My daughter (15) quit her job without notice. How should she put this on her resume? Please read details?

Question

She was working in a restaurant kitchen 3 evenings a week for about 12 hours or so a week. Then she was only given 2 nights a week. Then for the last 3 weeks they called to cancel one of those nights. This left her with just one night (2-4 hours). So she quit last week without discussing it with me. Now she wants to find another job but I'm concerned this will be a "black mark" for her. Any advice?

Answer 1

Dellajoy, I totally understand trying to instill work ethics into your child, but seriously, she is 15. She will not have a resume until after college or at least a steady job for over a year. She should still put this job on future applications because it shows experience, but this is easily explained away as "they were cutting hours for everyone and I really wanted a job where I could learn as much as possible and this opportunity was not given to me there".
People who get fired get other jobs and that is a true black mark, leaving a kitchen job at a restaurant because they were cutting her hours is not a black mark.
One additional point would be to try and discuss if there were issues that she encountered with any co-workers. The only time I have known a company to cut hours is if the person is not doing the full potential of their job. Did she like working at the restaurant? Maybe she should try something different like a clothing store or a grocery store. These might give her more options for improvement and a different skill set.
Also, be sure to start an IRA for her now--that way she learns about saving for her future early on.

Answer 2

I would say that establishments with experience hiring 15-year-olds have encountered similar situations. I've found that while people who quit without notice, as well as those concerned for the well-being and futures of those individuals, worry about quitting without notice, many hiring managers do not. I'm not sure how long your daughter was working in the kitchen. This could be more of a point of concern than quitting without notice. Some hiring managers pay a lot of attention to how long people stay at a single job. I have no experience in the restaurant industry, but it seems as though there is a lot of turnover...especially in kitchens. At any rate, on her resume, I think your daughter should simply state the name of the business, her title/role, the dates she was there, and her duties. If she interviews with a prospective employer and that employer asks why she left her previous employer, she should state that the workload changed and the number of hours she desired were not available. This will show a prospective employer that she wants to work and that she can be depended upon for X number of hours each week.

You've probably already done so, but if not, please discuss with your daughter that she cannot make a habit of quitting without notice. While one, maybe two, occurrences may not hurt, developing a pattern has the potential to limit her success in the future.

Answer 3

Your daughter is 15. The words resume should not even be associated with her. The truth is that with unskilled jobs, you dont need a resume, and you write your previous jobs on some application. Then the people who hire unskilled workers do not even check the references. Especially in the restaurant industry where turnover is over near 100% a year! People come and go every day.

As for the future. Well when you really need a resume (working 9-5 or post collegic job) You are certainly not going to put stuff on there from when you were 15. In fact, you probably are not going to put any part time jobs on there that are not career related. I look at resumes for a company, and I certainly do not care if you worked at mcdonalds when you were 16.

So, Unskilled jobs are a dime a dozen, the people do not invest much in you, and you dont have much responsibility. Plus turnover is high. So you are constantly hiring people, and you dont really care much about them as long as they were not fired for stealing or something. Relax a bit. She is 15, not 25

I worked at a fast food joint, and walked out of there one night because they were idiots. Never impacted me at all.

Answer 4

I worked for McDonalds for 3 weeks. The first week I got 5 shifts, the second week I got 3 shifts and the 3rd week I only got given 1 shift. I quit after that one shift, walked into the labor dept and asked for a real job. I spent the next 12 months working in an office earning real money. I was 19 years old, had finished HS but had no college credits. I put the 1 year office job on my resume, but not McDonalds.

Answer 5

Dellajoy, she does not need to explain her reason for leaving on the resume. But she should list some of her skills that showed she did a good job. For instance what would her boss or co-workers state are some things she did well.

When it comes to an actual interview, she can always explain that she quit due to lack of available hours and that they were canceling shifts on her.

Answer 6

If she worked at the job for a month or less, she should omit it. If she worked there for awhile, I would tell her to list it in a general manner. (ex. no contact number for the manager ) When she goes in for the interview, she should start off with the positives (what her skills are, what she learned, etc.) before explaining why she left a job without notice. Another avenue is to see if there is an asst. manager, or someone she worked with directly, who would be willing to give her a recommendation.

Answer 7

She should just put on her reason for leaving was lack of hours. There is no need to put down that she left without notice, and I have never asked or been asked that when checking references.

Answer 8

if she's only 15, I would advise her not to even put it on or bring it up - any employer will ask about it if it's on her resume, ask why she quit, if they can contact her former employer, etc., if she's so young, she can easily get away with not showing it. It looks bad, even if her reasons were just, employers like to think you'll give them adequate notice to find a replacement...

Answer 9

She can still put it on her app. Sadly, thats how I use to quit all my jobs, but Id lie. Because barely any employers check references. She could also put your cell number down as a reference. She can also not put it on her app.

Answer 10

If she is only 15, she is too young to work anyway. Why aren't you taking care of her at this age?