Applying for a Job
So you’ve decided to get a job! Fantastic! Having a job is a good thing and having paychecks is an even better thing. What now?
I’ll go ahead and specify now, this advice is going to be for part time or temporary jobs. Depending on the response we get, we can look into doing an article in the future about applying and interviewing for “career” jobs.
The first question you’re going to want to ask yourself is have you ever had a job before? If so, great! This will make things a lot easier for you. If not, getting a first job is hard. It’s the old conundrum; to get a job, you need experience. To get experience, you need a job.
If you’ve never had a job before, your best bet is going to be getting a job working with someone you know. Do you have a friend whose family owns a business? How about a relative? Does sweet Mrs. Prittchet who sits behind you in church on Sunday own the local flower shop? Those are the people to go to first. Tell them you’re looking for a job and ask if they have any openings or know anyone who does. Personal connections are going to be your best friend in this part of the process. If you don’t know anyone who owns a business, start talking to people you know who have jobs. Maybe they can mention you to their boss or fill you in about the new opening. Also talk to anyone you know who is in a position of influence. Are you friends with your local alderman? How about the guy who lives down the street and serves on the school board? Connections don’t have to be purely professional; if someone you know holds influence over people who could give you a job, talk to them as well. Now regardless of whether or not you’ve ever had a job before, this next piece of advice is very important: Apply. Everywhere.
I mean it. Everywhere. Pick a street or mall where there are a lot of businesses. Start at one end and go into every single shop and ask for an application. Ask to see a manager, if one is around, and introduce yourself. Tell them you’re looking for a job and ask how you can apply. If they have a paper application, it may be best to fill it out in the store, though that’s not necessary. Before you leave, tell them your name again and thank them for their time. Keep doing this all the way down the street or mall until you get to the last shop, then pick another place and start all over again. More than likely, out of 30 or 40 places you apply to, you’ll get 2 or 3 calls back.
Side note: When you go apply, dress professionally. We’ll be doing an article in the next few weeks on how to dress professionally, but for now, if you’re a man, wear a button down, tie, some dress slacks, and dress shoes if you have them. If you’re a woman, a blouse and dress pants or a skirt with an optional blazer is good. If you don’t have these items, dress as nicely as you can. You want to show your employers you think their time is worth dressing up for. The rule of thumb is to dress one level above what you expect to wear to work. For a construction job, a pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt would probably be fine. For a job working in a clothing store, you may need to dress a bit more formally.
 Applications in themselves can be confusing. They’re going to ask for your personal information (name, birth date, social security number, address, past addresses, phone number, etc.) so be sure you have all of that at the ready. Memorizing your social security number, if you haven’t already, is definitely a good move. Make sure you have names of any former employers, as well as their addresses and phone numbers.Â
They’re also going to ask for references. References are two to three people who know you personally and well, but who are not relatives, who will speak on your behalf to the employers. Teachers, former employers, and family friends may be good candidates. You’ll want to select people who are professionals, successful and well established people whose opinion will carry weight with potential employers.Â
On the application, there may be questions that you cannot answer without portraying yourself in a negative light. The most common example of this is the portion of the application where it asks if you are a convicted felon. First and foremost, you cannot lie on an application. You need to be 100% truthful. However, you don’t want to portray yourself in a negative light. So the solution is not to answer. If there is a question which you cannot answer without casting yourself negatively, just leave it blank.
Some applications may include an aptitude test. Fill out the questions there to the best of your ability and when you get through with the application, double check everything! You don’t want to miss out on a job because you accidently wrote a 3 instead of an 8 in your telephone number. You also want to double check your spelling and grammar. Errors in those areas on a job application can decimate your chances. If there are other things on your application about which you are unsure, ask the manager of the business if possible. If not, simply do the best you can and explain when you turn in the application that you were unsure about those portions.
The next thing you want to do is be a fly in the employers’ ears. Now I realize it’s not practical to go check in at every single place every single week, but you want to stop back by at least once if at all possible. At the places you really want to work and the places that look like good prospects, you should be going in once a week asking about the status of your application until you get a solid answer. Ask when you can expect a response to your application. Ask when you need to check back in and do so at the time they recommend. If the application was turned in online, you especially want to make a point to go introduce yourself to the manager. That way they can associate a face with a name rather than just seeing another name on another computer screen whizzing by. Show them you’re enthusiastic about getting a job and excited about working.
At this point, one of four things will happen: they’ll hire you, they’ll call you for an interview, they’ll refuse you, or they’ll ignore you. More than likely, you’ll get way more of the last than of the first three. Don’t be discouraged by this. Keep talking to people who might be able to get you a job. Keep applying to places and keep checking back in with your better prospects. Eventually, you’ll get a call back. At this point, unless they’ve already agreed to hire you and the application was just a formality, you’ll get an interview.
Next time on the Professional Edition, we’ll cover interviews. What to wear, what to say, what to bring, and anything else we can think of. Until then, good luck!