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You are not entitled to a job...
Oct. 2nd, 2010 02:18 pmaka Cyn's rant about job-seeking idiots.
I will be the first to admit that when it comes to some aspects of the retail work force, I am considered "old-fashioned." I believe that if you are working front of house, on stage, whatever you call it, that you are keep personal conversation to a minimum, avoid discussing internal business where customers can overhear, and that you maintain an open and friendly demeanor at all times- even if you're doing busy work because no one has walked in the store two hours. I do not ever think it is appropriate to lean on a counter, take off your shoes, or ignore other customers for your friends/relations. I feel that if you work in an environment that has hardline specced personal sales goes as a corporate policy, that you should work your ass off to meet those goals and not snipe sales out from under people who did work their ass off.
I believe that when you go out to look for a job, you dress up. I don't care if you're just picking up applications. You dress well. I can make allowances for a nice pair of dress jeans with a business casual top when picking up apps, because some places allow dress jeans as working attire now. I believe that you dress in business professional attire for an interview. I don't care if you're interviewing at freaking McDonald's- wear office-appropriate attire. You damn sure don't wear jeans, flip flops, and a sleeveless tops. Yes, you look cute, and your clothes are actually nice clothes for an afternoon out. But they are not interview appropriate clothes.
It's sad that all of the above is considered old-fashioned or conservative beliefs.
Everyday right now I have people come in looking for applications. I have had people pick up apps in everything from three-piece suits to ripped, dirty jeans. I have had people who otherwise are appropriately dressed ruin their chances when they open their mouth and say, "yeah, I just want a job." Recently, I assisted with seasonal interviews. There were some good candidates, including one we hated to turn down; however, she was simply physically incapable of meeting the job requirements. We also had one no-show (who made a point of mentioning on her app that she had 26 years of retail exp, BTW), one late (who got us mixed up with another candle store and was on the wrong side of the mall), and the aforementioned jeans/sleeveless/flip flop combo. What makes matters worse is that almost everyone under the age of 35-40 that comes in to apply for a job? They seem to think that they are entitled to a job. They give off the vibe that they don't care what job they get as long as it pays them something and doesn't make them work too hard. When someone says, "I just really want a cashier job," or "Selling candles can't be that hard," I want to smack them.
Begin sidebar rant/ Retail is hard work. It is only slightly elevated above the levels of hell that includes such jobs as food service, convince stores/gas stations, and custodial. It is not an easy job. People who do not or have never worked these jobs form the instant opinion that you are obvious an idiot or a loser because you can't do better than sales. Never mind that if no one worked in sales, if no one worked as cooks or servers, or at gas stations, or cleaned toilets, these snooty housewives and professional folk would be most put out. /end sidebar rant,
You are not guaranteed a job just because you are a warm body and it's coming up on the holiday season. I would rather work by myself for a few hours on Black Friday then hire someone who gives off the impression that they don't care. If you can't sell yourself to me, why the hell would I think you could sell my company's products?
You want to me to hire you? Wait, I'm not the SM. Let me rephrase- you want me to call you back for an interview, then deem you passable to move up to the SM for consideration? It really isn't that hard, even with my standards. Just do the following:
( cut because I get verbose )
A job is a privilege, not a right. If you project an air of indifference or entitlement when you apply, if you don't care enough to put forth your best effort, why should I care that you've got two kids at home, late rent, a junker car, and medical bills? If you can't at least pretend to care about the application process, why would I even think about trusting you to sell my product?
tl;dr People need to be taught how to firking apply for jobs in person. I don't care how much places are going to online apps. So long as we have service jobs, people skills are still a requirement, and being able to sell yourself to a prospective employer is important.
I will be the first to admit that when it comes to some aspects of the retail work force, I am considered "old-fashioned." I believe that if you are working front of house, on stage, whatever you call it, that you are keep personal conversation to a minimum, avoid discussing internal business where customers can overhear, and that you maintain an open and friendly demeanor at all times- even if you're doing busy work because no one has walked in the store two hours. I do not ever think it is appropriate to lean on a counter, take off your shoes, or ignore other customers for your friends/relations. I feel that if you work in an environment that has hardline specced personal sales goes as a corporate policy, that you should work your ass off to meet those goals and not snipe sales out from under people who did work their ass off.
I believe that when you go out to look for a job, you dress up. I don't care if you're just picking up applications. You dress well. I can make allowances for a nice pair of dress jeans with a business casual top when picking up apps, because some places allow dress jeans as working attire now. I believe that you dress in business professional attire for an interview. I don't care if you're interviewing at freaking McDonald's- wear office-appropriate attire. You damn sure don't wear jeans, flip flops, and a sleeveless tops. Yes, you look cute, and your clothes are actually nice clothes for an afternoon out. But they are not interview appropriate clothes.
It's sad that all of the above is considered old-fashioned or conservative beliefs.
Everyday right now I have people come in looking for applications. I have had people pick up apps in everything from three-piece suits to ripped, dirty jeans. I have had people who otherwise are appropriately dressed ruin their chances when they open their mouth and say, "yeah, I just want a job." Recently, I assisted with seasonal interviews. There were some good candidates, including one we hated to turn down; however, she was simply physically incapable of meeting the job requirements. We also had one no-show (who made a point of mentioning on her app that she had 26 years of retail exp, BTW), one late (who got us mixed up with another candle store and was on the wrong side of the mall), and the aforementioned jeans/sleeveless/flip flop combo. What makes matters worse is that almost everyone under the age of 35-40 that comes in to apply for a job? They seem to think that they are entitled to a job. They give off the vibe that they don't care what job they get as long as it pays them something and doesn't make them work too hard. When someone says, "I just really want a cashier job," or "Selling candles can't be that hard," I want to smack them.
Begin sidebar rant/ Retail is hard work. It is only slightly elevated above the levels of hell that includes such jobs as food service, convince stores/gas stations, and custodial. It is not an easy job. People who do not or have never worked these jobs form the instant opinion that you are obvious an idiot or a loser because you can't do better than sales. Never mind that if no one worked in sales, if no one worked as cooks or servers, or at gas stations, or cleaned toilets, these snooty housewives and professional folk would be most put out. /end sidebar rant,
You are not guaranteed a job just because you are a warm body and it's coming up on the holiday season. I would rather work by myself for a few hours on Black Friday then hire someone who gives off the impression that they don't care. If you can't sell yourself to me, why the hell would I think you could sell my company's products?
You want to me to hire you? Wait, I'm not the SM. Let me rephrase- you want me to call you back for an interview, then deem you passable to move up to the SM for consideration? It really isn't that hard, even with my standards. Just do the following:
( cut because I get verbose )
A job is a privilege, not a right. If you project an air of indifference or entitlement when you apply, if you don't care enough to put forth your best effort, why should I care that you've got two kids at home, late rent, a junker car, and medical bills? If you can't at least pretend to care about the application process, why would I even think about trusting you to sell my product?
tl;dr People need to be taught how to firking apply for jobs in person. I don't care how much places are going to online apps. So long as we have service jobs, people skills are still a requirement, and being able to sell yourself to a prospective employer is important.
