Why won't anyone let me work for them?

[Seth=L]

I am so sick and tired of looking for work, getting excited about possibly getting a job and then getting let down even after having a good interview. It seems I always fall short, or maybe there is just something horribly wrong on my applications I haven't noticed. I don't have much more than a year's worth of work experience, maybe that is what it is. But what really pisses me off, is I am looking for any work. I could apply for the crappiest job in the world, and I won't be good enough for them. How the hell am I supposed to get more work experience when no one will hire me.

I was very optimistic about this last interview I had at RadioShack, I thought I had it. I mean the job is almost perfect for me and my knowledge. It fits my learning style perfectly. I let them know I could start anytime and my availability was wide open. They send me an email telling me there are more applicable people for the "second interview". I had one interview with the store manager, then you can get a second one with a district manager, they didn't even give me that.

Fast food places and gas stations won't even hire me, I mean what is lower than those jobs? I just don't understand, it's the most frustrating thing in the world to me right now. It seems I am just under the bar for everything.

Sorry for posting this here, but I can't seem to get into contact with anyone to talk to about this at the moment, and I am hitting an all time low point. Surely this sounds like am full of myself, but I guess it's hard for me to understand how some extremely stupid people can get jobs very quickly.

If anyone has any ideas I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I have been looking for work on and off for a year and have found nothing. I have asked many people that I know if they have any good ideas, so far none of them have really worked in practice. I really need some good advice.

 

[mazersteven]

Are you looking for full-time or part-time? I know you go to school but I don't know if this is just for the summer or what?

 

[Seth=L]

Are you looking for full-time or part-time? I know you go to school but I don't know if this is just for the summer or what?

I am out of school and looking for either part time or full time. I don't really care which I get because I needed a job a month ago.

 

[adk highlander]

Seth I am sorry about your predicament. Going through interviews and putting yourself on the line is tough. You put your efforts and hopes into getting a job and when it does not work out it can be tough to recover. My only advice is to keep trying. Two things I have always kept in mind when going through hard times both financially and times of self doubt are:

Illegitimis non carborundum - "Don't let the bastard s drag you down"

and

Mediocrity Sucks.

Have faith in yourself and your skills and do the best you can at what you do. I do believe in Karma and you seem like a decent helpful guy and that will come around to you.

 

[mazersteven]

I am out of school and looking for either part time or full time. I don't really care which I get because I needed a job a month ago.

Get the paper and look for car dealers looking to hire with no experience, and willing to give training.

You will make more money working a few months out of the year then working at Radio Shack all year.

 

[Seth=L]

Get the paper and look for car dealers looking to hire with no experience, and willing to give training.

You will make more money working a few months out of the year then working at Radio Shack all year.

I suppose I can give that a shot, but it seems like it would be shooting too high.

adk, thanks for the for that. It's taking to damn long for karma it seems. I am in really deep, so deep I think very few people would understand. I literally have nothing, plus debt that I can't do anything about (can't make payments on even necessities even).

 

[darien87]

As anyone that has been out in the world will tell you, "It's not what you know, it's WHO you know." Do you have any friends or relatives that could give you a hand getting a job where they work?

Also, I've found that in interviews, it always seems to help if you can find some common ground with your interviewer and talk to them on a personal level. Look around the office. If the guy has football poster on his wall, chances are he's a football fan. Start talking to him about football before the actual interview. This will put the guy a little more at ease.

Little things like that can go a long way.

 

[adk highlander]

I don't know if they have temp agencies close to you but it may help get you by.

I did a quick google and cam up with these:
Adecco Personnel Services - www.adecco.com
Labor Ready - www.laborready.com
Time Services - www.timeservices.com

Also try the any of the local trade unions and see if they are taking on apprentices. I have a friend who got into the electrical trade that way and is doing very well now.

 

[EJ1]

Why wouldn't a fast food place hire you?

 

[furrycute]

What kind of degree do you have? GED? College?

When was the last time you had a job? Can you go back to that old job?

How is your credit history? Some employers like to do a background check on potential employees.

Have you considered restaurant jobs? Supermarket jobs? Have you looked into temp agencies?

I feel for you. The only advice is to keep on looking. Dress professionally for your job interviews, speak clearly, then just hope for the best. Times are tough these days. But just hang in there buddy.

 

[highfihoney]

I dont know what kind of commercial buildings are being built in your area but union constructuion pays very well,most trades that focus on physical labor pay very well with no edcutaion requirements.

Take a drive round town or any other nearby large town & look for cranes,the large type crawler cranes used to errect high buildings,take a pen & paper with you,drive around the jobsite writing down the names of the companies on the site that,you can get company names from the work trucks parked on the site,in most cases you can even get the phone number off the door.

Go home & call every last contractor & tell them your desperate & will clean their work boots if needed, I s#!t you not Seth,do this with every contractor you talk to & within a week you'll have a job that should pay around $20 an hour to start,contractors love people who are desperate to work & express their willingnes to bust their a$$ doing sh!tty jobs.

If your still out of work in the spring i'll put you to work full time but ya would have to come to Michigan,my offer is legit too,most trades here in Mich pay around $20 an hour starting pay plus insurance,retirement & vacation pay,the pay levels are a bit lower in Indiana but not by that much.

Even if you dont want to do construction as long as you work union it pays kick a$$ & will tide you over till you find what it is you want to do for a career,here are a few places to check.

BTW,if you do land a job interview with a union contractor in your area you can use me as a reference & give them my company number.

Use the 1st link & check the menu on the left,there's a pretty good listing of all the local trade unions in your state.

http://www.unionapprenticeships.com/trade-iron-workers.htm

http://www.indianaunionconstruction.com/

http://www.indmasoncontractors.com/

http://indianastatepipetrades.com/index.php?c=59&p=98

http://www.ibew481.org/Political.cfm

http://www.indianaroofing.org/

 

[mazersteven]

I have a friend who got into the electrical trade that way and is doing very well now.

Me too. My friend is in Local 3 in New York. He is breaking over $250K a year.

Plus he does side jobs.

 

[mazersteven]

I suppose I can give that a shot, but it seems like it would be shooting too high.

Shooting to High?

If you can make friends with people, and have some basic knowledge of the product. And you can get the knowledge easy.

My Step-Son was washing cars at the dealership I worked at, and going to school (College-University of Florida). One day he decided to try and sell cars. We gave him a shot and he is still doing it today, 8 years later.

 

[Seth=L]

I have horrible credit, maybe that's the problem. I can't do anything about it without a job though.

I have an Associate Degree in retail management, I was expelled before I could get my Bachelors.

 

[EJ1]

Not to be rude, but I find it hard to believe that you cannot land a job after looking for a year on and off. You could probably walk into a McDonald's and get one instantly. Granted, it may be below what you want but any money is better than no money. Plus, you'd probably rank up in no time.

 

[Nomo]

I suppose I can give that a shot, but it seems like it would be shooting too high.

Maybe you're aiming too low and the people interviewing you suspect that you won't be around long enough to make your training worth their time before you leave for something better than they can offer you.

 

[Seth=L]

Not to be rude, but I find it hard to believe that you cannot land a job after looking for a year on and off. You could probably walk into a McDonald's and get one instantly. Granted, it may be below what you want but any money is better than no money. Plus, you'd probably rank up in no time.

I worked at McDonalds for 2 weeks once, everytime I went in I felt sick like I was going to throw up. I will not set foot in McDonalds. I will give the fast food places in my area another run tomorrow, because I don't think they will care if I come in on a Saturday.

 

[Seth=L]

Maybe you're aiming too low and the people interviewing you suspect that you won't be around long enough to make your training worth their time before you leave for something better than they can offer you.

I highly doubt that.

 

[cbraver]

I have horrible credit, maybe that's the problem. I can't do anything about it without a job though.

I have an Associate Degree in retail management, I was expelled before I could get my Bachelors.

If you have an associate degree in retail management, why not try and get a job at a retail store?

I highly recommend looking into the temp work mentioned earlier, that sometimes spurs full time jobs too.

Look at Starbucks' too, which includes health insurance even for part time workers... which you really need bro!

 

[majorloser]

I don't know what you're majoring in, but there's always different companies picking up college interns. Try your local municipality. If you're a engineering major, send out resumes to different firms. If you're a business major, send out resumes to local corporations. Get names of people to send them to, not blind to the HR departments. Also, use friends and family to help get you in the door. You need to get some face time with those who make decisions in the company. Not some flunky in the Human Resources Dept.

Then follow up the resumes with telephone calls and visits.


It's time to learn the art of "networking'.