Which Part-Time Job?

[milanander]

Wow everybody is shitting on maccas

I know you’re only choosing between the other two stores now but for future ppl reading this, honestly maccas is a great place to work especially if it is your first job. It is indeed very hectic, the managers’ and training standards are rigid cos of the int’l reputation, and you get pretty long as shifts which are quite tiring, BUT it’s really good experience and training for future jobs.

I only worked at maccas for 2 months and with that training on my resume I found it so easy to find work elsewhere, unlike my friends who worked at relatively high-pay and chill places who finds it a lot harder when they want to move to a new job.

I think when you’re in high school the most important thing is making sure you build your resume and you shouldn’t focus too much on finding comfortable / high pay positions.

[Aaron]

Purely based on my own interactions here since I haven't worked at Maccas myself, but all my friends who have worked at Maccas have said the training is great and there's potential to develop leadership qualities (albeit in a fast food store but still, better than some places)

I would definitely consider Maccas as well.

I think when you’re in high school the most important thing is making sure you build your resume and you shouldn’t focus too much on finding comfortable / high pay positions.

Absolutely.

[scientificllama]

Purely based on my own interactions here since I haven't worked at Maccas myself, but all my friends who have worked at Maccas have said the training is great and there's potential to develop leadership qualities (albeit in a fast food store but still, better than some places)

I would definitely consider Maccas as well.
Absolutely.

I'm still considering McDonald's... but it's just the location of the specific McDonalds that's the issue (it's one of the if not busiest maccas in Melbourne).
And I'm scared it'll cause me to relapse into my "maccas" addiction again (stupid ik).
The idea of it being internationally reputable and building my resume are valid reasons I'm taking into account.
Maybe I'll just go to the training day and see how it goes? But it does feel a bit like a gamble; either that it's going to be a good or terrible place to work a.

[Remy33]

Agree with Milanander and Aaron. Maccas is one of the best places to work at for your first job (I’m assuming it’s your first job from what you’ve said) due to the training you receive and the hectic work schedule. Worked there for 3 months when I was 15 and I’d willingly do it again if you rewind the clock.

For what it's worth, I've had several friends work at Maccas and they stop getting shifts once they turn 18 because they're a lot more expensive than a 16 year old. I'm sure this doesn't happen all the time but whether you want to keep the part time job long-term as you head into uni and such is another point to consider.

Yeah but do you really still want to be working at maccas after you’re 18? You should be qualified for other jobs by then.

Grill'd or Huxtaburger will also look better on your resume in the future and will give you a different kind of experience to working at Maccas.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. Employers don’t hire you based on the uniqueness of your resume, but rather if you have what it takes to do the job well. Maccas is internationally recognised and their training is top notch, hence arguably you’d be more likely to be hired with maccas. My manager at my current work has told me that he mainly only hires people with experience working in extremely busy environments as they tend to have better work ethic.

So I’d recommend maccas > grilld > huxtaburger.
The hospitality course for grilld sounds pretty useful. Huxtaburger (from what everybody has said) doesn’t seem to offer any benefits since its ‘pros’ are just good pay and easier working conditions but nothing that gives long term growth.

(Btw working at maccas will more likely cure you of your maccas addiction)

[GodNifty]

I'm still considering McDonald's... but it's just the location of the specific McDonalds that's the issue (it's one of the if not busiest maccas in Melbourne).

I personally think it's great that the location of that Maccas is busy - the whole purpose of a fast food job is interaction and bettering your interpersonal development. It's a very great opportunity to be more confident. You sure as hell won't be working by yourself anyways (my Maccas has maximum of 2 people working grill side every weekday because it doesn't get extremely busy).

And I'm scared it'll cause me to relapse into my "maccas" addiction again (stupid ik).

Yeah um... once you work there for a while, you start to realise some 'stuff' that other people don't see. That's all I'll say.

The idea of it being internationally reputable and building my resume are valid reasons I'm taking into account.
Maybe I'll just go to the training day and see how it goes? But it does feel a bit like a gamble; either that it's going to be a good or terrible place to work a.

Don't have too much knowledge, but I think till side (front side) is better than working grill. The only difficult bit is dealing with the customers, and unfortunately there's no easy option out of this (you'll probably be trained to work in drive-thru later, which according to my manager is the hardest position).
I personally didn't really like the atmosphere of my store, but given that your store is in the city, you'll probably find it more enjoyable to work there than I did. If you stay there for long enough and work well, you can even be promoted to 'team leader' where you get to train trainees.

I am a bit confused though, you've complete a trial shift for Huxta and you got the job, so does this mean you're scheduled to work? If you are, just have a think about how your manager is going to feel hiring you, then you leaving quickly. I'm not sure if Maccas does offer training day though - my one didn't at least.

[PhoenixxFire]

I am a bit confused though, you've complete a trial shift for Huxta and you got the job, so does this mean you're scheduled to work? If you are, just have a think about how your manager is going to feel hiring you, then you leaving quickly. I'm not sure if Maccas does offer training day though - my one didn't at least.

Trial shifts go both ways - they're for the company to see if you're any good (and get some free work out of you...) and for you to see whether you'd want to work there.

Obviously it can be a bit shitty for them to have to teach another new person how to work there so soon if you leave. But also remember that they're a corporation making profits off the backs of people being paid minimum wage (and below minimum wage which for some weird fkn reason society accepts because you're young). Don't feel guilty about doing what is best for you, they'll cope just fine.

[Remy33]

Trial shifts go both ways - they're for the company to see if you're any good (and get some free work out of you...) and for you to see whether you'd want to work there.

Most if not all major corporations offer paid trial shifts and training. From memory, maccas offer 1hr online training and 3 x 3hr in-store training, all paid at the full rate.

@scientificllama You might want to steer clear of places that expects you to work/train for free. AFAIK it’s not illegal but it’s a clear sign their practices are not up to int’l standards.

they're a corporation making profits off the backs of people being paid minimum wage (and below minimum wage which for some weird fkn reason society accepts because you're young).

Because nobody in their right mind would pay 15-year-olds 19 bucks an hour for putting fries in an oil vat. Not to mention Australia already has the highest min wage rate in the world.

[GodNifty]

Most if not all major corporations offer paid trial shifts and training. From memory, maccas offer 1hr online training and 3 x 3hr in-store training, all paid at the full rate.

Do they still do this? When I got the job, I had to do online modules that, once completed, earned you 3/4 of your hourly pay. I also didn't have any in-store training, but I did have orientation (which also paid me 3/4 of my hourly rate). The only training I received was on the spot training, where my first shift was pretty much an average worker's normal shift. They put me on and had the team leader teach me everything from scratch.

[scientificllama]

Most if not all major corporations offer paid trial shifts and training. From memory, maccas offer 1hr online training and 3 x 3hr in-store training, all paid at the full rate.

@scientificllama You might want to steer clear of places that expects you to work/train for free. AFAIK it’s not illegal but it’s a clear sign their practices are not up to int’l standards.
Because nobody in their right mind would pay 15-year-olds 19 bucks an hour for putting fries in an oil vat. Not to mention Australia already has the highest min wage rate in the world.

Just to clear it all up, the trial shift at Huxtaburger was a paid one (at a full team member rate) with basic training.

Honestly readding maccas into the list is just making it confusing again. And I'm starting to think it may possibly be the best option. However, the certificate 3 at Grill'd is really persuasive. I love Huxtaburger, but I do agree (not sure who said it but thank you for the advice!) that it isn't much of a benefit for me in the future. Even though it's the highest paying job.

Thank you for everyone's advice tonight! If you had to chose out of the 3 jobs which one would you pick and why?

[scientificllama]

Do they still do this? When I got the job, I had to do online modules that, once completed, earned you 3/4 of your hourly pay. I also didn't have any in-store training, but I did have orientation (which also paid me 3/4 of my hourly rate). The only training I received was on the spot training, where my first shift was pretty much an average worker's normal shift. They put me on and had the team leader teach me everything from scratch.

Considering you worked/working at maccas, do you recommend for someone to work there?
Also, do you get paid sick and holiday leave? As well as that you're guaranteed a certain amount of shifts?

Apologies for all the questions GodNifty!

[GodNifty]

Considering you worked/working at maccas, do you recommend for someone to work there?

Apologies for all the questions GodNifty!

I love questions, so please feel free to ask me!

Just so I'm clear, you already know that you'll be working front side, right? During my interview, my manager didn't mention any roles or where I was stationed at, but I was put onto grill side even though I didn't want to be stationed there (I don't really think you get a choice tbh). But, it's a bit rare to see girls work at grill side (not intending to be sexist, please don't take it the wrong way!) because it involves a lot of weight carrying (seriously, the patty boxes can weigh up to 8-10kg, it's heavy af), I'm pretty sure 95% of my grill co-workers were male and like 75% of front side were girls.

To keep it short, I wouldn't recommend you work grill, but instead work front - however, this is based on my experience at my store, your store is near Flinders so the conditions are very different to mine. Just try not to be overwhelmed with how busy it is - the food court near RMIT has like 8 people at front and too many people to count at back.

Also, do you get paid sick and holiday leave? As well as that you're guaranteed a certain amount of shifts?

It depends, are you hired as a casual or part-time? Casuals don't get paid sick and holiday leaves whereas part-time does. Part time is pretty much a lesser version of full time - you work at a fixed schedule every week (which you can see it as a guaranteed amount of shifts), but casuals on the other hand, is when the manager rosters you anytime, which can range from no shifts per week to a lot of shifts per week. If you're casual (which you'll most likely be), it's essentially a coin toss on how often you get shifts. City Maccas are busy, hence you would assume the store would hire a lot of people, but you're advantaged because you're young and cheap.

Edit: Whoops! Just realised you are asking for which part-time job to choose from. In this case, yes you would get a guaranteed amount of shifts and will be paid sick and holiday leaves

[Remy33]

the certificate 3 at Grill'd is really persuasive

All depends on what direction you want to head towards in the future. If you want to work in the hospitality field or if you think that cert III could be helpful then I’d suggest Grilld. Otherwise go for Maccas.

Also someone mentioned the Cert III takes 10 months to complete. Consider whether you can commit to that. A lot of people work in fast food for less than 6 months before moving to other fields like retail.

@Godnifty were you only trained on grilld? When I was there (I also worked at the back) all the kitchen staff were expected to know all the stations - grill, line, fries, and you could work on multiple stations per shift. also there were plenty of girls working at the back when I worked there. Gender wise it was pretty much a 50-50 split.

Yeah I was paid the full rate for training. They may have changed it since I left though? I worked there in 2016.

[GodNifty]

@Godnifty were you only trained on grilld? When I was there (I also worked at the back) all the kitchen staff were expected to know all the stations - grill, line, fries, and you could work on multiple stations per shift.

Yes, I was only trained on grill. My job was primarily grill (making burgers) and deep-fry, making fries were only for front side people.

also there were plenty of girls working at the back when I worked there. Gender wise it was pretty much a 50-50 split.

Hm, I guess only my store was different. I legit only saw like around 5-7 different girls working grill in my whole one year there.

[scientificllama]

But, it's a bit rare to see girls work at grill side (not intending to be sexist, please don't take it the wrong way!) because it involves a lot of weight carrying (seriously, the patty boxes can weigh up to 8-10kg, it's heavy af), I'm pretty sure 95% of my grill co-workers were male and like 75% of front side were girls.

No offense taken Completely salute you for surviving the grill!

It depends, are you hired as a casual or part-time?

I'll be working part-time, but thank you so much for the help! It's really good to know that there's a guaranteed amount

[scientificllama]

All depends on what direction you want to head towards in the future. If you want to work in the hospitality field or if you think that cert III could be helpful then I’d suggest Grilld. Otherwise go for Maccas. Also someone mentioned the Cert III takes 10 months to complete. Consider whether you can commit to that. A lot of people work in fast food for less than 6 months before moving to other fields like retail.

Hospitality is definitely something I don't want to do in the future. However, I am looking for a job I can do until I finish year 12. Do you recommend maccas as a somewhat decent job to do for 2+ years? (that's a weird question  )