[CHAT] Work it
Whether:
- you are going for your first ever after school job at 14 & 9 months, or
- you've left school and looking for an apprenticeship/traineeship or
- you are trying to work to support your study at uni or tafe or
- you've finished your study and you want your first full time job or
- you haven't worked for a long time but it's time to get a job...
- you are working hard for the money...
Looking for a job and/or working can be a pretty nerve wrecking experience, especially trying to keep everything running smoothly!
You might be wondering how you can find the right kind of job that suits you; how to make it through the dreaded interview; how to make sure you are not taken advantage of; how to manage your pay & make it last the fortnight; and before any of that - resumes these days have become an art form!
Or what about this age old conundrum:
Here's a story from a forum member, Chonty
"The first job I ever had was working in a fast food joint after school and on weekends. I remember wanting to quit in the first week because it was all too new and I didn’t like the manager. I also remember how exciting it was to get my first pay, and I’m pretty sure I spent it immediately on new clothes and forgot all about wanting to leave. That’s pretty much how I spent every pay for two years straight, without a thought about saving for future things.
It wasn’t until schoolies came around that I realised I didn’t have enough saved to do all the things that had been planned! Luckily in the end my family were all able to chip in in and it all worked out, but they let me sweat it for a while. Being in a position where I realised I hadn’t managed my money as well as I should have wasn’t the best.""
@copse I gotta admit I never thought about applying for scholarships, but I really should have! I have a few friends who benefited so much from them, and I can only imagine how sweet it would be on a resume.
@benjamin_ Not to mention scholarships (when you do get them) are pretty awesome! For me and others I know who've been successful, they always mean money towards tuition, books, a 'free' computer. Yay!!! Def worth applying for those if you qualify.
@Mermaidgirl6 congrats on getting one, I really wish I applied for one earlier!
@Mermaidgirl6 Communication skills is huge, I agree! I def think that they would consider the way you communicate in the interview and use that to help them understand how you might be in a team!
@Dreamer 95 Ambition and commitment are def two things I would want in an employee! I think they both paint the picture of a hard working, reliable employee
I'm going to go ahead and answer the first one!
- What do you think employers look for in their ideal candidates for a role?
I think the key things employers look for is people who are hard working, have great social skills, ability to be organized and work well in a team, as well as an technical skills appropriate to the role. I guess it always varies, but those are the things I think are most important.
1. What do you think employers look for in their ideal candidates for a role?
In a lot of cases, experience! I can't even handle how true that comic is in your first post @benjamin_ , haha. I think employers definitely like to see that you have some kind of proven skill-set, whether or not it's directly related to your role or some kind of transferable skill from something else you''ve done.
I also think being friendly and approachable is a big one. I definitely think it helps with the interview process!
Hi everyone! Really looking forward to this chat 🙂
What do you think employers look for in their ideal candidates for a role?
I definitely agree with experience, but I also think they look for someone who is a good fit with the organisations values and ways of working - I think that is why I got my job.
Hey @delicatedreamer 🙂 glad you could join us!
That is so true about being a good fit. Especially when you're working closely with a team, being able to work well with everyone is pretty much crucial to doing well on the job so i'm sure that employers would care about it.
I think that's a great one @delicatedreamer
I got a new job a couple of weeks ago and I think I got it for a similar reason!
Welcome @KitKat
Experience is a big deal for sure. I imagine if you don't know someone well, experience is one of the only concrete things you can really go by! That being said, it doesn't necessarily mean that people with MORE experience will always be picked so it depends how you present yourself too !
@benjamin_ Yeah, so true! At the end of the day it's the way you package yourself up, skill sets, personality and all, and sell yourself to your potential employer.
@delicatedreamer That's so true actually! My last interview some of my questions actually asked me how I displayed specific company values in my every day life and stuff.
I've worked the same part time job for 5 years, I think my employer easy just looking for someone young for cheap labour to be honest!
@copse Woah, that's a long time! I definitely reckon it's more then that if you've been around for that long, you must have some mad job skillz going on 😛
I have to admit though, when I worked at McDonalds it was totally like that. Whenever the HSC finished you would start losing shifts because all the younger (aka cheaper) kids with lots of free times would become available.
@KitKat Definitely felt that pain... :'( I never understand it though because it's always the people that have worked there for a few years that have the experience that lose the shifts for the new, cheaper, younger people that have no experience -.-"
@FItzChivalry Isn't it the worst? Haha. The most annoying thing for me was that some of the younger teens didn't take it seriously at all - kind of sounds like the problem @j95 was having at Coles! Yeah, Maccas isn't the place you want to work at forever and it can be a bit daggy, but it's your job and you're getting paid to be there and do it correctly.
@KitKat Exactly! And the business is going to be much more productive if it is full of experienced people who have been there for years and value their job!
The part that always confused me is How long to make a resume.
A family friend who has been an executive for a bunch of companies such as Shell, Bluescope Steel and Santos said that it doesn't matter if a resume is long but it has to be clearly marked, so the employer can easily see the different sections etc.
Howevever, I think that more casual jobs such as for teenagers/Young adults, many of the managers are very young themself so may want a short concise resume, as staff turnover can be pretty high for younger ages.
I also think that it's important to start working early on in your life, it gives you skills that you can then bring to later (hopefully better paid) jobs!
Welcome to everyone that just joined the party 🙂 Some awesome advice flying around at the moment! Everyone seems to have something of value to add (I think you'd all do very well in an interview hehe)
haha thanks, hey guys 🙂 (im struggling to refresh my page regularly enough >< ppl so quick! )
@benjamin_ That's very true, you might have all the skills in the world and be the best person for the job, but you only really have one chance to prove that to the employer, which is a hard thing to do but if they see you have a wealth of experience behind you then they're much more likely to believe in you
