#job tips

[okayto]

It's amazing how many of these job applicants will immediately signal "DON'T HIRE ME!" by ignoring basic instructions.

Like. I hire college students. I am not asking for an impressive resume. I'm not even looking at resumes yet. All I am doing is looking at the documents people submit to a job listing that says, clearly and in plain language, "submit your resume and class schedule. Make sure your name is on the schedule document somewhere."

8/15 applicants uploaded no schedule at all

3/7 applicants with schedules didn't put their names on it anywhere, including the filename

Hmmm yes. So promising for a job that includes large amounts of 1) reading and 2) following directions.

[bitchesgetriches]

So, at one point my manager implied that I don't have much of a future with my current company. Around that time I had indicated interest in a back office position and had been promised that I would be trained in the paperwork-side of things to make me competitive for the next eventual opening. Said training never really happened and I've since gone back to school. I was dumb and let it slip that I would probably leave once I got my degree. I got the smallest possible raise at the beginning of the year and the sporadic training has been given to someone else. I realize I've effectively burned this bridge, but is it worth it to hang on until graduation? Or should I start looking for jobs asap?

We are always in favor of getting a better job. Dust never has a chance to settle on my resume!

So depending on how far out graduation is, you should look for something else. In the meantime, keep your head down at work, study hard so you'll graduate with the knowledge and skills you need to get an even better job, and keep your mouth shut about this sort of thing in the future.

Season 1, Episode 1: "Should I Tell My Boss I'm Looking for Another Job?" 

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[kitkatmoose]

Customer Service Tips For The Neurodivergent (And Everyone Else)

So I was thinking about some of the things that made patrons start asking for me, or why people started asking for advice, not just in the last seven years as a librarian but also before that in media services, and what I observed of my colleagues when interactions would go wrong, and why they went wrong, and I realized it boils down to two things really and if it will help anyone, I am going to put them under the cut here:

Now the first one don't panic on because I'm going to explain it, but it comes down to tone and body language.

A large majority of people I have noticed have at some point mistaken a condescending tone of voice for a soothing one, and have unfortunately taken it up as a habit. People don't like this. The second they think they are being condescended is the second the situation escalates. Some people do it mistakenly from working with children a lot, don't do this with children either, they hate it.

The first thing you are going to do is listen to yourself until it becomes habit in your work persona. If the situation is going well, you are going to as they say "keep it real." You are allowed to have a bad day, your patrons are going to think it's weird and inhuman of you if you don't, they understand this. What you are not going to do is project that, you don't always have to smile these days for most places, take a drink, count to ten, relax your shoulders, keep your manner casual, be yourself as much as you think you can. They appreciate authenticity. Most will meet you in the middle if the effort is made.

Now, say the situation is going badly... The first thing you need to realize is that it isn't about you. This patron has a million and one things on their plate, they are worried about this, that, and the other thing and they don't know you but whatever they have going with your place of business just happens to be the last straw. Here's what you are going to do. You are going to let that anger slip right by you, it isn't personal, it probably isn't even about the situation. You are going to drop your voice. Do NOT make it quieter, but make it softer, do not condescend them, do not, not even with children. People do not want to be condescended, they want to be heard. You are going to be direct, and calm. You are going to ask what is wrong, what can we do to help, use "we" if you can remember to, and you are going to listen in full. Ask any clarification questions you need to. IF the situation is something you cannot address by yourself you are going to do one of two things. "Hold on a moment, let me get someone who can help you with that who deals with these sorts of situations," professional, assures them someone who has dealt with this is coming to help them, OR, "Let me get you the card/e-mail/phone number of my supervisor, please reach out to them so they can help you with this." Again, same thing. If it is something that violates policy, you can state or show them the policy, 9 our of 10 times they won't want to read it and will take your word for it, sometimes they will ask for someone to contact, they may even leave mad, but the situation is diffused and now in their hands.

IF, it is something you can help them with, here is what you are going to do, you are going to state their options clearly, we can address this in A, B, C, manner, which works best for you?" This does a couple of things, it gives them all of the options if there is any, gives them a clear direction which pulls them out of their panic, and it places them in a spot of empowerment. You gave them what they needed, and you did it nicely.

This also works in teaching moments.

Say, for example, a patron comes in with things they need to do, they don't know how to use a computer, they are panicked, upset, and most of the time they are going to tell you they are illiterate/stupid/etc. Do not reinforce that. You are instead going to say something like "Oh, let me show you how to do that" (again, if you can't, find someone who can). If they are in a hurry they may have you do it, flustered and aggravated, let their anger go, fix the issue, most of the time they will come back and thank you and ask for you to show them how at a later date. They will remember. It's okay. If they are not in a hurry, then the best thing is for them to do it with you walking them through. If they are too upset they may have you show them the first time, this is okay too. Go slow, answer questions. What they have really told you above is "I need to do this thing, I don't know how to do it, I'm scared." For most people this is what it boils down to. Walk them through it the first time, do not say "I'm proud of you," that's cheesy, say something like "There you go! You got it!" Linger or have them do it a second time, reaffirming their actions or correcting if they stumble. Then you are going to ask them if they got it from here, if they have any questions. If they say they think they got it, then you go one step further... Tell them that you or your coworker, or whoever will be on hand will be at the desk/wherever should they have any further questions or need anything. Again, this diffuses their panic, empowers them, and then turns around and assures them that if they run into trouble they've got the help they need.

If you are not making yourself understood, stop and either take the metaphors out or throw them in, use other words, others terms, and it that doesn't work, say something like "Hey, maybe my coworker here can explain it better than I can." This happens, people understand this, people understand things differently, learn different, most people will get it.

If they are leaving, assure them they can return or give the business a call if they need something in the future.

Here is where it will get a little odd because those really grumpy patrons? They're going to start talking to you in your interactions, quite often they will start being a little pleasanter because you've put a dent in their jaded viewpoint of customer service. They may still not be so nice but they will start offering random advice or whatever else, this is them trying to reach out, try to reach back, and you'll both walk away a little better.

So, here is the thing... Keep it casual, try to soothe but not condescend in stressful situations, try and make a little small talk with regulars "Oh, I liked this book," or "Have you tried this cheese in pasta?" or "Have you heard of our app?" or some other such thing, empower your patrons, and that's it really.... Too many people see the job as just a job and the patrons become tasks instead of human beings, but they are human beings, and things go smoother when we remember that. People are just people and kids are just kids.

It doesn't matter what is going on, yelling, robbery, whatever... The calmer you are the better the outcome is going to be. If you're being robbed, give them the money and follow directions, the clearer headed you are, the less likely you are to do something stupid that is going to cost someone, the less likely a situation is going to escalate.

[ohmykarma]

Reworking my résumé and created this cover letter, feel free to use it on your own résumés

[k-she-rambles]

Re: Phone skills, here's a big handy tip that might help you get a job or a promotion:

Always introduce yourself even if it's a number you call multiple times a day. You know that anxiety you feel when an unknown number shows up on your cell? The same goes for land lines. The person on the other end wants to know who you are and why you're calling!

Introduce yourself with your name and company. Something like "Hi, this is Stacy from Barbie Mart, how are you?" "Hello this is Stacy from Barbie Mart again, may I speak to Steve?" Or "Good afternoon, this is Stacy from Barbie Mart, extention 322 please."

You don't have to be super formal. By introducing yourself you've already gone WAY above most people nowadays. It's almost guaranteed to make a good impression!

A little, related tip: Ask if the person you want to talk to is AVAILABLE, not if they are PRESENT. Don't make the person answering the phones compromise building security.

[sunrisedespair]

WORKER SOLIDARITY PRO-TIP SERIES: LINKEDIN FOR COMRADES

Comrades Helping Comrades via LinkedIn - A Tutorial

Here’s how we can use LinkedIn, mostly known as being the primary social media website for CEO douchebags, to improve one another’s professional CVs or resumes with little to no effort and very little time investment.

LinkedIn Jobs: Surprisingly Effective Way to Find (Hopefully Less Shitty) Work

LinkedIn Jobs is actually a pretty good way to feel out what jobs are currently available in your region for whatever position or industry etc. you are interested in.

I have personally gotten 3 jobs through LinkedIn, purely by spending my lunch hour messing around in the search tab on the LinkedIn Jobs page. 

If you need to get out of a shitty job, or want to look for any possible hope or potential gig you could apply to, LinkedIn Jobs is a great place to casually look. The success rates are surprisingly solid compared to other job sites, and if you are a younger adult, it looks great to potential employers if you have a LinkedIn profile set up, even if you don’t have much to put on it yet.

It’s Not Just for Office Workers

It’s not just for office workers, either. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking LinkedIn is solely for CEO douchebags, but in reality, I know two people in construction who got their current gigs through LinkedIn, I know a lot of people in healthcare who got their jobs through LinkedIn, I know a welder who got their current job through LinkedIn, and I know a lot of people who got pretty good apprenticeships through LinkedIn.

No matter what you do or what your skills are, if you need a job or need a better job, set up a LinkedIn and use the tips below to immediately improve your changes of at least getting an interview for something better than wherever you work now:

If you are struggling to get a reference for a job application:

It is possible to give recommendations to your comrades, which will appear on their main page when employers or recruiters check your profiles.

How to Endorse Someone on LinkedIn

How to Get a Reference on LinkedIn

Go ahead and contact your friends on LinkedIn. Even better, set up your profiles with your friends at the same time, add each other as Connections on your pages, and give each other references.

There are two ways to do this, as linked above, but there are also others. These two are just the most common ways to do it; There is also the official LinkedIn page about this here, but it doesn’t cover the other methods available.

You do not have to be co-workers to give each other references. Like I said, there are other methods, and client or friend references are just as valuable as co-worker references. If challenged about it, just call it a character reference instead of a professional reference. This is fine, and allows you to beef up your professional profile without having to lie about anything.

How to beef up your profile page:

Fill it in: Free header making tool + 5 minutes = Way better chances of escaping your shitty current job or getting a job in the first place 

The number one easiest thing to do is just fill in the basics on your profile. Add a photo of yourself that is at least somewhat professional, and if you can, customise a header.

Even just having the bare minimum on the page is already way more than a lot of people bother to fill in, and it immediately makes your profile more interesting to potential employers.

I recommend especially making a custom header, because it makes your page stick out more compared to the default headers, and recruiters are more likely to contact you or remember you when sending out interview links.

Use Canva to make a custom header quickly and for free. You can also use any other free graphics making site/software you’d like, but Canva is fast, simple, and works just fine in my experience with it. 

TIP: Even if you think something isn’t worth including on your profile page, if it is something you have done or training you have done of any kind, include it anyway. 

There is a Volunteer work section; You can add things here that may not have been “formal” volunteer work, but for example, if you helped your family or friend(s) at their place of work or something like that, add it in this section anyway. It looks good, and it’s a true representation of work you’ve done to help others that may not have been paid-- And was therefore by default volunteer work! It still helps give a better idea of your overall skills and experiences, which employers like.

Skills Checkmark Badges: Employers love this shit!

There is a Skills and Endorsements section on the page; This allows you to select shit like Microsoft Word and add it as a skill to your profile.

More importantly, you can also take short 15 question quizzes on each skill you have listed, and if you pass, you get a checkmark on your profile page to prove your competency. Here are some from my own profile: 

Employers and recruiters look for these checkmarks as confirmation that you know what you’re talking about in regards to whatever software etc., and if you fail one of the quizzes, there is no negative-- It does not appear as a failure on your profile, and you can re-take the quiz at a later time if you’d like.

There’s no downside to attempting the quizzes, and the more checkmarks you can get in your Skills section on your profile, the better. These quizzes are easy, quick to do, and can boost you in the job search algorithm.

Mutual Aid: Seriously, write like a couple sentences for a fellow comrade to put on their profile, and you might be the person who gets them the job! Or they might get you the job! 

This post is super long, so I’m leaving it at this for now, but if you have a LinkedIn profile and would like a casual recommendation, message me and I’m happy to write something up for you to add to your profile so that your page can look better to a potential employer. 

Like I said, you and your friends/co-workers/etc. should, if at all possible, do an exchange and write a short reference for each other. Doesn’t have to be super complex or detailed, just highlight key skills and make it positive. That’s all it takes to really boost your profiles and look that much better to any recruiters/employers who might be checking your page.

And that’s it for now! I hope this helps! 

If anyone else has any LinkedIn tips, feel free to add them! 

Please share this post; I’m hoping this can help some people out there who might need the encouragement or tips. 

[paperdemon-arpg]

Become a PROFESSIONAL ARTIST | Why no one will hire you

Do you want to become a professional artist but are struggling to get hired? Do you think no one will hire you because you can't get experience? In this vide...

Do you want to become a professional artist but are struggling to get hired? Do you think no one will hire you because you can't get experience?

Join former Google employee Susie (@bogusred) as she talks about a couple of ways to build your experience and skills that will help lead you to your first job offer.

Need help getting motivated to create art? Try the PaperDemon Art Role Playing Game!

▶ PaperDemon: bit.ly/3FJXxS7 ▶ Discord: discord.gg/PJTTtzC ▶ YouTube: youtube.com/c/PaperDemon