Had A Crazy Fight With The Manager

Amanda, who graduated with a degree in Business, now manages for a national lingerie retailer, the same store she worked in part-time as a student. In her current position she regularly interviews and hires CSRs, customer service representatives, for her store. A while back as she was reviewing a stack of applications for her chain's seasonal hiring she came across a curious notation. In the space designated for applicants to explain why they no longer worked for a previous employer, one applicant had written, "Had a crazy fight with the manager." Intrigued, Amanda called the applicant, a female student, for an interview along with several other candidates. During the interview Amanda found the applicant, who we will call Nikki, to be experienced, friendly and talky, very talky. When Amanda asked about the 'crazy fight' the job seeker responded, "Oh that is history and I am so totally over that." Amanda decided to give Nikki a try and hired her as temporary part-time help in the store's youth fashion section. Nikki's energetic personality and her tendency to talk ( and talk and talk) proved a perfect fit as she related well to the younger buyers the chain was trying to entice. Nikki has proven to be a worthwhile employee although Amanda does keep an eye on her.

What can a student learn from this? Well, first of all it, is probably not necessary to include potentially troubling details on any job application. While past experience is useful for a potential employer to know,( it can help them place you appropriately), you need to strike a balance between candor and discretion. When asked why you left a certain job "Scheduling conflict" will usually suffice. Although for this student a surprising statement at least got her an interview, for you, when filling out an application skip the "crazy fight" history. Give enough details to supply the potential employer with a general idea of your duties. Unless you are being hired as Director of a National Security Agency do not include derogatory information about yourself. In the case of a National Security Agency they probably already know.

Your Next Audition

The expanding horizon of opportunities Planet College presents offers classes, courses, lectures, people and events which stimulate your own development.

One such opportunity might be available through your school's Theater, Speech or Speech and Drama Department. Majors in these departments regularly practice preparing and presenting themselves for public performances. The preparation which goes into any such presentation could also be useful for your next interview so consider this.

As explained in the post of August 12 employers can now be very picky about waiting for the right candidate for any opening they have. In a sense an employer is 'auditioning' a candidate for this job. It thus make sense that job seekers who have had some experience presenting them selves, either on stage or giving a speech, have at least a slight advantage in an interview.

With this in mind it might be helpful to consider a course in your schools Speech, Drama or Theater Department. Lower division or introductory courses are commonly open to all enrolled students. If your schedule is full this term consider a course like this for next semester.

If you are unsure of the value of such a course try this. Schools often allow a student to audit courses. In this case it wouldn't be a full audit for the term. Simply find a likely course in the schedule and then track down the instructor. Ask her if you can 'audit' , that is sit in, for one or two sessions. If she agrees one or two sessions should be enough to give you a general sense of the course content, requirements and whether it could be helpful for you.

And remember the way the job market is you need all the help you can get. (Couldn't hurt your social life either.)