Today, I had a job interview with an environmentalist organization. I got the job, my FIRST job, a great first job doing something I am passionate about. An hour after the interview was over, they called me back and asked if I was 18. I'm 17, and unemployed again. FML
I agree, your life sucks (27879) - you totally deserved it (5025)
On 07/22/2009 at 4:32am - work - by taylrrina (woman) - United States (Washington)
you should have lied. ikik bad idea. but tht does rly stink.
#2 - On 07/22/2009 at 12:12pm by burymeinmemory
just be like "the environment doesn't care how old I am, why do you?!"
stupid idea of course...but damn that sucks for you!
it matters because of technical child labor laws, as a 17-year-old, she is not a full, legal adult yet.
pfft, environmentalism. sure the world is screwed up, but we need to make small changes for any change to happen. trying to convince people to 'go green' or 'environmentally friendly' don't work if there is no profit and/or too costly. This is why hippies, environmentalists and god-damned animal rights activist's piss me off because they don't understand human psychology and economic concerns, instead, they try to bully people into it.
#55 - On 07/22/2009 at 11:00pm by Newfie3199
most applications get around this by asking what age group you fall in.... and they are definitely allowed to ask if you are a minor
One of the first things you should do when applying for a job when you're underage is making sure they hire underage people. YDI
That just seems like common sense. Places have rules about the age of the people the hire. It even says it on most applications (if the organization had an application).
I'm sorry, that sucks! It's so hard to find a job that you enjoy and are passionate about.
Good luck finding another job. :)
FYL...but honestly, I think you are better off. Every application I have ever seen for jobs asked for age - and assuming you filled it all out, they should have known right off the bat you were too young by their rules, making me suspect the people there may not be the brightest bunch.
#16 - On 07/22/2009 at 12:49pm by BLNovelist
#2 I agree but what if they asked for a birth certificate....
#17 - On 07/22/2009 at 12:52pm by ObamaKitttyy
That's why you ask what age you have to be before anything else.
#21 - On 07/22/2009 at 1:21pm by xavierdevoy
If it is your dream job and you are really interested in it, why don't you offer to work as a volunteer, so they can see that you are interested and qualified. Just a thought!
#25 - On 07/22/2009 at 1:35pm by Azgeekette
thats happened plenty of times to me, the only place your going to get hired is in food, most likely fast food, not fair but whatever truth hurts a bit
#27 - On 07/22/2009 at 1:47pm by Paige_Nicole10
In the US it is illegal for them to ask you for your age. You dont have to answer and they cant not hire or fire you for being 17. Even if you are younger than, say, 16, they cant ask for your age. All they can legaly do is just not hire you in the first place if they can justify it for looking like you are too young... but seriously they cant ask for you age.
#29 - On 07/22/2009 at 2:16pm by spinkey89
Actually, what they did was legal. You are not allowed to ask in an interview what age the person is, but you CAN ask if they're 18, meaning, they can ask "are you at least 18 years old?" or "are you over 18?"
#32 - On 07/22/2009 at 2:20pm by Shlizabeth
An employer in the US cannot legally ask for your age or your date of birth in the interview or on the application. Since they did ask for your age you dont have to tell them.
#30 - On 07/22/2009 at 2:18pm by spinkey89
Wow people, learn the laws, if you're under 18, it doesn't matter, they can ask, nothing illegal about it.
That's what I thought...in a year you should be able to get this job, right? Or would it not pay enough for a 'real' job, only a summer before-senior-year job?
#64 - On 07/24/2009 at 12:44am by regalarius
At 17 you can only get jobs at fast food places possibly a grocery store or a telemarketing job ect. I remember putting in aps everywhere when I was 17 and couldn't get a better job because of my age, but then I turned 18 and the job market when down the toilet....
ydi for being so picky about jobs. don't bother doing something you're "passionate" about when you're 17, that's gay.
work at mcdonald's or the grocery store so you can say you had a real teenage job.
#42 - On 07/22/2009 at 4:15pm by charmander2354
Ah that sucks! The exact same thing happened to me this summer, only it wouldnt have been my first job
How can you save the whales when you can't even save your job?
#48 - On 07/22/2009 at 5:18pm by cadre
Its illegal to ask your age in Australia as well however some jobs require you to be of a legal age. You should have asked them if they would reconsider you when you turn 18
What's wrong with hippies? And our planet is in grave danger. We should all be environmentalists, jackass.
#52 - On 07/22/2009 at 8:22pm by dramakat11
Too many negative votes, comment buried. Show the comment.
YDI for trying to join an environmentalist group. Do something useful with your life.
#54 - On 07/22/2009 at 8:58pm by huntedbythegeek
Useful? like what? Polluting this planet? Maybe instead of making fun of environmentalists you should be more like one!
#58 - On 07/23/2009 at 2:29am by taylorswiftrulez
Since when did caring about the planet become a bad thing? Why don't you do us all a favor and drive you SUV off a fucking cliff?
#68 - On 07/26/2009 at 6:44pm by theodivine
OK!
On the form they DID ask if i was legally able to work in the US and if I was 21 or over (for driving purposes only, this was not a requirement for the job), but no where did it ask if i was 18. I brought my resume to the interview, and had i not given them this resume saying I was a current student at my high school and Running Start, they would not have asked if I was 18 or not.
and to those scoffing about my greener practices and being excited about this job-- this was a great job making $9-$14/hr, anybody getting their first job would love to make $14/hr starting!
it really did suck day of, i was supposed to go in the next day for training.'
but i have another interview this coming week and life goes on :)
Hahaha. I did that when I was 16-17. I just said I was 18 and that was fine. £8/hour, bumping up from waitressing at £3/h. It was amazing. And then because I did that for the summer, kitchen work that required 18+ asked no questions when I did that the next year, as obviously I was old enough. Those were the days...
Really? Just because a job requires work doesn't mean people don't want them. I know plenty of unemployed people who desperately want jobs. Please, tell me what makes you think that he doesn't want a job.
#65 - On 07/25/2009 at 5:01pm by Solarblind
YDI for not asking about age requirements prior to the interview. Things like that are obviously important.
#67 - On 07/26/2009 at 3:04am by miscposter
