Job Searching Tips For Success

As of June there were 12.7 million unemployed in the United States, an unemployment rate of 8.2%. That’s the good news if you are a teenager looking for work. Yes, I said the good news! The bad news is that those unemployment figures do not take into account those who have never had a job before, or who have only worked on a limited basis from year to year.

So toss in all those high school and college students and I wonder what the unemployment figure would look like? In case you were wondering, that’s the bad news. There is a lot of competition out there when you are young and looking for a job. Just yesterday I spoke to a person who once worked for a corporation and made in excess of $75,000. He was out looking for work and he had applied, that day, at Burger King and McDonalds. Makes you stand back and think a bit, doesn’t it?

On the other end of the spectrum I know several eighteen year olds who refuse to apply at fast food restaurants because they won’t work for minimum wage. Mind you, they have never had a job and have no work experience, but for whatever reason they believe certain jobs are beneath them.

It is a brutal economic landscape out there and it seems to be getting harder and harder to find a job. If that is so, how can a teenager expect to find work? This author believes there are several age-old techniques that will greatly help you in your job search. Despite the year, despite your lack of experience and despite the competition, there are several things you can do to improve your chances to become gainfully employed.

How do I know? Well, I have been employed for forty-eight years and I have never failed to get a job when I needed one. In addition, I have owned and operated three businesses during my lifetime and I have hired countless employees, so I have a fairly good idea of what employers are looking for when they are hiring.

Are you interested in what I have to offer? If so, sit down, read through this once, then read through it a second time. Let the suggestions leak into your brain, then copy them and attach them to your mirror or some other place where you are likely to see them daily. Most of us have built-in forgetters so we need to be constantly reminded.

Are you ready?

SHOW UP IN PERSON

Oh, if I had a dollar for every teenager I have met who thinks looking for work only consists of filling out an online application. They fill out a couple per day and then head out and have fun with their friends, or else they take a nap because they are worn out from filling out those online applications.

Yes, the year is 2012 and yes, many companies have online application procedures, but there is no better way to show you are interested in a job than going to the business and introducing yourself. Let me tell you a reality: it is a jungle out there in the workplace and you have to do something to distinguish yourself from the hundreds of others applying for that one job. Absolutely nothing does this like a person-to person meeting.

What, you say they specifically told you to apply online and not go to their place of business? Well whoopy doo! Let me tell you what a visit to the company does for you: It shows that you really want the job! What’s the worst thing that can happen if you go down there? They will tell you that they would prefer people don’t come to their place of business. What’s the best thing that can happen? They will be impressed that you took the time and made the effort to meet with them. A face-to-face is your chance to sell yourself and make no mistake about it, getting hired is all about selling yourself. If you don’t who will? Get off of the sofa and go pound some pavement. It is good exercise and you might just come home with a job.

RESUME AND COVER LETTER

I will repeat an earlier statement and you need to memorize it and repeat it as your daily mantra. You have to sell yourself! There are certain essentials when it comes to looking for a job and two of those essentials are a resume and a cover letter. These need to look professional and as detailed as possible. If you don’t know how to write either of them, it will take you all of five minutes doing an internet search to find a template that will get you on your way.

I hear someone saying right now that they don’t have any work experience so what would they put on a resume? Back to your mantra….SELL YOURSELF! Get letters of reference from the teachers who love you, or your pastor at church, or someone in the business community who is a friend and knows about your character. Put together a winning package that literally screams that you are a great person who would be an asset to any business.

If you roll over and play dead, convinced that you will never get hired, you are going to be a prophet of your own demise and failure! Have a professional resume and cover letter and then carry them with you when you go to businesses looking for a job. Ask whoever is at each business if you can leave your resume and letter with them. The worst that can happen is they will say no!

LOOK PRESENTABLE!

First impressions count! I’m sorry if you prefer jeans and a ragged tshirt; you look like a slob! You only get one chance when you meet a business owner and you better make the most of it. Comb your hair, take a shower, brush your teeth and put on some nice clothes. Nobody wants to hire someone who doesn’t care enough to look presentable when meeting the boss.

I’m all for personal freedoms and expressions, but you need to SELL YOURSELF! You can’t do that if you look like something the cat just dragged in. When I was hiring people and someone came in looking like death warmed over, I was polite, took their resume (if they had one) and then threw it away as soon as they left. That, my young job-seekers, is the bitter pill of reality. If you want a job then look like you want a job!

LOOK THEM IN THE EYES

Heaven help the shy ones out looking for a job and heaven help those who act like they could care less! When you meet a supervisor or owner of a business, look them in the eye, shake their hand and put on your eager and confident face.

Nobody wants to hire a whipped puppy and nobody wants to hire someone with a chip on their shoulder. Get out there, look confident and act like you really want the job.

MAKE A SECOND VISIT

Your search is not over just because you finally crawled off the couch and made a few cold-calls. Let a few days go by and then return and talk to the manager again. Your task is to appear like you really want the job. I promise you that most young people out looking for work will go to a place once and then never return. You will stand out when you return; you will be telling that person that you are the one who made the effort to return for a second visit.

As a teenager looking for a job, you are at the bottom of the food chain. I don’t know any way to sugarcoat that news. If former business executives are applying at Burger King and they have college and work experience, where do you think that puts you on the ladder of success? The world owes you nothing. You might think you are the greatest thing since sliced bread but in reality you are just one of thousands who have the same goal in mind.

Sure there are stories of kids lucking out and getting a job over the internet. Sure, you might just fall into a job that your uncle is hiring for, but chances are that you will be one of thousands out looking for work and it is up to you to find a way to get hired. It is very hard these days to get hired; it takes willingness, determination and a little creativity to set yourself above the other job applicants.

Excuses are a dime a dozen and I have heard all of them..I talked to a kid the other day who turned down a job because it was on the other side of town and he didn’t have a car. WELL THEN WALK! TAKE A BUS! Figure out something or and quit making excuses! When the going gets tough, the tough find a way! They strap it on, hitch up their pants and find a way!

You have your marching orders. Now get out there and make it happen!

2012 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)