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

Paul, what a brilliant topic!

When I was a teenager, my dream job was working in a shop. Sadly, everyone else in my small town also wanted to work in the shops, no one ever gave me any interview training so I failed to get a feted Shop Job. I also lived in the middle of nowhere so I was limited where I could get to. My job aged 14 - 18 was Sunday lunch waitress at the hotel across the road. I also occasionally helped with weddings and other weekend events, if it didn't interfere with my teenage social life (ironically, a good 70% of my earnings being spent in other hostelries...) Was it my dream job? Absolutely not - tales range from being locked in the cold room, having to sweep up a dead mouse, pouring pints from old fashioned pumps age 15 ("if anyone asks, how old you are Gemma?"), many inappropriate advances from older men (often colleagues) who really should have known better, being scalded and burned times beyond number. In short, in many ways a very short and fast introduction to some of the hazards of work.

What did I learn from it? If you are friendly and confident, you can earn more money in tips than wages. Organisational skills - being easily bored I worked out the most efficient way to set up a banquet with silver service so I had more time to sit and read. Also, the starts of being a supervisor - being one of the more reliable and organised ones, I was often put onto "training up" the new recruits, and sometimes the heady joys of assigning the minions to set up the banquets for me... Also, when the restaurant was not busy, I got drafted into helping my friend in her role as a Chamber Maid and (hat tipped to hospitality workers) that was even worse than my normal job. So I guess, like others, it also taught me to understand more about what I wanted out of work and what I was suited to.

No friendships sustained - I moved area for Uni and then work. I did manage to rope a Uni friend into one of my Uni jobs and she and I had a happy time making sandwiches hungover in a deli in Manchester....

Gemma - thank you for liking my question. It will be the first podcast of my new website watchingworkingliving.co.uk/. I have produced plenty of internal podcasts for the civil service. I will reference your examples in my blog. Would you like to contribute to my podcast?

Sure, I'm happy to be referenced, preferably anonymously! I've never participated in a podcast - could we set up a short call for me to understand how it works? Could be a great learning experience for me.

Sure, I'm happy to be referenced, preferably anonymously! I've never participated in a podcast - could we set up a short call for me to understand how it works? Could be a great learning experience for me.

Gemma, being a podcast guest is rather like a Teams meeting where everyone wants you to succeed.

I have done quite a few and they are good fun. Some podcasters may have general rules and may suggest technical suff like a preference for external microphones but nothing too serious.

Give it a try

Great question, and great answers.

I started working weekends and holidays age 14 in the family bakery, progressing from the bakery earning cash in hand (making pastry cases and sweeping up) to the shop (selling all sorts: baps, bread, sausage rolls and iced fingers) when I was old enough. It was great and really helped me with mental arithmetic, especially each time the prices would rise. I didn't earn much but was able to buy records and clothes. One weekend, I did a stint in my friend's parents' clothes shop and realised how much easier it was to work in a clean environment without flour, sugar, dust etc. So much more pleasant and faster to tidy up after a long day!

I became a student and progressed to pub work. I adored that job - sociable and fun. Again, I benefited from my honed mental arithmetic skills. I hated smelling of beer and fags though.

The very best job title I had one Christmas as a student temp was 'International Courier Dispatch Clerk' for a Marketing Research company. I was simply employed to type out address labels and stick them to parcels containing questionnaires to be posted globally. The original post holder was on holiday and on day one I realised that the total work required was about 1.5 hours in a 7 hour working day. I was retained and ended up training new temps. It was tedious and I was grateful to return back to Uni and my regular bar work!

Even now as a fully fledged adult, I volunteer - formerly in our local community cinema and since in a non-clinical role for a medical charity which supports music festivals. Fun work like that is definitely a great antidote to a lifelong career in HR!!

Em.

Thanks Em, it would be great to get an audio recording of your experiences. If you are happy to contribute to the podcast, can I message you to arrange the transfer of audio.