New to Tacoma and need some help on how to go about getting hired somewhere over here. (co-op, credit card)

[seattledreams]

Thanks for all the ideas guys. I'm taking the weekend off, then back to job applications and interviews next week.

I'll come back here if I get hired and tell you guys how I did it and where when it happens. Thank you

[seattledreams]

I'm still jobless in Seattle, and trying new tactics. I was going to try a recruiting agency but I'm not sure if they can help. Any more tips?...

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by seattledreams

I'm still jobless in Seattle, and trying new tactics. I was going to try a recruiting agency but I'm not sure if they can help. Any more tips?...

Have you checked the temp listings at the UW and the local community college, not to mention the permanent listings? Do you qualify for entry-level office staff there, or do they require a BA? I would say, keep applying for school system jobs, since they at least considered your application. It means they didn't dismiss you out of hand as unqualified. Apply for UW/Tacoma mail service jobs (each campus has its own mailmen). Anything to get your foot in the door at a college or university, where you could take free classes as staff. Do you have cashier experience? If so, you could apply for bank teller openings, or grocery cashier jobs. You don't really need experience, I don't think, to apply to Whole Foods, Albertson's (unionized--better pay), etc.

[seattledreams]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Have you checked the temp listings at the UW and the local community college, not to mention the permanent listings? Do you qualify for entry-level office staff there, or do they require a BA? I would say, keep applying for school system jobs, since they at least considered your application. It means they didn't dismiss you out of hand as unqualified. Apply for UW/Tacoma mail service jobs (each campus has its own mailmen). Anything to get your foot in the door at a college or university, where you could take free classes as staff. Do you have cashier experience? If so, you could apply for bank teller openings, or grocery cashier jobs. You don't really need experience, I don't think, to apply to Whole Foods, Albertson's (unionized--better pay), etc.

Thanks for the reply again.

At the moment I have ONE job that is under review (which means they are actually short listing me) with the Tacoma Public Schools District. I have applied to some of the colleges online, but I feel it's pointless because my resume must be thrown out before it gets to a person. I am trying to do temp listings as well and was thinking about getting a job recruiter. I really want to get with the Tacoma Public Schools even if it's temp or anything because it will get me in the door as you say. Bank tellers seem to need experience. Almost everyone of them, however I did walk into a few and ask if they are hiring and they just direct me online which is great but I don't think they are going to do anything. I could try whole foods or albertsons.

Thanks again. Should I upload my resume here and see if people can tell me whats wrong with it? (I must be doing something wrong lol)

[Ruth4Truth]

One way to go would be to get a cashier job anywhere for 6 months, then you'll have the required experience to apply to banks. It's a good sign that the banks said they're hiring. It's something, at least.

RE: the colleges, if you're applying for office jobs, they probably have a lot of BA's applying, so you may not be competitive, except possibly at the community college level. They have lower requirements. And that's why I mentioned applying to the campus mail service, or groundskeeping, because those wouldn't require a BA.

I'm not sure getting a job recruiter at the AA level would be worth it. I guess I can't advise you about that, maybe someone else could. I have no idea if they handle AA's (I thought they were more about higher-level jobs, but I could be wrong), and bear in mind that they'd take a percentage of your pay for a certain amount of time, so it could really hinder your budget, which would already be tight in any job as AA would be qualified for. That's what worries me.

"Customer service in the food industry"; what does that mean? You were a waiter for years? Teaching English abroad? See, that's a challenging resume to work with, though I applaud you for trying. I don't know what a recruiter would do with that. You don't want to work with food anymore, so that leaves college food service jobs out. The teaching English experience could work, and you can emphasize how much you loved that, when you get a school interview.

I don't think you're doing anything wrong on your resume. It's just a tough resume to work with. It's a little sparse. It would be important to do a really good cover letter, to create a good impression there.

BTW, Whole Foods jobs are only 7 hours a day for full-time. You could conceivably get an evening shift with them, and be available daytime for interviewing. Just a thought. I hope that school job you're short-listed for works out. Stress the positive in an interview: how you learned from your Eng. teaching experience that you enjoyed being in an academic environment and supporting kids any way you can with their educations, blah blah. Practice it in your mind.

[CrazyDonkey]

At some point it is a matter of just finding a job, not the job, if only to keep the unemployment gap from growing.

[seattledreams]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

One way to go would be to get a cashier job anywhere for 6 months, then you'll have the required experience to apply to banks. It's a good sign that the banks said they're hiring. It's something, at least.

RE: the colleges, if you're applying for office jobs, they probably have a lot of BA's applying, so you may not be competitive, except possibly at the community college level. They have lower requirements. And that's why I mentioned applying to the campus mail service, or groundskeeping, because those wouldn't require a BA.

I'm not sure getting a job recruiter at the AA level would be worth it. I guess I can't advise you about that, maybe someone else could. I have no idea if they handle AA's (I thought they were more about higher-level jobs, but I could be wrong), and bear in mind that they'd take a percentage of your pay for a certain amount of time, so it could really hinder your budget, which would already be tight in any job as AA would be qualified for. That's what worries me.

"Customer service in the food industry"; what does that mean? You were a waiter for years? Teaching English abroad? See, that's a challenging resume to work with, though I applaud you for trying. I don't know what a recruiter would do with that. You don't want to work with food anymore, so that leaves college food service jobs out. The teaching English experience could work, and you can emphasize how much you loved that, when you get a school interview.

I don't think you're doing anything wrong on your resume. It's just a tough resume to work with. It's a little sparse. It would be important to do a really good cover letter, to create a good impression there.

BTW, Whole Foods jobs are only 7 hours a day for full-time. You could conceivably get an evening shift with them, and be available daytime for interviewing. Just a thought. I hope that school job you're short-listed for works out. Stress the positive in an interview: how you learned from your Eng. teaching experience that you enjoyed being in an academic environment and supporting kids any way you can with their educations, blah blah. Practice it in your mind.

Thank you always for your comments. Oh about my customer service experience. I have one year of experience working at Burger King as a Cashier and Assistant Manager meaning I learned all of the things for that and cashiering. I also worked at Mcdonalds for about 6 months I believe and again at a Taco Bell KFC Combo for 2. I keep getting told that the banks want someone with experience or something but I thought I had a lot of experience with just being a cashier.

Anyway I don't mind going back into food, however I guess I can't be doing a place that is open all the time. I need to have a work life balance.

I have no experience with recruiters either, and also keep in mind my husband is getting his work permit soon and will be getting a job as well. Once we both have something it won't be a big deal. I KNOW that if I can get an interview with the school district I can give them all the information about my experiences.

I know my resume and my work history in general are hard to deal with, but I will do my best.

Thanks again for all your help.

[seattledreams]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

At some point it is a matter of just finding a job, not the job, if only to keep the unemployment gap from growing.

Exactly. I appreciate your insight and I will also try to lower my standards while keeping my ethics lol.

[MountainHi]

Did you say that you have plenty of experience cashiering, but the banks won't hire you as a teller? That doesn't make sense. There was a guy posting here who took a cashier job for 6 months just to qualify to apply for bank teller, and the bank he applied to was ready to hire him, but a former employee asked for the job back, so they had to let the applicant go. You should be able to get a teller job. Keep applying to all the banks. Dress appropriately for the interview--business attire.

[seattledreams]

Originally Posted by MountainHi

Did you say that you have plenty of experience cashiering, but the banks won't hire you as a teller? That doesn't make sense. There was a guy posting here who took a cashier job for 6 months just to qualify to apply for bank teller, and the bank he applied to was ready to hire him, but a former employee asked for the job back, so they had to let the applicant go. You should be able to get a teller job. Keep applying to all the banks. Dress appropriately for the interview--business attire.

Thanks for this comment. I'm going to keep trying!