4 replies to this topic

[MohammedA]

I am 20 years old and have never had a job. up until now I haven't had a need for a job. Alhammdulliah my parents work and support me and they require that I just go to college.

But I would like to get a job to help with the bills. I've done applications online and stuff but never get phone calls back.

Do you have an tips for me?

[asphyxiated]

If you're in school, I highly recommend that you find ways to build your resume so that once you graduate you will have better work prospects. I'm an economic analyst and I'm seeing all too well how younger people struggle with finding work in general (not to mention work that is commensurate with their training). There should be a lot of government-funded programs designed to help youth work during the summer. Check out your school's job listings. Consider internships and work-study programs (anything that will boost your profile). There will come a point where you will be defined by your resume and often that will carry the most weight before the interview process.

Then again, if you're just looking for a part-time job at a convenience store or restaurant, the above probably doesn't apply. If this is the case, you might want to consider targeting the places you want to work and coming in to drop off your resume. Even contacting potential employers helps as well. If it's an office setting, you can also ask for an "information session" where you come in and learn more about the company.

But if you're 20, I still recommend that you do the above so that you can be better prepared when you're done. I was always under the impression that my degrees would do the talking for me. Not the case, man. It's all experience, resume building and selling yourself. In North America you have to market yourself to achieve worthwhile employment. Hope I didn't overwhelm you. Allah bi 3een.

[MohammedA]

My resume has no experience in it at all. I probably will go to the career center at my college and see what I can do to improve my resume.

[Hellfire Toothfairy]

An important thing I found was to tone down the education on your CV if your applying for a menial role. If you seem really smart and well educated people will be intimidated in a lot of jobs and not give you work, partly because they think you'll up and leave when something more fitting to your educational credentials comes along. As a general rule don't put more than "5 A-C GCSEs" unless it's quite a high powered office/admin role.