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How do I get a job?


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I'm 26, I've never had a job. I've been applying for 5 yrs. I have no college degree. I've applied to retail, restaurants, markets, offices, temp. agencies. What should I do?

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It's Christmas season, and with possibility of more hiring.

 

Have you tried seeking part time/temporary at any level? An example: Macy's warehouse.

 

If they like you, they may keep you .. Or at least provide you the experience.

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If you're not in college and you have never had a job, what did you do the last 8 years of your adult life? Have you been ill or caring for someone who's ill? Who's been supporting you?

 

What should you do? Pound the pavement, hard.

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Hire a job coach?

 

 

At this late stage your lack of experience is working against you. No job at 26 makes you come across as lazy. How did you support yourself?

 

 

For your 1st resume certain volunteer work does count.

 

 

Until you get a job, do volunteer somewhere so potential employers can assess your work ethic. Try fast food places too or other jobs nobody wants.

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If you've been applying for 5 years, something's not right. What is the issue? Are you homeless, disabled, act rude or unsightly? Teenagers with no experience can get jobs. There's something you're not saying here.

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I was in college at 18 and 19, I've been doing nothing since. I volunteer at some weekend fundraiser parties and have them on my resume. I also write that I was a nanny and tutor on my resume. My parents support me. I've filled out a million applications, but have only gotten like 3 interviews that didn't go well.

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UF is right, loads of xmas jobs around. I worked at the `Post offce` when i was 16 for a bit of cash over xmas.

 

Keep applying. GL.

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I was in college at 18 and 19, I've been doing nothing since. I volunteer at some weekend fundraiser parties and have them on my resume. I also write that I was a nanny and tutor on my resume. My parents support me. I've filled out a million applications, but have only gotten like 3 interviews that didn't go well.

 

The economy is really rough right now and jobs are hard to come by (I work with a lot of college graduates)...

 

Honestly, I advise most graduates to consider re-locating. If you are open to re-locating you will have many more opportunities.

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I was in college at 18 and 19, I've been doing nothing since. I volunteer at some weekend fundraiser parties and have them on my resume. I also write that I was a nanny and tutor on my resume. My parents support me. I've filled out a million applications, but have only gotten like 3 interviews that didn't go well.

 

Then do hire a job coach. You must be doing something wrong.

 

 

I can tell you from this answer alone you are inconsistent. You say you have been doing nothing, then you list 3 work experiences. Which is it? Nothing or occasional work as a nanny, a tutor & a fundraiser?

 

 

You probably need help highlighting your skills.

 

 

Have you ever been to a job fair? Do you dress up for these interviews? I used to wear a nice skirt & blouse to interviews to be a waitress/ bartender. I got every job in that field I ever applied for.

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I would take a stab in the dark and say you may be volunteering too much personal information. Like NEVER tell them you live with your parents still at your age. Don't tell them anything personal about hobbies or children or pets unless they ask about hobbies and interests. You probably do need to hire someone to tweak your resume and coach you like Donnivain says. Because something is off. I mean, it needs to be someone who meets you face to face and can tell you ways to improve your presentation.

 

So many things can be offputting, chief among them being late to an interview or being illiterate and having misspelled words on the resume or application. You need to be coached how to dress for work and for an interview. Someone who thinks it's ever okay for a woman to show up in jeans is just wrong. A guy applying for a construction job, that would be okay. Rescheduling an interview would be offputting. Anything less than taking your best put-together articulate well dressed on-time self is not good enough. And of course, you must not refuse a drug test. Just about everyone does them now. They will also do a background check. If you have anything on your record that looks bad, at least ask in case it's something you could hire an attorney to expunge. Even nonconvictions will show up.

 

These days, even bad teeth can count against you in the US. Must have clean bleached white teeth, not yellow yucky uncared for teeth. Must wear good shoes, not athletic shoes unless again you're a construction worker or similar. Even then I'd go with boots and khakis.

 

I know here in the US, most counties have an employment board of some sort and it might be that if you applied and listed yourself there for employment and ASKED to speak to someone who could tell you how to make yourself more hireable, you might find someone for free. Good luck.

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I really have been volunteering for fundraisers, but I lie about being a nanny and tutor on my resume. And the problem isn't how I am on interviews because I can't remember the last time I went on 1.

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There's something wrong with your resume. If you are nice looking, by all means put a photo on it. If not, don't. I have done it both ways and did better with a photo, but now I'm old and fat, I leave that off!!! And I still get interviews and hired.

 

You need to be applying for "entry-level" jobs and that means you have no skills and they pay bad. But you'll have to get one under your belt. If you had a good grade point average, put it on there or maybe just "excelled at English or math" or whatever it was.

 

Don't put a lot of "I want" on your cover page, but what you can give and how you would be an asset to the company. For example, if retail, you might say, "I've been told I'm very good with people. I enjoy greeting customers, am very dependable, and I always present myself appropriately for the occasion."

 

I am old school and I pretty much ignore applying online. What I will do instead is get some leads online and try to find out where the number goes to and then get an address and do some google research and find out the name of the owner or department head and if I have no email for them I'll send a letter and resume.

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If you're not getting interviews, it's your resume. I've recently had to hire people for my company, and many of the applications I've received for the open position--an entry level role--are terrible. Misspellings, inconsistencies, lack of formatting, etc. My tips for you are:

 

-create a resume in Word or PDF format, and always use it to apply for jobs. Whether you apply online or in person, it can never hurt and only help, not the least because you can add info that standard online and paper forms don't include. You don't want to get too personal, but anything that can help shed light on your value to employers is fair game.

 

-on said resume, be sure to spell check and grammar check. If English wasn't one of your best classes, have someone with stronger language skills do this for you. It's (fairly) easy to understand poorly spelled, mis-punctuated, and non-grammatical applications, but they are annoying.

 

-don't apply for reach positions. As you have no work experience, apply for entry-level jobs. Even if you're smart and have a good work ethic, until you've actually worked a job you lack the basic experience to be trustworthy in more demanding positions. This does mean that your first job might be low in pay! Everyone has to start somewhere. :)

 

-apply to fresh job ads. You have a better chance of being called in for an interview, if you apply in the first three days of a job being posted. Especially for entry-level jobs, where hiring someone quickly is more important than taking the time to find someone really good.

 

-once you get a job, work it for at least one year. Job hopping on a resume is a bad look. Even if not paying them much, employers spend a lot of money on employees. When a hiring manager sees that you spend less than 1 year at multiple jobs, you become an expensive risk they will avoid taking.

 

 

This is all I can think of off the top of head. If more comes to mind, I'll post again! :-) Hope this helps, and best of luck to you! Not being able to find work for so long has probably given your emotional state a bit of a beating, but keep your head up. :bunny:

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Trying going to your state career center and register so they can help you find employment. They are paid to help the public find employment in your local area.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Try checking out your College Alumni - apparently they help with job hunting.

 

I recently bought this book to help me out, it's called

 

What color is your parachute? I think it will help you out. Check your local library.

 

 

Is there anywhere in your area you can get access to a free job coach?

 

YMCA EMPLOYMENT CENTER - that's a good place to start.

 

Good for you for volunteering! Im surprised none of them turned into permanent positions.

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So you've been sitting around on your butt for the past 6 years? No wonder nobody will interview you. You could have gotten a college degree by now. You could have become the A#1 volunteer at SPCA by now. You could have started a thriving business by now. Instead, you sat on your butt and, well, 'enjoyed life.' NO sane hiring manager is going to give you a second look because you have no drive.

 

Your only hope at this point is to REALLY volunteer somewhere, join the Army or Peace Corps, or start your own business.

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I really have been volunteering for fundraisers, but I lie about being a nanny and tutor on my resume. And the problem isn't how I am on interviews because I can't remember the last time I went on 1.

 

Go on a hundred interviews. You will get offers to work. Accept the one or two most likely to make you interested and happy.

 

Working two jobs at the same time is easy. Every day is an opportunity to work.

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I really have been volunteering for fundraisers, but I lie about being a nanny and tutor on my resume. And the problem isn't how I am on interviews because I can't remember the last time I went on 1.

 

Don't lie on your resume. The next time you do get a job interview, they may ask to contact your previous employer, and then you'll be screwed because you'll have no contact info to give them.

 

 

Are there any paid positions available with the company that you volunteer with?

 

 

What type of work do you want to do? If you could choose anything, and didn't have to worry about how much experience you have, or whether you think you'll get hired or not, what would you want to do?

Edited by SpiralOut
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If you got a job interview, do your research about the company, like how long in business for, what they actually do, how many employees, what charity work they are involved in, the name of the CEO or branch manager, how many branches, etc. Go in there with your own questions like what are their expectations, is there overtime available, other opportunities to move up, etc. Ya gotta go in there with the most professional attitude possible to show how ambitious you are and how much of an asset you will be.

Edited by smackie9
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