1. #1
    Mechagnome Seiken3's Avatar
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    Question for your thoughts(Possible Wall of text)

    Good evening, folks.

    While I don't really know what this thread will be about, I've felt like making one for a while. So.. here I am, making one! However, I need to make it interesting, so I'll probably throw in a poll of some sort.

    Anyways, to start off: Is there anyone else out there that have noticed there being some sort of... Failure in "the system"? Like, I'm educated at 2 different areas. Computers and cooking. And over the past years I've been applying to a few jobs where I need to be educated within cooking. Although, I always get rejected. While the reasons may be various, I've seen that the following has been occurring every time: My application get set aside for others that are friends or acquaintances of the employer. And those aren't educated. Heh, recently, my town's only Hotel managed to run out of business cause they kept going on like that - hiring friends and family instead of people who actually knew what they were doing.

    While I don't hold any special grief against then - I just don't see how leaders can be THAT blind. (And yes, I know for a fact that the reason they went out of business was because they didn't hired people who knew what they were doing. I have an inside-source).
    *Ahem* But I have seen similar things happening before. So I guess my question to you guys would be... Have you had anything similar happening to yourself or anyone you know? Have anyone noticed an "increase" in these cases lately? As for me, I've both experienced and heard about cases where they're "Using a blunt knife they got memories with instead of using the sharp and effective one".

    PS: My grades were glowing, and I had a low amount of absence-days.


    I didn't really mean to write too much about the job-thing, but... I've been a bit out of sync with myself lately. As some of you know - I got out of a messy "relationship" and I haven't been feeling right since then. I recently got down with the flue after thinking I would manage to get away(many have had it just before me), but nope - it grabbed me. So, as I am recovering from that, I decided to try work out again. While I usually make a new year resolution to do so, I didn't this year. It's most likely that I know I with myself that I won't be able to keep it and I hate making promises that I won't be able to keep. But, I want to get in shape for the summer. So, I gotta start somewhere.

    A little stopper for me to start exercising is that: My "Ideal-weight" is chubby. Like, I've always been chubby. My mother is... Well fat.(Yo mama is so fat - haha, YES SHE IS. I know...) So, I've started to realize that I have her bone-structure. Yes, being "Big-boned". The number 1 lie every fat person tell themself, no? *Shrugs* Anyways, knowing that, I keep de-motivate myself whenever I remember it from exercising. Which I really find sad, cause.. I too want a slim body. So I'm asking you guys - any tips on that department? Is there actually a way to get rather skinny even though your bones are built a little... big? Certainly I can lose some pounds before I reach the "bone-limit", but.. I'm uncertain if I would look that well when I reach that limit.

    Ahem, but I am rambling. Being chubby isn't really anything that bothers me, it's just something that I want to do something about(Since I am perfect otherwise<3)


    *Looks above* My, quite the wall, no? To not make this all about me - I hope you want to share similar thoughts, experiences and questions with me and others.

  2. #2
    To answer your first question, this is why internships are so valuable. To get to know people who are connected. Most of the time people get that raise, or that job because they have connections.

  3. #3
    A lot of people want too much when they are looking for work and need to learn to accept less I did and things didn't go how I wanted but it worked out. People will make bad hiring decisions too, I have multiple times seen people fall for the young black guy in a suit who talks like he knows it all but cant figure out how to even send a fax after 2 months.

    I got in some decent shape, but I was still a loser and it got me nowhere so I cut back on the effort. Cutting back to food 5 days a week, 1.5 meals a day got things done real quick, just keep intaking water to help with the hunger.

  4. #4
    Mechagnome Seiken3's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Foosha View Post
    To answer your first question, this is why internships are so valuable. To get to know people who are connected. Most of the time people get that raise, or that job because they have connections.
    Yeah, I've started to realize that now. Well, I kinda always knew, and I actually had some contacts with that hotel too, but.. Apparently not enough. Also... I am just so surprised that some people are willing to hire through internships when they should be able to see that it will destroy their company, business, etc.

    ---------- Post added 2013-01-18 at 05:10 AM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by drwelfare View Post
    A lot of people want too much when they are looking for work and need to learn to accept less I did and things didn't go how I wanted but it worked out. People will make bad hiring decisions too, I have multiple times seen people fall for the young black guy in a suit who talks like he knows it all but cant figure out how to even send a fax after 2 months.

    I got in some decent shape, but I was still a loser and it got me nowhere so I cut back on the effort. Cutting back to food 5 days a week, 1.5 meals a day got things done real quick, just keep intaking water to help with the hunger.
    I've been doing that for a while to be honest. Eating healthy those times I actually eat and try to soothe most of my hunger with water. I guess one could say that.. I'm that kinda guy that could get anywhere if I just got in shape. Now, this is just how I have experienced my life so far, but I like who I currently am, hence why I haven't really stressed getting in shape -that- much. but I know I can enjoy myself even more~

  5. #5
    Dreadlord Zippoflames's Avatar
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    An old saying "It's not what you know, It's who you know" comes to mind, At my place the last 5 people employed have been friends of the manager.. not 1 of them is any good at the job, a couple have even been here a year and still cannot do the most basic of jobs required.

    Bet you cant guess what 5 are on the most money here lol....

  6. #6
    I'M a failure in the system. I have a very high IQ, people tell me I'm pretty much a walking information repository/encyclopedia, I'm above-average in math, yet I haven't really accomplished much in my life (out of choice). I used to get mediocre grades at school out of a sheer hatred of doing homework, got into advanced classes as an exception because I was pretty much forced to by both my parents and my teachers who wanted me to do better and knew I could but I didn't want to, and people are always trying to make me do things of greater importance and/or relevance, but I just don't want to. I want to live a quiet life, not be well-known and be generally carefree. The only thing people have accomplished by trying to push me to use my capabilities to their fullest has been stressing me out to the point of developing an anxiety disorder. I just want peace and quiet.

    Now, if I could get paid for being a living Google/Wikipedia, I'd gladly do that, as long as I don't have to deal with crowds or audiences. Or build things with legos. I'm creative, but I don't think I'd do well in architecture because I can't deal with stress.
    It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
    Also, it's should HAVE. NOT "should of". "Should of" doesn't even make sense. If you think you should own a cat, do you say "I should of a cat" or "I should have a cat"? Do you HAVE cats, or do you OF cats?

  7. #7
    Mechagnome Seiken3's Avatar
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    Hm, that's an interesting saying. I might use that... :P Luckily I have lots of contacts within the electronics and with computers, although.. I'm not done with my education there, so my goal is to find a cooking-job on the side so I can make the economical wheels of my life go around till I'm done.

  8. #8
    You don't get a job by sending in alot of applications, you get them by knowing people.

  9. #9
    Mechagnome Seiken3's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rocko9 View Post
    You don't get a job by sending in alot of applications, you get them by knowing people.
    Yeah, the sad part about that is.... There was this job that had an opening over.. 2-3 years. It's literally the CLOSEST job I can get (It takes me 30 seconds of walking from my door) and I sent in an application every time I saw they adverting for an employee. I didn't get any response at all. It was only late last year that I heard they only hired girls(which is illegal in Norway, but of course the employer didn't write on the advert). Anyways, a very good friend of mine got a girlfriend earlier that year. And she happened to be working there(she's the one who told me about the sexist-thing) and she decided to quit near Christmas. And by knowing her through my good friend, she vouched for me and I was able to get her job(It's not enough for me to live of, but it's better than nothing).

    So... Yeah, in the end - I got in cause I knew someone :P Now, they're all very glad they hired me as I provided to be one hell of a resource to them.

  10. #10
    Banned Haven's Avatar
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    Heh, I myself got my current job because a friend dragged me to his department. It is a bad thing in most cases, but the main reason people are doing it is because they feel they can trust their friends and family more than some random people they could've hired. I myself am doing quite well, not an expert level, but definitely better than some of the applicants for the same job whose data we were browsing lately just to have a good laugh. At least my friend knew I wasn't going to let him down and if there was something I didn't know but could learn from him, I would willingly learn - and it works so far. But that's just my case. I still sometimes think I ask too many questions, but it's better to ask than remain ignorant. Moving forward to the next point.

    No, dude, one does not simply change his body structure. It's your metabolism, it's your genetics and everything. I myself hae a slim body, I can eat a lot and never get fat, but on the other hand increasing muscle mass is a veeeeery hard task for me - my body can get a very pronounced relief (and I'll look like an anatomical dummy), but never mass. Just place an accent on something you're good at, and in order to do that, accept yourself first.

  11. #11
    Have you considered that the issue isn't with the places you apply to but with your applications? Employers aren't crazy nazis filtering people for incorrect use of the semicolon but you might have chosen language that makes you look like a poor candidate. If you're looking for food-prep work maybe you're using a vocabulary that makes them pass over your application. Erudite people working beneath their station don't stick around and are a waste of training. On the other hand, if your vocabulary is stunted or your phraseology is curt then they might stereotype you as a racist or drug addict. There should be a government agency that can work with you to improve your applications/resume/cv/etc. by discovering what you're doing that is turning off potential employers. If you're trying very hard perhaps you're trying too hard, and if you're new to the job market then perhaps you're trying too hard at the wrong things.

    The networking advice (it's not what, but who you know) is generally sound - and most of my career success comes from knowing the right people - its not impossible to start up from scratch. Many people are able to pack-up and start a new life in a far off land without a social support network setup when they arrive. Just because you didn't make the right connections in college doesn't mean you're screwed. If you have an interest in computing you can always build friendships by attending user group meetings (ie: if you like web programming are you going to the linux user group? the php developer group? TDD community meetings? Those places are excellent for learning new skills and for meeting people who can hire you or letting you know about places looking for more help). I have no idea what it's like to find work in the food-prep industry but I imagine there are some sort of industry associations you could attend. If not, there are always groups like the Toastmasters or the Chamber of Commerce where business people often join strictly for the purpose of career advancement.

    EDIT: with respect to being big-boned: you're not. You'll have a skeletal mass similar to anybody your height, age, and gender. The image is intended as a joke the basic idea isn't far from the truth. If you and I were both burned to bones in a fire nobody would be able to say which of the two skeletons had a six pack and which one was a bit on the chubby side. In fact Bone mass is inversely related to fat mass -- that is to say fatter people tend to have smaller bones, though not in a way that would be noticeable without careful measurement in a lab with x-rays.
    Last edited by a21fa7c67f26f6d49a20c2c51; 2013-01-18 at 05:58 AM.

  12. #12
    All I can say is good luck, you'll get there.

  13. #13
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    Connections have always meant more in the job market than actual credentials. Heck, even our ministry of labour recommends people to network because that's the best way to get jobs.
    Also if you're "big-boned", rather start working out to change the fat tissue into muscle tissue. Getting skinny isn't an option really in my opinion.

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