is it acceptable to say this in an interview

Hootie19

Or is honesty not always the best policy.

One of our local shops is advertising vacancies. 12 hours daytimes or 9 hours evenings/nights, spread over several days, so flexibility is required.

DS2 is starting college in September and has been looking for a part time job for ages. If he should be invited for interview for these positions, and he is asked "why do you want to work for xxxx store/company" - is it acceptable to be completely honest and say something along the lines of . . . "I just want a job, and there are very few vacancies around".

Seriously, stacking shelves at night in a shop is not what he's aiming for - he's doing media studies and his dream job is post-production video editing. So he can't even fudge it and say that he thinks it would be a good grounding for a future career.

Would an employer appreciate the honesty, or think "no way, he'll never stay with us and so it won't be worth employing him". These are clearly not career roles, even if a life in retail is what someone wants. I can't see them paying more than minimum wage, so he's not going to be raking in the money for the work.

I don't know what advice to give him.

Elle7

I wouldn't say that. I think they'll think exactly as you've said - as soon as the market improves they will be recruiting again.

If he's going to be studying alongside working, he could say he wants to gain some experience in retail as he studies, as some strains of media studies and retail can be linked (a bit. But hopefully employers won't know much about that!)

emmaanddave

Def do NOT say that. It is giving the employer the impression that he may be doing the job without interest for the company etc. Find a few facts about the company from the internet or something that sounds appealing or link it in with fitting round his studies, giving him good work ethics/experience. If he wants to go into a customer service role it will give him industry experience etc.

heretolearn_2

No he absolutely shouldn't say that. 1) it sounds as if he'll be off as soon as possible when he finds something 'better' and 2) it's really quite rude to the company employing you, you might as well say 'I think you and your job are !!!! but I'll deign to work here for now.'

Honest, polite and acceptable answers would be:

'this role would fit in well with my college times and it will give me the opportunity to learn about the world of work as well'

'I want to support myself through college and I've heard you are an excellent local employer so I'd be keen to work here'

'I want to build practical work skills and experience alongside my college studies'

Stacking shelves at night isn't a job anybody 'wants' in the sense of planning a career in it, so your son should stop thinking of himself as so special and think about why would they want him over someone else who is polite and keen to do it. All the applicants just want the money in their pocket, he's no different to any of them, but I'm sure a lot of them can find much better reasons than 'I can't get any other job'.

Hermia

Never say that at an interview! I have met applicants who have said this and it's very off-putting. Firstly, it makes the applicant sound incredibly lazy like they couldn't even be bothered to think up something to say. Secondly, it sounds arrogant to me as though the applicant thinks they don't even need to try. Most people just work to pay the bills so just saying you need a job is a bit silly.

"So he can't even fudge it and say that he thinks it would be a good grounding for a future career."

I don't think that's true. Every job teaches you something. I worked in plenty of rubbish jobs as a student and it does teach you customer service/time management/business skills that can be useful in any profession. I notice that the professionals that we take on that worked in fast food restaurants or supermarkets as students are better than the middle-class kids who never had to stoop so low! You can always find something to say about a job. A student can say that they are keen to get some work experience. If it's a national store he can talk about wanting to gain experience in a big, successful company. If it's a little local shop he can talk about how important that shop is to the community.

19lottie82

Seriously?! Of course not! There are some areas where employers will appreciate a bit of honesty, but I have to say, that isn’t one of them! I don’t think many people aspire to be a shelf stacker BUT an employer would like to think that you have the imagination to build on at least one aspect of the job that you might enjoy. And if not, be prepared to put in the effort to make something up.

Naf

Hootie19 wrote: »

something along the lines of . . . "I just want a job, and there are very few vacancies around".

Sort of...

heretolearn wrote: »

Stacking shelves at night isn't a job anybody 'wants' in the sense of planning a career in it, so your son should stop thinking of himself as so special and think about why would they want him over someone else who is polite and keen to do it. All the applicants just want the money in their pocket, he's no different to any of them, but I'm sure a lot of them can find much better reasons than 'I can't get any other job'.

Employers are fully aware that shelf stacking is not a job that anyone aspires to do, what they want to know is that he'll appreciate the job, work hard and do it well.
So be less blunt, but in the end the meaning will turn out to be the same, and the employer will understand it as such; they're not stupid either. But making the effort to dress the answer up a bit shows that actually he does care about getting this job. I turned up in my full suit and tie for an interview at McDonalds when I really needed to get some kind of job; it shows I'm serious about it.

Hermia wrote: »

I don't think that's true. Every job teaches you something. I worked in plenty of rubbish jobs as a student and it does teach you customer service/time management/business skills that can be useful in any profession. I notice that the professionals that we take on that worked in fast food restaurants or supermarkets as students are better than the middle-class kids who never had to stoop so low! You can always find something to say about a job.

I have had so many people (not employers) look at my CV and call me crazy for the way I big up jobs in cleaning, catering, McDonalds etc. By putting the effort in to pointing out the way that job taught you skills, and the fact you recognise that even those jobs that are considered 'bottom of the pile' have built you up, a potential employer sees you appreciate your job whatever it is.

smileylondongal

I wouldn't say it and the employer wouldn't like to hear it, even if the job is a menial one as it just isn't nice for them to have implied that you'd leave at a shot if something better came along. It might be the reality but really, I wouldn't.

Naf

Interviewers can spot a candidate who is likely to use the job just as a stepping stone, and in my experience don't hold it against you as often as you might think. Still doesn't mean you should rub it in their face.

getmore4less

Round our way the local supermarkets employ school leavers some dispapear when college starts in sept.

Probably works well with the main staff taking more of their holidays during the summer.

Tesco seems to get the Smart kids from the best schools,
Morrisons the others.

Owain_Moneysaver

The employer is going to ask themselves how your son will respond if approached by a customer:

"Is this breakfast cereal nice?"

"No, it's overpriced sugar laden carp that will give you diabetes."

What the employer wants is someone who will reply:

"It's very popular, a lot of people have it with fresh fruit, we have a special offer on bananas today."

There are no shortage of hard-working keen people who will be very happy to stack shelves.

Your son needs to consider the responsibilities involved in stacking shelves - someone could get injured if product is unstable and falls, the store could be prosecuted if product is placed against the wrong price label and the price is misleading, or if the stock isn't rotated correctly and out-of-date product is left on the shelf and someone gets ill as a result.

And you don't learn that on a media studies degree, even if it is spent watching Open All Hours.