Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

My roommate and I both have jobs that don't afford us a lot of contact with people our age and we're looking to remedy that. My roommate worked at several J. Crews throughout college and always met a ton of girls that were on staff and customers. Anyway, that sounded pretty good to me and today we applied for jobs at J. Crew in our local mall.

Anyway, I guess the crux of the post is that I'm really getting cold feet about actually taking the job (roommate is friends w/ the managers and they said pretty much no problem getting it). My pride is really getting in the way and I keep telling myself that making slightly over minimum wage and working retail after university is pretty embarrassing. Case in point my roommate and I were hanging out with a girl that I went to university with who is now attending law school and when he told her we were thinking about it she just laughed at me and said that didn't sound like me at all.

So I guess I'm wondering if any other 2p2ers have ever done something like this and if they had any sort of problems doing it. How many hours a week did you dedicate too? I'm only looking to do 8-14 or so.

Also, are there any, better alternatives? I think most forms of volunteering stink and my roommate won't do them anyway (and I want to work with him). Get a job at an equally social place (bar?)? Local sports leagues are another option but I don't like winter options (volleyball, basketball) but I'll be joining the spring soccer league. I'm really hoping there are other people out there like me who can give some opinions or stories or whatever.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

Every restaurant I've ever worked in was extremely social during and after work. The pay is much better, the crowd is rowdier, and hopefully you won't have to work in a mall. Working retail in a mall sounds just terrible.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

haha, yeah lets see how long this lasts when you spend 15 minutes everyday flirting with girls and then get stuck folding clothes in the back for six hours.

At least bartending or waiting tables will pay a bit better and is in an environment where it will be much easier to meet people.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

Is money any aspect of this situation?

Should you go to Grad school?

Ken

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

I would rather work in a bar/coffee place than in a mall I think. Especially J. Crew.
But that's just me. If you heard that you can meet all kinds of people including some half-decent girls then it wouldn't surprise me.

I think your hang-ups about taking such an unspectacular job might get in your way though. If somebody laughs then why do you care wtf they think?

I also think there are ways of meeting other people and/or friends than taking a job in retail. But my social-life is pretty minimal lately so I probably shouldn't talk.
I played rec-soccer for several years and made some friends and had fun. But not really any close friendships imo even though we would go out to bars after games sometimes, etc.
Mostly just a bunch of people whose names I knew who I would see a couple times a week to play soccer with.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

It comes down to what matters to you. You've got the rest of your to be an office stiff. While you're in your 20s, doing what you want and meeting hot girls is pretty much priority, TBH this preppy stuff just sounds like BS to me. I went through a similar phase after college, I hated the work I was qualified for and couldn't stand a 9-5, so I swallowed my pride and went and worked in a club. Yeah it's a drop on the social scale, and some people do think less of you for it (especially if you were a preppy [censored] before), but those people are usually old way before their time and probably not worth the trouble.

Dumb question: why aren't clubs an option? If you're not shy they're such an easy way to meet people. I don't understand the point of getting a job just to meet people if you already have one. Also, your other ideas (volunteering, etc) suck.

edit: also, bar >>>>>> mall. If you live in a touristy place, resorts are great as well.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

Ken_AA,
The money at this job isn't important and probably would just be spent going out. I haven't done enough post college to get into a grad school that I'd want to and it may not be the right career path for me anyway.

Noah & LFS,
Do you think it will suck that much? I worked clothing retail once for a summer at the beach once and it was basically busy in spurts and the rest of the time was goofing off w/ employees. I really think restaurant/bar would be better and there are a lot around me. Should I give J. Crew a chance for a few weeks?

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

Bar/club/beach bar and club ftw.

JCrew? Am I being leveled?? Good luck learning the triple fold or whatever gap girls do.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

RF,

Working retail when you are a pimply-faced 15 year old sucks. Doing it when you don't really need to money is going to be so bad that you will quit after a week and think "wtf was i thinking". It borders on mind-numbing.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

i've been thinking of this myself lately:

http://southwestflorida.files.wordpr.../starbucks.jpg

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

at least starbucks gives good benefits for PT people.

as BaristaBob all about it.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

[ QUOTE ]
My roommate and I both have jobs that don't afford us a lot of contact with people our age and we're looking to remedy that.

[/ QUOTE ]

I totally hear ya man. I am an accountant, and I recently quit cause I hated the atmosphere at my job. I'll still stick with the industry, but work at a different company with better atmosphere.

Working accounts for so much of your time, so you definetely want it to be a social place. Like others have said, a clothing store isn't your only option. If you do work retail or some job beneath you, there are clothing stores and such where it isn't high schoolers working there. Restaurants have a social staff. Clubs have skanks rolling in left and right. I myself am gonna try a co-ed touch football league. I'm signing up as an individual, cause I find that if I'm on a team with buddies, I won't meet as many new people.

By the way, how old are you? I'm 30 and still in the game, trying new strategies all the time.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

I'd rather take a photography class or something like that.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

Where do you live?

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

Why not just work for an organization with lots of younger people (21-25)? The company I ended up accepting a job from hires mostly recent college grads and the job I took takes advantage of the skills I've learned.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

[ QUOTE ]
Bar/club/beach bar and club ftw.


[/ QUOTE ]

OP this is what you should be doing if you want to meat girls.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Bar/club/beach bar and club ftw.


[/ QUOTE ]

OP this is what you should be doing if you want to meat girls.

[/ QUOTE ]
Freudian slip FTW.

Its true too. I think J-Crew staff and customers has a lot of high school girls while bars have older girls. I guess its up to you whether that's a problem.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

River,

I know where you're at man. The complete mundane surrounding in most corporate offices can make somebody certifiable. However there is an easy way to meet tons of young girls you can impress in your time off. Sign up for some classes at your local community college. Foreign languages or maybe some type of sports class or even some art if you're feeling frisky.

I re-enrolled in a small jc to pick up a special technical certification and was amazed at how many young hot girls are present. Granted I'm a complete spaz so I only hooked up with one chick in the time there but since you have a job and a little money you'd do quite well in that setting.

[censored] J-crew, you want a part time job work construction or something on the weekend so you can stay in shape mentally and physically. Working all week and then following it up by couch-potating all weekend is terrible for your body and mind.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

taking a crappy job to meet girls is like shooting yourself in the foot hoping to get prescribed vicodin. i mean yeah it might work, but it's a miserable and degrading way to get something that you can acquire just as easily with a little effort or ingenuity.

if you do insist on doing it, working in a bar is the way to go and it's not close.

but other options, like recreational sports, night classes, travel, etc are all superior to this. just pick something you like to do and there is probably a way to get involved with strangers by doing it.

also, learn to throw a good barbecue or have a good party, even if not many people come at first you will definitely get more friends if you are known for having a good time. just don't whore your house out to whatever idiot walks through the door hoping to make friends.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

[ QUOTE ]

[censored] J-crew, you want a part time job work construction or something on the weekend so you can stay in shape mentally and physically. Working all week and then following it up by couch-potating all weekend is terrible for your body and mind.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can't totally agree on the construction part only because I know construction jobs have a lot of uneducated dimwitted idiots who can't perform any job that requires thinking. I'm not saying that about all of them, but there are alot fo guys like that.

The part about working during the week and then couch-potatoing or socially isolating yourself on a weekend is the complete truth; especially if your job isn't very social.

I was in that exact situation. My jobs social atmosphere just blew, and my weekend social life was diminishing as my #1 drinking wingman got into a more serious relationship. Lack of socializing at work + Lack of socializing on weekends + Not getting laid can totally f**k with your head.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

[ QUOTE ]
My pride is really getting in the way and I keep telling myself that making slightly over minimum wage and working retail after university is pretty embarrassing.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am more embarrassed by the fact that I am unemployed than I ever would be for working at J. Crew.

For what it's worth, I believe that thinking you are too good for something is rarely the way to go. Do what makes you happy and don't worry about how other people view you because of it.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

[ QUOTE ]
at least starbucks gives good benefits for PT people.

as BaristaBob all about it.

[/ QUOTE ]

OH HAY

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

[ QUOTE ]


I can't totally agree on the construction part only because I know construction jobs have a lot of uneducated dimwitted idiots who can't perform any job that requires thinking.

[/ QUOTE ]

yes because you can do hard manual labor all day just with the force of your brain. douche. aside from that, there are a lot of trade skills in the construction industry that take time and aptitude to acquire. it does in fact require thinking as well as being physically challenging. unlike your post.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


I can't totally agree on the construction part only because I know construction jobs have a lot of uneducated dimwitted idiots who can't perform any job that requires thinking.

[/ QUOTE ]

yes because you can do hard manual labor all day just with the force of your brain. douche. aside from that, there are a lot of trade skills in the construction industry that take time and aptitude to acquire. it does in fact require thinking as well as being physically challenging. unlike your post.

[/ QUOTE ]

I just threw it out there b/c I've been largely an academic my life and I'm intrigued with construction, carpentry, metallurgy and all that stuff.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

surf,

i did a lot of different, physically taxing jobs during and directly after my undergrad years... i think it's a good experience and i find it very edifying in a way that white-collar work is not. i have built stone walls, chimneys etc that will probably still be standing two hundred years after i'm dead. that's pretty neat. i can drive around my old town and see things that i made with my own hands, that people i have never met are now using and enjoying.

i think people who look down on laborers or skilled tradesmen really have no idea what goes into good craftsmanship and would certainly not last a day on most work sites.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


I can't totally agree on the construction part only because I know construction jobs have a lot of uneducated dimwitted idiots who can't perform any job that requires thinking.

[/ QUOTE ]

yes because you can do hard manual labor all day just with the force of your brain. douche. aside from that, there are a lot of trade skills in the construction industry that take time and aptitude to acquire. it does in fact require thinking as well as being physically challenging. unlike your post.

[/ QUOTE ]

Listen man, I'm not saying all construction workers fit that description I made. Not all of them. Quite a few do. I know construction is mostly men, which is not who the OP had in mind for meeting. I've met enough guys who work in construction to know that my comment was not ignorant.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

[ QUOTE ]
surf,

i did a lot of different, physically taxing jobs during and directly after my undergrad years... i think it's a good experience and i find it very edifying in a way that white-collar work is not. i have built stone walls, chimneys etc that will probably still be standing two hundred years after i'm dead. that's pretty neat. i can drive around my old town and see things that i made with my own hands, that people i have never met are now using and enjoying.

i think people who look down on laborers or skilled tradesmen really have no idea what goes into good craftsmanship and would certainly not last a day on most work sites.

[/ QUOTE ]

thats pretty cool, I've always tried to teach myself some craftsman skills but I think I need to take intensive instruction or something. That part of my brain doesn't work well without being taught. I have some family in the midwest who do construction and own a couple hardware stores so I know i could do that but its definitely not a trade you can teach yourself.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

thephenom,

no, it was pretty ignorant. even construction workers who are not academic / white collar types still have trade skills that you most certainly do not. they are not 'too dumb to do a job that requires any thinking,' they just aren't pushing pencils all day. the fact that you are ignorant about what their job consists of is precisely why your comment is retarded and condescending.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

[ QUOTE ]

thats pretty cool, I've always tried to teach myself some craftsman skills but I think I need to take intensive instruction or something. That part of my brain doesn't work well without being taught.

[/ QUOTE ]

i don't know what your life / work situation is, but if you meet some guys who are in this type of industry it's not hard to find part time, cash work. my brain is the same way, i really suck at teaching myself skilled tasks and i am horribly impatient, so on-the-job training is really the only way i would ever have learned stuff like that.

as far as part-time, non-specialized work goes it's hard to do better than under the table construction or contracting work.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

Thanks for all the responses so far, I appreciate them.

Is barista really better than J. Crew? I'm not totally convinced that it would be. Seems like you'd have less chance to interact with customers from behind a counter and the coworkers are probably younger. J. Crew is 18+ and everyone in there today seemed 20-25 and pretty sociable (plus several cute employees).

I'm only looking to do this job for 4-10 weeks max and no more than 12hours/week. Like I said since I don't like the winter sports available I'm trying to figure out what to do until spring soccer.

Taking a class seems like another great idea, I'll have to start checking out local options.

For people talking about clubs I didn't really think it was applicable to me but maybe I should give it more consideration. I'm not big enough to bounce and I'm guessing bartending jobs are pretty sought after - do I have other options? Is there anything to do with them that don't eat up my Thurs-Sat nights but would still be enjoyable?

My weekends are generally fine. I have a lot of friends from high school and university that live close so I always have options of things to do on the weekends.

Thanks for everything so far, I'm going to go scout out some local restaurant/bars tomorrow and see if I can find anything that sounds good.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

NT,

I don't know anything about construction other than what basic tools are and a few simple skills. What would my construction options be - laying shingles? Cleaning up debris? I'm pretty curious.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

NT,

I'm sorry, but most guys in labor unions have some of the worst work ethic I've ever met in my life. Their goal for pretty much all of them is to just work enough in a year so they can collect unemployment for the rest of the year and get their year of service in the Union.

One one hand, I can understand because busting your ass in the Union isn't going to get you anywhere and it just means you'll be doing more work than the lazy ass that's getting paid the same as you. On the other hand though, they don't do things to better themselves.

Perfect case in point :

Last year, I was working on a project that was 7 days a week and anywhere between 10-12 hour days. In PA, the guys got stright time M-F for their first 8 hours and then one and a half after. Saturday, all day was one and a half and Sunday, they got double time. Out of 15 guys on that project, we'd get lucky to have 3 of them show up on Sunday. Their excuse for not coming? "[censored] that, I'm not working 7 days in a row!"

I still to this day can not get over the fact that these dumbasses would skip working a day of doubletime so they could sit at home and drink beer all day Sunday, and that's exactly what they did do as they told me. Never once did it occur to them that they could work Sunday for double time and take Monday off if they wanted to sit at home and drink beer all day.

GOD, I'm getting pissed just typing this up. These [censored] ruined almost a month and a half of my life because we were so behind schedule, which was the reason for a killer work schedule in the first place.

------------

This just isn't a one time thing either. I've worked with labor unions all around and it's the same [censored], different pile. Sure, you did have your skilled and/or intelligent guys that would use the labor union as a stepping stone to better themselves, but must labor union guys are just content with just doing enough to survive.

To me, you don't get much more stupid than that.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

iggywh why do all ur posts suck and you have such a whiny tone. go back to some 2p2 barcrawl with strangers where your bs is tolerated ducy?

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

get a job at a bar. I just moved to a new city and got a job at a bar and I have met tons of people.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

[ QUOTE ]
NT,

I don't know anything about construction other than what basic tools are and a few simple skills. What would my construction options be - laying shingles? Cleaning up debris? I'm pretty curious.

[/ QUOTE ]

you would start off as a laborer and move up as you acquired skills. i would recommend being an assistant to a skilled tradesman, like a carpenter or a mason. this is what i did (masonry). i started off mixing mud, breaking and hauling rocks, etc but within not much time i had a chance to lay some stones myself.

in general i prefer working with a few guys rather than on a big site or something. if you worked for a general contractor or on a big construction site, yeah you'd probably start off removing debris, carrying materials, really mundane stuff. on the other hand, if you were part of a crew for a while you might have a chance to do more of a variety of tasks than if you just worked for a specialized tradesman, but i would still prefer something like what i did.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

iggy,

wtf does this have to do with unions? i've never been part of a union, and the majority of people working in private contracting aren't in unions either. if they had the attitude you describe, they would be broke and out of business in a hurry.

[ QUOTE ]
n PA, the guys got stright time M-F for their first 8 hours and then one and a half after. Saturday, all day was one and a half and Sunday, they got double time. Out of 15 guys on that project, we'd get lucky to have 3 of them show up on Sunday. Their excuse for not coming? "[censored] that, I'm not working 7 days in a row!"

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah wow, lol at that, what kind of pussy doesn't want to put in 100 hours a week of manual labor? abolish the weekend amirite? you don't see doctors, lawyers, bankers, or stock brokers taking days off.

i really don't know why you are bringing up all this union crap.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

We must just live in two different worlds. The work I did was in construction, but they were always with private contractors who had to hire labor union guys. I guess the labor unions had contracts with the places I did work at, such as power plants and natural gas companies. You must not be in that same situation.

But anyway, these guys were always poor and always bitched about money, yet were too stupid to work on a day that they were getting paid double time. Then, if they really wanted a day off, take the next day off where you're just making straight time.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

iggy how stupid are you dude?

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

[ QUOTE ]

But anyway, these guys were always poor and always bitched about money, yet were too stupid to work on a day that they were getting paid double time. Then, if they really wanted a day off, take the next day off where you're just making straight time.

[/ QUOTE ]

i don't know if this occured to you, but you are not required to be at work on sunday. if you want to miss a monday, you have to use sick time or vacation time, and if you are in the habit of taking mondays off after working on sunday, your boss is going to notice and you're going to have a problem.

but these guys are too dumb to realize this, being union guys and all, so i'm sure they were just being lazy.

Re: Post College-getting a menial PT sales/retail job to meet people
 

iggy,

I usually enjoy your posts and what not, but this is a little off the deep end. You seem like a guy who is gonna work themselves into an early grave. Maybe their other friends had sundays off as well or their wives did. Not everyone wants to live the same way you do. You know how it goes everybody is just working for the weekend, or in your case you're just working.