At the moment I work in retail, bottom rung sales, and thats all shit as expected. But the main reason I hate it is working weekends is killing me, I need some good things in my life and its just ruining any chance of any of them.

Hence I need a new job. However I have no experience in anything that isn't retail (two major stints working for the same company, both in shop floor sales positions), oh and bit of voluntary teaching assistant experience in primary education.
So I'm wondering if perhaps temping isn't the best way forward?
Because if lets say I get put in data entry or anything in an office, then I can say I have some office experience. Right now I'm kind of depressed and finding it difficult to think clearly about my future, but with all the logic I can muster I'm thinking this might be best for my CV?
As in if I have experience of a few different office/working situations, and I decide what I would like to pursue, I'm more likely to have experience in something vaguely related than if I just knock around in retail any longer?
(I have a 2-1 undergrad in Psychology, for all the difference that makes)

Has anyone been a temp? How hard/horrible is it?
Some people have suggested "just start a random job and work your way up" but I really feel too shut off to even attempt that right now.

You have picked a bad time to apply to temping agencies. Because summer holidays= ever uni student out there signing up. I have always hated temping work- you have to call in everyday at 8am to see if they have work for you and more often then not they don't. Better to look for jobs with short-term contracts.

haha try living in the US. I have a college degree, 4+ years working in offices for major corporations/university. AND STILL CANT GET A FUCKING JOB

I like temping if they give me weeks at a time or months even. Not day here and there that is bullshit.

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Juices like wine, like the blood in the sands.

i was just going to start a thread exactly like this!

i was in the same situation last december - i decided i'd had enough of retail because unless you work full time you are just completely unappreciated even when you take extra responsibilities. anyway.

so i got a job as a telemarketer - they hired me even though i didn't have telemarketing experience and it was fine...so maybe you could be a telemarketer somewhere really casual?

like i thought i had the perfect job but lately i haven't been so good at it and i'm thinking i might have to quit, hence why i was going to make this sort of thread.

i've had a look on websites etc and the only kind of jobs are "childcare" (HELL NO) "office work" (requires experience ) telemarketing (i've come to realise that i am no good at trying to get money off people, it just makes me feel bad especially since we are practically in a fucking recession) and retail (NO. NOT EVER AGAIN).

so yeah. i have no idea what to do.

I don't mind child care (in the sense I have SOME experience, no real qualifications) but with office work I thought this might be the best way to get experience?
I mean, there has to be some way in?

chesh if you like phones but not trying to sell stuff why don't you look into help desk? you don't actually need to know shit most places, they have computer flow charts for that lol. relatively well paid too. try like teletech or something.

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hmm, yeah sounds alright?
people though. ugh. i wish i could find a job where i'm paid to sit in a darkened room

i would much rather have a job that has something to do with animals, since i hope to end up working with them for a real job, but there's really nothing at a part-time level. i'll keep an eye on the papers too.

yeah that's what i thought. but i mean all the ads i've seen have been all, "PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE REQUIRED" which is fucking ridiculous in my opinion. because yeah, how the fuck are you supposed to GET previous experience if they all require it?!

Tell me about it. I've been applying left and right and I still can't find something good.

Yeah. I mean I guess you could keep your eyes open for work at pet shops or whatever but that would be retail.

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Need to work in an incoming calls only call centre.. not one where you have to call people. Then you just deal with cunts yelling and crying about bills

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Juices like wine, like the blood in the sands.

I have mates who got into call-centre work and then next thing I know they're building fucking careers there. I thought they just did it because they couldn't get in the field they wanted, but noooo. Go them. I could totally handle people freaking out about their bills [btw it's YOUR FAULT, DICK. At least try to come up with a convincing lie like I do] so I should consider it. I imagine Cheshy-Chesh could too. Go for it!

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Time is the distance that you can't return by miles.

I escaped somehow. Let's go

actualy [sic] I have quite a blessed life if I'm honest. I have many people to love, hate few and have few money problem's [sic].... What more does a person need? Oh yeah and I have some kind of humbleness unlike you of course ^_^ ~ CarefulCarpenter

I am in the same boat.
I have 3+ years receptionist experience and I have been Floor Manager at a museum/IMAX theatre managing all cash drawers, concessions inventory, some gift shop inventory/putting out displays, balancing cash drawers at night for a year now.
I can't find anything that will fit my schedule once I go back to school where I can get in as a manager and make some real money.

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dithyrambic does not:
have a husband
have a child
fight over ice cream
care that you dont know who she is.

I've had temp jobs. Some were, like, temp-to-hire. If you're lucky, you get a fairly decent job, or something that is a piece of cake, even. (except watch out for control freak supervisors, who will try to make it miserable for you, no matter how good of a job it is.)

If you can get a good track record going, with a temp agency, they'll likely have other assignments for you.

or if you get a job that's terrible you could screw up really badly. the most they can do is end your assignment.

Some temp agencies will re-assign you, if you complain about not liking the job.

ugh i hate pet shops. inherently evil.

:/

yeah...hmm.
i just hate incentive-based shit? like my job was perfect until i had like ONE off day last week - and since then they have been lecturing me non-stop and i just want to yell, LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE SO I CAN GET ON WITH IT. like the more they lecture me the worse i do. it's so shithouse.

Yeah that is shithouse. I don't think my friends have to do that sort of thing in their jobs. They all work for gas/electricity company call centres. I worked in a government one once and it was the only job I ever quit.. I cannot handle phones at all hehe.

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Juices like wine, like the blood in the sands.

yeah i think it's going to be completely impossible for me to find a job that i actually enjoy - i hate customers, i hate children, i hate being bored, i hate arsehole bosses and authority figures in general. my job was seriously perfect until my boss started being a fucking dick. it's like no matter what happens, it's always our fault? like say someone hangs up on you and you tell her about it, just sort of like an anecdote - and immediately she'll be all like, "were you nice and polite and warm?" or something. it's like she doesn't understand that SOME PEOPLE ARE CUNTS, and also some people genuinely can't afford to put their freaking donation up.

also i actually really don't want to have to find another job but she is making it sound like i HAVE to - she's saying all this shit like, "you really have to do better or it just won't be cost effective" etc and it makes me feel threatened. which is really unfair in my opinion because i've been there longer than everyone else and i think i'd do much better if she stopped hassling me.

Academia, at a push? Freelance novelist?

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Time is the distance that you can't return by miles.

I escaped somehow. Let's go

actualy [sic] I have quite a blessed life if I'm honest. I have many people to love, hate few and have few money problem's [sic].... What more does a person need? Oh yeah and I have some kind of humbleness unlike you of course ^_^ ~ CarefulCarpenter