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So, I have mentioned I have worked at a water park several times here. Despite while graduating this june, my mom made me go back saying "Its gonna be hard finding a job right out of school, get some money while searching so you can have some, I know you hate not working too" And reluctantly I did. Pretty much I didnt want too because, and I know this is gonna sound petty and really elitist, but I didnt want to be in a job where my supervisors where younger then me and I had to be around teenagers AGAIN.
So I thought pretty much I will apply to appease my mom all the while thinking "Ill apply for jobs all this quarter, and if I get one, ditch this before I start in june"
But then my boss said she will make me a team leader or even a supervisor of an area being the only one to come back in that area.
Im torn, because I dont want to burn any bridges, screw up one of the few refrences and leave them High and Dry with no one knowing how to do something cause I really like my boss.
And being a supervisor would look good on a resume I think, even if it is in a gakky waterpark.
But it can be realy miserable at times, especially with the heat.
Dakka, Can I get your advice?

Do it. Returning to the same seasonal job over and over may not seem like much, but it shows that you are reliable, and good at what you do for a place with a high turnover rate to keep hiring you back, and thats not even counting what good the promotion will do to you. It's one more season, wait until a month or 2 before closing to start applying elsewhere. Then you can say it was because of the fact that it is seasonal. You walk away with guaranteed money, and a better resume.

Do it. What Lord Bane said again.

There's a saying: "It's easier to look for a job when you already have one." There's less pressure on you to find a job and you won't end up in a situation where you can come off as desperate, or end up taking another crappy job just because you need it. Money's money, and turning down a job when you don't have one usually isn't the best choice.

Also, you're right about the supervisor bit. Case in point: I have a friend who's worked at her current job for a couple years now after having worked retail for years, then going back to school. She just got a pretty hefty promotion, chosen over people with more experience in said job, based heavily on the fact that it's a management-type position and the other people applying went straight from school to their current job, never having spent any time doing anything as basic as being a shift supervisor in a small store or burger joint.

Especially these days, where employers often scan resumes for keywords without ever looking through them until a computer program comes up with a short list, having a supervisor job on your resume can be a big step up.

Take it. Jobs a job and experience as a team leader will look great on cv.. It shows trust, responsible, reliable.plus at end of the day you make a nice bit of money.

You're right it sounds petty and elitist. You got something better lined up? Go for it. If not, accept that you're young and need experience, and an early start at developing leadership is an awesome boon for later in life. If you ever start thinking you're too big for something when you've got nothing else to fall back on then you've got some serious problems.

Take the job.
It's cash in your pocket now, It means there are no blank spots in your CV, and you have more things to put in it.
It'll look better when you're applying for your next job.
Even if you hate it at the moment, it's not the only job you'll ever have.

 Inquisitor Lord Bane wrote:
Do it. Returning to the same seasonal job over and over may not seem like much, but it shows that you are reliable, and good at what you do for a place with a high turnover rate to keep hiring you back, and thats not even counting what good the promotion will do to you. It's one more season, wait until a month or 2 before closing to start applying elsewhere. Then you can say it was because of the fact that it is seasonal. You walk away with guaranteed money, and a better resume.

You can even say this whole post during interviews. It'll make you sound really good, specially sticking with a high turn over job. It's only a few months, it'll go by quickly

Also you won't leave them high and dry; its a swimming pool job: you are quite replaceable just provide a polite excuse at the earliest opportunity.

People generally will not begrudge someone bettering themselves.

Does this job in any way relate to your career? Are there prospects in your career field?

 hungryp wrote:
There's a saying: "It's easier to look for a job when you already have one." Money's money. Also, you're right about the supervisor bit.

Especially these days, where employers often scan resumes for keywords without ever looking through them until a computer program comes up with a short list, having a supervisor job on your resume can be a big step up.

Agreed on this. The waterpark might be a crappy place, but "supervisor" looks good on paper and money in your pocket is never wrong. And taking the job while looking for one fitting your education can also be seen as a good thing by a prospective employer. It shows you're not afraid of working even if it's "beneath" you.

How to make the guy reading your CV understand that is another thing, but I'm sure you can find a sneaky way of implying as much. ;-)

Making some money is better than making no money. Also, as a hiring manager, all other things being equal, I'm more likely to go for the person that is currently holding down a job than the person living at home with mom and not working.

I've worked in a highly dynamic recruitment agency since I was 15. Which I should be doing right now admittedly, but I'll lend an ear.

Firstly, take the supervisor role, #1 for the money and #2 because managerial experience, no matter where it is, is fantastic on a CV, and the larger a team, the better.

Second, you work with kids? That's customer service, that's excellent. You work with kids, who are essentially the equivilent maturity as angry consumers. If you go into any customer facing role, from shop assistant, call centre agent, to a mortgage agent, being able to deal with unreasonable, illogical people is a great skill.

You return to the same seasonal work, you're reliable, good. And you'll have a great reference.

Finally, when that better job comes along, you can leave. Unless you've signed an ironclad contract, an important part of having a job, particularly if you want to move to a profession, is having the politeness, directness and respect for your colleagues to look them dead in the eye and say "Thank you for the time you've given me here, but I've been offered a position here and I want to take it. Thanks and goodbye." There's no need to justify it by saying "better money" or "its a better profession," that makes it sound like you're trying to get a raise or promotion. OR even if you just want to move on, having the balls to admit that instead of beating around the bush will land you a handshake and a good luck and a good reference.



Good luck with the job hunting!

Don't feel guilty about leaving when you find a better job. Never feel guilty. Neither the employer nor the employee owes either anything but what they contribute and what they're paid.

 kronk wrote:
Don't feel guilty about leaving when you find a better job. Never feel guilty. Neither the employer nor the employee owes either anything but what they contribute and what they're paid.

This is honestly something I felt weird about. In alot of jobs, they at the end of the day my boss would sometimes give me a hug and say "Thanks for coming in" and I would always feel "Um well, I just did what I got paid for, why thank me" and they would laugh at me.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 kronk wrote:
Don't feel guilty about leaving when you find a better job. Never feel guilty. Neither the employer nor the employee owes either anything but what they contribute and what they're paid.

This is honestly something I felt weird about. In alot of jobs, they at the end of the day my boss would sometimes give me a hug and say "Thanks for coming in" and I would always feel "Um well, I just did what I got paid for, why thank me" and they would laugh at me.

It's the difference between having a job because you need it and doing your job well because you enjoy or take pride in it. Simple managerial tools that on the surface may appear silly but in truth add a lot to productivity. You're going to get little in the way of pride from most burger flippers and at the other end contractors are only interested in the money. There's a whole gamut of people in the middle that want a good wage and respectability. I know that if I treated my boys with no more value than what they were paid I would lose a lot of very skilled people over night. Plus I don't like to go out of my way to be an arsehole.

I can empathize.. My first job after graduating was also pretty soul destroying.

But looking back it was an experience I had to go through.

I worked there for around 10 months, and the job I got after, I only got due to the experience I had gained in the first job.

3 years later I now run my own company, based in the same sector that I hated working in when I first graduated, and I love my work life now..

Its a reality of the job-searching environment in many countries that a decent proportion of people will have to slog through the mud before they reach the job they really want.. Just grin and bear it, take the money, and keep your mind looking ahead to better times.

If you have a negative attitude about this job as a supervisor (or any job really), it can easily transfer to your fellow employees.

Think of the positives of your position: you are there to help people and families to have FUN...to get out and hopefully bond with each other...to make some memories!

There are times when the smell of GI bleeds, vomit, and other unsightly bodily conditions make me want to run screaming from my work. Then I think about why those people came to me..to my hospital...and I think about the impact my attitude and actions can have on them and their healing process.

But when you stop to think about the positive impact that you can have on people and even the world....in ANY position....it gives you a different feeling.

I used to be a plumber/HVAC assistant in college. Was not very glorious work at all, as I did alot of "go-fer" ing (go fer this, go fer that).

However....when I go back to the city I worked in, I see an Arena that *I*actually helped build. I see building that help educate people (new community college buildings). I see a new hospital expansion that has helped so many sick people.

Your employment can be positive...just look for it and enjoy it!! If you don't find the positive in it, it will reflect when you have to discuss it during interviews (what you learned, how you managed, etc).

And yes....I echo the sentiments above....take the job, learn how to LEAD a team!

Take the job. Not just because 'supervisor' looks good, but because an internal promotion looks great on the resume - that signals to future employees that people in your last job genuinely liked the work you did and respected your capabilities enough to promote you.

And yeah, I understand that it's a sucky job that you're sick of. But that will be almost certainly true of every job you work. Even the jobs you really love and take pride in will be full of tasks that are boring, annoying or frustrating. That's just life. And getting used to that, and getting the discipline to keep slugging away with an eye on the final prize is a much under-rated skill in life.

I think I will take it, been wanting to get an airbrush so i need money lol
Besides, I have read up on quite a bit of "What to do after graduating" and several said what amounts to not rushing out there or getting stressed about finding a job, and there is no shame in taking a job.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
I think I will take it

Any job is better than no job but look forward to the day when you can leave and never, ever have to do that kind of job ever again.

I washed dishes for about 7 years (mostly during school/university holidays) but also full time for about 18 months. Its a terrible job with no real redeeming features other than availability (not much else was available at home). One of my happiest memories is finishing my last ever shift secure in the knowledge that I was moving on to (much) better things.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 kronk wrote:
Don't feel guilty about leaving when you find a better job. Never feel guilty. Neither the employer nor the employee owes either anything but what they contribute and what they're paid.

This is honestly something I felt weird about. In alot of jobs, they at the end of the day my boss would sometimes give me a hug and say "Thanks for coming in" and I would always feel "Um well, I just did what I got paid for, why thank me" and they would laugh at me.

Doing a simple job and doing it well is still a trait that some people simply don't have.

Many years ago I started out working at McDonalds, a job I did for almost three years through high school and college. A lot of my coworkers, from high school kids and adults in their 40s, really didn't have any pride in their work at all and didn't care to do it well, let alone go the extra mile. When I called them out on it their usual reply was along the line of "it's a minimum wage job at McDonald's, why should I give a care about it". I was always raised thinking that whatever your job is, even if it is the most looked down upon job you could have, it is still your job and you do it to the best of your ability and take pride in your work. I might make a crappy McDonald's cheeseburger, but it will be the best McDonald's cheeseburger that I can make. My workstation will be clean, my cooked stock rotated like it should be, and my utensils will end up in the sink if they hit the floor. In the end, simply "doing my job" means that I got promoted to trainer within 3 months and became one of the few "cooks" that was also allowed to work the counters and drive thru window as well as birthday parties. I ended up getting trained to do almost every single job in the building after 6 months.

During my last year our custodial guy quit. The custodial person worked 8 hour days, 5am-1pm, and did all the custodial work (scrub and mob the entire floor in the building every morning, clean windows, bathrooms, rotate stock, small maintenance repairs that don't require any actual knowledge of equipment, unload the delivery truck, and other busy work). Our old guy was always busy during his entire shift and was always complaining about not being able to finish it all. When he quit the owner of the store came to me and asked me if I wanted to take the position since I always worked well and was usually very self-directed. I took him up on the offer and after a couple days of orientation with the old guy the job was mine. It took me about a week to get a routine down, but by Friday I realized that the old guy really was just horrible at his job. 5 hours into my shift the owner walks in on me scrubbing the "wet floor" signs in the maintenance sink. He asked me what the heck I was doing and I told him that I have no idea what the old guy was doing, but I was running out of stuff do clean halfway through my shift .

tl;dr

The "lower" the job, the more often you will run into people that simply don't give a crap about their job. Doing a job well, especially a high turnover low-prestige job, will always reflect positively on you. If your current bosses recognize this and offer you a reward, then future bosses will recognize that reward and how it reflects on your work ethic.