How I did it: I applied everywhere, and was let down a LOT. The fact is that I just didn't have enough experience to compete with other people who were trying for the same job. I became really discouraged, because I'm eighteen, and still relying on my parents. Not a good feeling. I basically got lucky and fell into my job. My friend Liz in my acting class told me that her place of work (Great Wolf Lodge) was having a hiring day, and that I should fill out an application and go. So I did, and I brought my resume and had it in a nice plastic cover (it never hurts). There were over 200 people there, and we were all interviewed at different tables in a huge room; it was really unnerving. I was interview by the lodge's restaurant chef, which was a bust because I know nothing about cooking. I was then interviewed by the restaurant's manager--who loved my youthfulness! To think, the one thing that I thought would keep me from getting a job (I'm 18, but I look 14), got me one! She hired me on the spot as a hostess.

Lessons & tips: Be yourself. The best version of yourself. Highlight what is interesting and unique about you, be willing to talk and laugh with your interviewer. My interviewer pretty much hired me because I was friendly; and that's exactly what my position calls for.

Resources: If you're in college, or even high school, see the counselor or work adviser, and set up a time when they can help you with your resume. I dragged my feet for months about writing a resume; I thought that since I had no real work experience, I had nothing to put on a resume. You do! Trust me, just the fact that you brought a resume to an interview, regardless of what is on it, could get you a job.

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Mar 01, 2009, 11:12AM PST | 2 comments | 2 cheers