How to get a job (or not)

[BvBPL]

Considering applying for a position in a company for whom a family member works. What questions should one ask of a family member already employed by the company of the hiring process and company in general? Say the family member works in a different department / area of business than the one being applied for.

 

[Synobun]

Depends, do you trust the family member? I couldn't trust my relatives when they shared stories about work.

I'd probably ask how their hiring went. If it's a bigger company, the same people are probably going to be in charge of your interviewing, at least initially.

 

[MaryKB]

When you get to a certain corporate level, "total compensation" is a pretty universal term that everyone uses. You don't just get offered salary, you want to compare your total package versus other offers.

Stock options and other such benefits are a big deal, not just salary. Amazon's not doing anything unusual or shady.

 

[AdamCrock]

Corporations are the new "country" Why would You use a term such as "loyalty" than

 

[Takhisis]

Amazon's not doing anything unusual or shady.

I don't know. Besides their existing partial slavery and gross abuses which have seen me shun almost* any and all of their products, I have noticed, upon rereading, that Amazon published an offer with an average compensation, not a median one.

*some website use Amazon Web Services, often through intermediaries

 

[Birdjaguar]

UPS Eases Code On Appearance

BY PAUL ZIOBRO

United Parcel Service Inc. is loosening its guidelines on employee appearance, including lifting a longstanding ban on facial hair and allowing natural Black hairstyles like Afros and braids.

The delivery giant said the changes, which also include eliminating gender-specific rules, are part of an effort to “celebrate diversity rather than corporate restrictions,” according to an announcement on an internal website and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

UPS, with more than 500,000 workers globally, has a long list of personal-appearance guidelines that govern everything from hairstyles (no longer than collar length for men) to length of shorts (minimally the middle of the thigh and preferably 3 inches above the knee.) Piercings must be “businesslike” and tattoos covered up. The rules primarily have applied to employees who do their work out in public, like delivery drivers, and excluded those who sort packages and load trucks.

The policy shift comes shortly after UPS hired its first female chief, Carol Tomé, and as U.S. companies are increasingly examining how they approach racial issues and other sensitive social matters. UPS is implementing diversity and inclusion training “to ensure our actions match our values,” Ms. Tomé said on a recent earnings call.

UPS said it updated its policies after Ms. Tomé listened to feedback from employees who said the changes would make them more likely to recommend UPS as an employer.

“These changes reflect our values and desire to have all UPS employees feel comfortable, genuine and authentic while providing service to our customers and interacting with the general public,” the company said in a statement.

UPS’s focus on appearances dates back to its founder James Casey, who was known for his neatly pressed suits and ex-the pected all employees to meet appearance standards. The militarylike rules—sideburns not below the hole of the ear, mustaches not beyond the crease of the lip—were observed strictly for most of UPS’s history.

The delivery giant’s code changes include lifting bans on facial hair and natural Black hairstyles. VICTOR J. BLUE/BLOOMBERG NEWS

 

[Traitorfish]

Job-hunting sucks. I should be grateful that I'm currently employed, so there isn't the added burden of financial ruin breathing down my neck, but... it still sucks.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Job-hunting sucks. I should be grateful that I'm currently employed, so there isn't the added burden of financial ruin breathing down my neck, but... it still sucks.

What is your field of interest or skills?

 

[Traitorfish]

What is your field of interest or skills?

Part of the problem is that I really don't have one. I'm pretty much trying to blag my way into an entry-level public sector job and see where I can go from there.

I am, tragically, one of those walking millennial stereotypes who got a humanities degree without a clear idea of what they'd do with it.

 

[Hygro]

I don’t know about your field, but in mine I found cover letters only doubled my chance of an interview. There were so many firms that it was better to just apply to more, more casually.

At the rate I had to go, I actually preferred being ghosted, I didn’t need the distraction of a no.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Rather than focus on a job, focus on a company. Find a company you would like to work for and then do your research. Find a way to connect with someone there and invite them for coffee to talk about the company and how you might fit in. Then apply for a job you would like to do there.

 

[Traitorfish]

Rather than focus on a job, focus on a company. Find a company you would like to work for and then do your research. Find a way to connect with someone there and invite them for coffee to talk about the company and how you might fit in. Then apply for a job you would like to do there.

This is sound advice, but unfortunately I don't think it is applicable to someone with my lack of career progression.

 

[Birdjaguar]

This is sound advice, but unfortunately I don't think it is applicable to someone with my lack of career progression.

In today's market job progression is less important. You just need to figure out the benefits you might bring to a company: reliability, thoughtfulness, teamwork, writing skills, computer knowledge, dedication to company goals, etc. etc. Find a company, understand its goals and mission, strategies, structure, processes, culture, etc. Figure out how your skills and experience can contribute and then shape a conversation around fitting those two parts together.

 

[Rg339]

Find a company, understand its goals and mission, strategies, structure, processes, culture, etc. Figure out how your skills and experience can contribute and then shape a conversation around fitting those two parts together.

Game you have to play, but totally unfun. 0/10. Terrible steam reviews.

Social climber 2022: So long as you follow middle class social protocols, use the correct buzzwords, do the song and dance, you too can enter the corporate world.

There’s value in the advice. Throw on the g’s I didn’t learn to pronounce at the trailer park I grew up in, get job. Don’t, no job. Figuring out how to assimilate is easy enough for intelligent, motivated social chameleons incentivized with financial rewards but... act like lizard, feel like lizard.

Hell with work protocol and work norms at all levels. Anti-human.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Social climber 2022: So long as you follow middle class social protocols, use the correct buzzwords, do the song and dance, you too can enter the corporate world.

It has nothing to do with the "corporate world" as you might be defining such a thing. Typically, the corporate world consists of large companies (500+ employees) that are national in scope and include banks, consulting, manufacturing, insurance, distribution, etc. Most people work in much smaller, less formal companies that are wholly located in one place or region. Those can be excellent places to work with good pay and benefits and lots of flexibility in hiring. Often those companies have customers nationally and even internationally. They are a far cry from the "corporate world".

What do you do earn a living?

 

[Rg339]

It has nothing to do with the "corporate world" as you might be defining such a thing. Typically, the corporate world consists of large companies (500+ employees) that are national in scope and include banks, consulting, manufacturing, insurance, distribution, etc. Most people work in much smaller, less formal companies that are wholly located in one place or region. Those can be excellent places to work with good pay and benefits and lots of flexibility in hiring. Often those companies have customers nationally and even internationally. They are a far cry from the "corporate world".

What do you do earn a living?

Well, first I’d note that the post of mine quoted was originally posted within the random rants thread, and it’s made in a ranting style. I didn’t mean it to be exceptionally well-thought.

For more clarity, what I was writing of was not meant to be about corporations specifically, but more about fitting into to the pre-conceived notions of what’s considered professional at the place which you’re applying to(different from place to place, naturally).

Broadly, if you’re from a poorer background, and you’re trying to get a job anywhere, you do often stand to benefit if you’re willing to assimilate into more standard middle-class American culture. I don’t think many of the people I knew and grew up around would use terms like you used below

reliability, thoughtfulness, teamwork, writing skills, computer knowledge, dedication to company goals, etc. etc. Find a company, understand its goals and mission, strategies, structure, processes, culture, etc.

they would more simply say “here’s how I can help” or “here’s what I can do”. Yet, I don’t think that would be received as well by people making hiring decisions as the words that you used, even in smaller, less formal companies. Work-speak is a real thing, and generally, people from lower classes are less familiar with it and have to step outside their learned speaking habits(often stepping outside their identity in the process)

For example: I’m from a part of Ohio which is quite similar to Appalachia, culturally. Especially amongst the working class, there are many shared tendencies, and if you express those linguistic patterns when hunting for a job, there is a non-zero chance you’ll be assumed to be a hillbilly, and a whole host of negative traits assigned to you. When I write of “doing the song and dance”, I’m referring to having to often step outside yourself in order to increase your odds of getting the job.

 

[Kaushad]

Rather than focus on a job, focus on a company. Find a company you would like to work for and then do your research. Find a way to connect with someone there and invite them for coffee to talk about the company and how you might fit in. Then apply for a job you would like to do there.

I've never understood why a person would want to work for a particular company, unless they have the local monopoly of a certain type of work.

 

[Kaushad]

they would more simply say “here’s how I can help” or “here’s what I can do”. Yet, I don’t think that would be received as well by people making hiring decisions as the words that you used, even in smaller, less formal companies. Work-speak is a real thing, and generally, people from lower classes are less familiar with it and have to step outside their learned speaking habits(often stepping outside their identity in the process)

I wonder sometimes if employers advertise and interview in their awkward, formal way, but ultimately hire people who vaguely seem more competent and easier to work with than the other candidates. If that's so, perhaps one can ape the model candidate too much.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I've never understood why a person would want to work for a particular company, unless they have the local monopoly of a certain type of work.

When you are dealing with local or regional companies with fewer than 300 employees, the company culture and work situation can change dramatically from company to company. Bosses are different, culture is different, rules are different, pay and benefits are different, upward mobility is different. There are lots of terrible companies out there that are run by terrible people. Been there, done that. Most cities have business publications that have "Best Places to Work" articles annually; they are usually worth paying attention to. Being a misfit in your work life can be a miserable experience even if the money is good. One should do what one can to minimize accepting such a job and maximize the likelihood of landing in a workplace where you are happy and comfortable.

 

[Hygro]

This is sound advice, but unfortunately I don't think it is applicable to someone with my lack of career progression.

Dawg let's workshop your resume. We can get you hired.