21 and not much experience - ANY chance of a job?

mairi28

So basically I'm taking an unplanned gap year from uni and I'm looking for a job to keep myself busy. Unfortunately the only job I've ever had was part time as event staff (the yellow jacket people) because up until now my degree was keeping me busy. Most fulltime positions available seem to be either admin or retail and I can't help but feel I don't have a chance at these at the moment I've applied for loads but no one ever gets back to me.

Any advice?

Emmzi

1. any reason you can't do event security?
2. volunteering work in a charity shop will get you experience.

Oldernotwiser

Why wouldn't you get a job in retail - that's what most school and university students do as part time work.

ppolly

Try retail if you can. Dress well and go round the shops with your C.V. and a positive attitude -I did this with no retail experience at all and managed to get a job. Good luck!

bigbigmamamoo

How have you applied for the jobs? Have you gone to the shops and asks in person or have you filled the applications in online? The reason I ask is that going in person seems to work better.

volunteering in charity shops is a great way to get started. it gives you genuine retail experience

jools0001

If you're applying online, always follow up with a phonecall. If a recruiter gets 50 applications and has 5 interview slots to fill, you have to be very lucky to be one of the ones that sticks in their mind. If they speak to you, and you sound confident and enthusiastic on the phone, you just improved your chances significantly.

If you're submitting a CV for these jobs, get someone to look through it and make sure it's giving you the best possible chance of making it to the shortlist. A CV needs to pass the 5-second test - can the recruiter see just enough information in 5 seconds to know that they should read on? (Or alternatively, can the recruiter see something in 5 seconds that tells them to put you straight in the bin?)

This next tip is a subjective one, it really depends on the recruiter whether it will work. For an entry-level CV and and entry-level job, there will be a lot of candidates who, on paper, are about as good as each other. Somehow you have to differentiate yourself. If you list your interests as "reading, going to the cinema and socialising with friends" then you might as well not list any. If you put "lovingly restoring my 1972 MG" then a car enthusiast will remember you above others. "I have a love of balloon modelling, discovered while entertaining some young relatives, and have recently built a 3m high balloon replica of the Empire State Building" would also stand out from the pack. (I'm not saying you should lie, obviously... but if you do have some unusual hobby which people are usually interested to hear about, you might want to include it.) Even if your hobbies *are* reading, cinema and socialising, you could still make it more interesting by being specific, e.g. "Reading 19th century suspense fiction, and organising themed movie marathon weekends with friends".

There's always a chance you might put someone off (e.g. if they think you'll be a mindless petrol-head, if they have a phobia about balloons, or if they had a bad relationship with someone who read 19th century suspense novels), but my reasoning is that 90% of CVs are completely unmemorable anyway (depressing but true), so you may as well go out on a limb.

Good luck!

Mini_Bear

You could try a temp agency in admin roles - thats how i got my first office job whilst at uni. the fact ur part way thru a degree shows u r capable - make sure you big up your IT knowledge on your CV! Good Luck!!

dandm1

All good advice, however, in the mean time whilst you're looking, do some volunteer work. It doesn't have to just be in a shop, I have volunteered for a local youth group for the last 3-4 years despite being at uni and now working full time. Its been one of the main things anyone has ever wanted to talk about in interviews, and I now have a whole range of examples of leadership teamwork/ taking responsibility/ organisation etc that I never got from my part time retail job.
It doesn't help you much for your immediate need, but I promise it will help out going forward if you find something worthwhile!

Idiophreak

mairi28 wrote: »

So basically I'm taking an unplanned gap year from uni what are you studying? and I'm looking for a job to keep myself busy. Unfortunately the only job I've ever had was part time as event staff (the yellow jacket people) because up until now my degree was keeping me busy. Did you work before uni? Most fulltime positions available seem to be either admin or retail and I can't help but feel I don't have a chance at these at the moment Why not? I've applied for loads but no one ever gets back to me. How have you applied?

Any advice?

When I was at uni, I worked every summer - two years I did retail (just walked in with a CV one day), one I did temping (went to the agency in town, filled out their forms, etc).

At the moment, all the major retail places will be thinking about recruiting for Christmas - and they often keep Christmas temps on afterwards if they turnover staff - so it's a good foot in the door...

DCFC79

Theres loads of retail jobs around now due to xmas, there may be some perm retail jobs going as well, have a look on sainsburys and asda website, look in tesco and morrisons for jobs, try direct.gov.uk

vcrdesigns

Hi,
All of the above advice is great. Retail will be the easiest to get, take it from one who knows! What you need to ask yourself is what would you like to do? If you want to do retail, dress smart, hand in your CV and ask ifthey are taking on Christmas temps. If you would prefer to do offce work, then you want to sign up as a temp with a variety of agencies! This will get you experience in a variety of roles and will help you decide what parts of office work you do and don't like. Hope it helps! Good Luck!