What are some things I could say to prevent this issue (see below).

Don’t accept “people aren’t hiring” as an answer.
People are hiring, they just haven’t hired you yet..

Check Craigslist, newspaper ads, monster.com or anyplace else you think might have relevant job posting information. Also see about getting a reference and/or recommendation from your last job if you haven’t already. These days, you need more than just an application to get a job.

If you aren’t getting hired, you might consider talking to your father about how you are going about looking for work and perhaps ask him for resume tips and interview advice.

All you can do is keep filling out applications then follow up on them. Show back up at the places you apply and ask them when they are going to hire you.

When looking for a job, a good plan is to remember that job hunting is a full time job. Work at it the same as you would any full time job, 8 hours every single day. If you don’t, you are only cheating yourself.

The best advice I ever got about job hunting was this: Don’t bother looking for work on Monday or Friday, because people aren’t fully into their jobs on those days. On Monday they are still thinking about what they did over the weekend, and on Friday, they are looking forward to the weekend. More applications and resumes are lost or misplaced on Monday and Friday than the other 3 days combined. I learned that little tidbit of advice from my local job service office, back in the eighties when jobs were also hard to find.

fucking Reaganomics.

13 since April is not even one place a day. If you’re really serious, then treat job hunting like a job itself. Tell your Dad I’ll be by to pick up my check tomorrow ~

I work in human resources. This is an incredibly tough summer for highschool kids to get a job. There are so many college kids that aren’t even able to find summer employment, and a lot of employers will prefer them over highschool kids because of the perception (often very wrong) that they are more responsible, and because they feel like the college kids have to help pay their own expenses while in college. At any rate, keep trying, and most importantly, try to keep a positive attitude. Be outgoing, and show your strong points without coming off as arrogant. Show a willingness to work whatever hours they need, and to step in and help out when they come up short staffed or need extra duties taken care of. Also, ask for open letters of recommendation from teachers, neighbors, family friends that know you well, etc. Also use your networking skills. Ask your parent’s friends, teachers, and any others if they know of any positions open or if they’d be willing to put out feelers for you. While it is really tough to get a job this summer, it is still possible.

Hang in there. You just have to keep trying and don’t let your dad get to you.

Hey, it’s a crappy economy, but people are still hiring. Keep trying. I have friends who’ve been laid off and been hired elsewhere within three weeks. You may need to set your standards a bit lower. At 17, you cannot have too many bills about which to worry. There’s ALWAYS fast food. Starbucks even gives health insurance to 20-hour employees. Keep looking!

@buster : Absolutely… the follow up is key.

So volume of applications, and follow up. And just because they haven’t hired you yet, doesn’t mean they won’t pull out your app in the future. Also, if you’ve applied at the Wal-Mart, apply at all the Wal-Marts in 30 miles. If you’ve applied at the Dunkin Donuts, look online for all the locations, and apply there too. This is a seriously difficult time to find a job, but you can’t give your dad one reason to think you’re not trying. Keep records and copies of all your apps and resumes to show your dad- including dates you picked up and dropped them off and dates of follow up calls. Don’t give up. It’s worth it for the paycheck and to avoid your dad’s nagging and gain his respect.

While you continue to work at it, I would summarize the list o places you have gone and applied, hand it to your dad and ask for his suggestions on what you can do next.

I would also pull an article or two off the Web about the ongoing rise in unemployment and how that is a trailing economic indicator and show him that. Here is one.

yeah bud, 13 places is nothing. used to knock that out in one day when I was job hunting. Unless you live in a really tiny town and don’t have a way to get around, you should be out there everyday in dress pants with your own resume printed up. (giving someone a resume as soon as you tell them you’re looking for a job says that you prepare yourself and plan ahead). You have to come off a memorable, don’t be just another teenager that no boss will get excited to hire. Speak properly and clearly, shake his/her hand firmly(but not too much) make eye contact. Be sure to throw in some well mannered and appropriate humor, it’ll help them remember you.

The biggest message though, is to be out everyday, go everywhere. And they’re only not hiring because you haven’t convinced them to hire you.

Focus on goals you can control. Visit 10 places a week where you think you can get hired, and leave an application there. When one of them calls you back, respond within 4 hours.

Applying to 13 places since late April? That’s an average of 1–1/2 a week. That’s a joke, and it’s no wonder your father is on your case. People who are on unemployment are required to make three job-related contacts a week, and that’s a bare minimum. You should be making at least 10.

If you have a food handlers card, I know a huge number of restaurants in our area that are looking for wait staff.

Otherwise, you could try going to one of those temporary agencies and see if they place 17 yos, put up signs saying you will do yard work or supply labor for homeowner projects, and, as others have said, hit a lot more places looking for jobs. For example, if you go to the mall, walk the whole mall and apply at every single store that you could possibly stand to work at. That should net you a few possibilities. Next, go to a shopping center and repeat, or go to fast food row and apply at each place.