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- Describe your experiences from the perspective of an applicant for the last job you for which you applied.
- The last job I applied for was a classified sheet metal worker at Streimer Sheet Metal in Portland, Oregon. I didn’t actually apply for it, but I was asked by my cousin if I was looking for a summer job and I said I was. He said that they needed bodies and the pay was pretty good for an entry level temporary job. I got in touch with the hiring manager through my cousin and I told him when I was out of school. He set up a training with me and I showed up. I did not send any resume or anything. Once I showed up, I went through a few hours of training and got sent to a job the next day. At first, I thought I was not ready to get on the job, but quickly realized I had the skills to keep up.
- Explain how your experiences during the job application process shaped your impression of the job you were applying for and your desire to work there (or in some cases to not work there).
- The experience of being a “needed body” rather than a valued person was definitely something that turned me off to the experience. Once I got to the job site, my foreman realized that I could handle tasks on my own and quickly gave me more responsibility. If they had seemed less desperate for workers I think I would have been more exited about starting. Their desperation made the work seem unappealing, but once I started I realized there was simply so much work they were turning it down. They did not have the people to keep up with the demand and this was a pretty large private company. I enjoyed my time working there and I learned a ton, but the work was physically demanding and would be tough to do for the rest on my life.
3 replies on “Week 1”
I can understand why being needed instead of wanted could be discouraging when starting a new job. I think it is good though that you were able to stick through it and get that experience even though it was not your ideal job.
I also have had a similar experience about being needed rather than wanted. In this situation you actually had the leverage in the job negotiation process as they needed you more than you sounded to need them, did you negotiate your salary or pay at all before you begun your job?
I resonate with the fact that because demand was so great, and the work was so physically demanding that it isn’t an appealing factor all of the time, which to me highlights working with the right people who help make the work more bearable.
It is an interesting distinction you made between wanting to be a “wanted” employee instead of simply being “needed”. A lot of times people’s first jobs involve these types of positions. It teaches us what we want in a job in the future and the difference feeling valued actually makes in employee morale.