Thread: Need advice / help to find a job.

Chris,

Welcome to the forum, sorry I cant help with a job (as i dot have any contacts in the furniture trade), but thumbs up for trying different avenues, rather than just looking in the "wanted" adds.

Best of luck.

Hi Chris
I suggest you write up a brief resume of a bit about you what you have done, perhaps even include a couple of pictures of what you have made to show you are keen and then door knock businesses and leave your resume with them. Keep it brief and to the point or they won’t look at it.
Secondly you will have a much better chance of getting an apprenticeship if you are already in the industry so you might consider getting a job as a labourer/ assistant at a business where you might be just delivering joinery, forklift driving etc etc but you are in the door and start making acquaintances with other workers there who have contacts in the industry and hear about opportunities. Even if it is not your dream job you have a foot in the door to get started

You will find that a lot of jobs are not advertised and just filled by word of mouth.

Good luck with it.

Originally Posted by Fumbler

Chris,

Welcome to the forum, sorry I cant help with a job (as i dot have any contacts in the furniture trade), but thumbs up for trying different avenues, rather than just looking in the "wanted" adds.

Best of luck.

Thanks for the welcome and the kind words!

Originally Posted by Beardy

Hi Chris
I suggest you write up a brief resume of a bit about you what you have done, perhaps even include a couple of pictures of what you have made to show you are keen and then door knock businesses and leave your resume with them. Keep it brief and to the point or they won’t look at it.
Secondly you will have a much better chance of getting an apprenticeship if you are already in the industry so you might consider getting a job as a labourer/ assistant at a business where you might be just delivering joinery, forklift driving etc etc but you are in the door and start making acquaintances with other workers there who have contacts in the industry and hear about opportunities. Even if it is not your dream job you have a foot in the door to get started

You will find that a lot of jobs are not advertised and just filled by word of mouth.

Good I’d luck with it.

Thats great advice thankyou.
I’ll try those things for sure!

Welcome to the forum Chris.

Good Morning Christopher

You have demonstated sound initiative which is what most employers are looking for; just keep persevering.

May I add two small suggestions to what Beardy has suggested.

First: Create a portfolio of your work. Good quality photos of your work so that you can show potential employees what you have done, and also that you are proud of the quality of your work so far. It can only get better.....

Second: Keep a (private) list of every attempt that you have made to find an apprenticeship. Then, if an interviewer asks you can confidentally and truthfully answer along the floowing lines:
I have done the following:

• scanned the job vacancy boards at Centrelink at least weekly,
• done on line searches at (list websites) 3 or 4 times a week,
• talked frequently to my TAFE teachers,
• asked for help on WoodworkForum (and any other websites),
• door knocked every joinery within, say, five kilometres of home, and at least 4 times each to show that you are persistent,
• talk, talk, talk to anyone who might be able to give you a lead,
• plus anything esle that you can think of.

Please note that a lot of employers have a policy of not phoning job applicants. They wait for you to ring back - he didn't ring, he was not really interested.... - A repeated two sentence call is all that's needed - "Chris here, could you please tell me if there has been any progress on my job appliocation.."

Good luck


Graeme

Originally Posted by old1955

Welcome to the forum Chris.

Thankyou!

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

• door knocked every joinery within, say, five kilometres of home, and at least 4 times each to show that you are persistent,

That's exactly how I got my apprenticeship; went through the phone book and gradually moved further out from where I lived. When the distances became to far to conveniently go in person (didn't have my licence at the time), I moved to phone calls.

If you can drive a manual car (or are currently learning to do so), make sure to say so as it's definitely an advantage.

Ask if there are opportunities for further training through the company, mention any extra skills you are interested in (CNC machining, traditional polishing/finishing, woven cord or cane seats, etc). Employers generally like people who want to learn and they may be happy to fully or partially fund further studies down the track.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Good Morning Christopher

You have demonstated sound initiative which is what most employers are looking for; just keep persevering.

May I add two small suggestions to what Beardy has suggested.

First: Create a portfolio of your work. Good quality photos of your work so that you can show potential employees what you have done, and also that you are proud of the quality of your work so far. It can only get better.....

Second: Keep a (private) list of every attempt that you have made to find an apprenticeship. Then, if an interviewer asks you can confidentally and truthfully answer along the floowing lines:
I have done the following:

• scanned the job vacancy boards at Centreling at least weekly,
• done on line searches at (list websites) 3 or 4 times a week,
• talked frequently to my TAFE teachers,
• asked for help on WoodworkForum (and any other websites),
• door knocked every joinery within, say, five kilometres of home, and at least 4 times each to show that you are persistent,
• talk, talk, talk to anyone who might be able to give you a lead,
• plus anything esle that you can think of.

Please note that a lot of employers have a policy of not phoning job applicants. They wait for you to ring back - he didn't ring, he was not really interested.... - A repeated two sentence call is all that's needed - "Chris here, could you please tell me if there has been any progress on my job appliocation.."

Good luck


Graeme

Thanks Graeme! I really appreciate that. I’ll keep persisting and trying these things out!

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

[/LIST]
[/I]That's exactly how I got my apprenticeship; went through the phone book and gradually moved further out from where I lived. When the distances became to far to conveniently go in person (didn't have my licence at the time), I moved to phone calls.......

Great minds and all that, Elan !

Well if you are in Auckland, I have a job for you. I am looking for a furniture maker to work full time in my workshop.

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

[/LIST]
[/I]That's exactly how I got my apprenticeship; went through the phone book and gradually moved further out from where I lived. When the distances became to far to conveniently go in person (didn't have my licence at the time), I moved to phone calls.

If you can drive a manual car (or are currently learning to do so), make sure to say so as it's definitely an advantage.

Ask if there are opportunities for further training through the company, mention any extra skills you are interested in (CNC machining, traditional polishing/finishing, woven cord or cane seats, etc). Employers generally like people who want to learn and they may be happy to fully or partially fund further studies down the track.

Good luck.

Thanks Elan. I’ll definitely let businesses know I want to learn more and grow as a furniture maker!

Originally Posted by Albert

Well if you are in Auckland, I have a job for you. I am looking for a furniture maker to work full time in my workshop.

Albert,
Im currently in Melbourne but would definitely consider shifting to NZ for the right opportunity! I travelled around NZ and visited Auckland a couple of years ago and loved it!

Originally Posted by christopherjohn

Albert,
Im currently in Melbourne but would definitely consider shifting to NZ for the right opportunity! I travelled around NZ and visited Auckland a couple of years ago and loved it!

That's the sort of attitude I like to hear.