Getting a job

[adamb100]

Alright seeing as I screwed myself over this semester at UWM I will not be attending it till the Spring one rolls around. I will have to get a job for 3 months till then though. The problem is I never had a job before so my resume is blank. No experience in the job field so I have no idea where to begin. Any tips or suggestions?

 

Thanks. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[DatHoser]

One thought is to work at a retailer's warehouse or distribution center. They should be ramping up for Christmas plus when you go back to school in Jan., things will be slowing down there also. That should be a no-brainer for a manager looking for good temp help (you).

[bullox]

If it's only going to be for a short period of time, you could try a temp agency. They usually have a boatload of jobs available in many different fields. Just let them know about your situation and they should be able to set you up.

[GAME05]

definitely a temp agency. and they wouldn't really care that you don't have experience. for the most part it'll be physical work or helping out with inventory.

[thablingster]

1) Even if the only work experience you've had is volunteer experience, you can put that.

2) Based on what you'd be interested in doing, you could always gear your resume to represent the knowledge and skills you've learned in your education towards that.

3) If you are looking for any kind of just random job, temp agency work might not be bad for some customer service experience, the same can be said for a lot of retail establishments.

[bucks2281]

Search online -- I've used milwaukeejobs.com. Be sure to put your name out there and see if anything sticks.

 

Maybe you look for an on-campus job at UWM? There are tons of opportunities for student on campus.

[owbc]

I second the recommendation to get an on-campus job. I work at the desk in a residence hall at UW-Madison and it has the benefits of flexible hours, no state/social security taxes taken out, and being close to home. I have an internship now but I still work 5-10 hours/week at the UW job since it's too nice of a job to get rid of.

[GAME05]

that's a great suggestion--a campus job would be perfect. not to mention you get to know some students and staff ahead of time.

 

the problem with a retail job is even if you get it, you still can't exactly put that on your resume. maybe it'd be some experience, but unless you're planning on staying for a while, your resume would show that you quit after just three months.

 

if you have the time, volunteering with a campus or community organization would look really nice on your resume, too.

[bthurley19]

I actually went through a temp agency last fall after spending the whole summer failing to get a real job out of college in my field. Ended up getting a solid temp job through Kelly Services (Temp Agency) and I'm now a full time employee and actually now oversee temps in the new department that was created with my hire. I had no intentions of using the temp service as anything more than an income source. It has now led me into a very nice position at a growing company.

 

Good luck with your search. I know how much being a college student and trying to find a short term job sucks.

[bullox]

A few years ago I worked with Spherion, a temp agency that staffed me at UPS in Elm Grove, dispatching package cars (the brown trucks). After a while at that position, my Spherion supervisor told me about an opening at Harley-Davidson's Corporate HQ. I took that job in a heartbeat. I ended up doing well enough at Harley that I won Spherion's employee of the month (actually a big deal, out of ~500 people) and earned my way to a full time position with Harley, no longer a temp, no longer through Spherion.

 

Temp agencies can definitely be a good springboard as long as you do your job well.

[dadofandrew]

Retail and restaurants won't care if you've not had a job before.

 

Also, look for something that peaks toward the holiday season.

[Blancofan1]

As a retail store manager, who is looking to hire by the way adamb100, I would say that if you are just looking for something short termed retail may be the way to go. Like someone stated earlier, it won't look great on a resume to work somewhere for 3 months, but I've had quite a few workers in the past that intended on only staying for a few months during seasonal times and ended up loving their jobs and staying on at least 5 or 10 hours a week for up to a year or more. It's really not a bad gig if you don't mind talking to random people and don't mind working until 10 or 11 at night sometimes.

 

adamb100--If you want more info from me, just send me a pm.

[nate82]

UPS and FedEX are usually hiring temporary workers right about now or in the next couple of months. Other than that retail is probably the best option as others have said.