Is being picky about jobs a bad thing?

I've been working at the same job for about 6 years. I work for my parents and it's okay. I'd like to take over one day when they decide to retire but right now they aren't. Even when I do find a job I'd still plan to help out at the store and learn a bit more about finances/inventory once a week for a few hours like my sister does.

Anyways, since I'm graduating soon I felt like I start the next chapter of my life and find a job. I'm interested in corporate jobs like HR. I've been job searching for entry level positions. There aren't too many but the ones available make me turned off. Some of them are 50 hours a week plus weekends, some are 50 minutes away, some pay too little at $9-11 an hour in my opinion. I feel bad that I'm being picky. I don't know if what I'm looking for is too much to ask...
-first shift
-within 30 minutes of driving range
-at least 25,000 a year.
-40 hours a week (excluding weekends)

That sounds pretty "normal" to me....

 

No, it's not a bad thing. If you have a safety net - like working for your parents - it's a luxury. You already have a job and can use that on your resume, as well as support yourself.

But it sounds like you have no idea what you want to do. There are a lot of other "corporate jobs" besides HR, and most of those don't do "shift work". I think that your first task is to identify the large employers within your 30 minute radius, then determine if they have the sort of job you want. Generally entry-level HR jobs requires some sort of HR degree (or at least concentration).

So, yes, there are jobs out there that should fit your requirements, but you're going to have to work to find them. And that means that you need to research in spots that aren't in the want-ads. Maybe you should see if any of the vendors that your folks use are hiring. Or if there are other friends/family that can recommend you to someone else.

 

I would say that jobs where you don't have ever to work weekends or more than 40 hours a week are becoming a rarity, particularly at any job that requires an actual skill set. You'll also need to consider the employment situation at this time, it's easier to ask people to do more for less money when they have to be very concerned about losing their job (moreso about not being able to find another one if they do).

Reasonable driving distanace depends entirely on where you live, about which we don't really know anything. Same thing with wages, where I live now it's not unreasonable, if not easy to get. Where I grew up 12.50 an hour would be considered a high wage, well above 'entry level'.

 

Picky = unemployed.

Can a soon-to-be college graduate actually have this kinda sense of entitlement in today's job market? Dayum. I mean, we've got incredibly qualified mid-level people taking 50% pay cuts because they've been unemployed for 6+ months trying to get back into their own field. And HR? The HR guy at my last company worked 90+ hours a week for months at a time because he was trying to pay off an insane mortgage and the brand new pickup truck that his brother totaled. I think the first thing you need to pick up once you grab that magic piece of paper from academia is a little perspective.

Your best bet is to realize that you're not going to find something that fits into your neat little comfort bubble. You're going to have to drive. Probably an hour plus. It's going to involve long days or weekends. Because that's what companies demand to get their money's worth from you. It may or may not even be something you're into. That's why they call it "work." Find something you can learn quickly and that offers room for advancement.

I'd recommend you get on job sites like Monster.com and use "junior" and "entry level" in your searches for HR or whatever. Take a gander.

 

I owned a business for about 5 minutes once.

It was horrible.

Stick with your parents. You will learn discipline and TRUE attention to detail not just the stupid phrase secretaries put on their resumes. Running a business actually requires someone who knows how to run a business. You might have an excellent product that essentially sells itself but you need to learn so many things that accompany that. Like what to do during down seasons when sales don't meet quota (i.e. cost does not outweigh benefit on a month to month basis). How to streamline your operations and you will actually learn how to manage other employees. If you work at a store for your parents you will learn how to do proper inventory and how to train your employees to keep proper inventory.

If you don't want to run your own your business, then go with the other job.

 

... It's called work for a reason.

If you want to learn the value of work, and how to get ahead and/or be successful, then don't shy away from it. I don't know of a single person who owns a business or works a professional job who *only* works 40 hours a week... The more you work the more buy-in you have in that company/department/or field. The more hours you put in the more exposure and experience you will gain, which will make you more efficient and able to perform at the next level of responsibility. If nothing else you will learn how to better navigate that system. As a leader (or boss), you can't expect your employees to work harder than you, so you will have to set the example. Also, if you start to slack harder-working people will surpass you, resent your laziness, or both. That's the heart of competition.

Unless the hard work of your parents has created the sort of company that will self-sustain after you take over, you will have to work, and hard, to keep it successful. Even if your business is structured to allow for your indolence, the people under you will have to actually bust their asses... Which then make give them all the experience, making them the experts, rather than you, while you remain the boss.

In theory, I agree that you should be able to be somewhat picky, but choice is the ability to select among the available options, not dictate a standard.

So let's review your options:

First shift: This is probably doable, though you may have to compromise and work 2'nd shift when you are entry-level. This will get your foot in the door and you can likely take the experience you gain from that job to market yourself for your next... and ask for first shift.

Within 30 minutes driving range: This really, really depends upon where you live. A longer drive radius will greatly enhance the area of potential job opportunities. Remember that a twenty minute drive covers four times the area of a ten minute drive, a 30 minute drive covers 9 times, a 40 minute drive covers 16 times and a 50 minute drive covers 25 times. So basically you will have more jobs to choose from if you are flexible on your commute. Start looking local, but if you don't find a job you may have to expand your search area simply to play the numbers game.

At least 25,000 a year: You are about to graduate what? If you are about to graduate College, you can probably get 25k a year, but you have to demonstrate your worth and market yourself to prospective employers. A lot of this will depend on whether you majored in something that is marketable. Remember that you are not entitled to anything and that you are only worth what you can actually convince someone to pay you... If the best you can do is $11 per hour, then the hard truth is that is all your are worth to an employer... The good news is that you can increase your value quickly by gaining experience, demonstrating consistent performance and the potential for increased responsibility.

40 hours a week excluding weekends: Bwahahahahahaa. Why would ANY employer higher an employee who won't hunker down in a crisis and pull long hours to get the company through, when he can choose between a dozen who will? Even if the job doesn't typically involve weekend or overtime work, an employer is trying to figure out if a prospective employee (you) will be dedicated to the job or have an over inflated sense of entitlement. Remember that you are competing against other people, and one of the best ways to get ahead is to volunteer to work harder...


In order to stay grounded I would proceed in stages:

Stage 1:

Look around at your options, research the various companies in your area and choose to whom you most want to apply.

Stage 2:

Take a breather and make yourself attractive to those particular potential employers... Build a proper resume and CV. Obtain TAILORED letters of recommendation and write a letter of introduction for each company you wish to apply for. Research those companies and tweak your resume, etc. to play to the culture of that company.

Stage 3: When you are ready, apply for jobs with the top half-dozen or so places you wish to be hired. Follow up with a phone call if you do not hear any sort of response within about a week. After-all, you have nothing to lose if you are not being considered and being proactive may help if you are.

Stage 4: Use the lessons learned from above to apply to the companies most likely to actually hire you... Because what you *want* doesn't really matter from an employers perspective.

Stage 5: Get hired *anywhere* and gain experience

Stage 6: Use your new experience to successfully compete for a job that better suits you.

Stage 7: Repeat stage 5 and 6 until you eventually work your way into the job you really want.

 

I have to apologize for the horrible grammar in my above post. I should have done better.

In my defense: I had just come home from a 48 hour field problem badly dehydrated, hungry, tick infested, sporting a horrible rash and with essentially no sleep. 40 hours a week my ass...

 

Whatever, dude is obviously full of it. He had some Fig Newtons in his '203 tube and didn't share with anybody! That and who the fuck comes out of the field and then immediately dispenses employment advice to nervous 20-somethings? Back in my day... we came home, dropped our rucks, ate burgers, drank shitty beer and tried to get our girlfriends to fuck us while we still had that stupid face paint on and smelled like a sack of wet assholes.

 

Well obviously I tried all that stuff first.

For some reason my wife didn't dig the prickly heat and I found myself typing sleepily on my laptop, sprawled out alone on the living room sofa in between naps. For about an hour I was the stereotypical internet guru... immobile, junk-food eating, sweaty, rash-covered, pimply/bug bitten and cranky.

But seriously though, way too many people seem to think that employers should cater to them instead of doing what is necessary to make themselves worth hiring.

When I did a quick google search for entry level HR salary information I found this on about.com:

The median of wages paid to HR Assistants was $33,750 in 2006. The range was $22,700 to more than $48,670.​

... So about $11.50 an hour for entry level HR people. Surely Chelle considered her future job prospects before going all the way through college, so this is no surprise for her. So then what makes her think an employer should pay her more than other entry level candidates who are willing to work 25% more than her plus weekends?

Here are some links regarding her circumstances and how to make the best of them. (I hate linking, and I hate about.com, but it is a decent place for her to find out the basics.)




How to Win the Job Search Competition: Why Mary Got the Job

What Does a Human Resources Manager Generalist or Director Do

HRM Basics - Human Resources Management Basics - HR FAQ

Human Resources Careers - How to Break Into a Career in Human Resources

Chelle, keep in mind that in order to earn more money you essentially have to out compete Pam from Archer. Sure she is hugely obese, disgusting, incompetent and ignorant, but her complete lack of social life means she will always be at work...


Also, no fig-newtons. I ate two Pecan Pinwheels (because I packed only junk food, of course) before running out of water, which meant I couldn't continue to eat the rest of my junk food. Entirely my mistake for not taking my little trip more seriously, but it sucked balls nonetheless.