Getting a Job?

[Armalite_]

What was your first real job? Did you like it? What did you do? How did you get it? How long did you last?


How was the interview if you had one? What did you do in the interview that made you stand out? Do you have any tips or advice for people going into an interview like it?


I figured I'd start a thread for people looking into getting a job who may not know what to do or expect. Through sharing experiences and offering ideas, I think we can help each other out when it comes to getting a job and entering a new work environment.



My first real job I got when I was 17 working for municipal government in their parks and recreation department taking care of summer programs for kids. It sucked but it was an easy job that paid decent and had a very poorly organized way of scheduling and following payroll, but it was a job that paid $12.50/hour so that's what I did for 2 years until I left by voluntary termination.


Applying was simple, I emailed the town's parks and rec department in response to their ad for hiring summer positions. I was given a rushed interview a week later by an older administration woman who had little idea of how to conduct an interview because the person who was actually supposed to interview me had left for an emergency. Still, I was cool about it and answered the questions with answers that were neutral and to-the-point since I didn't know who this person was.


What REALLY caught her attention was the coffee I got for myself while I waited to be interviewed. I didn't put any sugar or cream in it. Just black. I HATE black coffee but there was a reason for it. There's some kind of psychological association with drinking coffee black in a work environment that made it seem more professional and mature...and she just stared at me while I sipped this cup across from her until I asked what was wrong.


She even said with a smile, "We've never seen anyone here under the age of 30 who drinks black coffee." and all I did was shrug and said, "that's weird."


I was given the job the same day.

[mindcrasherTheFox]

What was your first real job? my first real job started out as not being a real job i like started fixing Iphones and Ipods IPads at my school then i turned into a little something i was making like 100$ a day at first then I got mega popular at school for doing it then I started to get like $200-$300 a day but it was crazy i had to like start fixing 4 or 5 things a day but totally worth it and like a guy that was in my town heard about me a lot and how good I was so he like brought me into his shop but I stopped working for him because i was making way more by myself , Did you like it? well yeah I did it was really great fun


How was the interview if you had one? well I never had one in my life really he just talked to me about what i could do but not really a legit interview but any advice would to look professional they always love when you look nice

[ZaraRaEchidna]

I'm 13, going 14, so I can only do volunteering. I need to start volunteering with animals if I want to qualify to become a vet. But all of the places I can find are either big and intimidating or family-run without the right insurance to allow volunteers. And I'm not one to travel hours in the passenger seat on the road at 5 am on a school holiday.