Profiling Success: Cooper G.
Q: What is your name? A: Cooper
Q: How did you originally hear about The Job Shop? A: I heard about The Job Shop through my wife. She’s an office manager for an architecture firm that uses The Job Shop for many of their hiring needs.
Q: Can you tell us a little about the permanent position you’ve been hired into? A: After several months working through The Job Shop, I was officially hired by my first assignment: ARUP, an engineering consulting firm with offices world wide. I am a project administer, responsible for various tasks related to my assigned projects, including processing RFIs and submittals, coordinating / preparing / submitting design and construction deliverables for our clients, coordinating travel and expense reports for site visits, assisting with drawing mark-ups, formatting specifications, working with engineers on various issues, and other general administrative duties that arise. It’s been almost a year now and I’m very satisfied with my experience so far. ARUP is an excellent company with great benefits.
Q: What do you think most contributed to your success in achieving a permanent position? A: I think, first and foremost, an agreable personality helped me land the permanent position. I didn’t know anything about engineering when I started, and had to ask many people many questions. In a situation like that, with no experience to carry you through, you have to be 1) very personable and easy to talk to, 2) happy to take on any assignment without push-back, and 3) dedicated to learning all that you can. If you have 1 and 2 down, your employers will cut you more slack while you’re working on 3.
Q: Do you have any tips for readers hoping to duplicate your success? A: 1) Again, be agreeable 2) Be humble – you start at the bottom, and that’s okay 3) Learn as quickly as you can 4) Demonstrate follow through – make sure people know when you’ve completed what they’ve asked of you, and keep them in the loop if there’s a delay. Don’t make you’re employer come back to you for an update. 5) Show that you’re resourceful – ask questions, but only after you’ve tried answering it for yourself. 6) Be patient. At a big firm it takes time to get hired. There are many tiers of protocol. Don’t take it personally.
Q: What did you find most helpful about working with The Job Shop? A: I was a temp for almost 8 months before getting hired, and I was told I’d be hired 1 month into my assignment. I was very frustrated at times, wondering what the future held for me at this office. On several occasions I consulted The Job Shop for guidance. The Job Shop was always in regular communication with my employer to ensure I was doing all that I could to land the job. My rep at The Job Shop always encouraged me to stay positive and patient, and sure enough everything worked out exactly as he said it would. Sometimes it just takes time.
Q: What was most challenging about your job search, and how did you overcome it? A: To be honest, searching was the easiest part of my temping experience. ARUP was my first assignment, given to me on my first day, and that was that.
Q: Anything else you’d like to add about your experience? A: Steer clear of disgruntled employees at your temp assingment. In every office, there are always those employees with an axe to grind. If you’re new, and getting to know everyone, you may very well get to know one of these people — they’re drawn to “new blood” who don’t know any better, and they’re quick to talk trash. Don’t be drawn in. Be polite. Don’t take what they say to heart. Do your job. Go home. Draw your own conclusions in your own time.
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