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Beating the System
Shari L. Coxford © 1990
We've all heard it: "You can't
get a job if you don't have experience, but how do you get experience if
no-one will give you a job?". Doesn't seem fair, does it?
Some kids are lucky. They've got an uncle or brother or cousin who can
pull a few strings for them. Once they're in, they can say they've got
that magical stuff called "job experience" that every boss looks for.
Some kids are so smart. You know the type. They skip grades in school and
all the colleges are begging for them. They're too busy being smart to be
cool. They really make an impression on potential bosses, and they get
hired.
Then there are the kids who find underhanded ways to make money. They
don't want a real job. They usually look pretty cool driving around in big
fancy cars flashing wads of money. They don't look so cool years later
sitting in a jail cell.
And finally, there's the rest of us. We walk into one personnel office
after another, filling out job applications. By the time you're finished,
you've memorized your Social Security number for life. They all say the
same thing: "We'll let you know."
Only they don't. You never hear from
them again.
There is a way to beat the system. It's a pretty ingenious solution, too!
But you've got to want it. What I wanted was to be a bartender, but my
idea will work for almost any job.
It started when I signed up for a bartending school. The contract gave me
three days to change my mind and cancel. In those three days, I went
around to different bars and asked the managers if they'd hire someone
who'd gone to this school. They all said no, not if the person didn't have
any real-life job experience.
So going to this school wasn't going
to get me a bartending job. I cancelled the contract and went back to
square one. (That's a good way to find out about any trade school, by the
way. Ask the guys who do the hiring if they'd hire someone from there.)
Job experience
They all wanted job experience. So I
went back to all the managers I'd talked to about the bartending school,
and asked them if they'd train me - for free. I offered a proposition:
"I'll come in on my own time. You don't have to pay me. I will train for
free. Train me, and if you like my work, then you can hire me with pay."
For them, it was a win-win situation.
They didn't lose any money by giving me a chance. And if I did real well
and showed an aptitude for the job, they could then hire me and we'd both
make out. (HELPFUL HINT: Smaller companies are the most likely to go for a
deal like this.)
I found one man willing to take me up on my deal.
It was a small Italian restaurant with
a tiny bar. He let his best bartender train me. She told me the drink
ingredients, I wrote them down and took them home to memorize. She'd quiz
me, and let me make drinks. After about three weeks, he put me on the
payroll. I was a bartender!
It didn't take long for me to find out why he was so anxious to train me
for free. It was such an awful place to work that everybody kept quitting
on him. They had a complete staff turnover about once a month. He was
desperate for employees. But that didn't matter. I got what I wanted - job
training and job experience. Even if it was a crummy place to work.
Sometimes you have to start out that way. I don't regret it, and I'll tell
you why.
I worked there until I couldn't stand it anymore,
which was longer than most of his employees stayed.
Remember, I needed that job
experience, no matter how crummy it was to work there. After working there
a few months, I went to several nicer bars, and told them I had job
experience (which I did!) One of them hired me. It turned out to be one of
the best jobs I ever had.
Everybody there was super nice. His staff didn't play head games on each
other the way some do. The boss really cared about his employees. He did
have to fine-tune my bartending, as I needed more training than I'd gotten
at the Italian restaurant. But when he saw how willing I was to learn, and
how eager I was to do the best job I possibly could, he took me under his
wing and taught me everything he could. I repaid him by becoming one of
his best bartenders.
This can work for just about any job you want to go for: office work,
sales, factory, carpentry - you name it. If you really want it, you can do
it. Sometimes things are worth doing for free now, for the payoffs you'll
get later on. Be eager, be willing, swallow your pride and go for the JOB
EXPERIENCE.
One final word: I don't bartend anymore. I'm a bookkeeper, accountant,
writer and carpenter (skills also learned "on the job"). But the job
experience I've gained from all the different jobs still pay off. I know
that no matter what happens, I will ALWAYS be able to find work, because
I'm skilled in more than one field. That's not the important thing,
however. What's important is how I came to be skilled in so many fields.
You get that by being:
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A good worker who's willing and
eager to learn and has a lot
of enthusiasm for the job.
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Be willing to do more than you are
being paid to do. Help
others in higher positions with their job, and you'll learn how
to do their job. This is a great way to boost your experience.
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A reliable employee who they can
count on to be there every
day and ON TIME.
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An employee who gets along with his
co-workers.
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An honest employee who doesn't steal
or lie to his employer.
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An employee who knows that the
customers of the business are
where your paycheck really comes from and making sure to treat
them with respect and enthusiasm.
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And always try to leave a company on
good terms, so that you
can use them as a reference.
Treat the business as if it were your
own, as if you had stock in the company, and you'll get the job experience
and job skills you want. Potential employers can see that enthusiasm in
you. They really can. So GO FOR IT, and good luck!
Shari Coxford is a freelance writer and author of Cash In Your Pocket in
Just One Week. For more info, go to:
Cash
In Your Pocket
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