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Project Job: Part 5

Project Job June 21st, 2010

After all of the applications turned in, there has been no call backs yet for any of the jobs she applied to. Many of the managers told her that business will be slower during the summer, but as far as the fall semester, they might be hiring a few more employees. It is very hard to land a summer job in BG unless you already have one going into the summer. Getting a summer job at a restaurant or bar here would mean that you were extremely lucky and in the right place at the right time. You also have to know the right people. This is why networking is so important. There are tons of people out there who got their job through someone they knew.

In the case for our applicant, she has given up her search for a job here, and decided to continue writing online for a living while also continuing with her big career search.  As far as writing goes, there are many websites out there that hire writers to create articles for their sites. This is a paid gig and the more sites you write for, the more money you can potentially make. Not too many go down this road because it does take time and dedication. If you do decide to write, it can be very rewarding.

Project Job: Part 4

Project Job June 14th, 2010

Final Applications 5-19-2010

So our jobseeker has now decided to put in her final applications to places downtown. On this day, she went in to a few places to check on her application status as well as turned in new applications. She applied to: Mr. Spots, The Cookie Jar and Copy Shop all located on East Court Street off of Main Street.

Out of those three, Mr. Spots was actually hiring and she got to speak to a manager. He was very nice and gave her a lot of information about potential employment. As far as Cookie Jar and Copy Shop, there was no manager available and it was unclear if there were any positions available.

In addition to appyling on E.Court Street, she also applied online to a few banks that were hiring. These banks included PNC, Huntington, and Fifth Third. She applied for the teller position. She also applied for several salaried positions online that were located in New York. A couple of these positions included: Buyer for Rainbow Fashion, and Traveling Fashion Advisor.

These are the very last jobs she will be applying for in hopes that she will be contacted soon. Now that time has passed, she needs to focus on getting a salaried job in her field.

Project Job: Part 3

Project Job May 24th, 2010

In the last post, I included all of the places that were visited and revisited during the job search. Now it is time to see exactly what each place had to say in regards to her application. All of the steps were made across a span of a couple weeks, not in the same day.

Buffalo Wild Wings

  1. Called manager to get information about when to come in and apply.
  2. Went in, filled out application but manager wasn’t there when she said she would be.
  3. Called back and was told to call another time because they were too busy.
  4. Went in again, and was told by a manager “I’m going to be frank with you, we’re not hiring.”
  5. Crossed BW3 off of the list

Miles Pizza

  1. Called and was told a time to come in and meet the manager.
  2. Went in and was told that they were not hiring.
  3. Crossed Miles Pizza off the list.

Quarters

  1. Called and was told to come in at 11 to meet manager.
  2. Went in at 11, and the manager was not there.
  3. Went back in at 5 that same day, filled out application, but the manager was still not there. A snappy bartender told her that they were not hiring.
  4. Crossed Quarters off of the list.

Ziggys

  1. Called first to get a time to come in.
  2. Went in, spoke with the manager. Did not fill out an application but the manager took down her name and number.
  3. He was nice, told her that they usually hire over the summer but it depends on which employees leave and how well business will hold up.
  4. Went back to visit again, and was told the same thing. He would let her know in a couple of weeks.

Easy Street

  1. Called, but employee refused to give her the managers name. She was instructed to just come in. The employee was not friendly about this.
  2. Went in, filled out application. Was told “If we need you, then we’ll call you.”
  3. Called back to ask about the status of her application and was told “Don’t call during dinner time.”

Campus Quarters

  1. Called, got a managers name and the best time to come in to speak to that manager.
  2. Went in at that time and the manager was not present. She filled out an application but was told that they do not usually hire in the summer but they will keep her application on file to see what happens.

Jeds

  1. Called, got manager information.
  2. Went in, filled out application. Asked for manager but was not there. She was told that they would remember her name, they were making calls next week and that there were a lot of applicants.

Downtown

  1. Called in, was told to come in the following Monday. Did not make it there that day.
  2. Went in a few days later and filled out an application. The manager loved her resume and they talked for about 15 mintues. The manager was impressed and instructed her to go down to City Tap to apply as well if she does not get this job.

City tap/ Attic

  1. Called, but it was the wrong number listed in the directory.
  2. Walked in and applied, no manager.
  3. Next visit, returned to hand in a resume to a bartender, no manager was there.

Howards

  1. Tried to call, but like City Tap, it was the wrong number listed.
  2. Walked in and filled out application.
  3. Came back in to ask about the application. The bartender put her application on the top of the pile. After she asked many questions about job possibilities, he did not have many answers.
  4. Made an additional visit to check on the status of her application and was told that they are not sure yet if they need help.

As you can  see, it is rather difficult to get in contact with managers. It seems like the only time they are there is when it is actually busy, and that is definitely not a good time to inquire about a job. It is hard to know whether or not a place will call you back because it seems like they hardly know what’s going on themselves. Especially when it comes to their current employees and possible available positions. At this point of the job search, she still has a few more bars to visit. Some bars have very late hours and it is difficult to coordinate with her schedule to make visits. Next we will see if any call-backs are made, and document any additional places she has applied to.

Project Job: Part 2

Project Job May 21st, 2010

So to recap, I wanted to do a study that followed a student in search of a summer job here in Bowling Green. As many know, this is quite a difficult task during certain times of the year. There is a lot of competition between many students over a limited number of jobs. So I have been keeping up with a student in her attempts to get a summer job. I will describe her application process from beginning to end including all of the places she has applied to and how she will play her part in landing a position.

First, we will start off with what type of job she is looking for. The goal of this job search is to get a bartending position with one of the many businesses downtown. She has a bartending license and would like to put it to use. Although this is her specific goal, any job will suffice. She currently does not have any other job and needs one soon. The following are the steps that have already been taken thus far:

Step 1: Making the Calls– APRIL 26, 2010

  • Goal of this step: To attain information including name of hiring manager, best time to come in and apply, and the manager’s availability.
  • To begin step one of the process, she went online and got a full list of all the bars and restaurants in Bowling Green. Next, she began calling all of the places that made it on her list.
  • Here is the list of places she called on April 26th: Uptown/Downtown, City Tap/Attic, Ziggy’s, Trotter’s Tavern, Howards, Kamikaze’s, Nate & Wally’s Fishbowl, Quarters, Miles Pizza, Easy Street, Buffalo Wild Wings, Brauthus, Brewsters, Campus Quarters, CJ’s Sports Bar, Jeds, Sky Bar, and Becketts.

Step 2: Making the Visits- APRIL 27, 2010

  • Goal of this step: To visit bars and restaurants at the preferable times given, fill out application, turn in resume, and speak to a manager.
  • Here are the places visited on April 27th: Miles Pizza, Quarters, Ziggys, Buffalo Wild Wings, Easy Street, Campus Quarters, Jed’s, Downtown, Howards, City Tap, and Clazel.

Step 3: Change of Location- MAY 11, 2010

  • Goal of this step: Expand job hunt to a different location and apply to jobs on WorkNet.
  • She decided to also visit some places in Levis Commons, which is a plaza about 15 minutes away. Prior to driving out to the plaza, she went online to see who was hiring and made a schedule.
  • Places visited in Levis Commons: Lane Bryant, C.J. Banks, Jos A. Banks, Bar Louie, Franchesca’s, and Gymboree.
  • In addition to applying for jobs in Levis Commons, she applied to some jobs on WorkNet. There, she found a local writing job and an advertising group position.

Step 3: The Re-Visit– MAY 12, 2010

  • Goal of this step: Revisit several places again to check on application status. Continue to apply to various places throughout Bowling Green as well as online.
  • She revisted some places downtown to get an update on her job application process. These places included: Ziggy’s, BW3’s, Jed’s, Downtown, Howards, and City Tap.
  • On this day, she applied to Stone Ridge Golf Club and Hobby Lobby in person.
  • Also, she applied online to Petco, Kroger, Huntington Bank, and Books-a-Million.

These were the steps taken between April 26 and May12. This part of the job application process planted the job seeds in which she hopes will blossom. Now that the applications have been filled out and handed in along with resumes, we will now have to see what the managers have said in response to her visits and take note of her next step. Coming soon…

Project Job

Project Job April 27th, 2010

I have made a plan to run an experiment. One that deals with the best steps to getting a job. Many of us wonder why we apply to so many places and never get hired. It’s time to change all of that. There must be some secret that we are not aware of when it comes to geting jobs. There has to be a way to get hired before submitting 250 applications. My plans are to figure out exactly what employers want us to do to get a job.

When you think about it, it’s a lot like a dating. If you are interested in someone or trying to win that person over, you try and keep in contact with them and get to know them. You might even go above and beyond to show them that you are the one. When it comes to jobs, it can be similar. Most people who apply, just walk in, fill out an application, return it with a resume and hope for the best. You cannot leave your fate in their hands. You are in control if you get that job or not. Although, there are reasons such as qualifications and other things that may prohibit your employment, but in the end, it’s all up to you. Treat your future job as if it was a person of interest. Put a little extrra energy into winning them over.

So how do we do this? What are the steps? This is where my experiment will come in. I am going to talk to the managers and business owners here in Bowling Green and figure out exactly what they want. After that, it will be time to put it to the test. We will follow two students as they look for a summer job in Bowling Green and record everything that they do. They will have to do certain things on specific days according to the information gathered from the managers. In the end, we will be able to see if there is a certain method or secret to getting a job. So stay tuned to see how it all will begin.

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