So do I have the experience and other qualifications you as an employer are looking for? Or are any of the skill and on-the-job training and experience I gained in some way similar or transferable to a position you have open? Well, in this blog you can read about my food-service experience as well as my janitorial experience. Many of those past jobs required detailed record-keeping, inventory control and ordering, and financial transactions and management. As you can see, I also design and manage web sites and web logs, and do freelance writing and photography.
Today, why don't we take a look at a normal workday for me and see if the duties of my most recent job matches or is transferable to any of those of a position you have open? Again, though my job experience is quite varied, I'm a jack-of-all-trades, you might say, and you can read about those below. But here is a normal work day for me today:
I used to wake up at 4:00 am. I left by 5:30 at the latest and drove 20 miles from Huntington Beach, CA to my job in Wilmington. Just last January, though, I moved to Long Beach just 10 minutes from my it. Just a few blocks from my job, I would stop to get breakfast. Sometimes I bought enough to share with my colleagues. Like me already, huh? I got to work at or before 6:00 am. I worked at a concrete and asphalt recycling plant that is gated, so I had to unlock and open the front gates. After parking out of the way of our customers, mostly established contractors with large trucks spanning the spectrum, from ten wheelers up to semi end dumps, I then opened up the "office," which is really more of a shack. There is no electricity at this yard, so I had no lights or computers to turn on. When it was too hot or too cold, both very rare there, I also had no heater or a/c. When that happened I usually hung out in my car. I have worked at yards where we did use computers, so that is not a problem. Some of the yards also have heaters and a/c...and some even have fridges, microwaves, and televisions!
I would then open up a log book and document my day, and with no-time clock, also write in my time on my time-card. This position was based almost solely on trust-trust that I'll be there on time and work my full hours. Usually, there was no one else there when I arrived, so unless I discussed it with my boss the day before, I absolutely had to make it to work no matter what. I have never called in sick or neglected showing up for work with no notice. I have been sent home sick, but only after making a valiant effort to work a full day.
Though the yard is gated, there are many ways for a person to sneak into it and some of the contractors find ways to dump there after hours, so I then routinely walked it and searched for after-hour dumps and any signs of break-ins. I documented any thing that I saw that was out of the ordinary and if pertinent enough, I informed my Yard Supervisor of them. I also watched out for vegetation growth. Our contract specifically stated that we must keep the yard clear of any vegetation, and if there was enough, I had to kill all the vegetation with weed killer. I did this at least once every two weeks, and usually in the morning in the summer time.
At some yards, I had to control dust per government regulations with a hose or water truck, but at this yard we had a separate designated employee for that. He came in at 7:00 am.
When a customer came in I inspected the load to confirm that it matched with our acceptable specs, confirmed that the customer had a contract with us, documented the load, the truck type, and location where it originated in the said log, and then directed the customer to the appropriate place for dumping. In some cases I personally guided the customer and even supervised and directed them as they dumped. At some times I had multiple trucks dumping simultaneously, and I had to control and supervise all of them.
As a recycling plant, we also crushed and recycled the in-coming concrete and asphalt and sold it back out. The routine for this was basically the same: I confirmed the customer had a contact with us, and I documented its end location and each truck and load when it went out. Some yards have scales, and some are computerized. I have used each. This yard did not have a scale, so there, as well at the other yards that didn't have them, we charged and documented by the truck size. That pertained to in-coming dumps, as well.
You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned any financial transactions yet. Well, the yard I worked at most recently had a contract with a government agency and thus all the trucks or "customers" that came through didn't need to pay at the yard. I have done financial transactions, of course, at some of the other yards I've worked at and kept a detailed record of each one. Our company did not accept cash, so they were all by debit or credit card or by electronic check or money order.
At least once a week, when I had time, I did some "house-keeping": I cleaned the office, took out the trash, and swept or washed-down our yard's rumble grates. I also searched the yard for any lost and loose rebar or any other object or obstruction that can pop a tire or in some other way damage a vehicle. Of course, we did have a liability waiver, but it was still courtesy to make sure our customers didn't get hurt or have their vehicles damaged.
When we had the crushers in crushing and recycling the material, sometimes I was scheduled or called upon to be a "picker," which is the same as a "sorter": I started around 6:00 am and sorted and picked out any material we didn't want going through the crusher, like wood and trash, from a moving conveyor belt. Of course, I was very careful and always followed my company's detailed safety policies in all that I did. I could stand there for hours, sometimes in extreme heat (like at some yards in Riverside County in summer), but with enough water, spray bottles, and breaks as required by law or as given out as a courtesy by the supervisor, I did well under such conditions with no complaints.
At the end of the day, as the yard I last worked at had a government contract, a government inspector came out to get the numbers and details of all the dumps in and material that went out. I then organized and put away my paperwork, wrote in the time I got off on my time card, and locked up. I locked the "office," and then closed and locked the gate behind me. I then drove 20 miles home, until I moved closer to work there in Long Beach.
Every Friday, I called in my hours. Again, this was based solely on trust. Every Monday I reviewed my inventory and ordered products or equipment as needed. Goggles, masks, gloves, and hand cleaner are just a few examples.
I was doing this full-time: 10-hours a day 5 days a week, with an average monthly pay of $1700. But with a slowing economy, and another contract ended, I was laid off. My Supervisor didn't want to let me go and said if he had another position open, I'd be kept on, and I do encourage you to call him for a reference and ask him about that. So here I am on the job search again. One that is similar to the job I described above is ideal. But again, I have had lots of experience in many different industries. If this post matches any job you have open, if any of the responsibilities I successfully accomplished there are transferable to a position you have open, then give me a call or e-mail. I am ready to work!
Today, why don't we take a look at a normal workday for me and see if the duties of my most recent job matches or is transferable to any of those of a position you have open? Again, though my job experience is quite varied, I'm a jack-of-all-trades, you might say, and you can read about those below. But here is a normal work day for me today:
I used to wake up at 4:00 am. I left by 5:30 at the latest and drove 20 miles from Huntington Beach, CA to my job in Wilmington. Just last January, though, I moved to Long Beach just 10 minutes from my it. Just a few blocks from my job, I would stop to get breakfast. Sometimes I bought enough to share with my colleagues. Like me already, huh? I got to work at or before 6:00 am. I worked at a concrete and asphalt recycling plant that is gated, so I had to unlock and open the front gates. After parking out of the way of our customers, mostly established contractors with large trucks spanning the spectrum, from ten wheelers up to semi end dumps, I then opened up the "office," which is really more of a shack. There is no electricity at this yard, so I had no lights or computers to turn on. When it was too hot or too cold, both very rare there, I also had no heater or a/c. When that happened I usually hung out in my car. I have worked at yards where we did use computers, so that is not a problem. Some of the yards also have heaters and a/c...and some even have fridges, microwaves, and televisions!
I would then open up a log book and document my day, and with no-time clock, also write in my time on my time-card. This position was based almost solely on trust-trust that I'll be there on time and work my full hours. Usually, there was no one else there when I arrived, so unless I discussed it with my boss the day before, I absolutely had to make it to work no matter what. I have never called in sick or neglected showing up for work with no notice. I have been sent home sick, but only after making a valiant effort to work a full day.
Though the yard is gated, there are many ways for a person to sneak into it and some of the contractors find ways to dump there after hours, so I then routinely walked it and searched for after-hour dumps and any signs of break-ins. I documented any thing that I saw that was out of the ordinary and if pertinent enough, I informed my Yard Supervisor of them. I also watched out for vegetation growth. Our contract specifically stated that we must keep the yard clear of any vegetation, and if there was enough, I had to kill all the vegetation with weed killer. I did this at least once every two weeks, and usually in the morning in the summer time.
At some yards, I had to control dust per government regulations with a hose or water truck, but at this yard we had a separate designated employee for that. He came in at 7:00 am.
When a customer came in I inspected the load to confirm that it matched with our acceptable specs, confirmed that the customer had a contract with us, documented the load, the truck type, and location where it originated in the said log, and then directed the customer to the appropriate place for dumping. In some cases I personally guided the customer and even supervised and directed them as they dumped. At some times I had multiple trucks dumping simultaneously, and I had to control and supervise all of them.
As a recycling plant, we also crushed and recycled the in-coming concrete and asphalt and sold it back out. The routine for this was basically the same: I confirmed the customer had a contact with us, and I documented its end location and each truck and load when it went out. Some yards have scales, and some are computerized. I have used each. This yard did not have a scale, so there, as well at the other yards that didn't have them, we charged and documented by the truck size. That pertained to in-coming dumps, as well.
You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned any financial transactions yet. Well, the yard I worked at most recently had a contract with a government agency and thus all the trucks or "customers" that came through didn't need to pay at the yard. I have done financial transactions, of course, at some of the other yards I've worked at and kept a detailed record of each one. Our company did not accept cash, so they were all by debit or credit card or by electronic check or money order.
At least once a week, when I had time, I did some "house-keeping": I cleaned the office, took out the trash, and swept or washed-down our yard's rumble grates. I also searched the yard for any lost and loose rebar or any other object or obstruction that can pop a tire or in some other way damage a vehicle. Of course, we did have a liability waiver, but it was still courtesy to make sure our customers didn't get hurt or have their vehicles damaged.
When we had the crushers in crushing and recycling the material, sometimes I was scheduled or called upon to be a "picker," which is the same as a "sorter": I started around 6:00 am and sorted and picked out any material we didn't want going through the crusher, like wood and trash, from a moving conveyor belt. Of course, I was very careful and always followed my company's detailed safety policies in all that I did. I could stand there for hours, sometimes in extreme heat (like at some yards in Riverside County in summer), but with enough water, spray bottles, and breaks as required by law or as given out as a courtesy by the supervisor, I did well under such conditions with no complaints.
At the end of the day, as the yard I last worked at had a government contract, a government inspector came out to get the numbers and details of all the dumps in and material that went out. I then organized and put away my paperwork, wrote in the time I got off on my time card, and locked up. I locked the "office," and then closed and locked the gate behind me. I then drove 20 miles home, until I moved closer to work there in Long Beach.
Every Friday, I called in my hours. Again, this was based solely on trust. Every Monday I reviewed my inventory and ordered products or equipment as needed. Goggles, masks, gloves, and hand cleaner are just a few examples.
I was doing this full-time: 10-hours a day 5 days a week, with an average monthly pay of $1700. But with a slowing economy, and another contract ended, I was laid off. My Supervisor didn't want to let me go and said if he had another position open, I'd be kept on, and I do encourage you to call him for a reference and ask him about that. So here I am on the job search again. One that is similar to the job I described above is ideal. But again, I have had lots of experience in many different industries. If this post matches any job you have open, if any of the responsibilities I successfully accomplished there are transferable to a position you have open, then give me a call or e-mail. I am ready to work!
