The summer job and internships

As the summer approaches, I see more and more students walking around the mall.  They are well-dressed and carrying a binder.  These shoppers are not dressed in the skinny-jean hipster fashions. They are dressed more conservatively and walk around as if they don’t know where to go next.  These hopefuls aren’t carrying a backpack full of schoolbooks; they have a slim binder.  They are the summer job seekers, and I can spot a person collecting job applications from a block away, just like a beat cop can spot a potential purse snatcher.  The uncomfortable walk, the nervousness, and the pause in front of a potential employer establishment, looking inside, thinking. . . “Do I want to work here???”

The job application for a summer job

• My first impression of you will be based on your completed job application.  I will probably take 5 seconds to look at your resume and scan the job application just as quickly.  I am not reading the application as much as I am looking for fields that should have been filled in and were left blank.  If fields are incomplete, I stop reading and move on to the next application.
• One more time.  Fill out every field.  I do not want to try to hunt you down to find out when you were born or who your manager was at your last job.  I am not even going to bother.  You get one chance at this.   If you do not complete the job application, you will probably skip some of the smaller details when you are hired.  This is a test.  A lengthy job application is a filter. This is part of the culling process.
• If you are hired, this application will be entered into your company file and will remain a permanent fixture of your employee file as long as you work for Acme Publishing. Your summer job could be the start of a long career.
• Ensure your application is legible and well-presented.  I have seen applications that appear to have been through the wash and filled out in red ink. Other applications seemed to have been written with the non-dominant hand. Our customers will see this handwriting.
• If you find yourself with a multiple-page application, pay as much attention to the last page as you do the first.  The entire document must be completed legibly.  The handwriting on the previous page is sloppy, with fields left blank.  Someone just got lazy.  “Next application!”

Tips to make your application for a summer job read well:

• Xerox the application and fill out the fields on your Xeroxed draft first. Only when you are satisfied with your answers do we fill out the copy we are going to submit. 
• Include a cover letter with your application. You will stand out because 95% of applicants do not include a cover letter. The BARE minimum is filling out every field completely in an application.
• Unless the application explicitly states not to include a resume, include one.  This is just another level of professionalism that most people don’t include.
• Avoid filling out the application on the wooden bench in the mall. Please fill it out smoothly, without distractions, so you don’t feel self-conscious. It is better to take it home and fill it out entirely than rush through the questions in the mall.

Who is doing the hiring, and what do they think?

Remember, the person hiring you is probably your parents’ age. We need to overcome all of the stereotypes about young people.  Presenting oneself neatly and with legible handwriting is the first step to overcoming these stereotypes.  When you submit your application, ask for the manager; don’t leave it with the guy behind the counter.  You don’t want to count on that guy to get your resume to the decision-maker in one piece. 

You will be doing more than 90% of your competition if you introduce yourself, look them in the eye, give a firm handshake, and explain what interests you about the job.  Ninety-five percent of your competition will hesitate and stutter on this question, so when they ask you if you can work on Saturday nights, you don’t even blink and say with a big smile, “Absolutely; what time do YOU WANT me to show up?”.

See you at the after party,

HRNasty

nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone who is good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.

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