I wouldn't necessarily call that an inappropriate age. Are you in college/university?
Swordplay and writing blog. Purveyor of weeaboo fightin' magic.Yeah, just finishing up my first year.
Insert witty and clever quip here. My page, as the database hates my handle.In that case, go to your Career Services offices or whatever it's called, they might be able to help you out. Getting a job on campus (if you live on campus) would be good.
Swordplay and writing blog. Purveyor of weeaboo fightin' magic.Eh, I'd rather get a job off-campus, since I want to still be employed in five or so years just in case I can't get a job after I graduate.
Insert witty and clever quip here. My page, as the database hates my handle.Look at it this way: someone who did their studies and held down a job (even if part-time) gets major props and brownie points when it comes to people looking at resumes. On-campus work is the best way for that, and you don't necessarily have to be a student.
Swordplay and writing blog. Purveyor of weeaboo fightin' magic.On campus jobs will also work around your hours as opposed to you working around theirs. They know that you're a student and they know that you're busy.
edited 8th Apr '12 3:14:20 PM by hnd03
So. Let's all pause for a moment to smell what the Rock was, is, and forever will be... cooking.—Cave JohnsonIf honesty isn't valued in your job market, chances are that was an employer you wouldn't want to be working under. In my last couple interviews, they've appreciated my candor in outlining what I'm not good at as well as what I am, and in one case got me a job over someone who I get the feeling was more qualified.
As for resume-stuffers, volunteer work too. Bitches love volunteer work.
edited 8th Apr '12 3:28:29 PM by Pykrete
For minimum-wage jobs, there are quotas to meet such as pushing membership cards. If you don't buy into the promise of rapid promotion, you have no incentive to meet these quotas.
In reality, a promotion is out of the question, and the real incentive is not to be summarily fired for pushing an insufficient number of membership plans.
I'm a skeptical squirrelOne that really got my stomach in a knot was "Do you have a passion for customer service?".
I don't think anyone, ever, wakes up in the morning and thinks, "Man, I could really do some customer service right now!", unless they're a prostitute with an acute appreciation for their job. Passions fall along the lines of sciences, arts and philosophies, not how well you can serve the needs of someone who's confused about a product.
The reason that one hit me hard is because I was thinking, "Who does this person think they are? And who do they think I am?". Because it's an entirely condescending question. It's essentially asking you how much of a doormat you are, or, alternatively, how comfortable you are with lying. On a literal level, it also implies that you have to have a very obscure, almost bizarrely fetishistic passion for a very specific role — for a low-level job, no less.
Really, the most important thing for any job is to have experience, which is a major Catch 22 in the way these things are done. Even entry level jobs typically go to those who have had previous entry level jobs.
Perhaps I'm just bitter, though; at 22 years of age and after a moderately prestigious private high school education, I've had one bad short-lived job. And to top it off, if I want a basic job, I'm expected to submit to corporate jargon, behaviour and all that other crap. I hate this because it's like a fantasy world-within-a-world imposed by businessmen, reflecting a human-made abstract fiscal system rather than meeting actual human requirement needs. It's inefficient, taxing and insulting.
I'm happy to put up with a job and everything that entails, but pretending to have a passion for something I can't imagine anyone having a passion for is a step too far. I don't keep much sacred, but such inhibitive requirements on such low level jobs is like a warped form of elitism based on how low one can bow their head. And all this so people can spend their days doing something they hate for shit they don't need.
I certainly think people should have jobs and get paid for them, but I also think that honesty is better than this warped form of corporate etiquette and that jobs should revolve around genuine human contribution. No bullshit — just doing the damn job with basic human politeness and decency. Do the work, contribute to the people around you, get paid. As things stand, though, all it reminds me of is high school — another constructed fantasy environment where the real world takes a back seat.
Swordsman Troper — Reclaiming The Blade — Watch![]()
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I did something stupid on an interview once that likely cost me the job, but GOD if it didn't feel cathartic. They asked that absolutely ridiculous question: "Where do you see yourself in five years?" "On tour making millions from my heretofore undiscovered precognitive powers. (with semi-real grin to convey the 'I'm joking' mesage)" That interview wasn't going too great from my perspective, and the interviewer had this smarmy attitude that just pissed me off.
Seriously, how can anyone give a real answer to that question? No one knows where their life is going to take them, and what they want or need can easily change in five months, much less five years.
edited 9th Apr '12 12:24:44 PM by TomoeMichieru
Swordplay and writing blog. Purveyor of weeaboo fightin' magic.Now, if the job is some sort of temp or entry-level position with no promotion opportunities, then yeah there's no good reason for the interviewer to ask where you see yourself in five years.
I know why they ask that question, and the essence is perfectly valid, which is why they should just come out and ask that.
Swordplay and writing blog. Purveyor of weeaboo fightin' magic.I'd like a job and I find some of the questions annoying because they sound dumb. Why would you hire someone who refuses to help with animals at a pet store? I guess to weed out morons but who would say that? Others bug me because I don't know how to respond. I don't know where I will be in five years. I honestly don't. Somewhere nice I hope? Maybe still with this company and my girlfriend? Enjoying the wonders of stocking shelves and helping customers since I'm apparently one of the very rare people who actually LIKES customer service...
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I miss having a job.
If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah
Interestingly one of the websites giving advice to handle job interviews suggest an irrelevant weakness that you're working on to improve (the example that was given was "I don't know enough about EXCEL but is learning to use it better). Probably to show that 1)you know what your weaknesses are and 2) you are working to improve on it.
Personally, though, I'd prefer to answer "I believe that there is no such thing as straight strengths and weaknesses, only characteristics that are beneficial or a disadvantage in certain circumstances" and then explain what my weaknesses are in terms of the job that I'm applying for.
Or you can spin one of your strengths as a weakness.
I tell interviewers that I have a perfectionist streak, which is a great thing when I only have one task to focus on, but not so great when I have several tasks and I focus on one of them to the exclusion of the others. Then I clarify that I'm dealing with this by setting a schedule to insure all my projects get enough time.

I'm with ya on that
Insert witty and clever quip here. My page, as the database hates my handle.