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March 29, 2024, 11:16:55 pm

Author Topic: The Employment Advice Thread  (Read 71876 times)  Share 

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nhmn0301

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Re: The Employment Advice Thread
« Reply #30 on: December 01, 2014, 05:52:50 pm »
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Hi guys, I made a post earlier about whether to take up a job at my neighboring bakery. I just do a trial today and it takes 10 hours with pretty much 5 minutes break and I can't even sit the whole time. Despite this, the people there are quite nice to me and the experience of communicating with customers are pretty great as well. However, I don't know if I can continue working like this for a long time and non of the other places have called me. I'm a bit confused right now, I'm not entirely desperated for money atm and some kids ask me to tutor them (but this only starts next year). Should I continue to work, if I shoudn't, do I just honestly tell them that I don't feel cut out for the job?
« Last Edit: December 01, 2014, 06:36:04 pm by nhmn0301 »
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Russ

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Re: The Employment Advice Thread
« Reply #31 on: December 01, 2014, 06:36:52 pm »
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Were you paid for the trial?

If I had other opportunities that I could reasonably take (ie not in urgent need of cash) then I wouldn't be working 10 hour shifts without a break.

Russ

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Re: The Employment Advice Thread
« Reply #32 on: December 01, 2014, 10:12:52 pm »
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Unpaid trials are illegal unless it's necessary for you to demonstrate that you're capable of doing the job (I doubt you're doing anything that really fits this category) so I would make sure you get paid. I don't know how old you are (it affects pay rate) but $8 an hour may or may not be too low.

I'm not telling you whether you should stop; I can only say what I would do in your situation. It depends on how much you value the time and the money.

nhmn0301

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Re: The Employment Advice Thread
« Reply #33 on: December 01, 2014, 11:04:53 pm »
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Unpaid trials are illegal unless it's necessary for you to demonstrate that you're capable of doing the job (I doubt you're doing anything that really fits this category) so I would make sure you get paid. I don't know how old you are (it affects pay rate) but $8 an hour may or may not be too low.

I'm not telling you whether you should stop; I can only say what I would do in your situation. It depends on how much you value the time and the money.
Alright, thanks for the advice :)!!
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Coralista

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Re: The Employment Advice Thread
« Reply #34 on: December 02, 2014, 01:03:04 am »
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Hey, thanks for the reply and the actual helpful tips !

This is for just jeans, and it's a individual interview. It's for a casual position if that helps.

I'm just wondering how many people they normally have interviewing you..? I'm prepared for questions about why I want to work there, why I'm the best person and why I want to work in retail. I'm really worried about having to sell a product tbh.

You mentioned that these types of stores are laid back ib interviews..what do you mean ?

Is there anything else I should be ready for and odd stuff they might throw at me ?

Thanks again ! And apologies for the late reply..I actually didn't realise this was to me :P

For my group interview there were two interviewers, it's good to be prepared for the usual questions but you can also expect other questions such as whether you prefer to work alone or with a team, how well do you deal with stressful situations etc.

I think having to sell a product would be quite unlikely in your interview as Myer is a department store with various departments and the point of that task is to assess whether an individual can effectively promote the given product (could be anything ranging from homewares, electrical appliances and cosmetics), and suggest add-ons to increase sales.

What I meant by laid back is that the dress code is usually smart casual which makes the setting much less formal and comfortable, communication with the interviewer may seem less tense and forced, this usually will make you feel much more at ease and hence perform better in the interview

I'm not sure about the weird questions they might throw at you, it is reasonable to assume that most of the questions asked will be pretty standard but it doesn't hurt to be well prepared! They could possibly ask questions about your previous experiences, accomplishments, what would you consider to be good customer service (because retail is all about the customers, oh yeah, make sure you really prepare yourself because sometimes you can get the nastiest customers that will make you want to slap them with a frying pan). As well as questions relating to their product line, I think that you should get very familiar with the items they sell and what the business is trying to achieve (doesn't hurt to have a dig around their website, do some research), for all we know they could assess how well you know the business and most businesses will assume that you are some what familiar with them (after all knowledge is a great indicator of how well you can promote the business)

Another tip, if the interviewer asks an absurd question and you are struggling to answer, it always helps to ask them to repeat the question again politely to buy you some time to think of an answer

ALSO, when the interviewer asks if you have any other questions, make sure you prepare some questions to ask beforehand, that is going to set you apart from a lot of others as most of the applicants will be too afraid/nervous to ask, it shows that you are keen to learn  :)
« Last Edit: December 02, 2014, 01:06:52 am by Coralista »
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anna.xo

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Re: The Employment Advice Thread
« Reply #35 on: December 02, 2014, 11:41:25 am »
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For my group interview there were two interviewers, it's good to be prepared for the usual questions but you can also expect other questions such as whether you prefer to work alone or with a team, how well do you deal with stressful situations etc.

I think having to sell a product would be quite unlikely in your interview as Myer is a department store with various departments and the point of that task is to assess whether an individual can effectively promote the given product (could be anything ranging from homewares, electrical appliances and cosmetics), and suggest add-ons to increase sales.

What I meant by laid back is that the dress code is usually smart casual which makes the setting much less formal and comfortable, communication with the interviewer may seem less tense and forced, this usually will make you feel much more at ease and hence perform better in the interview

I'm not sure about the weird questions they might throw at you, it is reasonable to assume that most of the questions asked will be pretty standard but it doesn't hurt to be well prepared! They could possibly ask questions about your previous experiences, accomplishments, what would you consider to be good customer service (because retail is all about the customers, oh yeah, make sure you really prepare yourself because sometimes you can get the nastiest customers that will make you want to slap them with a frying pan). As well as questions relating to their product line, I think that you should get very familiar with the items they sell and what the business is trying to achieve (doesn't hurt to have a dig around their website, do some research), for all we know they could assess how well you know the business and most businesses will assume that you are some what familiar with them (after all knowledge is a great indicator of how well you can promote the business)

Another tip, if the interviewer asks an absurd question and you are struggling to answer, it always helps to ask them to repeat the question again politely to buy you some time to think of an answer

ALSO, when the interviewer asks if you have any other questions, make sure you prepare some questions to ask beforehand, that is going to set you apart from a lot of others as most of the applicants will be too afraid/nervous to ask, it shows that you are keen to learn  :)

Thankyou so much for the advice !

Since this is an individual interview, could I likely expect 1 interviewer ? Taking into consideration that this is a casual position as well.

I will take all of this into consideration while I'm preparing today, thanks again :)
& appreciate the extra tips too !

Also, just a general question to everyone - how many of you have landed a job on your first interview ? How likely is this to be the case ?

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Coralista

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Re: The Employment Advice Thread
« Reply #36 on: December 02, 2014, 11:55:32 am »
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Thankyou so much for the advice !

Since this is an individual interview, could I likely expect 1 interviewer ? Taking into consideration that this is a casual position as well.

I will take all of this into consideration while I'm preparing today, thanks again :)
& appreciate the extra tips too !

Also, just a general question to everyone - how many of you have landed a job on your first interview ? How likely is this to be the case ?

Yes most likely there will be only one interviewer :)

As to your general question, I didn't have an interview with my first job, the manager took a look at my resume and hired me on the spot which was completely odd but I had no problem with it haha, so Myer was actually my first interview for a job and it was actually a christmas casual position but they kept me on after the contract period

Good luck!! Would love to hear how you went  :P
« Last Edit: December 02, 2014, 11:59:40 am by Coralista »
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anna.xo

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Re: The Employment Advice Thread
« Reply #37 on: December 02, 2014, 12:00:03 pm »
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Yes most likely there will be only one interviewer :)

As to your general question, I didn't get an interview with my first job, the manager took a look at my resume and hired me on the spot which was completely odd but I had no problem with it haha, so Myer was actually my first interview for an job and it was actually a christmas casual position but they kept me on after the contract period

Good luck!! Would love to hear about how you went  :P

Fabulous..now I can relax :P

Haha that's so awesome ! I've heard stories like that..wish I could have been one of them !

Thankyou..I'll keep you guys posted ! Thanks for everything :)
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mnewin

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Re: The Employment Advice Thread
« Reply #38 on: December 04, 2014, 10:42:49 pm »
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I'm planning to submit an online application that only requires me to upload my resume and i gave them a call to see if they want a cover letter, they said it's optional and if i want to i just email it separately. So should i include a cover letter? Most importantly, will my chances increase if i take it a step further (by giving a cover letter)??

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Re: The Employment Advice Thread
« Reply #39 on: December 05, 2014, 07:49:23 pm »
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I'm planning to submit an online application that only requires me to upload my resume and i gave them a call to see if they want a cover letter, they said it's optional and if i want to i just email it separately. So should i include a cover letter? Most importantly, will my chances increase if i take it a step further (by giving a cover letter)??

It won't do any harm to include a cover letter, but it won't necessarily increase your chances.

Anchy

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Re: The Employment Advice Thread
« Reply #40 on: June 19, 2015, 06:36:50 pm »
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Got a job interview @ KFC and currently not sure if i should shave my mo? Been tryna grow it out for ages. (serious q).  :P :P
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brenden

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Re: The Employment Advice Thread
« Reply #41 on: June 19, 2015, 06:38:55 pm »
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Got a job interview @ KFC and currently not sure if i should shave my mo? Been tryna grow it out for ages. (serious q).  :P :P
Personally, I would.
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MagicGecko

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Re: The Employment Advice Thread
« Reply #42 on: July 15, 2016, 04:06:01 pm »
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So I'm positive that I will graduate with a First Class Honours in December, however i'm worried about job opportunities, which aren't that great since most Biomed engineers in Australia have either Master or PhD degrees, and as such, experience, which all the advertised jobs in this profession i've come across require.
 
So if I don't secure a grad year, im kind of torn as to what I should do once I graduate:
- Continue studying and obtain a Masters and/or PhD to gain a specialisation.
or
- Keep trying to get a job in the industry, no matter how long it takes.

My internship employer says I should do the second option because that will make me appear more 'employable'. Not too sure how it would, if anyone could elaborate on that it would be great!

Any advice would be much appreciated :)
 
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brenden

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Re: The Employment Advice Thread
« Reply #43 on: July 15, 2016, 07:32:43 pm »
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So I'm positive that I will graduate with a First Class Honours in December, however i'm worried about job opportunities, which aren't that great since most Biomed engineers in Australia have either Master or PhD degrees, and as such, experience, which all the advertised jobs in this profession i've come across require.
 
So if I don't secure a grad year, im kind of torn as to what I should do once I graduate:
- Continue studying and obtain a Masters and/or PhD to gain a specialisation.
or
- Keep trying to get a job in the industry, no matter how long it takes.

My internship employer says I should do the second option because that will make me appear more 'employable'. Not too sure how it would, if anyone could elaborate on that it would be great!

Any advice would be much appreciated :)
Well I know if ATAR Notes needed someone to work in a PR role and spread the word, we'd favour heavily someone who's got experience in word spreading... which ultimately is worth much than someone with experience in essays, research, or whatever else.

Like, it's a bit of a no brainer. Who would you choose? Someone well versed in a particular topic, or someone who can prove they've done what you want them to do, or has at least watch someone else do it and knows they can replicate?

This is why experience is valuable - it saves a workplace having to train people, having to spend longer giving direction and whatever else. If you already have an internship, make as many friends as you can (LinkedIn hellloooo), and try to even get more internships and repeat the whole friend-making process.

I mean, "no matter how long it takes" - that's pretty intense, so I don't necessarily want to commit myself to giving that advice.

But here's how I see it:

Option 1) Spend extra time studying, not earning money (opportunity cost), and also getting into further amounts of debt to increase the probability of something that still may not happen.

Or,

Option 2) Accrue no further debt, wade around hopelessly for 6 months doing shit work, internships, whatever else, building a network until you land a job that will do much more for you than a Masters. (Or at least, will give you money while you do your Masters).

My advice is take option 2. But hey... I'm the same age as you and can't do Year 8 Geometry, soooo... :)
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arunasva

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Re: The Employment Advice Thread
« Reply #44 on: March 31, 2017, 01:25:25 pm »
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At the rate at which Im goin im pretty sure I could get into Sydney Uni for engineering cos Im an international student and I need a lower ATAR of 85 not 90. But do international students get jobs in Australia after graduating ? Whats the market like for engineers ?
:3