clex_monkie89 | I Unfucked My Habitat!

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rl: work

I Unfucked My Habitat!

Part of it anyway, at least. Today was my day off, so me and Ma went shopping and bought ALL THE THINGS. Except hangers. Then we came home and I cleaned off the kitchen table that was horrific, and my side table, which was not as horrific but still bothered me.

Tomorrow we tackle all the cabinets in the kitchen, and the bathrooms.

I also managed to get enough hours switched and traded that I did three hours of work tonight so that I would have my morning shift on Thursday free to go with Ma to her doctor again. Legit just about the only thing I like about my job is that it's work-at-home and that I have a split shift, so I work 9a-1p my time, and then 4p-8p. So it's like getting a three hour lunch in the middle of getting screamed at by morons!

P.S. Anyone know how to make a shitty resume look good? Or any kind of cover letter? I've gotten desparate enough to be seeking info from websites, even when I know they're full of shit (my cover letter REEKS of "PLEASE HIRE ME FOR ANYTHING AT ALL, PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE").

Kitchen table, before:

Kitchen table, after:

My side table, before:

My side table, after:

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There's not a lot that can be done about the resume. I mean, you've worked where you've worked. But you can put the best shine on your responsibilities in the description. The cover letter is much more flexible, though. I tend to write a new one (or at least tweak existing paragraphs that I have) for each position. But that's partly because I apply to such a weird variety of jobs that a standard one just won't do. But in any case, one thing I've had a lot of success with is structuring my paragraphs like "I have X skill from Y place(s). Let me tell you some pertinent details about that." And then end with "And X skill will be super useful to your company/this position because ____." That's a big thing, I think. Making sure you spell out how your skills are directly applicable to what they need someone to do. I also like that you don't necessarily have to limit your cover letter to job experience. As long as you can make it sound professional, you can mention any kind of experience you have that would be relevant.

This ... may or may not be helpful. I'm apparently not that super at the job search, so maybe you don't even want to take my advice. But ... it's all I've got.

This is actually super helpful, I mostly apply through jobing.com, so between that and the fact that the majority of my experience is sales and I try to apply for everything but that, the cover letter is what I need the most and what I am the least confident in.

I actually did not realize that the cover letter didn't have to be limited specifically to the work history. That is going to help a LOT.

Oh lol. Look how I fail at LJ these days. I'm glad that was helpful, though! I mean, I kind of feel like cover letters are all about bullshitting. However you can make what you've done sound like what they want is fair game. I run into trouble, though, with things I can do but are difficult to prove. Like, I can say that I'm a fast learner and will not take much time to train, but they can't really know that until they, um, try to train me. Or, my favorite, I would be super in some kind of social media position, but I'm not even slightly willing to give a business access to my twitter or tumblr. So ... no :-P

Anyone know how to make a shitty resume look good? Or any kind of cover letter?

If I knew that, I would not be cashiering at Walmart, I can tell you that much. :/ That said, I've taken a class or two that covered the topic, so I'm not completely hopeless. What about your resume makes it shitty? There might be, say, a different way to format/structure it to emphasize something else.

I hate cover letters so so much, because I know you're supposed to use them to explain why you're Exactly The Most Perfect Candidate For This Position Ever, and mine always end up like yours: "Please, I can BE the most perfect candidate ever, just give me a chance and some training or really just hire me for anything at all, I don't even anymore, PLEASE." (For the record, I also hate the "why do you want to work here?" interview question, because I know "I just really need health insurance, like, so bad" pretty much sets the bar for wrong answers*, but it's always so much more difficult to come up with a right answer. Not having to deal with that question is just about the only upside to not having had an interview in forever, imo.)

*The other contender for "worst possible answer": I once answered this question in an interview -- for somewhere I did actually want to work, even! -- by accidentally implying they were a stepping stone to working somewhere else. Pretty sure that single question lost me my chance at the position. And I kind of can't really blame them. Clearly I fail at interviews. >_<

Oh, man, I cannot STAND THAT STUPID FUCKING QUESTION. Like, really, dude? I want to work here because I need money to survive and you seem possibly willing to give that to me.

(Hit post too soon.)

Also, my biggest issue is that almost all of my history is in sales, which I am REALLY good at, but super hate. So no one ever wants to hire me for anything else.

Edited 2013-02-06 07:00 (UTC)

Well, that's an issue with which I can empathize but not assist. It's my biggest problem with my resume, too -- that on paper I'm perfectly qualified for programming/software engineering jobs, but I hate (and am bad at) programming, so it never ends well. I've gotten the occasional interview for a software job, too, back when I was bothering to apply for them, and each time there'd be a coding interview and it would destroy me because, no. Ugh. So yeah, I hear you; it sucks.

At least you were in sales, though! That must mean you have good communication skills and suchlike. Talk that up in your cover letters; employers love that stuff. (So I hear. Those are not exactly soft skills I can boast, personally, so I don't know from experience.)

Cover letters are the worst. Mine always get super rambly.

Re: only having experience in sales, if the job you're applying for is NOT sales but has any kind of people interaction EVER, you can emphasize your ability to problemsolve, work with people with different needs and expectations, and possibly team work and/or collaboration. It doesn't quite get you away from the fact that you're ALL SALES ALL THE TIME, but if you can spin it a little it might help. That's what the cover letter is for?

Nice unfucking!

Dibbs on that little stuffed puppy.

Good job on the cleaning!! Looks good, sister!! :)

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