I'm trying to find a new job

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I don’t think I’ll stop being a customer service monkey until I finish university, but right now I’m rather desperate to break away from food service. I’d rather be a retail monkey than cater to impatient hungry people. I know retail isn’t all rainbows and kittens, but I am very convinced it can’t be worse than food service.

The problem is, I’ve only ever had one job, and I only got the job because my boss tends to hire anyone who shows up. I really think I just lucked out there. I want to leave not only because it’s food service, but because it’s a real inconvience. No busses run by, so I have to bike during the summer and have to borrow my mother’s car in the winter. (I pay her back for gas, of course). Besides that, I’m only getting paid seventy-five cents above minimum wage. I plan to move out next year, so that’s not cutting it financially, especially since I’ve had more than a year’s experience.

I didn’t do the job search thing very extensively last time, so I’m asking for tips from more experienced 'Dopers. I know most retail places have applications I have to fill out, should I always ask for that instead of opting to “leave a resume”? I’ve been told to catch the people “off guard”… does it really matter that they know my intention is to find a job? And currently, I have hot pink hair. Although it’s begun to fade to red, and it’s really more streaks than a full head of pink, will that REALLY put me in a disadvantage?

I’ve actually submitted my application and resume to a novelty shop at the mall close to home. They have a sign out that they’re hiring, and it would be my dream job (at least until I graduate) to work there. I simply just LOVE the place. But unfortunately, I think I might have made a bad impression :frowning: . When I went in today, I asked who I could submit my application to, and the guy I spoke to said “That would be me”. I handed it to him and he looked at me, his body language was sort of saying “We’re finished now” so I turned to leave, but then as I was turning, he flipped the application over to look at my resume, and I was standing awkwardly so I turned all the way around and left. Was that rude and horrible? And later today, I had to go to on campus to run some errands so I turned my cell phone to silent. I missed a call, and the number was “Private” with no voice message. Do you think that could be them and I missed the chance and they won’t call again?! I know, thin possiblity, but I’m really hoping not. That is the one place where I think my pink hair would put me at an advantage than a disadvantage.

Any words of wisdom to help me get going on this? :slight_smile:

2

Lose the pink hair unless you are working in a record store or something.

I would basically pick a dozen or so stores that you think you might like to work at. Just keep going back until you can speak directly with a hiring manager. Repeat as necessessary.

Finding a job isn’t rocket science (even if your job is rocket scientist). You basically look at what you can do, find companies that do that, try to talk to someone who makes the hiring decisions and keep bugging them until they hire you.

For your career level, even though the store manager might still go through a lengthy interview process, all he’s really looking for is someone pleasent who looks normal and won’t steal from the register.

3

Call the manager at the novelty shop, ask him if he’s had a chance to review your application. If he says “Yes”, ask when he would like to interview you.

I’ve been hired at every retail job I applied for doing that.

If it’s a novelty shop, I woudn’t worry about the color of your hair. Maybe if you were applying at Saks, you would want to tone down, but otherwise, don’t worry about it.

If this job doesn’t come through, apply at stores you shop at. Try a bookseller, Hot Topic, Spencers. They tend to be more open about the appearance of their employees.

(Said the chick who got a job at B Daltons Books when she was WAYYYY into her punk phase, partially shaved head and all)

4

What if he says no? How should I respond to that? I didn’t get the manager’s name when I submitted my application, so is it okay to phone and ask for “the manager”?

I really like my pink hair right now. It’s really not all that pink, a cross between magenta and red. Not that I’m trying to justify it or anything. If I reeeally had to get rid of it to get a job, I suppose I would. I just like the idea of being able to work for a company that is lax enough to accept multicolour hair.

5

Then be bold and ask his advice. Don’t ask, “Why didn’t you hire me?” but instead ask something like, “Can you please advise me on how to improve my approach?”

6

So if he says “no” when I asked if he’s had the chance to review my resume, that means he’s not interested in hiring me at all?

Is it okay to ask for “the manager” when I call??

7

Not necessarily - he’s a busy man.

It’s almost always better to ask for a person by name.

8

It is if you work at the rainbow and kitttens store! :stuck_out_tongue:

Sorry about that.

Make sure you have decent references to put down on the application. Will your current manager give you a reference? Otherwise, ask people you can rely on to talk about how wonderful and responsible you are.

And the pink hair thing? Yeah, if you want to work at Spencer’s or Hot Topic, or a CD store, it should be fine. If not, you’ll have to change it. “Normal” stores want people who look as boring as they are. (I actually worked at a store that didn’t let us wear pants with pockets on the butt. They didn’t look professional, apparantly.)

9

When you call, he will probably state his name, if not don’t worry about it, you can work around it, till you have an in person interview and you can always call at a time when he isn’t there and ask for his name. If he says he hasn’t had time to review your application, ask " when would be a good time to check back with you" be pleasant, positive but ask for what you want. Ask for the interview and ask for the job. Dress up when you do have an interview, dress as professionaly as you can. If you want to keep your pink hair, where it in a professional style. It is ok to show a little personal flair but keep it to a minimum. Hide tatoos and piercingsas much as possible unless you are wanting to work in a place that caters to that clientele. You want to impress the manager that you can make his customers happy and satisfied and therefore repeat customers. Anything that detracts form that will count against you.

10

Umm…this is probably gratuitous, considering that the OP currently works in fast food, where s/he probably has to wear a uniform of some sort and perhaps even a hat.

11

I never knew that retail lackeys didn’t get to answer the phone! Maybe it’s because we’re not a big corporate chain with lots of rules we have to follow or get sacked, but when the phone rings at work, whoever is closests has to answer it. So, basically, whoever answers the phone when I call is the manger?

I was going to call the place today, but then I realised it’s a Sunday and people are probably out shopping, so I figure the manager wouldn’t have much time to talk to me. Is it a good idea to call during the day, at 10:00 or something around that. I basically want to tell them that I am a university student, not in high school and my schedule is way more flexible. But in order to do that, I’ll have to wait until Tuesday. I submitted my application on Thursday, is it too late by then?

12

Today might be a good day to call and ask for the managers name (or to have a friend call to ask the name) Wait til a regular work day to call about whether he has had time to look at your application. No Tuesday isn’t too late. Keep in mind, most interviewers will have had a bunch of applicants, so introduce your self each time, reiterate why you are calling, ask for an interview and then ask for the job. Always be polite and respectful.

13

I called today. He said he wouldn’t be looking over the applications/resumes until after Wednesday. Then I asked him when would be a good time to check back, and he said “I’ll call you”. Then I thanked him and hung up. He sounded pretty blunt. I thinking he said that but he really meant “I threw your application in the trash the second you walked out the door”

And I realised I messed my resume up. I don’t know how I didn’t catch it, but I listed my most recent experience last instead of first. So I’m thinking whatever chance I had of him calling me back is gone because of that stupid mistake. Who wants to hire someone who doesn’t even know how to do a resume properly? :smack:

14

Are you actually attending a university right now? If so, you should have plenty of options within the school itself. Usually the school jobs pay better too.

What is your major? If it’s anything in the sciences, soft or hard, lots of professors hire students to be their lackeys/assistants. If it’s in the arts, English, etc, they usually have postings for stuff all over.

I know you said you didn’t want to do food, but have you considered catering? I don’t know if your school has a catering place or not, but my friend worked catering in school and usually made at least $10-15 an hour after tips. On nights she bar tended she’d make even more. Good money and you get to eat well.

Otherwise, I think you just need to not lose hope. Don’t read too much into what they say. Just hope for the best, and if you don’t get the job, do as another poster said and ask for suggestions. They may refuse to even do that, but it’s okay because it didn’t cost you anything to ask. Just apply at a bunch of places. I think you’ll know if you need to change your hair color based on the place you’re applying to.

15

OK. First, deep breath. In…out. Good. Isn’t that better?

So, the thing you have to realize is that their are a gazillion of these jobs and people leave them all the time. So many retail stores are always hiring. The trick is to find one you can stand and convince them to hire you.

First, do a walking tour of the stores you intend to apply at. Note the appearance of the staff. This will give you an idea what the dress code is like. (or how well it’s enforced) Don’t bring resumes with you and don’t fill out an application. This is a scouting trip.

Decide which 6 or so stores you think you might like and give em a phone call. Ask if they’re hiring. If they say no, don’t waste your time on them. Call 6 more untill you find 6 that are hiring.

Go to your six stores, dress a bit better than casual, but not interview clothes. Ask for an application and take it somewhere else to fill it out. It always drove me nuts in retail when somebody stood at my counter to fill out an app and you better beleive I passed it along to the manager. If you’re in a mall situation, get all of your apps and fill them out in the food court, then take them back.

When you go back, ask politely to talk to the manager. If they can’t talk to you, so be it. But if they can, introduce yourself and ask a few questions. Ask about scheduling in a way that stresses your availability. Many stores have trouble with daytime and weeknight help if they depend on HS students. Ask for the interview.

When you get the interview, be prepared to answer questions about your past jobs, availabilty and possibly simple math skills. Make your schedule as avaiable as possible, once you’re there for bit you can cut it back and they’ll be reluctant to let you go. Ask questions about the job. Show interest.

After the interview, wait a day or two and then call back. Ask for the job. Really.
If this doesn’t work the first time, don’t sweat it. It will work if you give it time. None of these jobs are worth getting bent out of shape over. Retail does suck, but you’re right, it sucks less than foodservice. Chin up. Deep Breath.
Good luck,

tdc

16

So call him on Thursday anyway. The worst that will happen is he will tell you he isn’t interested in hiring you right now. If this is someplace you want to work, you have to be persistant. Polite, enthusiastic, but persistant. Most likely he didn’t look at tyour resume if you filled out an application.

17

Thank you for all the advice. I followed your advice, that_darn_cat, and I went to look at some stores yesterday and called them this morning. A few said they were definitely not hiring, some said they were always accepting resumes but wasn’t really looking to hire, and some said their managers weren’t in until the afternoon.

Two were definitely interested, Music World and Bluenotes. I’d love to work in Music World, and the manager seemed interested. He asked quite a few questions about my resume and references. If he wasn’t interested, he wouldn’t have wasted his time, right?

Bluenotes was definitely interested. When I called, I asked about the submitting the resume and application. She said to bring my resume in, but only those they were interviewing would have to fill out an application. When I went in, I spoke to the manager for a few minutes and then she handed me an application (woo hoo!). I filled it in, and when I brought it back, she said she’d have to send it through HR, so I asked her when I could expect to hear something. She said maybe next week, but if I don’t hear something, I am going to check back for sure. Thing is, I didn’t get her name. In my excitement, I forgot. When she answered the phone, I thought she said “Debra”, but it also have been “Devra”. Oops.

Both places didn’t seem to mind my pink hair, but I did tie it up. I do hope I’ll hear back from either one of them, if not, I’ll do more calling! Someone has to hire me!

18

Since I submitted my application on Thursday and was told that HR would have a chance to take a look at it at the end of the week, I thought today would be a good day to call. So I called, and asked for the manager but was told that she had left for another store. So I asked who else I could speak to. It was the person on the phone. I launched into my spiel about submitting my application and if they’ve had the chance to look at it yet, and the guy told me he was looking at applications and resumes at the end of this week. And then told me that they “weren’t necessarily hiring at the moment”, even though, when I went in, the other manager told me they were DEFINITELY hiring.

Should I call again next week or set my hopes on something else?

I’m starting to get a little discouraged here since I think I blew an interview on campus too…