[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

As someone who has hired plenty of people (and I'll be honest here; a good handful of them utterly incompetent)... The two main criteria for an entry level position are confidence and competence (by which I mean, seeming bright / enthusiastic /... Not thick...), WAY above experience, with the caveat being I guess that relevant experience can make some people more confident.

For a management role previous management experience is a bit more relevant. If you can get management training ANYWHERE, snap it up, it opens a lot of doors (look on any jobsite, you'll notice that the vast majority of jobs that pay better than minimum wage require management experience to even apply).

But for basic / entry level jobs pretty much anywhere... It just isn't the main factor and tells you very little about what sort of employee the person will be. References should be taken with a pinch of salt. No one will include a reference who will say anything negative?

Tl;Dr a couple of weeks shelf stacking experience at Poundland isn't worth ****. In fact I'd rather hear that people tried to start a small business, or a website, or to become a bloody YouTuber... Something interesting that will make you stand out from the 20 other people with shelf stacking experience who applied.

..I love that you’ve employed so many ‘incompetent’ people, TS...obviously their lack of competence would be frustrating for you at times...but I’m going to dismiss that completely, your frustrations etc...because I’m seeing you now as the giver of opportunity of work to all equally...even the incompetent, you give everyone a chance to show any worth they may have in the workplace...your specific workplace.....