How to Get A Part-Time Job

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By Shannon Nee
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Get A Part-Time Job

With more people losing full-time jobs in the current economy, the competition for part-time jobs has become intense. Once the kinds of jobs that students, moms, artists, and actors went for, now "real" workers from the 9-to-5 world need them too. Here's how to improve your chances for a part-time position, whether that's exactly what you're looking for, or just need it as a bridge to something better.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

A short resume done in Word or other resume-editing software
An clean and pressed interviewing outfit
Your own pencil and pen

Step 1

Don't Be Overqualified. Since the typical part-time job outside a professional setting pays a low hourly wage, lower yourself to an equivalent level. No matter how successful you've been, be vague about it, and don't go back more than 10 years unless you're looking for PT work in a professional setting (see Tips). Break down your prior employment into super-simple pharases like "past five years worked in sales department of golf company." Save the "VP of Sales and Marketing for XYZ Golf" for another resume.
Step 2

Don't Be Too Old. Sorry, but this is the truth. If you're over 25 (crazy, but true!), be selective about where you apply. Unfortunately, ageism is rampant in any corporate-owned store or restaurant, and will usually select a younger person over an older one (apart from places like Wal-Mart). When you apply, be friendly, simple, and modest in your resume and in person--employers don't care about your hard-earned wisdom and experience. As a matter of fact, that will only reinforce your age to them, so leave it alone.
Step 3

Find Job Openings. Go to your search engine and type in Part Time Jobs (your city). It will probably bring up Monster and a host of other job placement engines. Dive in and refine the searches. Also look in your city's Craigslist ads, newspaper classifieds (print and online editions), neighborhood newspapers (often stacked on stands at grocery stores), free city weeklies (often found at independent coffee shops, book shops, and grocery stores), and postings anywhere you can find them. Word of mouth may work too, as might placing your own ad for Position Wanted in Craigslist, etc. (see Tips).
Step 4

Go Door To Door. It's profitable to put on your interview outfit and go to hotel, retail, restaurant, and retirement developments and look for Help Wanted signs or ask for listings at a customer service or human resources office. Ask if there's a manager avaiable to meet, and introduce yourself. It couldn't hurt, and may open the door to a future opportunity if he or she lets you fill out an application.
Step 5

Be Good Looking. As possible, that is. Decide on a sure-shot interview outfit and wear it religiously. Many part-time jobs are found in retail and hospitality settings (restaurants, hotels, etc.) and to look your very best is a definite advantage. It seems obvious, but it's really surprising to see how many people show up asking for work with lingerie straps and cleavage on the rampage, or a wrinkled shirt and ungroomed--even dirty--hair. Twirling a sign in a cow suit might be more in line for such as these.
Step 6

Be Smart and Polite. Come prepared with your simple, one-page resume. If you're trying for a high-end retail or professional office setting, it has to be perfect. But believe it or not, a misspelling or grammar mistake here and there is not that critical for the average part-time application. What does matter is that it is written smartly, using key words like "responsible, reliable, upbeat, positive, friendly (and in sales "competitive" and "profit-driven"). What a manager is looking for is someone who isn't a complainer or gossip, and will show up on time and work hard, whether that person is 16 or 60.