Quote Originally Posted by Jasminenicole View Post
My sister is a career and work counselor, who works for an employment agency and these are the tips she has given me, and they are all pretty simple and work like a charm!

1. Apply everywhere! If your unemployed and need a job, then being picky about where you work isn't going to get you anywhere. When I first moved to the city I am in now, I worked at McDonald's for 6 months before getting the job in HR that I have now. Did I want to work at McDonald's? no of course not, but it was the first place to offer me a job. Was I over qualified for the position? yes, but again it was my first chance of employment.

2. It isn't enough to just apply online: There are a lot of companies that although they have online hiring, would still love for you to go into the place in person and drop a resume. The best way to do this, is apply online and then take your resume to the store itself and inform them "that you have applied online, but also wanted to drop it off in person". Companies love this, even if they don't take the resume when you go in they have at least seen who you are.

3. Don't leave your resume with just anyone! Always ask to speak with the person who handles hiring! They are going to be the ones calling you back for an interview..not the employee that you left your resume with. If there is no manager available, ask when they will be in again and come back! You can even ask for a number to contact them, and call to set up a time when you can drop off your resume.

4. Don't have a generic resume: Personalize every resume you hand out, This way you have fresh printed copies to hand everyone. This doesn't just mean that you gear your resume to every company, but it also needs to be geared towards yourself after all a resume is a representation of yourself. For instance, instead of a plain old straight line black and white resume. All my resumes are done in color, of course the main font is always size 12 and black. I often have my headers/borders/headers/footers done in neutral colors that are enough to stand out amongst the sea of ugly black and white resumes. Please keep in mind you don't want to use neon colors or other unappealing ones.

5. Never visit places during their busy times! This is a given, if you are going into a store dropping off a resume in the middle of lunch rush nothing is going to show how much you don't know about a company more than that. It's a big inconvenience to stores when it is full of people and you just want to drop of a resume when they could be serving a customer. Be informed, come in early before their daily rushes start.

6. Always do follow up calls: One or two weeks later, always ask to speak with whoever you left your resume with to see if they have had a chance to review it. You are simply doing a courtesy call to see how things are, not to demand they look at your resume. This is also a good time to ask if they would be interested in references, if they weren't before.

7. If you aren't working, volunteeror do small side jobs! Employers want to see that you are making the best out of being unemployed. You have a lot of free time on your hands so you might as well do something that you can add to your resume. If you are volunteering or cleaning a house for an old lady once or twice a week while looking for a job, this says "hey! this person is really serious about wanting a job and are doing all they can in the mean time" opposed to that "oh well they are unemployed, why can't they get a job?"

8. Dress for the job you are applying for! If you are applying to a job that is pretty basic and is maybe only paying min wage -12.00 hr. Dress at that level, you can wear jeans but pair it with a nice top and blazer so that you look presentable and well groomed but don't over dressed. If you where applying in business somewhere or for a higher paying job, you'd want to do business casual where it's appropriate to where heels and suits.

9. Show confidence! Don't walk into a store in an arrogant manor, like you already have the job. Go in with the attitude that you are going to get the job, this way you are not being over confident but you are showing that you are confident in your abilities to be successful at this job.


These are basic, even pretty much common sense. But they work.
Good advice