Blue Collar Jobs 5 Things You Can Do To Get The Job

This is an interesting topic. For the first half of my career, I worked in white collar environments. As my experience grew, the opportunities to work in manufacturing environments increased. Yeah, I know, that sounds odd. My skillset is rooted in continuous improvement which is awesome because it applies to all industries. Anyway, the last half of my career has centered around manufacturing and blue collar workers. What I’ve learned is troubling. In this post, Blue Collar Jobs 5 Things You Can Do To Get The Job, I’m going to focus on a super important aspect; your resume!

I will get to the specific resume tips in just a second however, it’s important to understand WHY I’m writing this post. It isn’t to share how to write a resume. So many sites exist that can help you with that (here’s a link to one I’ve personally used). The problem that I’ve seen is that in these blue collar job environments, you find that the “corporate” pieces are run by more of the white collar crowd. Why does that matter? Let’s take a closer look.

Hiring and Firing

may be done at the front-line level. Perhaps you have a production line supervisor that is responsible for the hiring. What you might not know is that that production line supervisor has an Operations Manager that he or she reports to that weighs in on the hiring decision. What’s more is that the Operations Manager likely reports to some kind of Superintendent or Director. That person then reports to either a VP or SVP of something or other and that goes on until you reach the C-suite (CEO, CFO, etc.).

When things are going well, the higher ups may not get as involved in the hiring and firing. When things aren’t going so well, these higher ups start poking their noses into things. That matters because at some point, things don’t go well. What you’re left with is a lasting impression on frontline decision makers from the higher ups on getting the hiring decisions right. So, whether you like it or not, the white collar employees that run the blue collar businesses are impacting who gets hired and fired.

In Addition

to the white collar roles sticking their noses into the hiring process, one other key factor is impacting how easy (or hard) it is to get hired these days. The world has embraced technology. Even factory floors these days have a bunch of HMIs (Human Machine Interfaces). This trend likely isn’t going to slow down. Why does this matter? Because at some point soon, you are going to be forced to better understand technology to get ANY job.

Ok, now it’s time to jump into the meat of the Blue Collar Jobs 5 Things You Can Do To Get The Job post. These tips come as a direct result of interview process in a manufacturing environment. Just to be clear – these tips are things that are helpful based on what I see and hear the management team basing their decisions on every day! Without further ado, here we go.

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Tip 1 – Have A Resume

With the advancement of technology and the commonplace of resumes in the white collar world, it is essential that you have a resume for ANY job these days. While filling out an application for employment may still be required, having a resume will definitely help. A resume is a quick and easy way to set you apart from the other candidates. I can tell you that as a hiring manager, the individuals that presented a resume made it further in the hiring process than those that did not take the time to provide one. This post doesn’t focus on how to write a resume because so many sites already do that but in case you need a little assistance, check this site out. They offer free templates to give you ideas and save you some time.

Tip 2 – Proofread Your Resume

Of all the blue collar resume tips, this is the make or break one in my opinion. As a hiring manager, two things always jump out at me on a resume. First, if words are misspelled, I quickly start to question attention to detail. This matters A LOT because if the person cannot manage to get one to two pages of text correct, how can they possibly get the details of the job correct? Second, if the resume is clearly a copy and paste of a template, my takeaway is that the person isn’t willing to spend an hour or two to help themselves. That doesn’t bode well for the job.

Tip 3 – Personalize It

Like I mentioned above, a straight copy and paste from a template (or a friend’s) resume isn’t awesome. I have literally seen two candidates who applied for a job in a manufacturing environment that submitted THE SAME resume with only the name and address changed. Don’t get me wrong, templates and your friend’s resume are good resources, but you have to personalize your resume a little bit. For example, instead of just saving, “experienced machine operator in production environment” you could say, “experienced Delta machine operator in a variety of production environments”. As the hiring manager this gives me a better sense of your capabilities and entices me to ask you more about the types of environments you worked in.

Tip 4 – Print Multiple Copies

Well, printing multiple copies is just the first part of this tip. You want to do a few things here. First, you do want to print multiple copies before you head to an interview. Be sure to have enough copies to provide one to every person you may interview with – and then add one more just in case. Next, you want to treat those sheets of paper like they are a part of you. WHY? Because they are a representation of you and how you are going to perform the job. Don’t show up with a resume that is wrinkled and has some of today’s coffee on it, it says something to the hiring manager. If the paper is crisp and organized well, that also says something to the hiring manager. If you’re looking for some help on how to print and organize, here are a few links for you.

Check out this Portfolio to put your resume it

This Chromebook is a cost effective computer if you need one

I’ve used this Printer as well

Tip 5 – Remember What You Wrote

With these blue collar resume tips, none of them really matter if you get to the interview, present your resume, and then totally forget everything that you added to it. When the hiring manager asks you to explain a certain part of the resume, it’s much better if you jump right in and explain based on your experience. If instead, you aren’t sure what they are asking about or don’t remember that you put a certain job or experience on the resume, it shows that you aren’t really invested in getting the resume thing right. And that leads to the question (or doubt) in the hiring manager’s mind as to whether you are going to get the details of the job right. So, if you write something on your resume, remember it and be sure you can speak to it.

There you go!

These five tips will help you set yourself apart from the other applicants in a good way. Details matter. When the job market is tight, details matter even more. If you haven’t checked it out already, be sure to visit my blue collar jobs helpful resources page. I’ve also included some links below to solid interview outfit choices if you decide to not go with the suit (I get it, sometimes people feel stupid asking. I know because I’ve been in that position before myself). Here is a cost effective and very versatile outfit that can be used for interviews, training meetings, and even taking your lady out on a nice date (she may be pleasantly surprised to see how nice you clean up).

1. 1. Docker’s Straight Fit Pants – great choice when you need to look a little nicer but don’t want to spend big on the suit.
   2. Amazon Essentials Oxford Shirt – tucked in and paired with your khaki Docker’s, you’re looking professional but not overdressed. Something blue looks good with the khakis.
   3. Columbia Belt – this ties the pants and the shirt together.
   4. Socks – It might sound stupid but if you go white, it’s just not right. Pick these up and use the brown pair with this combo.
   5. Clark Shoes – I love Clarks. They are comfortable and stylish but not overdone. You can also use these on date night to show your lady how nicely you clean up.

There you have it. These blue collar resume tips will help set you apart (in a good way) from the competition. Make sure you keep an eye out for additional posts in the blue collar jobs series on Retiring by 45! Also be sure to join the mailing list so you stay up to date with the latest and greatest from the site. In the meantime, if you haven’t checked out Unmuddling Money, please do.

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