Prospective employee cold contacting.

[wanabechippie]

Hi.

So as not to hijack the thread regarding people contacting businesses in search of a job, I've started this one.

I really want to start on a new career path. Been umming and aahing for ages as to which direction to take. I've a degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice but can't find and suitable jobs in my area. I really enjoy working on my house as well as doing small carpentry/joinery projects for friends.

Of the two paths, I'd say that the construction direction would seem most viable.

Just wondering what would make you (Building company owners) sit up and take notice of one cold-calling applicant over another?

The 'first contact' letter that I've put together is as follows:




Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to you in the hope that you may have a vacancy within your company either now or within the near future.
I am currently working within the Warehousing & Distribution industry and would very much like to move forward and take up a career in Carpentry & Joinery as well as general construction.
Please find enclosed my Curriculum Vitae and Portfolio of past projects which I hope demonstrates my dedication, commitment, qualifications and determination to be successful with you.
I am available to meet you to discuss any position you may have available which you might consider appropriate at your convenience.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my application.
Kind Regards,



Xxxxx Xxxxxx


My portfolio would include the pictures from here and here


Thanks.
WC

 

[JohnD]

thinks:

What skills and experience does this person show that make him valuable to me as a potential employer?

 

[corgiman]

thinks:

What skills and experience does this person show that make him valuable to me as a potential employer?

Also thinks


if he hasnt got enough about him to punt straight out to a solo job how long and how much do i have to spend till he can??

Sorry mate but its a tough old gut out there

 

[alpcon]

The standard of your work is great but its the time it takes to do the work to that standard that counts. This is what I would be looking for if I were to take you on as a chippy in my building firm as at the end of the day the company needs to make money to pay the bills, the staff and make a profit.

Im not having a go at you but I think this is important. Also. Will you be concentrating on first or second fix chippying? or both. You might try a trip in the car around your local building sites and just simply explain who you are what you are looking for and see what happens. You might end up labouring and making the tea but at least you're in

Try some one man band chippies they may well want some help on a job for a short while.

Finally you could go to college and get your bits of paper and then start up your own business. You will be slow to start and make plenty of mistakes and underprice jobs but this is how we all learned.

Best of luck

 

[wanabechippie]

Thanks for all the input, fellers. I really appreciate all your insight & advise.

I was figuring that with my past work, I could be taken on as something one step up from an apprentice? Is there such a thing? Semi-skilled labourer, perhaps?

As Alpcon said, I can do the work reasonably well just it does take time to get there. I'm pretty much self-taught (watched loads of DIY TV & looked up things on t'interweb) so there are things that I'm probably doing in a less-than-efficient way. I am fairly mechanically minded so I can figure out how things should go together pretty quickly - if not always in the same way they 'should' go together.

The collage route was something I was considering a while back. However, having spoken to a friend of mine who took my intended course, I found out that work was hard to come by. Usual story of trades not being willing to take on trainees through either lack of money or lack of time to train.

Ideally, I would like to have both my own workshop and the skills to be a bench joiner, making bespoke peices (stairs, furniture doors etc..). Is there a particular course that would best suit this route? Or is it more a case of being taken on as an apprentice and learning the trade as you go?

I've already had a few inquiries from friends of my Mother-in-Law who've seen the kitchen I made. I've also been 'contracted' by a work mate to make a fitted wardrobe for her bedroom. All this is well and good, but at the moment, my level of skills are such that the finished product may not necessarily be what was intended. Things can go together more through 'luck' than 'design' For this reason, I would be very reluctant to take on work for people other than friends and family.

Guess it's all part of the learning process tho...

So many ponderies....


Thanks for taking the time to read this far, by the way! I can ramble the arse of a rhino sometimes!

 

[alpcon]

Good place to start doing a few projects for friends and family but they may be reluctant, unlike a punter, to make truthful comments on the final product. I cant see you having a problem with these projects. As I said earlier the standard of your work is very good so working for friends and family you will have the luxury of being able to take your time a little more than with the public.

Sometimes the best businesses start from home as hobbies and progress from there. I can remember when I first started out thinking well i've got the job but how the hell do I do it So I got on the phone and got a pro in to help me and paid him for his time but learnt from it. Ok I didn't make as much money to start with but got the job done in good time and gained the experience.

As a chippy having a good set of tools is a must. You will find there are loads of tools, materials and products out there which can overcome job problems and save you lots of time. You will pick this up as you go along.

Also being able to see yourself doing the job in your mind is a must until you gain experience. You will make mistakes, some costly and others not so, but thats how we all learn.

As I said before best of luck and let us know how you get on

 

[big-all]

ok my thought all ment to be positive not negative

you realy need to decide if you want to carry on doing "the nice bits" at your own pace and give your freinds and family a 60 to 80% percent discount on the true price of your skills

or go the comercial route and probably find that your skills are at a fairly basic level for the big bad world outside
where 95% is boring repetative work with only the occasional enjoyable job

most employers want a track record with you up to speed

 

[JohnD]

If you already have a reliable job that prevents you from starving, don't give it up unless you have to.

You might be able to get some weekend jobs by dropping flyers, one street at a time. If you attach a durable business card people might put it by until they need a new door fixing or something. All this will winch up your experience, speed and ability to estimate. If you do get the occasional job, a satisfied customer who tells his friends and neighbours is better than any advertisement. I presume you haven't got a signwritten van, but you can get magnetic signs made up. If you're seen parked outside a customer's house people wil look to see if you're the kind of person they're interested in. If you're fixing e.g. a front door or garden gate and look like a tradesman not a DIYer, people may approach you and ask for a card. A shabby white van gives a poor impression.

Compared to the cost of a nasty plastic door, you should be able to provide a first-class hardwood door, frame and brass fittings for a better price as a weekend job. Do your own first if you want the neighbours to see how good and quick you are.

As a householder, I never use people with just a mobile phone number and no address. You would do better to get a second phone line with a local number and put an answerphone on it when you're out.

 

[doyle]

personally i would say why tout yourself to work for some old dog wanting the earth in back breakign labour for but a few pennies.

anyoen can set emselves up in that game if your confident in what you do why not just go ahead adn do it. take half these saps in gas work i recon the ratio would be somert like 0.001 % of persons getting a start to learn the trade as most dont want further competition in a already undemanding market.

so lets look at your work realistically work looks good if you made a mistake would the houser spot it..very much doubt it they be looking at how shiney it looks not whether tiles awas centered to wall floor ect.

 

[wanabechippie]

Hey eveyone.

Thanks again for all the really useful advice!

I've spent some of the last few days ringing local chippies (wood, not fish) as well as having a chat to one of the large, local builders firms. Only thing going was an apprentiship at one of the smaller joiners. Had to leave it as the pay would barely have covered my mortgage

Have to say, at the moment; Alpcon's thinking seems most practical. Develop my skills as a hobby first with friends and family jobs then move on to JohnD's approach of local advertising for weekend work.

I've been doing some work for my brother this weekend. Making a set of staircase bannisters and spindles (his existing set was full of nail holes and covered in about a foot of paint). If that goes well, he's said he'll gladly put my name about to his mates and so on.

Anyway, that's where I'm up to at the mo. I'll post some pics of the bannister project in the projects section.

Thanks again.

WC

 

[Richard C]

I've been doing some work for my brother this weekend. Making a set of staircase bannisters and spindles (his existing set was full of nail holes and covered in about a foot of paint). If that goes well, he's said he'll gladly put my name about to his mates and so on.
WC

I think I've posted on your project thread! Sorry to say if your really serious about going out on your own you should surely have found a cost efective supplier of the parts you needed rather than limiting yourself to B&Q & then making your own! You can't afford to make time costly mistakes like that if your self employed!

 

[wanabechippie]

Hey Richard.

I'm fairly sure I could have found a better supplier for the stair parts (great website link, btw!). I opted to make the handrails myself in a bid to improve my woodworking/machining skills as well as reducing costs for my brother. As I had no strict deadline for the job, I took the oppotunity to try something new.

Also figured it'd look better in a portfolio if I can show that I have that sort of bench experience/aptitude. After all, any muppet can just buy a handrail and spindles.

I do appreciate your point about smarter sourcing, though. Becoming more familiar with local suppliers outside of the sheds would certainly broaden my horizons as well as potentially putting me in touch with local joiners.

Cheers.
WC

 

[Zampa]

Dont bother with carpentry mate..go for plumbing they make sack fulls of money...and you dont have to worry about using the same toilets as everyone else..theres normally a nice big cold water tank in people lofts!

The other advantage is you will probably only need to work one day a week...allowing you to spend the rest of your time on here ..and being 'picky'...

No names no pack drill eh chaps... ...