Post by Rob W. Case on Mar 3, 2005 14:05:29 GMT -6
All of us who work for what we have go through a process of filling out job applications. Job applications are what shapes our first impression with the boss at interview time. Job applications are a pre-emptive strike to an employer about your personality. In this article, I am going to give you some dos and don’ts in filling out a job application.
Availability: When applying for a job, your best interest would be to have open availability, especially on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. If you have limited availability during the week, then that might not be the end of the world just as long as you have weekends (Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays) OPEN.
I remember in my senior year, I applied for a job and did not want to work weekends. I figured that if I worked and had school, I wanted a break. I was lazy!!! The woman (whom I would work with a year and a half later) said in a down voice, “Oh, you can’t work weekends, huh?” I said “no.” She then looked down and said in a disappointing voice “Oh.” I did not get that job. I went to another store and said I would work weekends. I got the job. After a year and a half, I ended up going back to the first place I applied for, and had open availability, and got that job later on.
Why are weekends so crucial? I’ll tell you why through these questions. When is the busiest time for a business to do business? The weekends. People get paid, and work Monday to Friday, and many get the weekends off. Now, it is time for those people to spend most of that money that they have worked all week to accumulate. The bottom line is that if you are not willing to work weekends, then you are really denying your employer your services when they really need you most. If I were an employer, and you applied for part-time, and said that you did not want to work weekends, I would send you home.
If you do change your availability, then do so after you get hired. You have to jump some hurdles if you want to get in, but if you get in, give it about three weeks to a month, and then change it once you get in.
Courtesy for Former Employer: One thing a job application asks for is your former employment. If the job you are applying for is your first one, then this does not apply to you…yet. Always be courteous to your former employer, even if you have problems with them. What I mean is, always give your about to be former employer two weeks notice before starting your new job. On a job application, when they ask you when you can start, there is a psychological test going on. If you say that you can start right away, and do not acknowledge your former employer, than you will send the message that you might do the same thing to them if you end up applying for another job after them in the future. One of the worst things you can do is walk out on someone when they need you most, without giving them at least two weeks notice. If you write down “two weeks after possible acceptance” or “after two weeks notice my former employer” then you will have another positive plus in your column. Under that scenario, management will know that if you leave them in the future, you will most likely extend the courtesy to them, and it will buy time for them to hire a replacement. Too many people just up and quit, and then they have the nerve to write down that employer as a reference. If you just up and quit, you run the risk of being ruined by your former employer on the basis of not extending courtesy and acknowledgement. You do not want to blow all of the years of experience you have for an instant moment, or for hopes of finding a job.
Burning Bridges: NEVER BURN BRIDGES!!!! If your employer sees that you are “burning bridges”, then you are passing off a negative vibe psychologically, and negativity does not attract business. Negativity does not boost sales. Negativity is death, and positivism is life. Would you want a dead person working for you? He can’t be prosperous. Now, if there is a sympathetic reason why you quit the job, then you can present it orally in your interview. For example, when I applied nearly 6 years ago at the place I still work at now, the interviewer asked my what my other job was like. She had hired two people from the store I used to work at, and was interested in the stories. I told her the truth. I told her that they did not know how to treat their employees, they sold rotten meat to customers, and I made $5.25 for a year and a half without a raise. The boss I used to work for also used to take advantage of an employee who was a little retarded. The law in Illinois required that minimum wage be $5.15. The slow kid made $4.75 an hour. I told the interviewer that I was cheated out of a vacation. Now, you may be reading this thinking, but I thought you said not to burn bridges. Well, that’s true, but only when it pertains to complaining about your job and what you had to do. When it comes to moral and humane matters, it is okay, I think, to release this information, because you are gaining sympathy as opposed to just getting a grunt from someone who thinks that you just do not want to work.
Proving Yourself: Establish and prove that you have a good work ethic, and have a good attitude. Most people who have bad work ethics and bad attitudes are protected by unions, and they do not contribute to the company whatsoever. Always remember, that when the times get conservative and when the budget is tightened, those people with bad ethics and bad attitudes will have more attention and more watchdog type eyes staring down their backs, looking and salivating at reasons to fire them.
Availability: When applying for a job, your best interest would be to have open availability, especially on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. If you have limited availability during the week, then that might not be the end of the world just as long as you have weekends (Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays) OPEN.
I remember in my senior year, I applied for a job and did not want to work weekends. I figured that if I worked and had school, I wanted a break. I was lazy!!! The woman (whom I would work with a year and a half later) said in a down voice, “Oh, you can’t work weekends, huh?” I said “no.” She then looked down and said in a disappointing voice “Oh.” I did not get that job. I went to another store and said I would work weekends. I got the job. After a year and a half, I ended up going back to the first place I applied for, and had open availability, and got that job later on.
Why are weekends so crucial? I’ll tell you why through these questions. When is the busiest time for a business to do business? The weekends. People get paid, and work Monday to Friday, and many get the weekends off. Now, it is time for those people to spend most of that money that they have worked all week to accumulate. The bottom line is that if you are not willing to work weekends, then you are really denying your employer your services when they really need you most. If I were an employer, and you applied for part-time, and said that you did not want to work weekends, I would send you home.
If you do change your availability, then do so after you get hired. You have to jump some hurdles if you want to get in, but if you get in, give it about three weeks to a month, and then change it once you get in.
Courtesy for Former Employer: One thing a job application asks for is your former employment. If the job you are applying for is your first one, then this does not apply to you…yet. Always be courteous to your former employer, even if you have problems with them. What I mean is, always give your about to be former employer two weeks notice before starting your new job. On a job application, when they ask you when you can start, there is a psychological test going on. If you say that you can start right away, and do not acknowledge your former employer, than you will send the message that you might do the same thing to them if you end up applying for another job after them in the future. One of the worst things you can do is walk out on someone when they need you most, without giving them at least two weeks notice. If you write down “two weeks after possible acceptance” or “after two weeks notice my former employer” then you will have another positive plus in your column. Under that scenario, management will know that if you leave them in the future, you will most likely extend the courtesy to them, and it will buy time for them to hire a replacement. Too many people just up and quit, and then they have the nerve to write down that employer as a reference. If you just up and quit, you run the risk of being ruined by your former employer on the basis of not extending courtesy and acknowledgement. You do not want to blow all of the years of experience you have for an instant moment, or for hopes of finding a job.
Burning Bridges: NEVER BURN BRIDGES!!!! If your employer sees that you are “burning bridges”, then you are passing off a negative vibe psychologically, and negativity does not attract business. Negativity does not boost sales. Negativity is death, and positivism is life. Would you want a dead person working for you? He can’t be prosperous. Now, if there is a sympathetic reason why you quit the job, then you can present it orally in your interview. For example, when I applied nearly 6 years ago at the place I still work at now, the interviewer asked my what my other job was like. She had hired two people from the store I used to work at, and was interested in the stories. I told her the truth. I told her that they did not know how to treat their employees, they sold rotten meat to customers, and I made $5.25 for a year and a half without a raise. The boss I used to work for also used to take advantage of an employee who was a little retarded. The law in Illinois required that minimum wage be $5.15. The slow kid made $4.75 an hour. I told the interviewer that I was cheated out of a vacation. Now, you may be reading this thinking, but I thought you said not to burn bridges. Well, that’s true, but only when it pertains to complaining about your job and what you had to do. When it comes to moral and humane matters, it is okay, I think, to release this information, because you are gaining sympathy as opposed to just getting a grunt from someone who thinks that you just do not want to work.
Proving Yourself: Establish and prove that you have a good work ethic, and have a good attitude. Most people who have bad work ethics and bad attitudes are protected by unions, and they do not contribute to the company whatsoever. Always remember, that when the times get conservative and when the budget is tightened, those people with bad ethics and bad attitudes will have more attention and more watchdog type eyes staring down their backs, looking and salivating at reasons to fire them.