How many jobs have you had?

Question

Im 21 and have had 4 none longer than 6 months and have either been fired, had my hours cut or written up on every one, I have about 2 years of college but no degree. I think its because im not being paid enough and they havent been in areas that interest me. I will get bettter ones..

Answer 1

You've pretty much answered your own question: you are simply not motivated and don't really want to work much. If you want to hold a job, you are going to focus on the few positive parts and hold yourself to do a good job regardless of how much it sucks.

Lets say you are flipping burgers. You are still building skills useful for any job. For example, it takes a lot of skill to work along with complete jerks or supervisors that don't know what they are doing. Ask your next supervisor if you work hard whether they will recommend you for a job down the line somewhere. Tell them to give you a lot of feedback so you keep on track. Of course a lot of what they say is irritating since they may are tell you something you don't want to do, something you disagree with, etc. but that is something you have to put up with if you want a steady job. When you find yourself in a fun conversation distracting from work, just keep in mind its better to just get back to work and get the reference down the line. That reference will be valuable in getting your first real job after college. And even if you screw up every now and then, as long as you are trying your supervisor will basically always see that.

A manager would much rather hire someone who has worked McDonald's for a year with a good supervisor reference than someone who claims to have no previous jobs.

So, you have to focus on something you will get out of the job such as references, proving to yourself that you can be a good worker, learning how to work well with jerks (something I'm learning a lot about at my current job), or something I havn't thought of but you will. There will always be people to hate, specific jobs to hate, and traffic to hate, even in a "good" career job, but you have to look at what you are trying to achieve and focus on what you are getting.

When I was a bagger at Jewel it was boring and my feet were always tired. But I wanted to show to myself and others that I was a good worker for some reason, so that's what I did. I'm pretty sure thats why I've never been written up or fired. But if you shoot for just slightly better than average I think you would be fine. The key idea is that you are ultimately working for your own benefit, not for a company that cares about you very little.

Now that you've worked 4 jobs you'll know in the first week whether you'll want to work for the company for a while. At that point you should decide to try hard to keep at least a half-good relationship with your supervisor and the people who you work with.

Answer 2

I've had two full time jobs and done two internships. I didn't like either full time job yet I stuck it out at one for 2 years and another I'm currently at (while finishing up college) for 6 years. I feel that I'm underpaid and underappreciated at this job yet I do my job each day I'm scheduled. You know why? That's the only way you'll get somewhere in this world. You can't always start out at the highest paying job doing what you absolutely love. You have to work your way up to that point. When I applied for the CPA firm that I'm interning at right now they were impressed with the fact that I was able to hold down a full time job for 6 years while going to high school and all through college. Guess what that crap low paying job landed me then? A new job that pays 4 times as much. You should think about changing your attitude or you'll be in a constant cycle your whole life of going from one meaningless job to the next. No one is going to give a low life with a bad attitude a chance unless they can prove theirself.

Answer 3

I have had five jobs in my 38 years of life. Never been fired or written up. Your being bored at the job probably has a lot to do with why you get fired or written up. However, your bad track record will begin to show and people with good jobs won't be willing to hire you because you will be a bad risk. I have worked in HR and we often look at the length of time a person has spent at a job as a reflection of their work ethic and whether or not they will be a problem employee. If I saw your resume at this point, I would not hire you. No offense.

Answer 4

Well i have had 7 i was fired once and i did those jobs to just get through school but i stayed on the long. One a year and half till they went out of business another six months till i moved out of state. Then my last one i was there 3 yrs till i graduated from college. It was not an area of intrest but you do a good job and when hours get cut they tend to leave yours alone. I don't think you are being responsible if you are geting written up som much .

Answer 5

I'm 25 and have gone through a lot of jobs, I'll just go through the list and explain why I left or why it didn't work out...

1. Newspaper girl-- did this from like 7th to 9th grade.
2. Braums- fast food job at age 16. It sucked.
3. Sykes- call center job for MSN Technical support. I hated it.
4. DJK enterprises-- worked with retarded people. It was an ok job, but I was fired for not getting my own car.
5. Jack in the Box- fast food again, hated it.
6. Walmart--- it was alright, but they gave me too many hours while I was in college (after I had clearly stated I only wanted PT).
7. IRT- another call center-- I thought I'd try a call center again, but I hated it too much.
8. Pesagi Hall-- desk clerk job, loved it!
9. Advertising Manager of college newspaper- loved this job too, but I left because it was my sr yr of college an I needed more time to do group projects.
10. data entry clerk- a temp gig I took before I moved after graduation.
11. library assistant-- summer school job
12. brand interviewer- a temp job I had in nyc... hated it.
13. secretary/admin asst- a permanent job I took, but ended up getting laid off a month after starting.
14. customer service job for a company that sells on ebay, amazon, and their own site... like this job... basically get paid to answer emails and a few phone calls all day.


In terms of your job history, I don't think it's bad. With all the jobs i've had that I didn't like or that didn't interest me, I didn't stay past 4-5 months since I was always convinced that there was something out there that would suit me better. As long as you can financially afford to "test the waters" to see what works, do it!

Answer 6

I have 4 job in 25 year. One job I was there 22 year until when out of Business. Just start a job one month ago

Answer 7

I've had so many jobs.

After awhile they seem like stories and encounters.

Longest... 4 and a half years.
Shortest ... 4 hours

I can't remember all of them, temp services
will cause you the most problems.

Nine or ten different jobs....

Answer 8

i'm 22.
i've had about 9 jobs.
i never was fired, i just didn't like the jobs or i had to move away.

i'm hoping for my dream job one day.
either with make-up or dance.
ooo... ooo ... maybe i can be a make-up arist.
we'll see.

Answer 9

i think it's because you didn't do the job.
i have had lots of jobs never got written up or fired.

Answer 10

im 41 and i have had 9 jobs . you will find one that you like and it will make you motivated and happy just dont give up keep looking.