as an aside, here’s a fun thread from awhile ago by someone else: What are some underrated careers/jobs?
p.s. leaving this open-ended per community theme, we can get into specifics in comments!
Always keep an updated resume. If you are at a current job and accomplish something or get some kind of skill, put it on the resume or a word doc. Just keep everything up to date so that when you leave you have material to work with. Similarly, make sure to have contact info for people who will have your back. (Not like most places actually call, but it never hurts to be prepared).
When actively tuning up a resume for a job search, I’ve always been told to keep it just to one page. Having many pages of bloat has been told to me to be turn off. I usually have made variations of a resume during job searches to cater to different jobs by highlighting different relevant topics.
Know what kind of work and environment you are most comfortable with when looking for a job. Know what kind of downsides you are willing to accept. Some jobs with unique downsides like weird schedules, travel, or some sort of physical demand can have upsides in terms of valuing people who don’t run off. Of course, sometimes those jobs have downsides and don’t value employees, so I suppose you have to feel that out. If it is a job requiring special skills plus having the downsides it is more likely to value you.
Naturally, don’t trust interviews where the place is trying to oversell you on the job. Don’t trust places where they highlight things like a nice break room over actual benefits.
If you are going through a job agency, you often get temp-to-permanent offers. These are often sketchy, where they string along the temp contract workers with the promise of a permanent position but never serve it up. In my experience, both cubicle grunt work and entry level manufacturing do this a lot to people. On the other hand, some temp-to-hire positions are legit, and the temp time is basically a probation period that the company wants to be done with if the person is a good fit. In my experience with this, look around the workplace to see if they have any other temp people getting strung along, look to see how specific your value is, and look at the overall size of the company.
FWIW, my current job was a temp-to-hire situation. I was initially skeptical, but the interview sold me. Much of it was the boss who did not sugarcoat the downsides to the job, to be very clear with what I was getting into and what was expected, and make sure I was okay with it. There was a short kind of demonstration walkthrough of what I could expect. All this gave me the signal he was looking for a good fit and not just a warm body. My temp period was “up to” six months, but got cut off at about 3 when it was clear I was ready to stay.
Find yourself a job where you meet lots of people. This will make it easier to find a better job
Which kinds did you have in mind? Some that occur to me have far too brief interactions (or times to interact) to invite those opportunities.
Food server/bartender jobs come to mind. Not only do you meet a lot of people but they often are repeat customers. People would rather hire someone they are familiar with than a stranger off the street and it helps if they see you have a good work ethic. If you are like me and don’t have a college degree don’t underestimate qualities you may have that will work for you. Just by showing up with a positive attitude and being trustworthy puts you ahead. Every job I’ve had in adulthood came by word of mouth and they have all been small businesses. The job I wouldn’t recommend is a factory job. They often will pay a couple of bucks more and seem ideal if you don’t want to deal with the public but you won’t meet many people besides your coworkers unless you work the dock. I hope this helps, good luck
I got a job as a beer rep because I fixed the supervisors wife’s phone.
Internal promotions and retirement packages are rare. Get your promotion by jumping to a new company. Your company has no loyalty to you, and you should have none to them.
It depends on the industry and the company.
If the option is there, I suggest asking what the path is for a promotion internally. If a path doesn’t exist or you don’t trust your boss enough to have that conversation, then leave.
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As a hiring manager I look for a few things:
- Are you reliable?
- Can we teach you?
- Do you take personal responsibility when things go wrong?
- Are you a good fit for the team?
- Will you be able to connect with our customers?
- Are you going to bring drama?
Skills are waaaaay down on the list. I can take avg technical proficiency and make you a lot more successful than someone with a lot of proficiency but lacks other emotional skills.
Opinions on sites like LinkedIn or similar in your region for work? Do you have a profile set up and maintained as semi-obligatory? Or do you prefer a separate professional site for networking? Both?
In my industry, we will look at LinkedIn for a potential hire. It is the bare minimum of showing you are a real person.
