<p>I'm going to have classes two days a week next semester and so I would like to get a job. I'm sure this would be really appealing to employers, because of the flexibility I have.</p>
<p>Anyway, I recently wrote a cover letter (addressed to the precise manager) and resume and walked into my nearby Krogers and gave the manager whom I addressed in the cover letter both. I thought I gave a good first impression. This wasn't even for an interview or anything and I was dressed as if that was the case (business casual slightly professional).</p>
<p>The thing is, she said they weren't hiring at the time.</p>
<p>I never had a job before so what can I do to ensure that when they are hiring I'll be the one to get called in or whatever? My friend told me to keep going in. Is this a good strategy? (Would not I just annoy the manager?) If so, what do I do/say precisely every time I go in? Also, what is an appropriate schedule for going in? Every week -- every two weeks?</p>
<p>Outside of pursing this job, does anyone have any advice on how to get a job, stand out from other people and get a minimum wage job in this harsh economic climate?</p>
<p>I didn’t mean that I’m not interested in a job on campus. I’m just saying for the particular job that I applied for that I talked about in the original post.</p>
<p>I’ll look into opportunities on campus too.</p>
<p>You have to apply to a bunch of different places. I had a friend who applied for a job every place she went. (Restaurants, movie theaters, etc.) She finally got one after like 18 applications. It’s a horrible job market right now so you really can’t be picky with what’s available. Just apply EVERYWHERE.</p>
<p>Personally, I’d forget about that Krogers job. It isn’t a job. They aren’t hiring. There’s nothing you can do about it. You maybe can call back in a month and ask if they’re hiring or re-apply in three-six months, but other than that, I wouldn’t bother with it. I’d just apply for a job everywhere that I could think of.</p>
<p>Do any of your friends have jobs? Ask them if they can put in a good word for you. Does your school newspaper have a Jobs Listing? Check those out.</p>
<p>If a store isn’t hiring, they aren’t hiring. Look for “Help Wanted” ads in windows, read the newspaper, searching job listings online, and don’t stop applying until you find something. You can’t expect every store in the world to be hiring.</p>
<p>Pro tip: Find all the malls in your area. Their websites should list all the stores in the mall that are hiring. Just shot gun 30 or 40 applications to all the stores and you should get a few interviews. Added benefit is that they’ll all be in close proximity so you wont have to waste time traveling.</p>
<p>I think you shouldn’t get a job. While in school during any year school activies being your top priority is a great thing. You can do other things but I think having a job, while in school, is a bad thing.</p>
<p>^Well, some people need money. And job experience is probably a lot more valuable after college than most school activities. So having a job while in school is usually a great thing.</p>
<p>I work as a human resources manager and oversee the hiring in my store - it would annoy me if the same person came into the store each week for a position that wasn’t open. Perhaps calling the store and asking if there were any openings once a month wouldn’t be so bad, but keep in mind that the holidays are over and most stores are cutting back on their staff and letting seasonal associates go, not hiring more.</p>
<p>What kind of a store is it? A retail food store? (We don’t have them in my area so I am unfamiliar with that name). Do you shop there? Just being visible will keep your name in mind if the manager sees you there. But you do not need to keep walking up and talking to them aside from “Hi, how are you?” </p>
<p>Look in your local newspaper or online for job postings in your area. Retail clothing stores will also love your availability if you can work Friday nights and the weekend. Also think of local drug stores, banks (PT teller?), etc. You may need to put out quite a few applications before hearing back from anyone.</p>
<p>We just let go of quite a few seasonal associates today. Most stores (at least in my area) might only have one or two spots open at the moment due to other students going back to school or people quitting. So keep your eye out for who is actually hiring.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that if you are more qualified than the hiring manager, hide some of your cards. Otherwise you won’t get the job and you’ll be told that you are overqualified because the hiring manager is afraid that you will outperform him or her and pass him or her over…</p>
<p>^^ I highly doubt this would be a problem with a part-time job prior to graduating college. But I have seen/heard of it happening in more professional positions.</p>
<p>Suppose there is a work organization on campus that provides the student director and his/her assistants with unique access to professors, campus resources, and the greater community. Think campus security team, department office staff, science building student worker assistants, etc. One of the student assistants is the hiring manager and upon seeing a candidate more qualified than he is, with special certifications, measurable performance superior to the hiring manager, and years of experience that the hiring manager doesn’t have; he denies the candidate an open position because he is afraid that he could get the senior director position instead of him at the end of the year when the university needs to hire a new student director from a pool of candidates within the existing work organization.</p>
<p>I remember reading that post on here, about that situation. I can see it happening in a case like that. But I was referring mostly to retail store positions, since that seemed to be what the OP was looking for. Most managers in my store actually become very excited when we have intelligent young candidates (you wouldn’t believe how many ridiculous interviews we get), so in an industry like that it is okay to shine, modestly at least. </p>
<p>Also, there tends to be high turn over rates in retail, so there are constantly lead and management positions opening up. So when we see a great candidate applying for a cashier position, we think, “Well if Brittany (Cashier Leader) does decide to go back to school, this new girl seems like she’d be a good fit to take over as Cashier Lead.” We try to think ahead based on what we know about our staff.</p>
<p>That’s not to say we’d bump “Brittany” out of her position, but hire the new girl as a cashier and maybe provide her with more structured training to prepare her for the possibility of taking over the lead position.</p>