I'm working two part time jobs right now, have been since October. I'm working at the B&B and I'm collecting data for various traffic surveys. Both are temporary jobs. I am looking to return to full time work, but I'm being picky. I have, or more accurately had, some savings socked away for emergencies which is giving me a bit of a safety cushion. I don't want to take a job just to have a job. Although I may have to do that eventually. I want a job where I enjoy the work, like the company, and my day to day varies.
First step was to update my resume. I had a resume or CV that had everything on it. It was 3 pages long. That's too long. Most career counsellors, employers etc will tell you to keep your resume to 2 pages at most. Anything else is too long and won't be read. I had been applying for positions but getting no response. I sent my resume to a friend to give me some feedback, which she did - thanks Steph. Now I have 3 resumes! One that is hospitality/tourism focused, one that is retail focused and one that is customer service/administration related. I also have about 6 pages of paragraphs that I use to create cover letters.
Did changing my resume help? Yes. Now when I submitted my resume I was getting responses. That's when it became daunting. Interviews vary so much.
Position A:
- Mon - Initial phone interview with HR-asking a few general questions about the position I was applying for and to set up a phone interview for the next morning.
- Tues AM - Phone interview lasted about 20 minutes - questions about my experience and my goals
- Tues PM- An online personality quiz to ensure that my personality fit the job. It did.
- Wed - A behavioural interview by phone. You know the questions... tell me about a time when you had to deal with an angry customer, how did you resolve it? Has there ever been a time when you didn't agree with your boss, how did you handle it? There were about 20+ questions. The interview lasted around an hour.
- Tues - In person interview with Direct Manager - lasted about 30 minutes
- Tues - In person interview with Manager of Direct Manager - lasted about 30 minutes.
- I didn't get the position.
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Position B:
- Phone interview with General Manager
- Fri - 30 minute in person interview with General Manager
- Wed - 30 minute in person inteview with General Manager, President and CEO
- I was unsuccessful
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Position C:
- Mon in October - Workshop (industry familiarisation and interview skills) with hiring agency
- Thurs 21st Feb - 5 minute Skype interview with hiring agency for Guest Services position
- Fri 22nd Feb - online English language test! Took about 30 minutes, was surprisingly difficult.
- Tues 26th Feb - received notification that I passed English language test
- Tues 26th Feb - invited to attend interview on April 3rd at 9:30am
- Spent a week getting all the paperwork in order for the interview - copy of photo page of passport, updated resume, criminal record check, copies of diplomas (this required a trip to storage locker and help from a friend to dig out the box with the diplomas in it), have passport size photos taken, get two written reference letters from people who have known me for more than 2 years, complete the two application forms emailed with the invitation.
- Wed 3rd April - Interview. This was a group interview. 30+ applicants and 1 interviewer. The day started at 9:30am and ended for me just after 12:00 noon. The first 1 1/2 hours was a presentation by the interviewer about the company, the position and what is expected of the guest services team. He also encouraged everyone to ask questions throughtout the morning. At 11:00am he started individual interviews. On average they lasted about 5 minutes each, mine lasted 20 minutes. He checked all the paperwork and then asked a few questions about my previous jobs - which I enjoyed most, which I liked least and then he talked more about the actual job and then I was done.
- Mon 8th April - received the following email, "We are happy to tell you that you have been successful and xxxxxxxx would love to have you on board as a Guest Services Associate! CONGRATULATIONS!
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Position D:
- Mon in October - Workshop (industry familiarisation and interview skills) with hiring agency
- Thurs 28th March - 15 minute Skype interview with hiring agency for Retail Sales position
- Thurs 28th March - invited to attend interview on April 24th at 9:00am
- Spent a week getting all the paperwork in order for the interview - updated resume, complete the two application forms emailed with the invitation, copy of criminal record check, complete premedical form, complete uniform order form, get two written reference letters, get copy of passport and prepare 2 minute presentation.
- Wed 24th April - Interview.
The day started at 9:00am and finished at 6:00pm. Longest interview I have ever been involved in! It was long enough we had two coffee breaks and a lunch break. Again there were about 30 applicants there and 1 interviewer (Mr X). He started with a presentation on the company, the position and the expectations. Mr X was very open at the beginning of the morning, encouraging questions and participation, letting everyone know that by the end of the day before he began the individual interviews he would already have made is decision do don't be a wallflower.
Throughout the morning there were interactive 4 activities
- Introducing yourself to the group. You had to say your name, where you are from, your retail experience and one thing about yourself that was unusual.
- A group activitiy where in groups of 4 you had to come up with something you all had in common. The trick was it had to be detailed. You couldn't just say you all liked to travel. It had to be we all liked to travel, we had all been to Germany, in December, to the Christmas market, and we had all bought a straw christmas decoration and drank a mug of gluhwein
- A role play between 2 of us, one as customer and the other as the retail sales associate to sell the item given to us and overcome the objections of the customer
- Finally a 1-2 minute presentation promoting an item to the group. The idea was to show you were comfortable speaking in front of a large group, that you could introduce the product (in my case a day tour), mention the features and the benefits, mention the price and special deal, interact with the audience, get them involved and use creativity to attract attention to the product.
At the very end Mr X met with everyone indiviually for 5 minutes or less. Basically he collected all your forms, and asked when you could start.
- Mon 29th April - received the following email, "CONGRATULATIONS, xxxxxxxxx would love to offer you a position on board as a sales associate!"
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So now I have a decision to make. Both positions are dependant on passing a pre employment medical exam, which I tell you more about later. Neither position will start until much later this year, possibly even early next year. I'd love to do either job, both have their own set of pros and cons and I am no closer to making a decision. I think it will come down to a) passing the medical and b) the start date.