Stuck in retail hell

March 16, 2011 9:21 AM

Should I apply for a temp agency to kickstart my stalled career? Snowflaking inside.

Hi everyone,

Okay, a little background first!

When I moved to San Francisco in 2006, I got a job as an intern at a PR Agency that specializes in nonprofits and for profits, and I realized I loved working with nonprofits. I got promoted from intern to AC to AAE within two years, then stupidly quit just before the economy tanked because I couldn't handle the stress of always being a salesman for big corporations I didn't believe in. I also wanted to get into working for nonprofits full time.

So, I'm an idiot and spent 7 months unemployed, sending out, at last count, 300 resumes to goddamn EVERYTHING before finally landing a job as a barista. About a year ago, I volunteered for a nonprofit for 3 months before it dissolved while working the barista job part time, and I think that was relevant enough that I got the occasional interview for a nonprofit, but I never landed the job. I got promoted to Assistant Manager, and I've never stopped applying to nonprofits, but in the last 6 months, I've stopped even getting callbacks. About a year ago, I started applying for administrative, communications, development and writing jobs in for profit and nonprofit organizations, but to no avail. I have about 3 years admin work, 2 years communications, and well, 3 months development experience.

So what do I do to make myself relevant? I work 5, sometimes 6 days a week, so I don't really have room to volunteer dependably at a nonprofit. I don't want people to throw out my resume just because it says "Coffee Shop" at the top.

What should I do? Should I work for a temp agency to show I have these administrative skills? Quit my job and try to find a part time one where I can volunteer on my days off? Keep doing what I'm doing and keep my fingers crossed? Go to school?

Is it relevant that I'm 28? God I hope not. I feel like I'm getting too old to get an entry level position and will be stuck in retail until I die.

Thanks everyone! I'm sorry this question's a little vague.

posted by OrangeDrink to Work & Money (10 answers total)

Best answer: How much control do you have over your schedule? Could you do mornings or afternoons at a nonprofit as an intern or volunteer, even just two days a week? When I was getting started, I worked at a bookstore nearly full time and had a part time paid job at a nonprofit so I left the bookstore off my resume and just put the nonprofit. Good luck!
posted by kat518 at 9:25 AM on March 16, 2011

Best answer: OrangeDrink: I don't want people to throw out my resume just because it says "Coffee Shop" at the top.

Unless you are applying to the food services industry, your resume should NOT say "coffee shop" at the top. You need to switch to a skills-based CV that highlights your relevant experience, pronto.
posted by DarlingBri at 9:27 AM on March 16, 2011 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: (I should note that the thing about quitting wasn't a joke - I have plenty of money saved up, and if I thought it would pan out, I would happily spend 6 months volunteering/job seeking with no income)
posted by OrangeDrink at 9:27 AM on March 16, 2011

San Francisco is big enough that you can sign up for several temp agencies and get enough work (if you're skilled enough) to make a good living and get the experience you need and desire. I did this for many many years in a different city/state but for different reasons. Don't just go with one temp agency, sign up with two or three - I had my resume in at five and I hardly ever wanted for work. Yes, some weeks I made a little above minimum wage but others I made a lot more than minimum wage - that was one of the things I liked about working temp... that and the variety of work places.
posted by patheral at 9:35 AM on March 16, 2011

You should have someone with over-developed writing skills and a mean streak take a red pen to your resume. Twice. If you're not getting callbacks, there is probably something wrong with the resume and or cover letter. If your current job has any relevant aspects, like management duties, it might be something you can use, hence the need to do a proper job describing it on the resume.

Also, you should seriously consider trying to network with non-profit types, and possibly use your current connections to find a mentor who can help you. As for your current job that pays the bills, if you want to adjust your schedule, most employers would probably accept, "I want to make time in my schedule for some charitable work" or the like as a justification.
posted by Hylas at 10:04 AM on March 16, 2011

Best answer: Seconding temping as a good option. Don't know what it's like in San Francisco, but in DC there are tons of opportunities to do relevant work in fields/for organizations you actually are interested in. I temped at a non-profit for six months and then they hired me right out of college.

In my experience temping was vastly preferable to interning because I got paid a LIVING wage, I was expected to actually do real work and handle real responsibilities, people were nicer/more respectful as I was working in the capacity as a professional, and I got to pick and choose which jobs I wanted to accept based on how they would enhance my resume.

I would recommend signing on with a bunch of agencies. For me the best agencies were also the smaller more boutique ones- they got to know me personally and really did a good job of making sure I was happy with what I was doing. Lots of non-profits use temps, so I would say call up some non-profits that you'd love to work for to find out what temp agencies they use, keep your current gig, and wait until one of the agencies offers you something that looks good to you.
posted by forkisbetter at 10:16 AM on March 16, 2011

I got my break into non-profits by temping. I definitely recommend talking to them. Also, I wholeheartedly want to agree with the idea that you shouldn't be applying to these jobs with a resume that lists coffee shop on top.
posted by Zophi at 10:40 AM on March 16, 2011

Best answer: Don't limit yourself. Apply with several temp services, apply for other jobs, and look into the Taproot Foundation. Taproot brings together professionals to work with non-profits on specific projects. The projects usually run about 5 months, and I've been very impressed by everybody I've worked with through them. That will give you the kind of experience you want to have on your resume, will expand your network, and will bring you into close contact with a number of non-profits.
posted by willnot at 1:44 PM on March 16, 2011

Response by poster: Awesome, guys. I think I'm going to try to cut my work week down to just the weekends and temp/volunteer on the side. Really great advice.
posted by OrangeDrink at 7:58 PM on March 16, 2011

Continuing to volunteer when you can is great - and if you'd like things that fit well into your new temping-plus-barista-weekends schedule, take a look at VolunteerMatch. Many of their opportunities are for very short-term things - often, things that only involve one day.

Here's a search for San Francisco:

VolunteerMatch San Francisco

That list turns up several volunteering opportunities that don't require a huge commitment:

Informational Career Fair - 1 day
Beach Cleanup - 1 day (I think)
Earth Day cleanup and landscaping - 1 day

I think the temp agency approach sounds like a great plan.

Good luck!
posted by kristi at 6:01 PM on March 17, 2011