Tips for applying for jobs and interviews?

[Superpowerdude]

Okay so a little background information:

After quitting my job as a kitchen hand I have been looking for new work fairly consistently for the last 4 months with not much success. After applying for many places online I gave up on the whole applying online stuff and decided that handing in resumes in person may give me better success so I have been doing that, probably have given out over 50 by hand so far I have had two interviews but they haven't gotten me anwhere. I have been looking for casual / partime work as I am a uni student and I am Australian (because it's probably even harder to get jobs in america idk) also my availabilities is all weekend and five out of 7 day a week so it's not that bad.

My info is probably to vague to be of much use to readers trying to offer help and perhaps I will get replies from places a little later on when places typically need more workers like Easter holidays.

So a few questions I want to ask people are:

What do y'all include on your resume when applying for casual or part time work?

Tips for interviews?

Most effective way to apply for casual /part time work?

So I guess this thread can be treated as tips for anything job related. Fire away!

 

[Fluke]

In general, try to fit in as socially and moralistically positive as possible. Do some research and see how strict or loose your application is going to be. All depends on what job you're applying for though.

 

[Superpowerdude]

Ah yeah that is true, honestly I'm looking for anything but I have experience as a waiter and kitchen hand so I really want to land one at a restaurant

 

[blarajan]

I mean, really the biggest step as you very well likely know is getting that first phone call / interview. Your resume is only supposed to intrigue them into hearing from you in person so at least regarding resumes if you're willing to customize it per job (though that's a bitch) you would emphasize the requirements of the position that you satisfy in the main body so they want to hear from you.

Regarding interviews, it's something you can practice for sure but you kind of just have to be a functioning socially competent adult to allow your charm to inspire you into the next set of interviews or into he position. My only real advice in this regard is pick relevant anecdotes in advance, even if some of them are lies. Questions like "where have you demonstrated leadership" or "what circumstances did you conquer adverse conditions or whatever." The goal is to answer in a way they want to hear so even if you exaggerate or downright lie, if they have no means of disproving your statement then you are well within your rights to do so.

Just figure out what they want to hear and go hard on making sure you're telling those things loud and obnoxiously clear.

 

[OLD GREGG (im back baby)]

Apply to every prospective employer and follow-up a week or two later and ask to talk to the hiring manager to introduce yourself and make them aware of your application and also to find out if there are any openings.

Depending on the employer, it could be best to focus less on what you think they want to hear and put more focus on honesty.

If you have been out of work for four months and they ask you what you have been doing those four months it might be best to tell them what you really have been doing as opposed to what you think they want to hear. If you haven't been doing anything, it might go a long way to say so. Lots of corporations really appreciate an honest employee that they can trust.


If you are faced with the age old question of "How do you try to set a good first impression?" , it might go a long way to just put it out there that first impressions are not a consistent judge of character and are fairly over rated.

It is better to tell a prospective employer the truth over stretching the truth in an attempt to appease an employer's assumed expectations; usually if you lie they will find out in the long run.

The most important thing is to not become discouraged. You might not get a job right away, but determination is a big part of getting that job you want!!

 

[teal6]

Your resume is fucking vital. Make sure it is prepared immaculately, because you're competing with a huge amount of other people for basically every position in this economy. Fortunately, most applicants for any given spot suck at preparing a resume - typos, horrible formatting, over a page long, etc. You can distinguish yourself easily by taking this time.

Unfortunately, however, a LOT of firms are using really shit automatic screening techniques. Basically, what these do, is scan your resume for certain keywords or phrases, and "rate" all of the submitted resumes on a ridiculous point scale. This means that because you put something like "proficient in Microsoft Excel: VBA" instead of "Proficient in Microsoft Excel: VBA Macros", you may score lower, or not get picked up at all. A lot of HR folk I know hate this system, but there's not much you can do about it. The best way to game the system is to parrot back phrases from the job posting. For example, if they want "someone with knowledge of Microsoft and Mac OSX operating systems", don't put line items under a skills section like "-Microsoft" and "-OSX", put "Working knowledge of Microsoft and Mac OSX".

The next step in applying gets a little bizarre, IMO. While resumes distinguish regarding technical abilities to a weird degree, your interview (for some sectors) won't. (something like tech likely will, something like administrative likely won't) Especially when talking to HR reps, who likely aren't terribly technical themselves, you just have to be personable, eloquent and confident. Show that you are not a weird person on a phone interview, and that you can carry a conversation and respond to them intelligently. Unfortunately, nerves aren't really something you can practice, but the more you review beforehand the less likelyyou are to be nervous.

In person it's more of the same, but you may be grilled on certain things that you need to know for the job. A friend of mine just took a software engineering position, and had to do hour long tests to show his coding ability. I just took a stock trading job, and had to complete math tests on paper. It'll vary.

Overall though, preparation is key once you get to the interviewing stages. The more you prep the liklier you are to give a good impression, and it's okay if you don't hit all the points you want in a job because anyone getting hired is oging to get trained regardless. Just be ready, be yourself and be confident and you should do well.

 

[Acklow]

Getting a job at a restaurant shouldn't require as much effort as getting a job somewhere like billing or administrative work, where you actually need a year or more of experience most of the time.


Application wise, just do what you think would be the best to show the skills you have to get the job. If it's a waiter job, focus on what customer service skills you have, etc. As mentioned above, be diligent to follow up with management asap. Do it as often as possible to show you are interested. It may seem like you are annoying them but in many cases it shows you care about work and will have those same qualities in the job (doing this is extra important if you plan on working in sales).

For the interview, I go by the rule, over dress to impress even if it's at a shitty establishment like McDonald's. Many people do judge a book by its cover even if they try not to, it's just how the subconscious works. Therefore, being timely for the interview ( I usually try to be a half hour early) as well as smiling when being the hiring manager and what not is important. It's important to show professionalism but also to be honest when answering personal questions. There's a bit of duality that's involved but it's important to show that you have what it takes to do the job, especially if it's customer service related (waiter, sales, etc.).


In any event don't stress, go in confident. Know that YOU are the one they want to hire because they would not call you after submitting your application. You ARE qualified and they WILL hire you. Going into an interview with that kind of mindset goes a long way in keeping you calm and collected during the interview.

Best of luck!

 

[Cresselia~~]

Aside of what to say, appearance is also important.
You should look neat and tidy all the time, hair properly combed, shirt upright without creases.
Always maintain eye-contact to the interviewer, and hold up your head. Don't look down.

Remember to knock the door to ask permission to get in. Don't ever walk into the room without knocking. Preferably, wait for the interviewer's signal, and then go in.

The intonation and volume when you speak is also important. Practice with recording your voice and listen to it.

 

[Superpowerdude]

Okay so I got a job today at a restaurant. I think handing in resumes or cvs by hand is better than applying online because less people do it and it shows that you care about the job a little more.

Good luck to others looking for work out there because I know in a lot of places it's really difficult

 

[Stratos]

Okay so I got a job today at a restaurant. I think handing in resumes or cvs by hand is better than applying online because less people do it and it shows that you care about the job a little more.

Good luck to others looking for work out there because I know in a lot of places it's really difficult

this is what i found too, i would apply to places online, then go in to follow up and be told "fill out this paper application." I get the impression that they only actually look at the paper applicants.

 

[Ares]

Congrats on getting the job! I know from personal experience that it can be hard to get them, especially if you need to work part time.

So I have a couple of tips for the future and for anyone else. First off (was going to put this at the end but its more relevant since you got a job), if you absolutely hate your job and want to quit, don't. Reason being is that while searching for another job employers will find it better that you actually have a job as opposed to being unemployed. On top of this take the job you dislike seriously, work hard and get a good recommendation off of them. When you go in for another interview you can list them as a reference and the person who is interviewing will see that even if you dislike something you still work hard. Also, you're making money while still searching for the next position (which as you know might be a while).

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Okay, on to applying. First off this is for lower starting jobs before you get your college degree, the tips above by teal6 are good for after you get your college degree. Realize that you don't have a lot of work experience and so your resume is going to look a bit skimpy to start off with. My resume to start off with was barely a page and I was really struggling to put stuff on it. My dad's work resume is about 10 pages long and is really impressive. There is time to fill it out so don't despair. Most people just open up a word document, but one thing I found really handy is searching resume templates on google. https://drive.google.com/templates?sort=user&view=public This is really good because you can choose a style that works and they will have sample info that you can change to suite you. They look better than just putting stuff on a word document. As far as stuff to put on goes, put on every "job" you can remember throughout High School. When I mean job if you went over to your neighbors and did yardwork for them over the weekend put that on as you can then use them as a reference. In the future you can replace it with actual work experience, but in the beginning you want to get any decent amount of work you have on there so the interviewer can see that you are actively going about working. You also want to put on any notable accomplishments you've had at school. All of this is to help paint a better picture of what kind of worker you might be.

References, references, references. These are super important! Its a way for your employer to check your work ethic that isn't from your mouth, so something more concrete. This is why even if you hate a job you should work hard, you can think that you're working for that reference. To start off you can list stuff like coaches and teachers, make sure you ask them first. Some people don't like being references.

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Next is putting out resumes / applications, you did a bunch of things right. You put out a ton of applications, you followed up in the store, and you switched from online applications to paper. All of these things tend to increase success. The only thing I would add on is that you should ask to speak to a manager when you go in for applications. Just tell them, "Hey just stopping in to say im interested in the job and just wanted to put a face to the application". This will show initiative and when the manager is going through applications they'll be like, "Oh yah I remember that guy."

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Finally if you get called in for an interview there are a couple of things that you should do ahead of time. Clean yourself up. This includes getting a haircut if your hair is messy or unpresentable. If you keep your hair looking decent make sure that you comb it before the interview. Shave off any facial hair, the exception to this is if you can grow a thick nice looking beard. If you can make sure to trim it up. If you have any tattoos make sure that you can cover them with clothing. Take out any piercings that aren't in the ear. Dressing for the interview is important, at the very least wear nice pants and a shirt and tie. For women you can wear a nice dress or business dress as an alternative. It really depends on the interview, for a restaurant gig or a more manual labor job I would wear the shirt and tie, but I've gone for a couple of sales jobs and have worn a full suit (might of been overkill haha). Before you go into the overview make sure you have a copy of your resume. When you go in you can hand it to them again incase they have lost it. This also gives them something to look at so they have a quick idea of who it is they're interviewing.

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When you walk in, introduce yourself and shake there hand. Hand them your resume and then when they ask you to sit, sit. During the interview you should always look them in the eye while they are addressing you or while you are addressing them. Make sure to smile while answering questions. Be open and give more detail than just yes or no questions. If you are going to an interview where you'll be required to display some skill make sure you prepared and practiced ahead of time so when you do it, it feels natural. Make sure that you are able to give them an exact availability, like if you need Saturday's off for something or if you have school. From the get go they will be able to plan accordingly if they do hire you. I've had problems in the past where employers have had trouble scheduling me in relation to school and if you give your availability right off the bat nothing can fall back on you. Also know when you can start, most places will ask for a start date (I usually say asap).

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Finally some closing thoughts, just remember that the job you land won't be the one you'll have forever. You can always get another, but treat your job as something you are getting graded at. If you work hard you will get promotions and raises and when you move on you'll have a good reference for your future job finding.

Another way to go about getting a job is through friends of your parents. Tell your parents to mention to their friends that you're looking for work, I've gotten two jobs in the past because my dad mentioned that I was looking for work and they offered me a job. Your parents can be your advocates when you're first starting out.