What to do anymore?

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I just graduated with an associates in Business Admin. today at my local community college and I am continuing school at a 4-year college...but 1 thing remains to be found and that is finding a job.

It's been 2 damn years that I have been looking for a small part time job to do while I went to school. I feel like no one wants to give me a chance because I'm 19 without any experience. It's so frustrated that its made my relationship with my family strained over the last couple years. My family thinks I'm a dissapointment and my mom thinks I have no future.

Despite my efforts, my parents (especially mom) continue to look down on me and that sometimes turns into full-fledged arguments about other stuff I'm lacking in, like not having any friends of the female species. I do all I can around the house and search probably 2x every week to try to find something...I've applied to places like Wal-Mart and McDonald's constantly and I only got 1 interview, which I didn't get the job.

I try to get some help from someone, but no one I know can help...and it doesn't help when my friend's younger sister (17) goes to the mall and gets not 1 but 2 jobs despite never working, and these were 2 places I applied to like a week prior...probably because she is attractive, I'm sure that's why.

It also doesn't help that I have no damn luck at all. For example, my friend who was struggling like me got a job at Office Max recently because he knew this girl that worked there who was his neighbor and her family became close with his dad and him (his mother passed away), and he told me to apply as soon as he told me he got the job...

I applied and had an interview and was told to come back for a second one. He told me that that was a good sign that I would be hired cause he said the manager wouldn't waste time with a second one if he didn't like me. Plus a kid I know had only 1 interview and was never called back.

Anyway I asked him to talk to the manager to see if they liked me and the assisstant manager, whom I had my second interview with said that I was first in consideration as soon as payroll allowed a hiring. The store needed a couple people but I didn't hear anything after a week.

I called back and still got the same excuse, but what my friend told me later was ridiculous...A 20-yr old who worked at that same Office Max moved away but continued to work for Office Max at his new location. After a few months he moved back and they gave him which was basically "my spot," according to my friend when he asked the assistant manager.

That's just 1 example but this has been happening for 2 years now. I don't feel like filling out applications anymore cause it just seems like a waste. I have no confidence in myself and I don't think I'll ever find something...

I don't want any "unemployment" excuses either because I see new people, mostly 16, 17 year olds working at places I apply to and how could I not get hired by McDonalds when they had there national hiring day of 60,000 hirings.

You're probably right about the attractive girl getting hired for her looks. Have you done everything you can to look the part for the jobs you applied for? Also, have you studied up on interviewing? You have to play the game, tell them what they want to hear. Getting a job is a numbers game, like dating. Eventually you will get a yes.

I hate to say it, but the story about the guy moving away, continuing to work for Office Max, and then moving back and taking your slot isn't all that ridiculous. This happens all the time. Part of it has to do with economics. In terms of HR expenditure, hiring and letting someone go is a fair bit of paperwork. If a worker with a decent work record transfers, it's cheaper in terms of HR time and effort. It may not have even been the hiring manager's call. They may have been told, "Take this guy," and that's it.

But as you said, that's one story.

What NowWhat said is true, though: getting a job is a numbers game. There's a book called "What Color Is Your Parachute" that had a great way of showing this. It was a page covered in hundreds of "No"s with one "Yes" at the end. That's what every job hunt is: it's a whole string of no followed by one single yes. It's the perfect recipe for ripping out someone's ego and self-esteem. It's painful. But that doesn't make it any less true.

If you live in a city, you can try the same trick my dad insisted I use when I turned sixteen and was legal to work: He drove to a strip mall and dropped me off at one end. I was to walk in every single door and ask, "Are you accepting job applicants at this time?" If the answer was yes, "Great! Do you have application forms? I'd be happy to fill one out right now." If the answer was no, "That's fine. I'll come back another time." He was waiting for me at the other end, and invariably asked me how many I filled out. Sometimes it was ten or more. If it wasn't closing time yet, he drove me to another strip mall. And then another. This happened every weekend and some week nights until I had a job.

Most never called back. Some called back and gave me some kind of answer that always came down to no. But eventually one said yes. I didn't have any experience, and yeah, it took a while. My first one was a movie theater. My second was a frame shop. Given the choice, I wish I'd gotten the job at the frame shop first. That was a fun one.

I wish I had some other words to offer, but I don't. You're right. It's discouraging. It's frustrating. And I don't know any other way around it.

I think looks and presentation is very important in todays world
maybe you can brush up your looks
And probably if you are very weak in confidence, self esteem etc then you can
read some books about it...........

My suggestion is to increase the search radius. None of the interviews I was invited to were in the same city and 2 were in the other end of the country (we are talking about Germany here). I ended up accepting a job in another country (in Ireland).

Heh I'm in Michigan which seems like an economic wasteland. I've started looking at other states and some of Canada.

I haven't read much of your story but a good idea might be to volunteer at an office setting filing paperwork or volunteering somewhere. That way you will learn some new experience and make network connections. It's not what you know, it's who you know now a days.

I don't mean to sound insensitive, but it might be there is something about your appearance that is offputting on interviews.

Try doing a pretend interview with a trusted friend or family member, and see if they notice anything about you that would prevent you getting hired. For example, unkempt-looking hair or a tendency to stare or slouch too much or talk too loud, or whatever.

Take care of any problem areas, get a professional to style your hair, get an updated interview outfit including shoes. Keep practicing interview questions and answers until you have everything memorized and it's second nature to you, and that will give you more confidence. The image you want to project is clean, friendly and dependable.

I can tell you it's not that for sure, I go into everything positive and I dress nice...and plus I've only had like 2 interviews in 2 years.



Pretty much...just today things didn't work at 4 different locations...

*Wal-Mart = My friend who works there says their hiring, I call personnel, and they say they aren't. "Try in a few weeks"

*Auto Parts Store = Looking for someone with intensive knowledge of cars and computer programs (Now I know a good bit about cars, enough to be helpful, but they wanted someone who knew every single little part and piece, plus they didn't want to train me with the programs on the computer, even though it's probably easy for me because I'm profecient with computers.)

*State Job = My sister works for the state and 9 openings for the summer came about to be a clerk, which I already took a test for and was 71st out of like 12,000 in the waiting list [I only got beat by disabled or veterans b/c they give them a bonus] The applications opened up 2 days ago and my sister told me today and by today they were gone at her area. She was even surprised.

*Mini-Mart = For s**ts and giggles I was at my friend's house and he has a mini-mart near his house and he lives in a rural area so not too much is around him. I put in an app and get called that night and go back a few days later for an interview. Even though it sounded like they needed big help, all her workers are students and are all working as many hours as possible before they all...all 5 of them go to a distant college and leave in the fall. So my job is guaranteed for the fall except for 1 thing, I have to work full-time and I can't cause I'm going to college too. For the summer, my only hours is when I'm a fill-in for someone on vacation [and that's probably like 1 or 2 weeks], and the lady doesn't want to train me unless I stay for the fall, which I can't.

And you have to know someone for sure, here's examples of some of my friends

1. Got a job delivering office supplies = Dad knew the owner of the company
2. Got a job at Subway = Cousin worked there and got him in
3. Got a job at Office Max = Neighbor worked there and helped him get in
4. Got a job in an Office just typing documents, mailing, etc... = Mother works there and they have a realtive intership thing for the summer.
5. Got a job unloading trucks, loading docks = Dad worked at the company
6. Got a job unloading trucks, loading docks = Knew friend #5 and able to work the schedule because he isn't going to school this semester, or else I could of gotten in too.

I rest my case...the world just isn't kind to some people, and I'm one of them