Topic: Job?

Hey guys! I love Nintendo Life and its forums. You guys have all been so positive and helpful for the most part, so i was wondering if i could get some input. I really need a job. I'm a freshman in college at Troy University in Troy, Alabama. i've got a full ride scholarship, so i don't need to pay for school... but in 4 years, i plan to go after a masters degree, and will definitely need some money saved for that. i also have a steady girlfriend, whom i have been with for almost the past 2 years. we have talked about marriage, and while it won't be until after i graduate in 4 years, it would still be nice to have some money saved by then, so that we don't have to wait any longer than we need to. i have no real previous work experience (bi-weekly babysitter for a friend for a couple months, and summr jobs mowing the grass for my church once a week), so i have to start somewhere. does anybody have any suggestions? and if anybody does or has worked at a Gamestop, what does that require? i'd certainly work hard enough, but i am a loyal Nintendo fan and thus have minimal knowledge outside of the Wii, DS, and GC (and N64 and SNES if you want to go frther back). i try to keep up with big news, but Nintendo systems are the extent of my hands-on experience. what do you guys think?

I believe Stuffgamer1 currently works for a GameStop. :3

as for applying at one, if you're looking for a non-managerial position, there's no online application for it -- you'll have to either print out an app from their 'careers' section of their website or whatever and take it in to the store you want to apply at, or you can get an application directly from there and fill it out.

from an applying-for-jobs aspect, though... don't pin all your hopes on being hired at one place, fill out applications for as many places as you can. Since you don't have any previous work experience and it sounds like they'll have to work with you on your college schedule, don't bother shooting for the moon, either. Big-name places like Walgreens, CVS, Wal-Mart, Torrid/Hot Topic, Food Lion, K-Mart/Sears, Dominos, etc. are very likely to have online application forms you can fill out on their websites (GameStop was one of the exceptions, in fact, that required people applying for non-mangerial positions to turn in a paper application). Smaller, local places may advertise on catch-all job websites like Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, and SnagAJob.com (i actually had more luck with SnagAJob.com than I did the other two; they tend to focus more on entry-level positions instead of professional positions requiring experience, degree(s), or training).

You may want to check your local Craigslist site, too, but beware -- that place is so full of scammers it's not even funny. You'll pick up on the hallmarks of a form posting after a while, though; the biggest hints are an offer of strangely high pay for a low-level job ($13 an hour for a secretarial position, for example), someone using what looks like their full name for a gmail address ('jordan_driggs at gmail.com' was one I bit at unknowingly when I first started looking up here in NC), and gross typos or garbled text at the bottom of an otherwise normal posting. send those guys an inquiry first before replying with your resume.

speaking of resumes, if you stick to entry-level positions, you won't need to bother with it, but depending on the job posting you may want to look into preparing yourself a resume just in case someone wants to see what you were doing while you were in high school. there are websites out there that will help you to build one if you like.

sorry 'bout the wall of text, lol, but i recently went through the hell of finding a new job myself, so it's still kinda fresh. welcome to the market, dude. :3

i never mind reading walls of text as long as it's informative. and thanks! i wouldn't limit myself, i just know Gamestop would be my pick. but yeah, thanks for all the websites, and recommendations!

Wow, things have changed since I was young and looking for summer work. Online applications?? I had to go to every crappy store / restaurant I was interested in, bug someone to get me an application (or talk to the manager if available), then sit in a booth for a minute and fill it out, all my references / addresses kept handy on a notecard in my pocket. I would have gladly put in applications online instead of having to go through that process... although there were advantages as well, I suppose, for my first summer job was acquired pretty much on the spot when they just happened to like my personality as I talked with them after picking up an application.

But theblackdragon is correct that you may have to start pretty low for your first jobs; like probably most of us, I worked all kinds of terrible kitchen and restaurant jobs through college, which is sometimes all you can get when you only have a few months or odd hours to work.

@warioswoods: i know what you mean re: online applications... back when i got my first real job almost a decade ago, it involved actually going to each place and bugging people for applications too, lol. nowadays, though, you'll get people at some places that will tell you when you ask for an application that you can fill it out online if you prefer, and places like Target and Wal-Mart actually have little computer kiosks set up near customer service that will allow you to fill out (surprise) the exact same application as you would be able to do from the convenience of your own home.

it's mostly the bigger companies that do it, I've found; small local shops and restaurants may still ask for you to come down and fill out an application. the good thing about it is that you can apply to places without having to bug someone for an application and without potentially giving the wrong impression to people who may be involved in the hiring process with the way you over or under-dress and your body language as you ask for the application. the bad thing about it is that it's incredibly impersonal, and most of the time they say they'll keep your application on file for 60 or 90 days so you're just a part of a continuous pool of potential hire-ees, and you won't know anything because they won't call you or e-mail you with word as to what's going on. you won't get that same on-the-spot 'just fill out the app and we'll hire you right now' feeling you may have wound up with in another place while talking with someone after having filled out an application in person.

another thing that's bad about the internet is that they may have actually hired people already for the positions they're still advertising, and it's just that no one's gotten around to changing that info on their website, so you just spent all that time filling out the app and taking their stupid 'you tend to feel angry days after a customer says something mean to you, agree or disagree?' tests for nothing.

I have nearly 20 years experience in Horticulture (landscape and Nursery) and was cruising until last year when my back gave out.
I did a run around last month after finally coming off the health system, leaving a couple of resumes around the place (old method still works well).
Got a call today from gameshop to come in next week.
My experience - playing since the Atari

I got my current job from a posting on Backpage. But I already knew the store because it was across the street from my high school.

Paper classifieds worked for me in the past too. Some of them say to email your resumes which is quick.

If you are serious about wanting to work at a certain place, include a letter indicating why working there would be important to you. There are a lot of resume-droppers (or mass application droppers) and you need to at least stick out somehow (in a good way).