Failure! Argh!

Edward Strange · 11-13-2007, 07:48 AM

There is a saying...
"You can't get work until you get experience and you can't get experience until you get work."

So, as a poor penniless student, this puts me in something of a situation because I don't have much experience. I've only ever had one job and that was as a warehouse worker type person, which isn't really alot of use at the moment!
So I decided to try and get some work experience, it's what all the modern people do now days and it would give me a chance to work somewhere that I would really enjoy.
Or at least, so I thought.

Despite taking a degree at university for Police Sciences, I think I will always have a dream in the back of my mind of my own little alternative fashion/vintage clothes shop, so I thought I'd try and get some work experience in one of the few alternative shops in Cardiff and understand how it all 'works' so that if the policing doesn't work out, I can maybe start my own little shop.
A crazy dream perhaps but a nice one. Because my shop would be awesome.

Anyway. So I put on my suit and PVC trenchie and march down into Cardiff with a heart full of hope and head full of ideas.
And it didn't work.

40 f*cking minutes on a train for two f*cking sentences. It went something like this.
"Sorry, we don't need anyone."
"Not even for free?"
"No."

End. Fin.
Okay, fair enough if you don't need anyone you don't need anyone. But it's not like I'm asking for -money- or anything is it!? I'm offering myself to you FOR FREE! Willing to do -anything-, even muck out the gutters and walk around the streets in a funny costume handing out flyers.
Yeesh!

So at the moment I'm feeling a bit put out, was it me? Or was it that the situation was hopeless to begin with?
It wouldn't be so bad if this was a one off, but it isn't. This is my 4th attempt at some sort of employment and it seems to get worse every time I try...

Obviously I'm not cool enough.

But when I have my little shop (which is going to be awesome) and someone comes to me for work experience, I would like to think I would give them a chance...
Urgh. I need chocolate.
Right, well thankyou for reading my somewhat rambly and pointless rant. I'm going to go make some hot chocolate and dream about how awesome my shop is going to be. ><

Tam Li Hua · 11-13-2007, 09:35 AM

Man, if I went through that much trouble, I wouldn't leave until I talked to the head honcho or something!

Seriously, just go and refuse to leave until the manager agrees to at least sit down and talk to you about employment and stuff; if you explain why you want to work there so badly, they might give you some references of where and how you -could- get some experience.

Valerius · 11-13-2007, 10:19 AM

You know what they say. Try and try until you die.

honeythorn · 11-13-2007, 10:29 AM

Have you not sent out CV's? To be fair, marching in and asking for a job outright isn't the way to go. It's better to go in and ask if you can leave a CV as you are looking for a job and need experience. It just comes across better

HumanePain · 11-13-2007, 05:16 PM

You have to be persistent and keep trying. My son put out two dozen applications in person before he got a job. My wife put put over 80 before she got her job offer.

Get numbers on your side: the more places you try, the better the odds you will be successful!

Edward Strange · 11-13-2007, 05:26 PM

Aaah the benefit of hindsight. I had my CV in my bag all printed out and ready but they never even asked for.. The blunt refusal put me off balance a little bit and I wondered off in a daze, eventually on the train on the way back thinking "Did that really happen?"

To be honest I'm running the scenario through my head to see if it was -me- or that I couldn't have possibly won the situation anyway... I didn't want a job though, just work experience so I could get my foot in the door...

Anyway, as it stands this has been my... fourth attempt at gainful employment and when I got back I applied for my fifth, which is as a safety steward at events. I hope that one works out because it sounds really fun.
Actually, while I was trawling the job sites I found an advert to work as a fantasy chatline person. 8 quid an hour, 3 hours a night, not bad! Although the idea of making people's explicit fantasys come true put me off just a little bit...

Aaaah well. Vintage Fashion Fair this weekend! Yaay!

spoon! · 11-13-2007, 06:43 PM

The bottom line Ed is also who you know. The only two jobs I've ever held down so far have been because either my mom knew the manager or I knew the campus director's son.

Kissing ass may be the last resort, but hey, we all have to swallow our pride sometime

(I'm just kidding by the way on this last one)

honeythorn · 11-14-2007, 11:12 AM

Surely you could get a seasonal job? Coming up to christmas there should be shitloads if the college kids haven't had them all. Even working somewhere like...I don't know, ASDA or something. It isn't glamorous but it's better than naught.

Edward Strange · 11-14-2007, 12:02 PM

Work at ASDA? I for one choose -death-...
Ha, only joking, from what I hear it is many thousands of times better than working for Tescos. And I can do the whole 'back pocket slap' they do in their adverts for cheap laughs.

I have got a job for the holidays lined up because I can go back to my old job back home in Devon and earn a little bit of cash there to keep me afloat.
So that should be okay.

You are of course right that anything is better than nothing, but.. It'd be nice if I had got it, you know?
Anyway, thankyou very much everyone for posting. Hopefully this next job application should lead to... Something... >_>