I live in Western Sydney and am a member of various buy, sell pages in my local area (always on the look out for a bargain!) and I often see posts from people looking for work. Some posts are more successful than others, so I thought I would give you some tips if you are thinking of posting onto any group pages looking for work.
Don’t be like Dan, Dan is never going to find work with this approach.
At the end of last week a young man, whom we shall call Dan, posted a message very much like this:
I am looking for a job. I don't have a licence or transport. Ta!
I am hoping you can see some flaws with this one, because he didn’t get a positive reaction from others in the group. Firstly, he is using Facebook and his profile is a picture of him extending his middle finger to the world. Multiple people commented that they wouldn’t employ him because of his photo – the most common reason given was that they felt he didn’t display the kind of positive attitude they would look for in an employee.
But ignoring his photo for a minute, the message itself is appalling. He has not bothered to indicate what kind of work he would like to do, his preferred work location (given his transport issues) or what skills or experience he has and can offer an employer.
Dan only got negative comments on his post. And given how nasty people can be, there were some rough comments!
Take a lesson from Shelley!
Two days later, Shelley posted this to the same Facebook group:
Hi, I am hoping someone can help! I am desperately looking for work. I have applied for over 50 jobs in the past three or four weeks and I don’t seem to be able to get a break. I have customer service experience, am good with computers and I am willing to work late shifts if needed. I don’t have a licence, so I am really looking for something in or near Penrith where I can get there using public transport. If anyone knows of any customer service or perhaps receptionist jobs either full time or casual, can you please point me in the right direction? I am so keen to work!
The response was phenomenal – there were people posting links to their company job pages, sending her PM messages with phone numbers to call and generally wishing her luck. Like Dan, she probably lacks a great deal of experience, but people were making really positive suggestions for companies who employ people with little or no experience and who offer training.
The difference between these two posts is that Shelley made her request sound genuine – she told people what experience she had and what she is looking for, and whilst she too needs to use public transport, she still managed to post a request that sounded genuine.
The lesson here folks is, don’t be dismissive and blasé when asking for help on Facebook. What you write (and let’s be honest, your profile pictures) will influence those who read your posts. You want them to want to help you, so be polite, be enthusiastic and positive and make an effort to tell them what skills you can bring to a job and what kind of work would suit you.
There are loads of great people in this country who are more than willing to help you get a start, you just need to make them want to help you!
