How do I actually find a job that isn't retail?

Submitted ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨OneWomanCreamTeam@sh.itjust.works⁩ to ⁨[deleted]⁩

I’m in the US, no degree, and absolutely sick to death of working in retail.

I’ve tried all the jobs website. They haven’t even gotten me an interview. The only job search method that’s ever given me results is to think of businesses near me and apply to them directly. But that only leaves me working more retail, since public facing businesses are all I’m interacting with.

I just want a job that pays my bills, and lets me work on a consistent schedule. I’m so sick of having my hours constantly whipped back and forth. I just want to go to bed at the same time every day.

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bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works ⁨53⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
Try some sort of construction or electrical installations.

Then you learn useful skills, AND youll likely be one of the smarter people there (Lotta folks are the kind who drink a 30 pack of Busch and go to the strip club daily. Not exactly geniuses). so eventually you can get into designing drafting or management.

Or just look into drafting. Read up on how factories work. We need smart engineer type people.

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gointhefridge@lemmy.zip ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
I worked retail and retail adjacent for almost 20 years. I just started a corporate job for a very big electronics company. The answer?

Know people.

I know it sucks to hear, but it really truly is who you know. I got lucky once but it’s seriously all about the connections you make. Your best bets are from informal friends. People who know you well enough to say you’d be good for a job, but they’re not invested in you either being there or not.

The only reason I am where I am now is because I made connections. Read the book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” if you’re an introvert. It helped me understand how people view each other’s interactions better.

There’s a lot of remote jobs too that you can start looking into. Use your retail planning and selling experience for remote sales roles or remote account management.

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- JayleneSlide@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  
  Know people.
  
  This aspect cannot be overstated. I landed my biggest* jobs because of my professional network. Moreover, I landed those roles during some serious labor market carnage: Dotcom Bust, Great Recession, and the current knowledge career uncertainty.
  
  *Highest salary, longest running, best environment, most career growth, or some combination thereof.
  
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- Fondots@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  My first job was pizza delivery for a local shop. My mom knew someone who worked there, and I got the job through her. They weren’t exactly hiring for the position yet, but they knew they were going to need someone seen because their current delivery guy was going back to college in a couple months. She knew I was looking for a job, floated my name to the owner, and he called me.
  
  Second job was a warehouse shipping/receiving position. Again, got it through a family friend who was their accountant or something. He mentioned they were looking for someone, I said I might be interested, and he basically set everything up for me to come in and interview and I was basically hired on the spot.
  
  Now I work in 911 dispatch. This is basically the only job I actually found and applied for myself, I saw they were doing some sort of hiring event and I thought it was something I could do. Still though, I worked my connections, my brother in law is a firefighter, and knows a lot of people in local public safety/first responder circles, so I got him to ask someone he knows who works here to put in a good word for me. It could be that I just really impressed them, but I only had one interview and a lot of people who got hired at the same time as me, some arguably with more impressive resumes, had to go through an additional round or two of interviews.
  
  So as the old saying goes, it’s not so much what you know as who you know.
  
  When I was applying for jobs on my own back at 16-18 years old, even shitty retail gigs, I never seemed to get anywhere, online, paper applications, etc. never seemed to go anywhere, occasionally I got an interview but they never panned out. But when I know someone, or know someone who knows someone, I have a 100% success rate of getting hired and I’ve gotten to skip some of the bureaucracy to boot, and they’ve turned out to be pretty stable, reasonably well-paying jobs given my level of experience and such.
  
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- Itsamelemmy@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  This sucks sooo fucking much, but it’s true. I don’t network, and the only way I’ve had decent jobs is by the people in the company getting to know me and moving up. My current job is at the place I did security for, for 3 years while getting my degree.
  
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Bluefruit@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
If you like working with your hands, look into education for the trades. Trade jobs are only getting more and more rare these days so theres a good chance you can get a job that way and it pays waaay better than retail in a lot of cases.

Also like others said, knowing someone is also ideal.

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- bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works ⁨50⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
  I just paid someone $500 to do a simple water line to my dishwasher. Huge rip off. But they get paid well. $200/hr.
  
  Its only gonna go up. Fewer and fewer folks know how to do real work.
  
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Inucune@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
Nepotism. Who’s your daddy and what does he do?

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Beth@piefed.social ⁨56⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
Construction? But I think the hours are long. Maybe some community college apprenticeships programs depending on where you live.

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Buffalobuffalo@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
In country out-sourcing, i.e., Quest Global, Cyient, Belcan. Bigger Companies use outsource labor for certain work, and doesnt pick the resources (people) the outsourcer uses to accomplish the work. if you can do Excel and are reliable, theres hope.

All happens locally often having you work on site at Bigger Company with a different color badge. Less resistance to hiring underqualified people this way. Worth a look if you have something like that nearby.

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Clent@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
What about customer support?

That can be a launching point as long as it’s within the company. I know several people who started in those sorts of positions and moved up quickly to non-customer facing roles.

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AskewLord@piefed.social ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
You need education. Either a college degree or a licensed trade skill.

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- CapuccinoCoretto@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  This is good. But “need” is perhaps too strong. Lots of highly successful people without education. Lots of highly educated people who couldn’t cut it. Plus it too has barriers of it own (costs, loansharking student loans)
  
  It’s good, but isn’t the only way.
  
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  - EndOfLine@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    This right here.
    
    Annecdotal, but I have never worked for a company nor in a team that did not have a fair share of people that took the work experience route instead of the school route. It took them longer to get to the jobs fresh college grads were applying for and they had to work some shit jobs on the way, but that real-world experience gave them a perspective that college never could and it was a valued resource that provided immense benefits to the teams they worked with.
    
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  - AskewLord@piefed.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Statistically, no there aren’t. Just because you know some people who did well in life, doesn’t mean they exist in abundance.
    
    The vast majority of people with median or higher incomes are educated, or skilled, and those who high incomes are highly educated and highly skilled.
    
    unless OP is gifted in manipulation and/or amoral, and willing to fleece scam and exploit other people, it’s very unlikely they will have a great job without education and skills. And many people with education and skills, are still underemployed and struggling.
    
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A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Get on as a construction helper. Zero experience required, just show up on time with some basic tools every day.

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- HubertManne@piefed.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  what would basic tools be. Seems wierd they expect the person to show up with tools for a general helper job.
  
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  - discocactus@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Measuring tape, speed square, pencil, bags, durable and weather appropriate clothes/shoes. Lunch. Water. It’s just the industry standard.
    
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  - A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
    Depends on the trade but tape measure and pencil+sharpie is standard. Framers will need hammer and speed square, electrician will need strippers, lineman pliers, etc.
    
    Most stuff will be provided by whoever youre working with but you’ll be expected to invest in your tools periodically. If you have to borrow something twice, you should pick it up.
    
    Also, good protective shoes. Im a big fan of my Keens.
    
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- West_of_West@piefed.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  I was going to recommend this as well. Or going the apprentice -> journeyman route.
  
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blarghly@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
Door to door construction sales. There are lots of companies that do thinks like install new windows or solar panels. They pay people to go around, knock on doors, and see if people are interested in their product. Technically the job title is “lead generator”. And these companies are always hiring for these positions, since, to be honest, it is pretty shit work. You walk around all day in the hot sun, knocking on peoples doors and having those doors slammed in your face. Base pay isn’t great, and you make your real money in comissions, which are rare, since you are cold calling.

But it is regular hours, exercise and sunshine, practice keeping a positive attitude and meeting people. And as soon as you get hired, you can start applying for other, better jobs in sales.

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unmagical@lemmy.ml ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Know people.

It’s literally the only way.

Go to job fairs, talk loudly about your skills when out and about and with anyone who’ll listen (I know a literal expert that does this. He works in multiple sectors including a couple different governments, has like 8 jobs making an absolute killing), meet people online, go back to school, attend a church, anything that let’s you get in front of people and talk about what you (can) do.

And if something is in your ability, but not your professional experience lie a little.

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bluGill@fedia.io ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Retail will take anyone and train them which is why it is so easy.

Every other job needs someone with special skills and so they are selective and hard to get in. Even though most people don't work retails, there is much more competition for these jobs, and a lot less job in any given specialty. The better the job the less competition there is - but there still is plenty of competition.

Which means you need to not ask for "a job", but select the specific job and then set yourself up to be good at that on your own time. The more specialized you get, the better a chance you have a job in that specialty - but the worse chance you get at any other job! Which means choosing the right specialty is critically important. Good luck (usually it too bad though as most things have enough demand).

The worst part: once you get a job they start teaching you the skill for that. It is really hard to change latter because you go from an expert to beginner.

Remember what others have said though: who you know is more important that what you know! So figure out who you know! Figure out what they can maybe get you into, and apply the above in consideration of that. Sometimes people will tell you what they can help you with, sometimes they won't know but you can guess.

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Pat_Riot@lemmy.today ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Try a temp agency. Many have temp to perm positions in offices and factories, some staff trades and labour. Is it ideal? No. But my current job pays me $26/h and I started as a temp 10 years ago.

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- Dudewitbow@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  i can attest to this, not for myself, but for people at my workplace.
  
  i was hired directly, but a majority of my coworkers were hired here because of temp > permanent hiring. small warehouse job.
  
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Grimy@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Find what sector you want to work in and start educating yourself about it. Even online certificates help. Most jobs work on a consistent schedule.

If you are dead set on going at this with no education and nothing of value on your CV, look into factory and warehouse work. It’s boring and repetitive though. Another option is municipal work, they sometimes have good paying jobs with little experience needed.

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Iconoclast@feddit.uk ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Go to a place that seems intetesting and ask for a job. Tell them that you have no experience but are willing to start by sweeping the floors and then learn as you go. The worst thing that can happen is that they say no.

Plenty of places aren’t actively hiring but that doesn’t mean they don’t have need for an extra pair of hands. Showing up in person gives a good impression.

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- unmagical@lemmy.ml ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  There are worse things than saying “no.”
  
  Companies aren’t hiring people without experience, and it’s cheaper to not bother upscaling your employees and just leave them trapped in their current job.
  
  No one cares if you show up in person to ask for a job anymore, and if their hiring system is all online it can even be a bad impression because it indicates that you can’t find information from their website and follow instructions.
  
  This seems like the kind of boomer advice my dad thinks still works and hasn’t worked in decades.
  
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  - Iconoclast@feddit.uk ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    
    hasn’t worked in decades.
    
    Not if you’re applying for Apple or Goldman Sachs. Different story with smaller local businesses.
    
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  - HubertManne@piefed.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    I don’t think its worse its just that your chance of finding a job that way is such that you could be just as productive buying lottery tickets. Seriously. Have you ever worked at a place that you could do anything more than tell the person to go to such and such a place and fill out a application or more likely now go to the website and fill out an application.
    
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- OneWomanCreamTeam@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Well I’m not sure how I’d pay my bills in the meantime while I’m sweeping floors for minimum wage.
  
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- TachyonTele@piefed.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Ok boomer
  
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  - Iconoclast@feddit.uk ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Sorry that I tried to be helpful.
    
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Qkall@lemmy.ml ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
i skimmed the comments so apologize if this was mentioned already… most factories seem to now hire thru temp to hire type situations… that’s how i got my career started was an entry temp situation

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- TachyonTele@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Job fairs are actually worth going to.
  
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TachyonTele@piefed.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Gig work. Customer service (in office), trade skills; electrician, etc.

Networking is key. Ask the people you know how they got their jobs. Shit, ask them if theyr hiring. That’s all networking is at a basic level.

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HubertManne@piefed.social ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
I was going ot suggest something but it won’t necessarily have a consistent schedule. Anyway if you can take a community college course and are ok with blood you can take one phlebotomy class and then be able to work as a phlebotomist. Its something I can’t do as I get wierd with blood and needles. Because of people like myself it limits those who do it. Both by removing them as possible people doing it and by being people who people who have to do it have to deal with.

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homes@piefed.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
How do you feel about gig work?

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pwnicholson@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
What are your interests and skills? Like someone else said, who you know matters more than anything else, but depending on what your interests and skills are, you can go out of your way to connect with people in that space.

And get used to finding ways of talking about yourself as a good fit for that kind of job. Brag on yourself.

Also, volunteering is a great way to build up a resume of skills in areas where you have no prior experience. There are jobs at food banks, homeless shelters, etc., but there are also often places like art museums and zoos that need volunteers. Basically, any non-profit you can think of probably runs largely on volunteers. Sometimes it’s in a warehouse or doing trash cleanup, but often they’re in office tasks like filing, misc office work, answering customer service emails, etc., that would be a great stepping stone to getting paid to do those things somewhere.

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DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Run for congress, be corrupt as hell, and seek a rich doner to support your compaign

/j

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bacon_pdp@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Well, you can either start a small business or find a small business that does something and is willing to train you. As degrees have become worthless in comparison to other people recommending you for the position.

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JoMiran@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
It has been stated a few times already but the correct answer is “know people”. This applies to all workers, regardless of education. You need to expand and strengthen your personal network. This is the best way to exercise some control over your situation, otherwise you are at the whim of luck.

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MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Landscaper, tree worker, construction.

I see “hiring” signs for these jobs all over the place.

Go to EMT school. It’s a fairly short program. Shouldn’t be terribly expensive.

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- JayleneSlide@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Do you know any EMTs? I do, and it sounds like you might also. In the US at least, this seems the opposite direction of what OP is asking. Long hours, low pay when amortized over hours on call, high stress, **but *** potentially great personal satisfaction. Also potential career track to other first responder/medical roles, which can be another plus, e.g. wilderness SAR, marine emergency SAR, trauma nurse, etc.
  
  If I have any of that wrong, I sincerely would enjoy additional context and discourse.
  
  *A close friend from high school went the EMT->trauma nurse route. He has the temperament for it and absolutely rocks it. He is doing waaaaay better financially and spiritually than most of our social circle. His hours aren’t consistent per se, 3 days on, 3 days off plus any additional shifts he wants. He could have retired about 5 years ago, but loves the work too much.
  
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  - MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
    They said “no retail” and regular hours.
    
    There certainly are standard EMT shifts. And pay varies a lot depending on area of the U.S.
    
    OP didn’t indicate where they were looking.
    
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JayleneSlide@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
The fundamentals are always going to be the same:

Develop marketable skills

Build out your professional network

Develop ace communication skills, written and verbal; this pays dividends everywhere in life

Strive to be either in the top ~15%* of what you do or bring a diverse set of skills to the table so that you can perform multiple roles; however, the latter tends to be an entirely different kind of job

Be punctual

Always continue with your professional development

Be the kind of person with whom you would like to work

*This is not as hard as it sounds. Consider Sturgeon’s Law (“90% of everything is shit”) and how much people phone it in; it’s pretty easy to stand out in most fields.

More specifically, I suggest “durable” career fields such as the trades (plumber, electrician, lineperson, crane operator, cement truck operator, etc). I mentor and tutor some high school and college students. There’s a lot of career uncertainty for the the foreseeable future, and the trades are not going anywhere. I generally suggest “do what pays the most and chaps your ass the least;” this is just a guideline and the kind of thing you need to figure out what your inflection point is. Whatever the fuck you do, avoid debt like it’s the plague.

Unless you land a proper apprenticeship, expect some serious long days for a few years, e.g. working full time and schooling/studying full time. Maybe you’ll get away with a less arduous journey, but if you’re mentally prepared to go full-tilt then you’ll be pleasantly surprised if the journey is easier.

Empathy by way of anecdote: I was a DJ and nightclub manager. I was surprised when I hit 25 and was somehow still alive. I decided to take this life stuff seriously and saw that there was most likely no path towards serious financial security. I went back to college for audio engineering, working full time and going to school full time. I did that for about five years. While audio engineering was cool, I thought it would be even cooler to write the software tools for audio. So I poured myself into independent study, using my nights and weekends to learn programming. And once I was comfortable with programming, I went back to college again for software engineering, again full time school + work. The journey was hard, but I was a senior software engineer within 8 years, manager and principal roles another 4 years after that. However, I never got a job writing audio software; it’s been all medical and financial software. “How do you make the gods laugh? Make plans.” So have a vision, but be flexible and open to opportunities.

Honestly, if I could have another go at it, I would have chosen marine electrician. Travel, boats + ships, technical + creative field, and get to pick and choose jobs I want to do.

Woo warning ahead: there are qualitative aspects to the journey. Know what you want, rather than what you are avoiding. If you don’t know where you want to go, you are going to end up somewhere else. But something cool happens when you know what you want, know it in your bones, and commit to taking the steps. The universe delivers. Maybe not the exact thing you wanted, but some form of it.
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CapuccinoCoretto@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
<activate mod ban protection - humour>

Have you considered the “other” economy?

Prostitution or pimping

Drug selling (B2B naturally, not retail lol)

Drug manufacturing

Panhandling

Arms Trafficking

Terrorism (eco, political, religious,)

Religion (start your own church. There is a low barrier to entry here as a street preacher, plus you can combine this with some of the others, but you can work your way up to megachurch pastor with your own jets.)

Mugging/Home Invader/Burglary

Crime Enforcer

Politician

Spy/snitch (private/corporate/government)

It’s really about understanding yourself. What are your needs? What are your natural strengths? When you do what hou love, you’ll never work a day in your life.

<deactivate mod ban protection - humour>
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