Does anyone have any helpful suggestions for landing a job? Job fairs are a joke. So are Monster and Career Builder and all of those sites. They say your network will find your next job, but all my network seems to be able to do is tell me to "hang in there" and say things like "you'll find it, stay positive." That's not helping me any. Recruiters don't even do anything. They just say to submit a profile on their website and if something comes up they'll contact you. I've had more luck getting interviews through Craigslist than anything else. I've been out of work for a year now and just got rejected for yet another job I was perfectly qualified for. I've even tried to get some work doing freelance but all the clients I've gotten have flaked out on me. I worked for a local homebuilder running their advertising department for 10 years before they went out of business because of the economy. Homebuilders still aren't hiring, so I'm forced to find a new industry and businesses don't seem interested in hiring someone without a background in that particular industry. Things are starting to look pretty bleak now and I don't know what else to do.
I hire a lot of people when I have positions open through agencies. I tell them what my position entails and skill-sets I need, then send me a boat load of resumes and I interview about 1/3 of them. It's hard moving from one industry to the other, even if skills are comparable.
Three things: Don't give up. Don't ever think a job is beneath you. Have confidence. I always look for people that are in it to do a job, not just earn cash. Wether its a casual or full time position I will scan each person just as carefully. They have to be willing to do the job, none of this 'uh, I'm saving for a car so I guess I need a job, please' - no chance. I need to see that you are serious about being an asset. Not just a 'worker' that plods along or worse, be slack and a liability. You want to do casual shelf filling, fine, but do it well and be an asset. We are all in it for the money, anyone saying otherwise is lying, that is the main motivation, if you happen to enjoy it, bonus. Be worth the employer's investment. Let them know you will work hard and be valuable and mean it.
I wouldn't call job fairs a joke. Went to one last Friday. Got my first job, gonna be working on the sales floor at Target.
Unless you're a girl, in which case they'll think you're a feminist, and thus threatening. Bosses don't like threatening people.
No, they love threatening people. They just don't like people who appear threatening. Back on topic, I would say a personal handing in of resumes is probably your best bet. Pounding the pavement you might find something you were not expecting. On a side note security work is not that hard to find and easy to do until you can find something in your field. I see several listings in Austin for security work almost every day. Just a suggestion. Keep your self positive about things, it does show when they look you over.
1.Look at the bottom of my Sig 2.click the link 3.join 4.have a Recruiter contact you or order a brochure to learn more
Some of this depends on what kind of job you're looking for. If you're willing to take minimum wage, and work your way up from there, then here's what I'd suggest. 1. Find an application online, if you can. Fill it out. If not, bring your own pen, dress nicely (but don't overdress), and go to the place of business to fill out your application. 2a. Know what hours the employees work, and fill out your application accordingly. 2b. If you're a minor, don't put your available to 'whenever' on weekday nights, because in all likelihood, depending on local laws, you probably are not. 2c. Keep a list of previous employers' names, addresses, and phone numbers handy, as well as three non-related references. You may not need all this information, but most applications I've seen ask for at least one or the other. 2d. Put your reasons for leaving a job in the most positive light. Putting things like 'had disagreements with management' is a red flag to me that you'll probably have disagreements with management (such as myself) in the future. 'Not enough hours,' especially in a minimum wage-type business, says that your employer did not want you there very often, another red flag. How you phrase these things is up to you, but if I have someone who left their job due to store-wide cutbacks, and another who left for 'not enough hours,' I'll go with the one who didn't seem to screw up their last job. 3. Do not go during the business' busiest times. People who want to get my attention Friday nights at the movie theatre are apt to get much less attention than those who come in Tuesday afternoon. 4. Ask to speak to a manager, and ask them about their hiring process. If they say 'call us back in a few days, and we'll set up an interview,' do that. If they say, "we'll call if we're interested," they'll do that. I'd say about half of the applications we get go into a 'don't call' file simply because of questionable things on the application or a bad first impression. Maybe this seems unfair, but in the current economy, businesses can afford to be picky. Generally, though, people with the availability we're looking for, a decent application, and come in well-dressed will at least get an interview. 5. For the interview, your goal is to prove that you'd be valuable to a business, not that you really need a job. I assume that everyone who turns in an application needs a job. Dress well, demonstrate some knowledge about the business, and ask pertinent questions. One of my favorite questions that I get, though all too rarely, is if we promote from within. That lets me know that you intend to not only get the job, but do well enough to be promoted. It's also your right to ask about what the pay is, and how much you'll be working. Be a fairly open person, especially in a consumer-related industry. Your interviewer is trying to find out if you're the kind of person who'd be good with their customers. Anticipate a question or two about how you'd deal with different customer situations, and try to draw from personal experience how you handled it. What I generally like to here is, "I did this, this, and this, and then the guest was satisfied," not, "well, he just kept yelling at me, so I got the manager." 6. It won't hurt to reapply a few months down the road. We generally hire the most in early November (before the holidays), and April-May (for the summer season). It might just not be the right time for you yet, but you might have better luck later. And...that's all I got. Hope it helps you or someone else reading the thread.
