Job Interview

Etbow23

Well-known member
Hi all,

I recently moved and have been looking for a part-time job. I'm going to be going to school in a month full time but I've realized I really do need the money. I was surprised that Chipotle called me back, especially since I put weekends/Friday nights only just because I wasn't sure what their policy is about changing your availability within a month after being hired. The past two years I've been in college I've worked through the week and weekends, but I just don't want to put myself through that anymore, espcially since I'm entering a program and am taking 15 credits and want to volunteer as well.

My last job I left a good impression I think, and did manage to get two references from my old supervisors. However before my last job (I started there in summer of '11) I had a somewhat spotty job history. I was fired from my job before my last. I was a hard worker, and they liked me well enough, but I started getting frustrated during my shifts & one day I walked out on my shift due to frustration at what was going on that day. It was a very stressful job and I was a bit more emotionally unstable then and just wasn't able to handle it. I didn't put that job down on my history for the chipotle job, so I have a gap of almost two years in my history.

I had another job before my last job that only lasted a few weeks because I couldn't stand the manager (he was a screamer) and I found it abusive and so I just didn't show back up. I had other jobs that I just didn't show back up to, and was fired from two others. Part of this is because I was a troubled teenager and was basically going through hell in my personal life, and part of it was because at one of those jobs I was accused of stealing when all I did was pick up a lost gift card on the floor and not turn it in to management. I have never stolen from any job I've had. Mostly just gotten frustrated and said f**uck it. However at my last job my managers liked me. I have been maturing and although I don't like customer service, I am a good worker and not anything like I was as a teenager.

How should I explain my unemployment gap? Should I say I was in school full time (I was, but I was also working part time at those places) and that I wasn't working? I get nervous at interviews but am usually able to make a good impression. I just dont want them to be suspicious. I am a student, so they probably will believe that, I just am nervous about the situation. I can't tell them I was fired; they'll never hire me. But I seriously am not the same person I was. I have some issues obviously, but I would never walk out on a job again or something like that.
 

Sacrament

Well-known member
1) Tell them you studies + did odd jobs here and there (come up with a few things before going, so you don't get too panicky when asked). You can also tell them you decided to do some volunteer work for a while (working with old people, forest watch during the hottest months, etc).

2) Relax. Trust your skills, and don't forget that while it is a job interview, you can take solace in knowing that it'll be over soon. Try not to do what a lot of people with social anxiety do, and raise the bar on the event, as if it were the most important day of your life. Be present, take a deep breath, smile and act confident (even if you're not that confident, by acting the part, you'll subconsciously become more confident).

Try to focus on a speech where your line of thinking is something like "this is me, and this is what I have to offer your company".
 

Richey

Well-known member
Don't worry too much about that. Alot of jobs come through word of mouth anyway. Honestly, if you spent a few months temping or just calling places, or even emailing for positions, you may just end up with a straight up trial or they'll just hire you on the spot after a day or two of experience without an interview.

In saying that, maybe just explain the situation honestly or maybe say you were studying or something.
 
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