gap year, and right after he finished his summer job (cellist in a local theater production and a cello teacher) in August, he began to apply for part/full time work. He was trying to focus on QA Game Tester jobs since he’s very interested in working in game design in the future. I helped make his resume and he sent it out to probably a dozen places. I modeled the resume on my oldest son’s resume (he is a senior at MIT).

He has no paid experience as a QA Tester, having only had two Beta Test experiences. Most places ask for 6 months experience. (So he’s not sure how to get experience if they require experience)

He also sent out his music resume to various local theater companies since his paid work during high school was as a cellist and cello teacher.

Lastly, he’s sent out applications for assembler jobs, fast food, Target, and will send out more for places like Petsmart and Dollar Store.

He’s gotten exactly one interview, and that was for a Game Tester with a well known Gaming company, but they didn’t say anything about when he would know if he got the job, so it’s likely he didn’t get it.

Was it this hard for your kids to get a job?

We wonder if it’s his unusual educational background. He was homeschooled in my private homeschool, so we list that school by name. (And he was issued a diploma) He also passed the CHSPE, so he has that certificate. He was also dual-enrolled at the local community college for two years, and is taking a Game Design class this semester for personal development, (The Ivy where he will be attending allows that) so we list that, as well.

Or could it be that he says he can’t work Sundays? (church and orchestra on Sundays)

Can we just expect that, because of his lack of experience, no one will hire him? Can we expect that instead of dozens of jobs to which he’s applied, he’ll have to apply to 50 before he’s hired for one?

I guess I didn’t think it would be this hard for him to find work.

Thanks for ideas.

2

It could just be the job market where you are. Where I live now, every fast food place, big box store, and hotel has a permanent “we’re hiring” sign near the door. And yes, they are perpetually in hiring mode.

If your son has hit every fast food and big box in town with no luck, then perhaps it is time for him to pop by the local Job Service (or whatever it’s called in your state) office, and get some help with the job-hunting process.

3

There is probably a lot of competition for game test jobs, since there are probably many people who would like to play games for pay all day.

Need for testers is probably greatest this season, so he may have to be open to a short term contract if he gets anything.

4

He definitely hasn’t hit every fast food restaurant. He targeted certain ones that had “hiring” signs, and that looked interesting. (A particular type of restaurant) I guess he needs to keep going.

He was signed up with a student job service during the past two summers, but he ended up working as a cellist both summers, and so never did apply to any of the summer jobs through the special program. We’ll have to see if they have it during the school year.

Yes, ucb, this would be a contracted position if he gets it, which is just fine. Any experience in the gaming field would be fantastic. We just keep checking online every day for new postings. I just didn’t know if he’s doing something wrong. I mean, he was thrilled to get this interview, for sure. We’ll see if it pans out. Meanwhile, the hunt continues.

5

Are you in the Seattle area? I know that there are several, game design companies, including two very big names, around here. So I’m just guessing. When my D took a gap year of sorts, she had good luck getting jobs at independent restaurants, better than with the chains. At one point she was working for three at the same time-a small downtown deli for the breakfast crowd, a sub shop in the university area, and a hot dog cart at night. She got one through Craigslist and the others by word of mouth.

A person with no experience might have better luck NOT dealing with resume filters that go with the big chains or anywhere with an HR department. Someplace small and personal might be a better fit. Good luck to your DS.

Edited to add-he could always apply to Chick-Fil-A. They are not even open on Sundays, so they would not expect a person to have that day available, but with any typical starting job, the more hours you’re open to working, the better.

6

Chik-Fil-A is a good idea. There’s not one too close to us (20-25 minutes away), but it’s worth a thought. He also thought of Panera Bread, of which there is one that’s about 15 mintes away. But great idea about small and independent.

And actually, my son could have gotten a driver’s helper seasonal job at UPS (Dh is a next day air driver/clerk), but because he’s taking the game design class smack in the middle of the day on Wednesdays, he couldn’t do that. If he gets the gaming job, he’ll give up the class, but doesn’t want to give it up for other jobs because he’s learning so much, using Unity and C#, and hopes to have some actual simple games done by semester’s end.

We’re in San Diego County, so not near the gaming hub, though there are a few well known companies nearby, and a few lesser known gaming companies. He’s applied to all that we know about! LOL

I think we’ll keep looking around our community and nearby communities. Craigs List is a good idea, too. We’ve just been googling and/or thinking of places off the top of our heads.

Many thanks.

7

“Or could it be that he says he can’t work Sundays? (church and orchestra on Sundays)”

If this is what his résumé or cover letter says- “no Sundays” - leave it off the résumé. It is negotiable - after he gets his job offer. No one is going to force him to take a position that requires him working Sundays if that’s what he does not want to. Otherwise, it leaves a lot to the HR’s imagination, and it is quite open to religious bias.

8

Oh no, it’s not on the resume’ or cover letter at all, but some of the applications ask about availability, and he’s responded by saying he’s not available on Sunday and on some applications, he’s said he’s not available on Wednesday afternoon (but not the QA Tester jobs; those are full time, and he is ready to drop his class and take a W should he get that job).

Students get jobs all the time, so I wouldn’t think it should be a big issue, but maybe the “no Sundays” is a deal breaker for anything in fast food or retail. I do remember it being a big issue when I worked in restaurants for years. Some people complained when I wanted to take Sunday mornings off.

9

Does his resume state he’s only available for a year? We had issues where we used to live seeking summer only employment, unless it was a seasonal job. Years ago I needed to find a job for a year while H did field experience, and I had one employer tell me that it wasn’t worth it to train an employee if she knew in advance they were only going to be there for a year. My kids went to college out of our area and summer jobs at local retail establishments and restaurants went to people who stated they were going to be there longer. D finally got a job at a nursing home because they had such high turnover anyway.

I have had success in the past, and my D more recently, working for temporary employment agencies.

10

Oh, a temp agency is a good idea! Yes, his resume indicates that he’s enrolled in Penn, and is on a gap year. We have discussed that his unconventional education might be a negative. One reason for the gap year was to explore the gaming field. He’s taking the game design class which is good, but he was hoping to be able to get some temp employment, as well, in the gaming field optimally, but otherwise just to have some spending money. It’s not critical he work because he can be using his time to learn programming languages and making a game, and in the spring, study for 1-2 AP exams, but it would be nice to have income.

He’s going to put the word out about teaching cello. He taught two hours in the summer, but his student stopped once she went back to school. They want to take a lesson periodically, but having even 1-2 regular students would get him enough money to do what he needs to do (cover gas, phone, fast food, etc).

So, I think the plan will be to concentrate on seasonal jobs, a temp agency, and QA Tester jobs that we find, since many of those are temp jobs anyways.

Thanks for all the suggestions. It’s helped.

11

I agree that piecing together a couple things is probably going to be the path of least resistance if he wants particular times on particular days “off.” It’s just a year break before starting college so it’s not terribly important what he does in my opinion as long as he’s keeping “busy.” Temp agencies are a really good idea as they fill all sorts of jobs.

12

Can you elaborate more on what sort of gaming experience your son has? Ultimately my son decided working on games was not for him, but while he was in high school he was on a team that modded Civilisation 4, their mod won an award for the best mod the year it was released. Has he done anything like teach at a computer camp? That might be a possibility. If you know anyone in the industry ask about job shadowing. My son ended up getting his first break when the company was so impressed that they ended up hiring him first for part time work then full time during the summer. He also did some one off modelling programs for labs at a med school.

13

Does he have his drivers license and a good driving record? My son is 20 and drives cars for Enterprise Car Rental. He works 3-4 days/week and loves it, even though he’s working with a much-older group of drivers.

14

That’s really great, @mathmom! Your son sounds like he rocked it.

I like the idea of shadowing, but we don’t know anyone in the business. Many years ago, my sister worked in the game design field, but her contacts have scattered and none are nearby. He doesn’t mind teaching cello, but isn’t interested in teaching otherwise. He’s a true introvert, and his energy can wax and wane depending on the stability of his diabetes. As I said, his paid experience is all in cello.

He doesn’t have a lot of game experience. He’s taken two semesters of animation, and has created a few short animated videos (but nothing special). He can use 3dsMax, is learning Unity, has taken Java, can use RPG Maker, Alice, Scratch, Arduino, and has done two non-paid Beta Test jobs. He is exploring Python and likely C#, but needs to be more structured about them. I think that’s about it. He has excellent written communication skills. He interacts well with classmates, and will often take a leadership role in academic group settings.

He plays games a lot, but I don’t think he’s done team stuff. He plays League of Legends with a couple of friends. His personal favorite is LOTRO, which is what he’s done Beta Testing for. And he’s played probably a dozen other games. He’s a pretty avid gamer, but not over the top enough to make money playing.

He honestly isn’t sure games is it, but he wanted to investigate the possibility. He’s currently going in as a Fine Arts major to Penn, but has looked at the Cinema program with some interest, as well as a DMD minor. Even English is a slight possibilty for a major. He’s very confused and unsure of what he wants to do. He’s the classic dabbler and master of none except cello.

He wants to do something that will get him a secure job, but I think he needs to do what he enjoys. All we know is that he’s creative and imaginative, loves to write little stories and poems about his pencil and paper characters, and has shown interest in engineering, digital media, animation, game design, cinema, industrial design, and creative writing. He does not want to major in music. His cello will stay an EC and occasional source of income.

This morning, we found a number of seasonal jobs, so once he’s back from his cello lesson, he can put in some more applications.

15

He does have his license, but definitely does NOT want to be a driver. Maybe seeing his dad driving all these years put a damper on it. He didn’t want to get his license, but got it day before he turned 17 because he knew he needed to. Nonetheless, I’ll ask him again. Thanks for the suggestion.

I think we found another 6-8 seasonal positions. He did say that Target said they take up to 60 days to get back to applicants, so he’s still hopeful there.

16

My kid is very good at computers, but he also had some lucky breaks. Two uncles in the business and the med school connections from his Dad. He’s not at all outgoing, but does seem to have a lot of online friends. He seems to be keeping in pretty close touch with his friends from college. I’d encourage him to keep looking for ways to use his computer skills, as even jobs you don’t like can teach you a lot about what direction you should go. I know it’s frustrating, my younger son never had much luck finding jobs in our area, part of the reason that once he was in college he worked for Tufts.

17

Lots of retail places are looking for seasonal help right now. What about that?

Also, what about some kind of volunteer work?

18

Definitely looking at retail, but I don’t think he can be that “up” person for a high energy cashier job.

Volunteer work-good idea. He was serving in church on worship team and helping me pick up a bread donation, but hasn’t done either recently. There are also two other ministries that our church works with, both that serve the broad community. Thanks for the reminder!

19

During the holiday season, some stores need extra stock personnel as well.

What about bussing tables in a restaurant? Not glamorous, but might be available. I would suggest local small restaurants, not chains.