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Was your weekend job when you were young the best job you ever had?

Paul Carter

Hello everyone,

I am Paul Carter, a CIPD member and HR professional. I love to write and record podcasts about the world of work. My next blog and podcast are taking a nostalgic look at how the weekend jobs we had when we were younger shaped us and our attitude to work. We were care free, earning just enough money to have fun, buy clothes and run a car. We developed our interpersonal skills through meeting new people, being part of a team, being managed for the first time and dealing with tricky customers. A small taste of financial independence and what work would be like when we left higher education. We were dazed and confused, loving and hating it but always going back for the next shift. It may have only lasted for a couple of years but you will always remember your favourite weekend job. 

Was your favourite weekend job the best job you ever had? What did you learn from it? Do you still see people you worked with all those years ago?

Does your company employ weekend workers? A 2020 report by the Resolution Foundation indicated that the employment rate of 16- to 17-year-olds with weekend jobs had halved in a two-decade period. Should a weekend job be a rite of passage as a teenager? What are teenagers missing if they do not get this experience?

Please share your views and complete my short survey https://forms.office.com/r/VgPnf1mYLF?origin=lprLink 

If you would like to contribute to my blog and podcast, let me know.

Thank you

Paul

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  • My Sunday job was working at my local riding stables where I learnt to ride. I volunteered when I wasn't old to work officially and then as soon as I turned 16 my boss offered me a job. I was mucking out stables, following feed schedules, grooming, tacking up and helping out with lessons. Then I began teaching beginners lessons as well.

    Was your favourite weekend job the best job you ever had? Probably yes as it also happened to be my hobby.

    What did you learn from it? Speaking with people of different ages, patience (customer, especially parents of children were usually more testing than the horses...), time management, first lesson starts at 9am all horses need to be fed, groomed and tacked up by 8.45am at the latest, balancing schedules for horses, who was needed for which lesson, how long had they already been ridden for and did we need to swap around. Thinking on your feet, horse 1 is unexpectedly lame who can put little timmy on instead that matches his ability and is ready to go. Answering the phone, all while making tea and keeping things looking tidy and running smoothly. That even when it's minus 2, pouring with rain, work still needs to be done especially where you're responsible for another living beings wellbeing.

    Do you still see people you worked with all those years ago? No

    Does your company employ weekend workers? - No

    Should a weekend job be a rite of passage as a teenager? - Yes
  • in reply to Gemma
    Oh and I definitely wasn't earning minimum wage or enough to run a car. Cash in hand! But I learnt a lot and I loved it.
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