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Well for a Q like this it really should be delineated between first jobs / summer jobs i.e. low barrier to entry positions low qualification and those that require some manner of skill competency.
My first payroll job in retail was hired almost immediately. I had noticed new retail strip being built during my sophomore year in high school so I called the builder to find out who the tenants would be. I then called to ask if they were taking applications and went to their headquarters building downtown and was hired. They had me work for a week or two in the warehouse to familiarize myself with their product and I began working upon the store opening and helped them move in and set up. (Early 80s)
In the corporate professional world. The quickest and easiest hire was caused by my being the sole grad student working a project with many different stakeholders. When the project was nearing completion one of the stakeholder representatives asked me what I had planned after the project was completed. He said his department within the organization was looking for an analyst to support improving business metrics. I said I was definitely interested and he arranged for the HR rep to call and set up interview.
Best "hiring' experience ever. The interview with the woman who would be my manager went great and the brief phone interview with HR went great. I was made an offer and even asked if it was enough, which, in retrospect I should have asked for more, but I was so impressed with how smooth the interview and hiring process went that I agreed. I enjoyed it for the five years I was there, but, alas, with many major corporate type environments, the top LOB / Department people seem to change so frequently and I lost my mentor within three months in some corporate power struggle between supporting LOB heads and power struggles.
Quickest? 5 or 10 minutes a few times. I've worked with the same core team at 7 companies. Outside of that? A couple of weeks. The job I have now took 2 years.
22 years ago, when our children were elementary school age, we made the tough decision to move...to the other side of the state. Long story short, we were unhappy about the deterioration of our neighborhood in Eastern Pennsylvania (Allentown, if it matters), sinking property values, gangs in the city schools, and increasing crime in the area. We were willing to make sacrifices so our kids could grow up in a safe, small town/rural setting. We were impressed with the area where my in-laws lived, and decided to move there. After searching, we had no problem finding a nice old Victorian house (1/2 of the price of what we paid for our Allentown townhouse, and almost twice as big...with a large yard) in an excellent school district. All we had to do was find jobs. This was the mid 90's, no problem.
I saw an ad for an administrative assistant in a company located in a town in Ohio, about a 45 minute commute from where we were moving, and sent my resume. The ad said, "shorthand a must". I'd graduated from business college in 1980, so of COURSE I knew shorthand. A few days later, I received a call from the company controller, I explained that it was hard for me to get there in the middle of the week (it was a 7 hour drive), and he agreed to interview me the following Sunday.
I went to the interview, met with the controller in his office (the company was closed that day, it being Sunday), and he proceeded to give me a shorthand transcription test. I didn't even have to type it...all I had to do was read it back to him. He explained that the he had had difficulty finding candidates for the position, because they were looking for an administrative assistant for an "old school" VP...he didn't like dictaphone machines (shorthand was getting very obsolete by then). I aced the transcription test, and was hired on the spot. The salary was excellent, I might add.
I learned later that another important criteria was that the candidate be "easy on the eyes". Namely, the VP (and CEO) didn't want anyone "overweight or unattractive". Company image thing, I guess. No, he wasn't "fresh"...he was one of the best bosses I ever had. He liked to work on several things at once...moving back and forth from one dictation to another, constantly asking me to "read back what I said". Shorthand skill WAS a must. I worked there for almost 3 years, until he retired.
Last edited by Mrs. Skeffington; 03-14-2018 at 10:59 PM..
Less than 1 day..back in college the late 80s. Knew a girl who worked at Foot Locker and she told me to come in that day and talk to the manager about a job. Went in after classes, he hired me on the spot, filled out HR paperwork, gave me the uniform and I started that afternoon. Was working the register in less than 1 hour. I loved that job.
Less then 48 hours from submitting my application to starting.
I submitted my application at 1pm, got a call from the recruiter at 1:20, interviewed the next day at 9am and got offered the job, and started at 7:30 the next morning. Granted it was a relatively entry level job, but it still moved incredibly fast.
I got my first real job by walking up to the manager who was bussing tables on a busy Saturday morning rush. The busboy had no showed and he looked at me and said, be here tomorrow at 8, wear slacks, and get a haircut. That was it.
Through a staffing company, as a temp (but was for 9 months and I was paid on par for my job and experience). Company sent me out to 2 interviews - one in Boston in the morning, one in Springfield in the afternoon. Different ends of the state, about 90 minutes drive between the two, I live in the middle. This was a Thursday. I had offers from both by 5 pm that day, and started the next Monday.
After the interview. As an RN that was how it was in the '80s '90s and early "00s.
Sometimes I was offered several jobs in the same day. I'm not sure if it's still like this in my home state, but it was when I was working.
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