Here’s the situation I’m in: I’m home from college for winter break until January 14th. I’d like to earn a bit of money, and get out of my house as much as possible. In other words, I’d like to get a job.
I have no past employment. My parents made me spend my highschool years padding my resume for college: I did the educational program in Spain, the volunteer work, etc. But although I volunteered, I had no paying jobs.
I’m good with people. I’ve learned to be able to answer any kind of verbal abuse with a smile and a “Have a nice day!,” courtesy of my time spent working on the Kaine campaign.
I also speak a bit of Spanish, which certainly doesn’t hurt anything.
Now the problem is, I’m home for such a short amount of time that I don’t know that any place would be willing to hire and train me- as soon as I’m trained, I’d be leaving. I might, however, consider working there over the summer.
I’ve been filling out applications, but I was hoping some of you all might have some thoughts of places that might welcome short-term, inexperienced help this season. Any suggestions would be welcome.
Many retail stores will bring in one or two day workers to help count up inventory around the start of the year. I got some jobs doing that during winter break while in college. I found them through a temp service.
That’s really a local decision. Can’t do it from California for you. I’d also hit the various local retail stores and fill out apps. There might still be some businesses that are looking for seasonal workers. It’s kind of late in the season to be hiring, but you never know.
When winter break ends and you return to college, look to do volunteer work, or go for a part-time job. You need to work on that resume now. So far all you have to show for yourself is college prep stuff. It got you into college but unless you broaden your experiences, your job opportunities could be slim pickens after college.
Well, I have done the volunteer stuff. Political campaigns, tutoring, etc. The part time job thing is a bit more difficult. I’m a freshman. I have no car. And the jobs on campus are limited, and mostly for those on financial aid. So I have no way to get to any job.
Your volunteer stuff should absolutely be included on your resume. Yes, they were volunteer positions, but they were places where you gained work experiences, were mentored by people, interacted with the public, and (hopefully) obtained some higher ups to provide nice letters of recommendations.
Whoever said that volunteering wasn’t “work experience” obviously never put forth the effort to volunteer in a quality manner.
I didn’t own a car until I was 23. By then I had half a dozen jobs under my belt. Riding a bicycle, taking the bus and just plain walking got me to work and back in those years. Those jobs paid for my entire college education, too. Sorry to sound a bit snarky but if there is a will, there is a way.