# How does one go about getting an office job? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 23, 2002, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-go-about-getting-an-office-job/120415 "2002-07-23T18:00:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-go-about-getting-an-office-job/120415/21 "2002-07-25T13:14:52Z")
Yeah, that’s one thing they never taught us in school - how to actually get a job. Even more important when you’re talking about such an unemployable major as English. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-go-about-getting-an-office-job/120415/22 "2002-07-25T14:51:22Z")
Guerss what, I also have a degrees in English and in Education! I agree with the people who are recommending temp jobs. When you start an assignment, management will recognize that you are an intelligent and highly qualified person. You can use the assignment as a stepping stone to get a regular job at that company. From there, you can transfer between departments, take night courses in computers, etc. That’s what I did. Some of the assignments will be really boring, but others will be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-go-about-getting-an-office-job/120415/23 "2002-07-25T15:01:45Z")
Well, I guess I see why he’s called MEAN joe. Anyway, truth is, I know plenty about searching for teaching employment. I have done that since early May and have not been able to find a job. I graduated with about 25 students who have identical degrees as mine and none of them have jobs either. I know quite a bit about my specific area, just very little about general office work. ---
**Author:** ![MachV](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@MachV](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MachV)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-go-about-getting-an-office-job/120415/24 "2002-07-25T15:17:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by throatshot \* > \*\* > > This is definitely something colleges should remedy. A senior-level class in finding a job would definitely be a good thing. I think I only had a basic understanding of how to go about it, and I fumbled quite a bit. I was lucky in that I was trained in a rarely-taught, dated programming language that’s still often used in the business world, so finding a job in my field was fairly simple (2nd or 3rd interview I had). \*\* Yeah, and even high school wouldn’t be a bad place to begin pounding these skills into kids’ heads. Usually, only the kids who’ve completed all their credits get to participate in senior work programs. Why not have classes similar to home ec. devoted to teaching basic work ethics, interviewing skills, etc? ---
**Author:** ![MachV](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@MachV](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MachV)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-go-about-getting-an-office-job/120415/25 "2002-07-25T15:18:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by throatshot \* > \*\* > > This is definitely something colleges should remedy. A senior-level class in finding a job would definitely be a good thing. I think I only had a basic understanding of how to go about it, and I fumbled quite a bit. I was lucky in that I was trained in a rarely-taught, dated programming language that’s still often used in the business world, so finding a job in my field was fairly simple (2nd or 3rd interview I had). \*\* ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-go-about-getting-an-office-job/120415/26 "2002-07-25T18:11:33Z")
There are slightly different techniques when searching for different sorts of jobs, and the techniques can vary by the type of business, as well, so I think Mahaloth was asking a perfectly reasonable question. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-go-about-getting-an-office-job/120415.md?page=1)