If it’s all about getting your foot in the door so volunteering those feet is the way to go!
http://blogs.wsj.com/laidoff/2010/03/01/using-strategic-volunteering-to-help-with-the-search/
Even if they say ‘no’ or there are no job openings, this could be the way you squeeze yourself into that company you want to work for. If it doesn’t pan into a ‘real’ paying job then it only adds good fodder for your resume.
Tired of the struggle? I’ve written past work numbers so many times I’ve re-memorized them. It’s difficult when you know most of the hard work won’t pay off. Once you get that rejection, all the work you’ve put into getting that particular job has to be trashed. The only thing you can do is dust off your original resume and work it for a new job. Don’t give up. Laugh.
I’m so tired of filling out that ridiculous impersonal blue and white application form. I had the idea to just get a copy, fill it out and copy it. This way I can bring their own filled out form for them and not have to keep re-filling it out every time I applied for a job where I wonder if they even read it…. Would save me loads of time and annoyance plus it might show my creativity/innovation/time-saving skills.
– I am reliable
– I like to do a good job
– I am creative
– I am productive
– If I know what the end solution needs to be and I understand the problem, I have the ability to figure out that middle part and get from the problem to the solution.
Driving = Listening to audiobooks
Working = Listening to documentaries
Talking on the phone = Working
Cooking = Cleaning the kitchen
Some call it multitasking, I call it optimizing my time….
What do you do to optimize your time?
Who was that gal?
I’ve really gotten into business cards. I started out making them myself when I was about 13. They advertised that I could crochet and babysit and they contained my phone number and name. Basically one step up from writing that information down on a napkin if I met someone who might want to use those services. In my last year of college I discovered Vistaprint and the online do-it-for you of business cards. Vistaprint is great and so far I’ve created three different business cards with them. Each time I make a better card. The first was very general, which is a bad idea and a good idea all wrapped into one that made it quite ineffective. This was a card that I could hand out at the library or on a bus but not during an interview for a position at an engineering company. I really should have left off the “For Hire” bit. The second business card I crafted was catered toward my author business, i.e. for my book. It was a free card and it is nicely simple but I have been told that the font is almost not readable. Perhaps if I had made the curlicues larger, the differences between letters would stand out more and it would work better overall. This card needs an explanation to go along with it though, which is why I developed the last card. It is a standalone card that if found on the street has all the information one would need to get the idea of who Rachel Barnard is.
In my writing group: Snovalleywrites, my second business card prompted one of the members to get his own. I really liked how his looked and have taken some of his ideas to incorporate them into my third business card (portrait vs. landscape and putting the cover of my book on one side).
I walk up and open the door. I hold it open for two ladies to exit and for one man to enter. Then I gather myself and walk in briskly. I want to make a good first impression, that I’m upbeat and ready for anything. I put on a smile and walk in to the dining area proudly, peeking around the corner to find someone who works there. It is almost 4PM and the dining area is deserted. A lady comes around the corner, “Can I help you?” She asks. “As a matter of fact, I saw that you were hiring a server and I wanted to apply.” I answer professionally and cheerfully, as if I have no where better to be but at this particular establishment “Here is the lady you must speak to then.” The first lady beckons over to another lady. The second lady wastes no time, “Do you have experience with breakfast?” She scrutinizes me. I wish I had not just thrown a nice sweater over my black Beatles t-shirt. I feel that she can tell I cheated on my dress that day. “Well.” I pause. Crap. That was the moment to reassure her that I lived for breakfast. That I knew all about eggs and toast. But that’s not quite true. I never worked in a true breakfast environment. And if I was going to embellish or straight out lie about my prior experience I had already botched it with that pause. “I worked at a gracious retirement living center working many of the morning shifts, which were breakfast. I have also worked over three years in the food service industry.” I say swiftly. I have lost her. I can tell she has already said no in her mind. “This position requires experienced breakfast. We are very busy and we don’t have time to train. I’m sorry but we’re looking for someone with experience.” She basically shoos me out the door without even a chance to boast about how I can handle most anything, learn quick and fast, and am entirely up for the challenge. She is a no-nonsense gal and if only I had lied about my previous working experience I might have gotten the job but did I really want that job?
Toiling Tuesdays: My Resume Binder
I walk around with a binder full of resumes. The binder also contains what I call my “cheat sheet” for job applications. This cheat sheet is full of any and all information a job application might call for. This way I can fill out all those empty spaces without checking for a phone number or an address in my phone. I can look prepared and professional, plus I can fill out one of those babies in a flash!
My resumes are organized into folders (the ones you get for filing), labeled by type. I’ve got my general resume in long (like CV) and short (for quickies), as an engineer (technician, PCB layout, assembler and general), Restaurant server, and as a writer. That way, if I’m talking to anyone that matters for job hiring, I’m prepared to give them something tangible they can use to look me up later.
My binder also comes with my business cards (general and for details regarding my book).
I also carry recommendations and my certification certificates (for food service).
In my mind I always carry interview responses, general knowledge about myself and my job history, and a sales spiel for my book (my product).
Nestled in my backpack in which I carry my binder full of resumes (which incidentally houses my laptop) I have one of my books for what I deem “an instant sell.”
I carry at least two pens in my binder and two pens in my backpack.
When that job comes calling, wherever I may be, I will be prepared.
Rachel Author Barnard 