New job--what to do about no references?

Aldebaran

NCC-1701-A
Christian Forums Staff
Purple Team - Moderator
Supporter
Oct 17, 2009
38,653
12,106
Wisconsin, United States of America
✟622,644.00
Country
United States
Faith
Non-Denom
Marital Status
Single
What does a person do if he wants to apply for an office job listed as "Office assistant/receptionist" but hasn't had a job in the last 10 years and is pretty much a loner with social anxiety, and therefore has no references to put on an application? How would it be explained to the employer during an interview that would not look bad for a position where the employee would be working with the public as a receptionist? The application asks for 2 or 3 people that are not related to the potential employee, but have been known for at least 5 years.
 

LionL

Believer in God, doubter of religion
Jan 23, 2015
914
645
51
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and N. Ireland
✟29,536.00
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
In Relationship
Politics
UK-Liberal-Democrats
I've had a similar problem in the past. What I did was to write 'References available on request' on the application form. This was usually enough to get me an interview. At the interview itself I was able to explain why I was short on references. Is there no-one at all you can approach - friends, neighbours? I hope it works out for you.
 
Upvote 0

Aldebaran

NCC-1701-A
Christian Forums Staff
Purple Team - Moderator
Supporter
Oct 17, 2009
38,653
12,106
Wisconsin, United States of America
✟622,644.00
Country
United States
Faith
Non-Denom
Marital Status
Single
I've had a similar problem in the past. What I did was to write 'References available on request' on the application form. This was usually enough to get me an interview. At the interview itself I was able to explain why I was short on references. Is there no-one at all you can approach - friends, neighbours? I hope it works out for you.

I actually was planning on doing just that--putting "available upon request". I had that on my resume' too, which I already submitted online. Why employers insist upon me filling out an entire application when I already submitted a resume' is beyond me, but they do it every time. But anyway, I guess I was mostly concerned about what I'd say in an interview if/when they do make that request. I'd be sitting there trying to explain how I'm a loner who has social anxiety and haven't had a job in over 10 years, but now I'm suddenly qualified to work as their receptionist. As for neighbors, I've lived in my current home for 18 years and haven't had any luck with neighbors yet.
 
Upvote 0

Jamminontha1

Active Member
Jun 29, 2017
120
79
33
Vallejo
✟11,113.00
Country
United States
Faith
Non-Denom
Marital Status
Single
I actually was planning on doing just that--putting "available upon request". I had that on my resume' too, which I already submitted online. Why employers insist upon me filling out an entire application when I already submitted a resume' is beyond me, but they do it every time. But anyway, I guess I was mostly concerned about what I'd say in an interview if/when they do make that request. I'd be sitting there trying to explain how I'm a loner who has social anxiety and haven't had a job in over 10 years, but now I'm suddenly qualified to work as their receptionist. As for neighbors, I've lived in my current home for 18 years and haven't had any luck with neighbors yet.

I actually work as an Office manager, but got my start as an admin assistant. I don't know what to do with the references field. If I were you, I'd still list relatives still. Any type of service your performed for them for money would suffice. They are mostly looking for someone who will judge you based on your quality of work or skills instead of your character.

Most employers ask you to fill out applications and attach resumes because a lot of resume technology (HRIS) is automated. They look for keywords in your application to find out if you are a preliminary good fit. Think of it like a robot looking at your application. If the system thinks you are a good fit, you come up as a potential interviewee and then your actual resume is looked over.

What I do when applying for jobs is I start by looking at job descriptions and required skills. Then I take those skills and try to list them for each of my employment history fields. Work the system.
 
Upvote 0

Aldebaran

NCC-1701-A
Christian Forums Staff
Purple Team - Moderator
Supporter
Oct 17, 2009
38,653
12,106
Wisconsin, United States of America
✟622,644.00
Country
United States
Faith
Non-Denom
Marital Status
Single
Most employers ask you to fill out applications and attach resumes because a lot of resume technology (HRIS) is automated. They look for keywords in your application to find out if you are a preliminary good fit. Think of it like a robot looking at your application. If the system thinks you are a good fit, you come up as a potential interviewee and then your actual resume is looked over.

Interesting! I've never heard about this before. I guess I'll have to google what those keywords are and try to fit them into my resume. I always thought that resumes were a way to apply without having to spend an hour filling out the same information on an application hundreds of times.
 
Upvote 0

Jamminontha1

Active Member
Jun 29, 2017
120
79
33
Vallejo
✟11,113.00
Country
United States
Faith
Non-Denom
Marital Status
Single
Interesting! I've never heard about this before. I guess I'll have to google what those keywords are and try to fit them into my resume.

What you do is you read the job description and find keywords they are looking for. Here's an example of a job add. I will put the keywords you might want to include in a resume in bold.:

Come Grow in an Exciting, Friendly Dental Practice

Our fast-paced and well-established Oral and Maxillofacial surgery practice located in San Francisco is seeking an experienced highly-motivated, organized, enthusiastic, and detail-oriented Office Assistant to help grow our practice. This is an excellent opportunity to work in a true team environment.

Duties would primarily be:

  • Preparing charts and intake forms for the following days
  • Confirming appointments
  • Checking patients’ insurance before their consultation appointment
  • Review, edit, and follow up on medical clearances
  • Makes sure all necessary x-rays, referral slips, and medical clearances are in our office for each patient prior to their consultation
  • Prep new patient packets
  • Greet patients and walk them through the registration process.
  • Answer incoming phone calls with scheduling, consultations, surgery and follow up appointments, and fielding patients’ questions
  • Scanning x-rays, patient information, and filing of patients' charts
These are some skills that could have gained from other jobs. Before I became an Office manager, I had all of these skills from working at a hair salon. I did not prep new patients, but I input client info into our system for membership.

If I were to apply for this job, I would try to match as closely as possible the duties to my job history.

For my skills, I would list: Organized, detail-oriented, and team-oriented.
 
Upvote 0

Aldebaran

NCC-1701-A
Christian Forums Staff
Purple Team - Moderator
Supporter
Oct 17, 2009
38,653
12,106
Wisconsin, United States of America
✟622,644.00
Country
United States
Faith
Non-Denom
Marital Status
Single
What you do is you read the job description and find keywords they are looking for. Here's an example of a job add. I will put the keywords you might want to include in a resume in bold.:

Come Grow in an Exciting, Friendly Dental Practice

Our fast-paced and well-established Oral and Maxillofacial surgery practice located in San Francisco is seeking an experienced highly-motivated, organized, enthusiastic, and detail-oriented Office Assistant to help grow our practice. This is an excellent opportunity to work in a true team environment.

Duties would primarily be:

  • Preparing charts and intake forms for the following days
  • Confirming appointments
  • Checking patients’ insurance before their consultation appointment
  • Review, edit, and follow up on medical clearances
  • Makes sure all necessary x-rays, referral slips, and medical clearances are in our office for each patient prior to their consultation
  • Prep new patient packets
  • Greet patients and walk them through the registration process.
  • Answer incoming phone calls with scheduling, consultations, surgery and follow up appointments, and fielding patients’ questions
  • Scanning x-rays, patient information, and filing of patients' charts
These are some skills that could have gained from other jobs. Before I became an Office manager, I had all of these skills from working at a hair salon. I did not prep new patients, but I input client info into our system for membership.

If I were to apply for this job, I would try to match as closely as possible the duties to my job history.

For my skills, I would list: Organized, detail-oriented, and team-oriented.

So the thing to do is try to match words from the job description. Good idea! Thanks!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jamminontha1
Upvote 0

bhsmte

Newbie
Apr 26, 2013
52,761
11,796
✟247,431.00
Faith
Atheist
Marital Status
Single
Politics
US-Others
What does a person do if he wants to apply for an office job listed as "Office assistant/receptionist" but hasn't had a job in the last 10 years and is pretty much a loner with social anxiety, and therefore has no references to put on an application? How would it be explained to the employer during an interview that would not look bad for a position where the employee would be working with the public as a receptionist? The application asks for 2 or 3 people that are not related to the potential employee, but have been known for at least 5 years.

Depends on the employer. For some, no references might be a red flag, for others not so much.

Here is the reality of references though; in 20+ years of management, I have never had a reference say anything bad about a potential hire and why would they, they are handpicked by the applicant.
 
Upvote 0

dysert

Member
Feb 29, 2012
6,233
2,238
USA
✟112,984.00
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
Interesting! I've never heard about this before. I guess I'll have to google what those keywords are and try to fit them into my resume. I always thought that resumes were a way to apply without having to spend an hour filling out the same information on an application hundreds of times.
No, the purpose of the resume, as far as you're concerned, is to get you an interview.
 
Upvote 0