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[negative creep]

Update: first interview done, they would have hired me on the spot, but i told them that I have more interviews and I'd call them to set a date for tials. Which I might actually do, they seemed very nice and the restaurant seemed pretty good too. As a matter of fact, though, I do really have another interview scheduled for tonight, at a place which seems even better, so of the two I take that one. Maybe I'll finally be employed soon!

[öde]

Sent off a load of applications for assistant manager positions in a load of exciting places. Dunno what my chances are considering my limited experience (a year and a bit), but it's pretty exciting.

[E. Spaceman]

I accidentally got a job!
It was only for a week but still, I signed up for a volunteer program at an orphanage summer camp and at the end they handed me an envelope wirth money.


I had to go here

and I had to do

[redglasscurls]

I have an interview this Friday! With a giant awesome east-coast spanning solar company! That I thought I had no possible chance of being noticed by! Backflipping with excitement.

[Jimmy the Squid]

I've been turned down by every job I've applied for in the last 6 months. Backflipping with disappointment.

[A Wet Helmet]

I had an absolutely brutal three hour long series of interviews this morning that was just four people in sequence each with the questions.

The "Thanks but no thanks" email was in my inbox before I even got home.    I knew that I didn't impress the first interviewer much, and probably not the third, so I'm not terribly surprised, but I was pretty sure I knocked it out of the park with interviewers 2 and 4.   The haste of the rejection really kind of sucks.

In other news though, I went and had lunch, went three buildings down, and had another interview this afternoon.  I'll know on that one in two weeks.  I also have two more lined up, so all hope is not lost.

[MrBlu]

An employee LEFT.

It's a RETAIL STORE.

My mother KNOWS the OWNER.

WHYYYY haven't they called me back yet?!?

[KharBevNor]

I got the worst job ever, one you don't get paid for.

It's a placement at the company that runs the course for the long-term unemployed I was/am on. They turned around and told me they needed an admin clerk. I think I was chosen because I have three A-levels and am not a lazy 19 year old m-cat snorting moron with two kids (actually most of the guys on the course are good people, some from genuine circumstances. I say guys because there's almost no women at all.)

It's a bit weird though. I still have to do the course one day a week, but most of the time I am doing filing and paperwork, and I'm allowed to use the staff-only toilets and kitchen. I feel a little bit like a concentration camp kapo. Still, back to uni in September.

[HiFranc]

I've been turned down by every job I've applied for in the last 6 months. Backflipping with disappointment.

It's extremely important to keep your spirits up.  Cook yourself a meal, spend time with your other half, etc, but never give in to disappointment.

Have you had any interviews?  If yes, then you've achieved something?  If not, then are there any courses you can go on to make yourself more appealing to employers?

[Coward]

I need a new job.

Who would be willing to keep me on a semi-decent wage for next to zero marketable skills?

[E. Spaceman]

http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/royalmarines/
 

[Wasteroo]

I'd like to give some advice but the way I got my current job is I walked into the place and asked if I could have an application and they were all "nah don't bother we like you can you start tomorrow?"

[redglasscurls]

So I spent a solid month thinking my degree was totally flipping useless, but now I have three interviews in the next week. We'll see if they like me in person, but it's at least heartening having spent so much money on the education!

[Coward]

http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/royalmarines/
 

Ha...

Any other ideas?

[A Wet Helmet]

A company that I've had two phone interviews with now wants to fly me to Atlanta to see me in person.


I'm thinking that's a good sign.    Although I suppose someone could just have a metric butt-ton of Delta Sky Miles to burn.

[jhocking]

Today I turned down a good job offer from a company I really liked. I had my reasons, but man was that one of the hardest calls I've had to make. It felt a lot like breaking up with someone.

[A Wet Helmet]

I just got offered a job in Hawaii.   I love Hawaii and have been wanting to get back there for over a decade.   I'm going to turn it down though, which makes me incredibly sad.

1) They want me to start in three weeks.  That's just completely unfair to my wife to make her handle everything that would need to be handled in order to move
2) It's only about a years worth of work.  I have a very real danger of being laid off when the project is over and have little assurance I'd be able to find something else.  (If it was at least two years worth, I'd be seriously considering it.  That's enough time to meet people and develop a reputation so that I don't have too hunt to hard when the work is over)
3) If I'm lucky my house is worth what I owe on it.  Right now I just can't afford to pay someone to buy my home.


So Sad.


Edit:  Just had another call though and the company that was going to fly me to Atlanta is now moving my interview to Newport News, VA, which is driving distance.  I only need to take one day off for that rather than two.   They sound enthusiastic about me, I'm certainly enthusiastic about them, and I think it would be a good fit.   While I was typing this, I got a call about another job I've been tracking too, which would be  a slightly lower salary, but bigger bonus potential and a whole lot less stress.   All-in-all, as much as I'd rather be in Hawaii, it's starting off to be a good Monday.

[HiFranc]

Good luck Wet Helmet.

* * *

After signing on today I went into town to buy some stamps.  I was stopped by someone representing a well-known charity.  They were asking for my e-mail address so I asked them if they had any admin jobs going.  I gave them my e-mail address and I plan to contact them to ask for a job when they next phone me.

[Jimmy the Squid]

Wheeeee continually failing to even get to the interview stage for entry level retail jobs! I didn't think I was unemployable (aside from my current job...) but apparently I am. Fuck seven months of rejection and failure. Getting so fucking sick of this.

[Rizzo]

Need a better CV and cover letter probs? Highly highly recommend the cv generator at careers.govt.nz. Gotten an interview for every job I applied for using the CV that made me. (Needed a wee bit of editing of course).

[HiFranc]

Wheeeee continually failing to even get to the interview stage for entry level retail jobs! I didn't think I was unemployable (aside from my current job...) but apparently I am. Fuck seven months of rejection and failure. Getting so fucking sick of this.

Get someone to look over your CV.  Make sure you cover all the points in the person spec (stated or implied) when applying for jobs.

If everything there is fine then don't lose heart -- if where you are is anything like the UK, over 100 people are applying for every job going so competition is fierce.

[Jimmy the Squid]

This is the thing, I've had my CV re-written a couple of times, most recently by a friend of mine from uni who's job it is to write CV's for people who are unable to find work.

[jhocking]

Make sure you cover all the points in the person spec (stated or implied) when applying for jobs.

I'm torn on this one. I used to list people skills and such (is that what you mean by "person spec"? my apologies if I'm misunderstanding) on my resume and was eventually advised to remove that stuff because it looks amateurish. I think it's better for your people skills to be implied through your previous work experience rather than directly listed.

[pwhodges]

The "person spec" is a very specific document detailing the necessary and desirable requirements for an employee, and the interviewers in a place that uses them will be bound by it over their feelings in the matter (it's viewed as a sort of contract with the applicant).  I got my present job largely by making a copy of the person spec interlined with notes highlighting how my experience equipped me to meet each point in it (and nicely formatted).

[HiFranc]

Make sure you cover all the points in the person spec (stated or implied) when applying for jobs.

I'm torn on this one. I used to list people skills and such (is that what you mean by "person spec"? my apologies if I'm misunderstanding) on my resume and was eventually advised to remove that stuff because it looks amateurish. I think it's better for your people skills to be implied through your previous work experience rather than directly listed.

I'm not sure if you get them there but a person specification is sometimes issued by companies to accompany job adverts.  It's normally a table.  For example, a customer service position may list the following:

Skill                                     Essential                                                   Desirable

Customer Service skils            Must be able to put customers                    NVQ Level 2 in Customer Service or
                                          at ease (some of whom may                       equivalent
                                          be aggressive)

etc


So in a covering letter a person applying for that job may write:

I achieved a promotion to supervisor, in part, due to my customer service skills.  As a supervisor I dealt with complaints...

{edit}If you interested, in seeing a real person specification just look at any job in the NHS.  Please note that they often combine the Job Description and the Person Specification into one document.

[Barmymoo]

I've always found that it is a very delicate balancing act between spelling out how your experience directly applies and patronising your interviewer. It's best to assume that they are going to read your CV for about ten seconds at the most, so you have to make it easy for them to figure out what being president of baseball club actually did for your management skills, or whatever.

Don't get despondent, Jimmy! Entry-level jobs can be harder to get, purely because there aren't many qualification requirements so it's basically a lottery!

[jhocking]

It's best to assume that they are going to read your CV for about ten seconds at the most,

Seriously this is not an exaggeration. At many of the interviews I've had over the years, the first time the interviewer has seen my resume is AFTER they've sat down across from me at the interview table. They are literally skimming it while I answer their first question.

The first time that happened to me it was a little demoralizing, but I got used to it quickly and now I'm actually surprised when they know more about me than what I mentioned in my cover letter (eg. they browsed through my entire portfolio.)

[pwhodges]

This is why dealing transparently with the person spec is so important - the first thing that happens to applications is that a secretary scans them and simply discards all that do not meet every point; they are not looked at to see if there might be some other reason to consider them, like all-round awesomeness.

[A Wet Helmet]

Another interview tomorrow morning.  Honestly, it would probably be a giant step backwards in my career --it is certainly less money-- however, it might give me a couple of years of fairly chill work in order to go get an MBA before jumping back into the high stress rat race again.   

So... I'll interview and do my best, but I'm not super thrilled about it.   

[HiFranc]

Helmet, I hope your plans work out.

[october1983]

Not quite a job interview but this afternoon I have an interview for a 3-year PhD scholarship that would allow me to continue avoiding the real world. Oh shit.

[Barmymoo]

Good luck! I'll hopefully be in your position in about two years... I'm terrified already, I can't even imagine how you'll be feeling! Tell us how it went!

[HiFranc]

Good luck, October.

[Drill King]

I have never been so painfully and cripplingly anxiety riddenly unemployed in my life.

[A Wet Helmet]

Ugh... so the interview was almost two hours long.  I went from sure I didn't have it, to sure that I had it locked up, and then back and forth a couple more times before I finally got out of there.

We'll see I guess.

[jhocking]

Two hours can be long if it's excruciating, but if it's the right place then that time flies. In fact, whether or not you enjoyed the interview can tell you a lot about the job.

[negative creep]

I signed my contract on sunday. Now I'm officially an apprentice, doing basically the same job I did for the last 2 years, except now full-time and at a different pub.

[ibrahimdelil]

i'll be doing army service for 15 months starting on january, so my company began looking for people to fill my position. yet they've found out that they can't find someone like me, so they're gonna hire three people to do my job lol

[Zingoleb]

Dear blog job thread

I don't know what to do about my job.

I love my co-workers. I really do, and this might be the first job where I can say that. But the hours suck and are really weird and change every day and week, and my days off are difference each week except for the fact they are never on Fridays, which is the only night something happens in this town.

I'm the door greeter, by the way. I stand in one spot for eight hours and do nothing, and it drives me up a wall. I want to hang myself with a roll of stickers about half and hour into it, and they won't transfer me to another position until next year. Maybe.

Anyways, I want to move to Ithaca, NY, which is like three hours away. If I stay at Walmart, I can maybe transfer out there to the Walmart THERE and move out there, but at the same time I don't know if I'll last there long enough in order to transfer out. 

So I guess my question is: Should I try to tough it out as long as possible and let this job overwhelm my life for now, or should I find a different (more consistent, better-paying) job and then try to find a job later when I want to move? I think I know the answer but I'mma ask you people since you're so smart and all

[snalin]

Try to find a new job, but do not quit this one or tell anyone you're trying to get a new job before you have it. It's probably self-explanatory, but being a door greeter (they need those at wall-mart? why?) is better than no job, I guess.

[tania]

they need those at wall-mart? why?

i've had to do this to some degree at every retail job i have had. one of the factors that often goes into ranking the performance of retail stores is the satisfaction of the customers that shop there, usually determined by surveys that customers fill out. often, the very first question is some variation of "did anybody greet you and/or were you made to feel welcome in the store", and to get higher ratings in this area is often why a lot of places employ people specifically to do this job. high customer satisfaction is then taken to mean that the store is successful and the employees work hard, which means more good things for the people who work there. in the grand scheme of things it's still all just part of a big fake numbers game that ultimately demonstrates nothing about the reality of the situation but in the scheme of how the success of a corporation is determined at store level, that's basically it.

[snalin]

I... that's... whatwhy?...


USA

[Barmymoo]

We have a very similar system here, but we don't have greeters because who wants to be greeted at the door? What they want instead is to be asked whether they have a nectar card and to be engaged in false conversation as they try to put their food into a plastic bag.

[Zingoleb]

Try to find a new job, but do not quit this one or tell anyone you're trying to get a new job before you have it. It's probably self-explanatory, but being a door greeter (they need those at wall-mart? why?) is better than no job, I guess.

I also write a number on a sticker if someone wants to return an item (no, really - 'how many items do you have?' 'two' so I write the number two on a sticker and give it to them) and watch to see if anyone's stealing anything. Not that I can do anything about it if they are. I just write it down and tell my managers and they write it off as a loss.

I...I am not kidding in the slightest.

Tania also has it right to a degree, though

[Lines]

Greeting also lets people know as they walk in the store that people are watching them, so it's supposed to help prevent theft. Sure as hell doesn't at Walmart, but it does in smaller stores. Usually. Or at least you get a weird reaction and know that this is a person you should probably watch.

And from listening to all the stories from people I know who worked there, Walmart has possibly the shittiest theft policies ever to the point I'm surprised they even have any at all. But whatever, they make enough money I guess that having a shit ton of stock stolen doesn't really matter!

[Zingoleb]

Seriously, I'm actually glad I got this job because it lets me know how insanely easy it is to walk out with shit I want and don't want to pay for.

[A Wet Helmet]

I just spent the morning writing a two page capabilities briefing for a company that says they want to hire me to run their proposal department.   They requested it under the guise of a writing sample, but I had already provided them with one that came out of an actual proposal.  This leads me to believe that what they may really be looking for is me to provide them with free marketing materials.  Therefore, I spent the morning balancing my ability to craft something that would impress them with trying to give them something they can't just steal and print.

[jhocking]

This is why dealing transparently with the person spec is so important - the first thing that happens to applications is that a secretary scans them and simply discards all that do not meet every point; they are not looked at to see if there might be some other reason to consider them, like all-round awesomeness.

This must be just a UK thing, because you pretty much never match the job description exactly around here. The common wisdom is that employers rarely know exactly what they want until they meet the person that excites them, so the job descriptions are just vague indicators of what direction they're hoping to go. About the only exception is specific technical skills (if they say they want a C++ programmer, expect to be quizzed) and even then the employer may not know exactly what they need, they just wrote down what sounds good. For example, if the job post says 3 years experience, they really just mean "someone who knows what they're doing and isn't a new graduate."

Admittedly you will get past the HR screener to an interview more often if you do happen to hit every bullet point, but the important things is just to be close on most of them. The initial secretary scanning over the mail is not qualified to judge who the awesome candidates are, but they do pass resumes that aren't a perfect match to the people who are qualified to judge candidates. Obviously this does depend on the amount of competition for the job (ie. the more resumes to screen, the more they throw away for missing the right degree or whatever.)

[A Wet Helmet]

Just got back from an interview.   I feel pretty sure that they're going to offer me a job.   Hoo-effing-ray.

If not, I have another interview tomorrow.

[Christophe]

Good luck dude. Sometime next week I've got an interview with a bookstore that's opening up in Downtown. Hooooly crap.