Application For Employment - Kitty'S Kids: Fill & Download for Free

When I finally turned sixteen years old - the age at which I could legally secure steady, gainful employment (besides babysitting, which I despised because somehow it always involved children) - I was ecstatic.After a long day of filling out employment applications at every fast food joint in town, I was thrilled to get a call the very next day from someone at Krystal.For anyone who doesn’t know - Krystal is very similar to White Castle in that they serve small, square ‘burgers’ with very thin patties, dill pickle slices, mustard, and dehydrated onion bits. Cheese optional but highly recommended.The myth (from the Krystal website)The realityAnyway - I digress.I was highly nervous about my first-ever job interview. I donned my most professional-looking church dress and arrived to the restaurant awkwardly early.Like, almost an hour before the scheduled interview time.Once it finally began, the questions posed by the interviewer - a balding, fortyish man with a bad combover - were fairly easy to answer, until he threw a curveball.Why should I hire you?Oh gosh…why should he??I had no experience in customer service or fast food. I’d never worked a cash register or a drive through. My availability was pretty limited thanks to high school and various church obligations.After a moment I mustered my wits and plunged forward.“Mr. Jones, I’m a hard worker and a fast learner. If you hire me you’ll never have to worry about me standing around or slacking off, and I will provide excellent customer service. I may not have experience but I want to do a great job for you and this restaurant.”Mr. Jones just sat there for a moment, looking at me through his watery, jaded blue eyes.“You know, Ms. Kitten, that’s the best answer anyone has ever given me to that question. Everyone always tells me how much they need the job, or about their hungry kids at home, or something about what the money would mean to them. Nobody has ever talked about wanting to be a good employee before.”I was hired on the spot. It was honest, hard work and I was able, after a time, to multi-task and move faster than I thought possible while conversing more-or-less coherently with customers.So…what did I learn from my first job that I took forward with me?That my employer, as an institution, doesn’t give a runny shit about what the job means to me, or my family, or my career, or my economic standing.They care about what I have to offer them.What I can contribute to their bottom line.How motivated I am to exceed their expectations.I learned to focus on what’s in it for them, rather than what I think is fair or would be best for me or how tired and overworked I am.In the end, it’s the boss’ job to be profitable and run a tight ship. The more I can contribute to that, the more valuable I am to them as an employee.

Oliver Wyman takes its recruiting process seriously.One of the things I love most about working there is that there is very little ‘dead weight’ among the employees - consultants and support professionals (SPs) alike.Pretty much everyone is sharp and good at their job and motivated to excel.They don’t make it impossible to get rid of any ’bad apples’ that slip through the hiring process, either. If someone’s not pulling their weight or doesn’t have the go-get-it attitude that’s necessary for success at Oliver Wyman, they are rapidly coached up or coached out.I love this.All of that is to say this - the interview process at OW is lengthy, in-depth, and well-considered.A phone interview with someone from the recruiting team will probably start the process, just as an initial screening and to talk about the applicant’s resume as well as the position for which they are being considered.If that goes well, a phone conversation with the hiring manager (for support professionals) or a Principal or Partner (for consultants) is a likely next step. This is to start evaluating whether the applicant has the intelligence and drive we’re looking for and can string two sentences together.In-person interviews are multi-session and vary between consultants and SPs.Consultants might have two case interviews: one where they’re presenting to a group of three or four people, from Partners to Senior Associates, and one where they’re presenting one-on-one to a Principal or Partner.For these, the applicant is given a ‘case’ to study - basically a simple business problem for which they are tasked to find a solution or solutions.Say for example, “WalMart is considering opening a chain of high-end coffee shops inside their Super Centers. Determine whether this would be profitable and if it’s a good business decision or not.”The applicant can ask for a reasonable amount of data - “What would be the average price point of the coffee shops?” and “How many customers visit a Super Center on average per day?” for example - but they have to ask the questions; the data isn’t handed to them, and they must fill in the blanks for some things.Their thought process and how well they can articulate it is more important than whether they come up with the ‘correct’ answer or not.There will also be at least one fit interview, maybe two, one-on-one with whatever additional consultant is available and is helping with this interview session.The fit interviews are where we try to determine whether the applicant would be a good fit for the corporate culture in general and the office or practice culture for which they are being considered.Support Professionals will probably meet with as many Partners and Principles from the office as could be rounded up - two or three or four - for half an hour each. They will also have fit interviews with other SPs from that office and/or the department for which they are being considered.Right now we are recruiting for the ‘other’ Executive Assistant role in Houston; my partner in crime left me a couple of weeks ago. They are taking my input extremely seriously, since I have to sit next to and work very closely with this person on a daily basis - nobody will be hired for that position if I say I can’t work with them.I love this.After the interviews, each interviewer has an evaluation form to complete that correlates to the type of interview they did. (Human Capital has to chase everyone down and get them to submit these; this can be a chore sometimes.)Then the recruiting team, in cooperation with the Office Leader, Practice Leader, and/or hiring manager, makes a decision on whether the candidate has a place with Oliver Wyman in that particular role.If an offer is made and the applicant accepts, there is a lengthy background check that can take a week or more. OW does not do pre-employment (or random) drug testing that I’ve ever heard of.I love this.After the background check comes back, the applicant is called with the good news and a start date is determined. Oliver Wyman, in my experience, is quite flexible with start dates; by the time an offer is made we absolutely know we want someone to join us and it’s worth collaborating with the new employee to find what works best for them.On their first day of employment someone will probably take the new hire out for lunch. They will definitely be greeted with a warm welcome; that’s just how we roll.Guess what?I love this.

For an Executive Assistant, more than most careers, one’s resume can make or break your chance to get an interview.The prospective employer - the executive(s) you will be supporting in the position - are looking for someone who will represent them (in person and virtually) in a manner of which they can be proud.This means they will scrutinize every tiny facet of how you present yourself during the application and interview process, and the resume is the first impression you leave.As far as specific qualifications, use the job description or advertisement as a jumping-off point. If you can’t list 90% of what they’re asking for (honestly) on your resume, you might as well not apply for the job.Tailor your resume for every position to which you apply, or at the very least have a few different versions focusing on different industries or specializations.Common qualifications/skills for an Executive Assistant would include:Typing some ungodly number of words per minute (50+ at the very least) - there are online typing tests you can use to determine thisProficiency in the full Microsoft Office Suite - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Include your level of expertise for each one (beginner, intermediate, advanced, expert). Don’t exaggerate - a lot of places utilize online testingExtensive complex scheduling, internal and externalTravel arrangements - depends on the position, but if you can say you’ve done heavy international travel including visa procurement, that is never a bad thingTaking shorthand, meeting minutes, and/or transcriptionDocument creation and professional correspondenceEvent planning and execution (internal and/or external)Any experience in managing/hiring/training other employeesBusiness development/client relationshipsAdditional languages in which you are fluentAny bookkeeping/accounting/payroll/human resources/marketing/graphic design functions with which you have experience generally can’t hurt and could help differentiate you from other applicantsSome general buzzwords - detail oriented; self-motivated; time management; confidentiality - these are pretty much throwaways that appear on most EA resumes. They are all on mine but aren’t featured prominently.Keep in mind that a lot of companies do their first pass on resumes using software that recognizes the keywords and phrases they’re looking for. This means it’s a great idea to use as much of the exact language from the job description or posting as you can without sounding like you’re copying it verbatim.And the very most important point - proofread, proofread, proofread!Then get someone else to proofread it for you.Ask a stranger to proofread it again.Find a successful EA (or a friendly executive, if you know one) and ask them to evaluate your resume for formatting, ease of reading, and to proofread it one more time.A single error - even in formatting, like being inconsistent with ending bullet points with a period or not - could cost you the chance to interview for your dream EA job.