Would you hire a walk in?

[ColJack]

I passed a shop today that's being re-fitted and I'm now thinking it might have been a good idea to pop in and ask if they needed a sparky..

if you were on / running a job and someone popped in and asked if you needed a sparky / plumber / plasterer etc, would you give them a chance if you needed one?

( I should point out that I was made redundant Feb 27th.. so could start tomorrow. )

 

[DAZB]

I am sure you won't be the only person taking that route at the moment and I am sure nobody will think badly of you for doing so. If anything it shows you are not willing to just sit and expect the phone to ring and you are actively out there pursuing a job and redundancy is no reflection of your ability in this climate. I have done it myself in the past when I was much younger, it does work and in my opinion the more people who have your business card the better because it can take just one call to change everything for you. Good luck with it.

 

[Thermo]

nothing ventured nothing gained

 

[JohnD]

I think you need to prepare a 2-minute pitch explaining your skills, experience and qualifications, and how they are useful to the person you are talking to. Practice it at home in front of the mirror. You need to catch their attention in the first 10 seconds or they will stop listening.

If you google "elevator pitch" you will find more suggestions on how to go about it.

If you happen to be the man or woman they want, now, and you're available, now, you solve the "now" problem, many people will prefer an immediate fix rather than waiting while they call other companies or advertise or contact agencies and then have to go through a recruitment process.

However, if they don't have an immediate need that you can fill, they may be quite rude to you. Try to stay calm and see if you can get them to take a card in case they have a need (not a "vacancy") that you can help them (not you) with.

Once you have prepared your short pitch you can try it on anyone you meet who might be in a relevant business