Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Even retailers require online applications now, along with those idiotic questionnaires.
I know someone who had 20 years of retail experience, and can't get a job because she doesn't answer those questionnaires the way they want her to. Managers never even see her resume.
Even retailers require online applications now, along with those idiotic questionnaires.
I know someone who had 20 years of retail experience, and can't get a job because she doesn't answer those questionnaires the way they want her to. Managers never even see her resume.
That's why you lie on the personality test, just like employers lie about the real expectations of the job. Week 2 is where they hit you with the other 2 jobs you will be doing for the pay of 3/4 job.
Your updated response (#12) seems to have been overlooked by some. For what you are seeking ($8-10 per hour doing something above flipping burgers), the more direct, face-to-face approach is probably far superior to an online search. But, I would suggest a different approach:
Instead of simply going door-to-door looking for an appropriate opening, start 'networking' with business people. Instead of saying, I'm looking for a job, can I fill out an application (typically a waste of time), ... Say, "Hi, my name is Joe Smith and I would like to speak with a manager for a few minutes about the (printing, sign, manufacturing) business." "I don't expect him to have a job for me and I only need a seven minutes to ask a couple of quick questions." -- THEN, when/if you get to someone, repeat, "I don't expect you to have a job for me and I only need a seven minutes and a little advice." -- THEN, ask a couple of intelligent questions about the business, required qualifications and 'how to go about getting in the door.' (A good idea would be to have a printed questionnaire and write-down their answers).
Do not talk about yourself unless they ask and remind them that you said you would only take 7-minutes of their time and don't want to be a nuisance. (If they insist, be brief and direct). THEN, ask a few intelligent questions about required qualifications, advice on getting in the door and recommendations of a good place/business to approach.
THEN, give them a business card and ask them to please call you if they think of anything else ... and ask for one of their cards and/or ask if it would be alright for you to call them if you think of something else. THEN LEAVE ... quickly and efficiently, without even mentioning that you are looking for a job or pulling out your resume. - (By the way, dress appropriately and present yourself as an intelligent, serious, clean-cut person who gets-to-the-point, and can carry on an intelligent conversation.)
IMO, the art of intelligent conversation and networking has been largely lost today among people who are so busy texting and emailing people about 'nothing' ... they lose track of the extreme importance of making a good personal impression with a network of people in a related field. [ .... OR, you can simply go door-to-door to burger places and ask if they have a job opening.]
Pounding the pavement mostly works for jobs in food and beverage, hospitality, and retail. Even then, they usually have you fill out an electronic application for consideration for any position. Otherwise, it is not an effective means for finding white collar work at most places. I can see maybe at small businesses it could work, but not at most companies I have worked at.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
4,641 posts, read 11,949,435 times
Reputation: 9887
To expand on this thread a little more....(still hoping to keep it on topic), I think applying in person can work, but...
1) your application or visit should never disrupt business. Don't apply at a restaurant during the busy dinner hour.
2) Do some research beforehand and figure out who the decision maker is. In most cases it is the manager of that department. I work in big corporate. HR exists solely to disqualify people. My manager is the one actually hiring. Guess who sees the online repsonses? Your goal should be to bypass the gate keepers. Sometimes, showing up in person can help you do that.
3) Never give your info to anyone other than the hiring manager. Trust me, the info never reaches that person. Most employees don't want another employee being hired--for whatever reason. Also, the hiring manager is going to ask that employee things like what you look like, how you dress. Let the hiring manager come to their own conclusion.
2) Do some research beforehand and figure out who the decision maker is. In most cases it is the manager of that department. I work in big corporate. HR exists solely to disqualify people. My manager is the one actually hiring. Guess who sees the online repsonses? Your goal should be to bypass the gate keepers. Sometimes, showing up in person can help you do that.
3) Never give your info to anyone other than the hiring manager. Trust me, the info never reaches that person. Most employees don't want another employee being hired--for whatever reason. Also, the hiring manager is going to ask that employee things like what you look like, how you dress. Let the hiring manager come to their own conclusion.
I'm sorry, I just don't see this happening in corporate environments. When I first graduated college in 2008, I tried the "pounding the pavement" technique. I was either told to check online for jobs or that they were not hiring. I never once got the opportunity to speak to a decision maker without first going through the process. I would hate for the OP or anybody else to waste their valuable time and money trying this technique.
On the other hand, the work around that might implement what you're saying here is to meet people at professional networking events. That would be one of the only times I've ever had the opportunity to meet with a decision maker in a casual setting.
I think door to door would only work for low end jobs. I could never find a job door to door for high tech sales. The only thing like that would be for me to be aggressive and cold call a sales manager, not a bad idea come to think of it. It would show I am assertive which is key for sales.
I don't think it even works for low end jobs these days. I was at a CVS and a young guy was trying to follow up on his online application and no one would talk to him.
All these stores now expect people to apply online.
Probably the only places that you can walk into are small privately owned stores and restaurants.
Most of these responses are obviously written by people who have tons of professional work history. That was not what I was looking for and I wrote that in the original post . People with tons of professional experience already have a leg up in internet job searching. Sadly, that is not always the case as I personally know plenty of older folks with decades of job experience who have been out of work more than a year.
Is there no such thing as working your way up from a lower paying position anymore by pounding the pavement? I am not expecting to make 50K+ a year out of the gate working behind a desk in a prestigious corner office by using this method. Also, 30% of jobs today are gotten by contacting the company in-person. Experts have estimated that only 10% of people who exclusively job search on the internet actually find jobs when the economy is good. What does that say about people who exclusively online job search in this post December 2007 job market?! So all of you unemployed people out there sending out thousands of email resumes month after month and year after year can enjoy your fruitless passive job search:
I realize that the days of getting a "good job" with a real salary and benefits are long gone for the vast majority of new college degree holders. Statistically, over half of recent college grads aren't fortunate enough to get that "good job" in their field even a year after graduation. I was just trying to do something else than flip burgers and put my education to use even if it paid the same as flipping burgers. That is much more realistic for me than hiding behind a computer and hoping to get some overpaid job in an office make 50K+ a year that everyone and their mother is applying for. There are not enough of those jobs for every Tom, Dick and Jane with a college degree. Flipping burgers doesn't look good on a resume in the long-run. But if I can work for $8-10+ an hour in a sign shop and gain experience, I can eventually apply for better jobs using the gained experience and skills. You have to crawl before you walk these days.
I live in the Baltimore-Washington corridor and there are tons and tons of sign shops. I bet if I went into every single one and applied in person, I could get a job within no time. Its a numbers game like finding a date. And non-coincidentally, it is often much easier for many men to find a date approaching women in person rather than wasting endless hours scouring dating sites sending cold digital impersonal emails to countless women who receive dozens of emails a week or even everyday. I bet that sounds familiar to job searchers out there.
You can go to any of the transitions houses/etc and if you're lucky get some face time with someone with the power to hire you. However, they are usually very busy and distracted by having to actually pay attention to every crucial detail that going on. Additionally, for my positions the majority tend to give a sort of test prior to an interview. So just showing up often nets nothing more than passing off a resume to a secretary or gate keeper. Even if they pass it on the sad fact of the matter is that if he place isn't hiring it isn't hiring. Period. They don't usually even keep the resume as you could have applied online for that..
The above is in an ideal case. Most of the time you simply can't even get past the security in the front to let you in because you have no appointment. It's worse with anything goverment I try to apply to.
I am speaking not only from experience in trying it a few times, but having worked as a Youth Workers and seeing some people do it themselves ( and what actually happens behind close doors after that person is gone)...
I think pounding the pavement probably works well for jobs that are very certificate focused , or general labour/manufacturing type jobs. If you simply call around various places of that type you can usually be put on to a job opening after a few calls if you're decent on the phone.
Just want to add that someone should only be attending job fairs to gather information not look for a job.
The job fairs I went to, 15 years ago starting out in business, had entry level jobs. Enterprise Rent a Car, 7-11 management, but nothing good. But it's all relative as they say. I would never go to a career fair these days unless I had a list of companies that were going to be there.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. People with tons of professional experience already have a leg up in internet job searching. Sadly, that is not always the case as I personally know plenty of older folks with decades of job experience who have been out of work more than a year.
Also, 30% of jobs today are gotten by contacting the company in-person. Experts have estimated that only 10% of people who exclusively job search on the internet actually find jobs when the economy is good. What does that say about people who exclusively online job search in this post December 2007 job market?! So all of you unemployed people out there sending out thousands of email resumes month after month and year after year can enjoy your fruitless passive job search:
