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Jobs, there's nothing hotter than jobs right now during the recession. unemployment rate here in Australia is roughly 5.2 and the economy hasn't been this bad ever since WWII, old news I know. What do all these facts and figures mean?

Well, let me explain through this post as I've been in the thick of it for a while now and thus I experienced the ups, downs and the loops. and made observations regarding this one hell of a ride. So, not everything here would be relevant to your particular situation, and of course, you may or may not agree with me on this as this is a topic which borderlines on psychology and varying perspectives.

Well firstly and most obviously, it's hard to keep your job and it's even harder to get a job. Business's are down sizing, turning into alternative means such as adopting a different business model or business management infrastructure, this ultimately means firing and very happy human resource department heads.

Secondly, business's aren't looking for anybody who's inexperienced. There's been a considerable down fall on the number of entry level positions and positions which doesn't demand experience and for those that don't mention that, you can say 70% of them prefer someone who's had experience. I've been to interviews for entry level positions which demand fresh inexperienced employees but they honestly want someone with a minimum of 4 years experience but willing to work under trainee wages.... Employers would usually jot down very high standards on the job advert or simply act wicked and tell their true standards once your there. For someone like me who's never had a full-time job before, a fresh high school graduate and could only stay for 6 months full-time due to starting university next year, would ultimately never get. Thus, there's been a whole new division of people and those people are those who doesn't have the experience or qualification for various reasons and thus certain business's tap into this market as hiring cheap temporary immediate man power.

So, can a fresh high school graduate such as myself who's only ever had various part-time/casual positions to find something for the next half year? In certain cases, a temporary position? Well, you can, but it's hard. I suggest you try scoring a job through a contact, family, friends, anybody, rather than cold canvassing. It's harder for a friend or family to refuse you and chances are you'll score a job.

So how do I get a job? If you can't get a job through a contact, then I suggest cold canvassing, cold canvassing is well, quite awkward, you go out there and just simply ask for a job. However, I suggest you try to establish some small talk beforehand though. Calling the place which is offering a position is a great approach too, as their would be a more immediate response. Another thing to mention is that the internet, is a good information source for research but applying for jobs online would be a lengthy and a hard approach, simply cause there would be hundreds of applicants and most of these applicants are cut due to the automatic resume review software (A birth child of word count and word search).

So what kind of hardships are you most likely to face? Well, firstly, discrimination, I've been refused to so many telemarketing and sales positions at job interviews simply cause of my age, which is quite preposterous as age shouldn't be a hindrance to my working performance. Another thing to mention is, if your from a minority background, it'll be harder (I won't go indepth with this), employers now days are so picky due to the rise of numbers in applicants that they'll drop you for unrealistic reasons such as physique when it's for a desk job. If these things happen, don't feel bad, would you honestly want to work for someone who's going to hawk you at every little fault you have?

So how to handle a job interview? Well, make prior mental preparations first, of course you'll be most likely anxious, worried on which strategy you should adopt. But to be honest, just be yourself, relax and think that there's no consequences, if you do well in a job interview you get a job, if you don't, well you haven't exactly lost anything. In fact, you've gained something, a practice run and something to reflect back on (though I've been to so many that job interviews seems some what routine and superficial). Never go on a empty stomach, eat something just before a job interview, being anxious and hungry would really put pressure on you. Also remember that personal questions, which has no relevance to the job isn't allowed to be asked, thus you may refuse them, simply say "I don't think this particular personal detail of mine will affect my work performance".

This may come off as superficial but I did notice a stark difference between male and female employers/human resource managers/interviewers. Men tend to be more factual, they would rely on the details of your resume and use you as a verification, it'll be rather relax in most cases, so try to put up some small talk in between, asking questions is a good approach (but not too many questions), never ever let the interview be silent for long, overall Men only focus on the performance and eagerness you can apply to the position. Women are complex, some women act like men, some women....well act like women, it's abit of a gamble. Overall women are more personal, they'll much rather hear all the details from you and they would look at your resume with sheer minimum. Ultimately, what women look for is something amongst the lines of whether they want to work with you, as a friend, etc. If your a man be careful of the power obsessive woman who's into feminism action, every word must be thought before hand, and she's quick to accuse you for anything, she's angry all the time, in particular to men and she's irrational, she'll see you as a target. You can't do much against this particular kind, she's already made a judgment the second she saw you and everything she hears from you would be accounted for as a hostile threat. Whatever you do, don't get her even more mad, acting like someone with huge iron balls will be your finishing act and could possibly be a law sue for sexual discrimination. Overall, women tend to be more discriminative, age, looks and race is some what important to them in comparison to men interviewers and usually they believe they can use their granted power to their personal discretion. Of course, not all women are like this, some of my best interviews are with fair women interviewers, I've only mentioned this negativity as a educative motive.

Try doing a short term training, RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) and RCG (Responsible Conduct of Gaming) is probably the most popular choice, as they would allow you to work in a bar which has slots or anything, though working in a bar isn't suited for everybody. First Aid, would be another useful qualification as you could be potentially be paid more as a safety officer for OH&S. What you shouldn't do is be a sucker for hospitality skill packages such as barista and such, trust me, those are absolutely useless. If a cafe turns you down cause you don't know the know how to work a coffee machine, don't be tempted, their just putting you down softly.

What to watch out for, well. I would have to say, you don't feel disheartened whenever you go to one of those quota interviews. Quota interviews are mock interviews set up by business's which has a interview quota which they have to fulfill. Another thing to mention is that you should try to remain optimistic, see the whole thing as a game, that way you could get creative, and employers like creative people, but there's a thin line between creative and snobbish so know your limits. Also watch out for triangle schemes, jobs which offers only commission are clear signs of the triangle scheme, so watch out.

If your someone who's young and able and have no future plans whatsoever, then I recommend trainee positions. These trainee positions usually last for at least a year, and you get paid a trainee wage of roughly 400 a week, not much, but you get a qualification, training and a safer potential job approach to earning a average of 1500-2000 a week. These trainee positions are alot easier to get into compared to what I'm going after and ultimately if your being supported, it's worth your while.

Largely, job hunting is a stressful cocktail of trial and error, experimentation, failures, false leads and so forth. Best advice, try to remain optimistic, change your strategy every so often and learn from previous experiences and analyze the situation your in, as job hunting isn't cookie cutted, this way at least it doesn't implode in your mouth and leave a bad after taste....I could really go for a cowboy.



Anyhows, a few links:

seek
government job search
career one
joboutlook

Job outlook's a great site, it tells you details regarding the position, the growth market of it, where it's being offered, training and the average pay. So it's a job encyclopedia.