You've Applied to a High Street Business Like McDonald's. Here's How to Actually Get Hired.

Right, let's talk about this properly. Everyone assumes jobs at high street names like McDonald's, Tesco, Greggs, or your local coffee shop are easy to get. They're really not. These are some of the most applied-to jobs out there, and loads of people get rejected before they even get near an interview. So if you're going for your first job and you're worried about having nothing to show for yourself yet, here's the honest version of how it actually works.

"No experience" isn't the problem you think it is

Here's the thing nobody tells you: every single employer hiring for these roles knows you don't have experience. That's literally why the job exists. What they're actually trying to work out is whether you'll turn up, whether you've got a decent attitude, and whether you can follow instructions when it's busy. You don't need a CV full of jobs to prove any of that. You just need to make what you've got work harder.

What to put on a CV when you feel like you've got nothing

You've probably got more than you think, you just haven't thought to write it down yet.

• School stuff. GCSEs, coursework, anything you did well in or worked hard to improve.

• Teams, clubs, group projects. Football team, Duke of Edinburgh, a group presentation you didn't want to do but did anyway. All of it shows you can turn up and work with people, which is basically the whole job.

• The unofficial stuff. Babysitting, helping out at a family shop, running errands for a neighbour. If you can explain what you actually did, it counts.

• The practical bits. Comfortable handling money, alright talking to strangers, fine standing for hours, happy to work weekends. Just say it straight, no need to dress it up.

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One page is plenty. Keep the layout simple too, a lot of these bigger companies run your CV through software before a human ever sees it, and fancy formatting can trip that up.

The bit almost everyone misses

Most people don't get rejected because they're not good enough. They get rejected because they sent the same generic CV to every job on the high street.

So have a proper look at the job advert before you apply. Pull out the words they keep using, things like "fast-paced," "team player," "customer focused," and work those into your CV and application naturally. Sounds like a small thing, but a lot of these places scan for exact phrases before anyone actually reads it properly. Speaking their language gets you past that first hurdle.

What the interview's actually like

Don't overthink this one. It's usually short, maybe 15 to 20 minutes, and nobody's expecting you to know anything technical. They just want to know you can talk normally, handle an awkward moment, and actually want the job. Expect stuff like:

• Tell me about a time you worked with other people.

• What would you do if a customer wasn't happy?

• Why here, specifically?

That last one trips people up more than any other. "I need a job" is honest, but it's not really what they're asking. Even a line about liking the brand, the hours working for you, or wanting to build up some customer experience shows you've actually thought about it rather than just applying everywhere.

Turn up like you mean it

The small stuff matters more than you'd think. Get there ten minutes early, not thirty, that's just awkward for everyone. Bring a printed CV even if you already applied online. Dress a bit smarter than the uniform. It's not about putting on a show, it's just a decent signal that you'll show up properly for shifts too.

And honestly, this is just the start

The real point of a job like this isn't really the pay, it's what it leads to. Six months of turning up consistently is proper, provable experience, and it makes you a much stronger candidate when you go for an apprenticeship or something with more progression down the line. Getting this one is just the first step, not the end goal.