How did you get started in your first job?

I applied at a company where they were looking for an apprentice.

We’ve got that kinda organized in my country. There are “Auszubildende” jobs in Germany, which is basically a special work contract. It means that a company will hire a young person for low payment for 3 years. But that employee is supposed to be trained in all tasks that the defined job includes and will go to a professional school 2 days/week (on company time). And you get a certificate/diploma in the end. Over here you don’t get anywhere without an official diploma. German bosses (especially bosses in German public administration) need a paper with a stamp for everything. They will only believe you that you can use the bathroom by yourself and nothing else, if you don’t have it on paper. :-(

My dad took me on part time on the familys farm . I still work there bow but ATM it’s more full-time as I’m not in school right now

For unskilled jobs you usually just fill out applications. Look for help wanted ads and fill out applications; places with high turn-over rates like fast food restaurants usually keep applications on hand for whenever there is an opening so you should probably fill out applications at every fast food joint around even if they aren’t hiring.

I needed a summer job after leaving, I was planning on going to college to do a Business Admin course, I saw an ad for a temporary Office Junior role at an employment services company which ran work programmes for the unemployed. I put a CV together, and asked certain teachers from my school for letters of recommendation. I researched the company, finding out everything I could about them, I rang the boss of the department where I was applying to ask for more information about the role, then spent time filling in photocopied application forms, getting everything how I wanted before completing the actual one.

Then, based on my research into the company, I thought about some of the questions I might be asked so I would have prepared answers (or as close as possible) and I thought about my own questions to ask them. Anything to help the interview go well. Things went well and they offered me the job a couple of days later. After a short while a higher level job in the same team came up, which they offered to me. Sadly our companies contract is coming to an end soon, and I’m working out the remainder of my time as an employment coach, which is way out of my comfort zone. If you can get into a company, work hard and do well then you can really progress. I’ve learnt so much more than I would have done doing the college course, and have a higher level of experience because of it.

I was fifteen, so my job choices were seriously limited. I applied to Pizza Tonight and Chikfila. The day after I turned in my PT application, they called me to schedule an interview. It turned out someone had walked out the very night I turned in my application. I was hired after maybe five minutes, and the next day was my very first day of work. That was three years ago, and I’m still at that same job. It’s really close to my house, the hours are flexible and the customers are generally nice, so I stick around :)