Even if You Have to Work at McDonald’s
People sometimes post about losing their jobs on some of the message boards that I frequent. Often, the advice is to get a job, any job, “even if you have to work at McDonald’s” while continuing to hunt for a position in their desired field. I’ve never worked retail or fast food while trying to find another job, so I can’t say whether or not that is good advice, but I wonder just how easy it IS to get a job like that when you’re overqualified.
When I realized a while back that my business needed more time to grow before I could make a living from it, I began searching around for a job. Any job. My only requirement was that it be within a few miles of home. (And I live in an area that is surrounded by hundreds of businesses.) I applied at grocery stores, video stores, retail shops at the mall, and a whole bunch of mom & pop small businesses in the area.
NO ONE wanted to hire me, even though I was willing to work full time and almost any day or time. I was also willing to commit to at least a year. No one even called me back or interviewed me while I was there. (And they were hiring, at least according to the people I talked to.) I finally got a job the old-fashioned way: my husband’s work needed some extra help “for a few days”, so they were willing to give me a shot. I’ve been there a little over a year now.
How viable of an option do you think the “McDonald’s” route is if you find yourself needing a job?
Wow. I am surprised they were not willing to hire you.
I have worked as a cashier and my husband has worked in fast food even though we both had college degrees. Something that might have helped us is that we worked in the cafeteria while in college and we both were student supervisors. We both also worked at McDonalds in high school and had excellent recommendations.
I’ve since left my cashier position and moved on, but my husband still works fast food and it’s been 5 years since he graduated from college. We choose to live in an area that doesn’t have jobs for his degree so he’s worked there just to pay some bills. Right now, though, he’s working on getting his business to the point where he can finally quit.