Qualifications to set me apart from the rest of the college graduates?

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Bad day Tony?!

 

Just touches a nerve. and dont want to see fine young men turned into mugs by those that want a yes man/bitch/teaboy:lol:

[Kon-Tiki Man]

I recently took on a lad with no experience, he stopped me whilst we were working and asked how he could get into arboriculture, I liked the fact that he'd chanced to ask which meant I'd met him face to face and had opportunity to suss him out a bit, he seemed like he didn't have an unhealthy ego and looked like he could hump logs all day so I took him on for a day and he's still with me a few weeks later, he charms the old ladies, works well, gets on with the other chaps, his back chat is coming on nicely and if we work late i give him some more cash after buying him a pint. now he wants to develop and is off to get his tickets.

 

show your enthusiasm and willingness to learn and be prepared to offer a free trial, a good company will always pay you your worth anyway but it gives them some insurance if you turn out to be utterly useless, and you should have your foot somewhere in the vicinity of the door.

[David Goss]

I recently took on a lad with no experience, he stopped me whilst we were working and asked how he could get into arboriculture, I liked the fact that he'd chanced to ask which meant I'd met him face to face and had opportunity to suss him out a bit, he seemed like he didn't have an unhealthy ego and looked like he could hump logs all day so I took him on for a day and he's still with me a few weeks later, he charms the old ladies, works well, gets on with the other chaps, his back chat is coming on nicely and if we work late i give him some more cash after buying him a pint. now he wants to develop and is off to get his tickets.

 

show your enthusiasm and willingness to learn and be prepared to offer a free trial, a good company will always pay you your worth anyway but it gives them some insurance if you turn out to be utterly useless, and you should have your foot somewhere in the vicinity of the door.

 

Bravo

[Taupotreeman]

so far ( i was holding my gob!) ive seen two say dont backchat now another one is saying not to ask when you finish.

 

I would suggest to any of these probably bosses that the fact your saying these things suggests your the sort of boss who has a bit of backchat coming and also the sort who will punish you with "odd jobs" or extra jobs for being efficient like much more so than "others"

 

if you work hard, and are good at what you do, when your boss gives you some stick, give it back, and if you work like a dog and he gives you another little one on the way home kinda thing, again, hes got some backchat coming!

 

its a two way street, value your staff and you will be valued, it has to work BOTH ways.

 

dont be anyones bitch

 

It was no more than a joke, hence the tongue face at the end but to be fair, there's nothing worse than taking on a guy who has the been there done that attitude and spends all day telling you so. Fine, if he has valuable comments or ideas and I'm all for listening and learning and having a laugh but when you get one of those that just has a smart mouth and sits around with his thumb up his backside telling you how the job should be done? It grates after a while and some of them need to learn when it's time to button it. Having said that, there are plenty of bosses who I could apply the same argument to. Still, no offense meant.

[Taupotreeman]

And yes, I do have a diploma in T making and I always make sure I shout the boys tea and stickys etc. At the last place I worked I shouted the boys a slap up breakfast once every couple of weeks out of my own pocket for a couple of reasons. One, to air any greivances complaints and to discuss new ideas and how we could improve things. Two, to make them feel like they were appreciated. And just one otehr thing I learnt; never be too big to say you are sorry if you know you have cocked up. Even if you do own the company.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

And yes, I do have a diploma in T making and I always make sure I shout the boys tea and stickys etc. At the last place I worked I shouted the boys a slap up breakfast once every couple of weeks out of my own pocket for a couple of reasons. One, to air any greivances complaints and to discuss new ideas and how we could improve things. Two, to make them feel like they were appreciated. And just one otehr thing I learnt; never be too big to say you are sorry if you know you have cocked up. Even if you do own the company.

 

all im saying is there are as many a hole bosses as there are a hole employees, ive been both and worked for both!

 

Tell me what to do and I will do it very well, tell me HOW to do my job, and you better take 2 steps back!

[Taupotreeman]

all im saying is there are as many a hole bosses as there are a hole employees, ive been both and worked for both!

 

Tell me what to do and I will do it very well, tell me HOW to do my job, and you better take 2 steps back!

 

Would have to agree with you on your first statement. took a couple of good friends that worked for me (and several breakfast meetings ) to figure out how to get the guys on side with me. Also spent many a day working for guys who expected me to know how to do stuff without bothering to show me how to actually do it. Now I'm working for someone who keeps telling me they employed me because I know what I'm doing but then spend an awful lot of time trying to show me how to do that job even though they have no experience with it. Yeesh. Sometimes you need to have skin 2 feet thick.

 

For a sensible answer (from me) to the original question. I don't think extra quals are the thing. Just word hard, be eager to learn and show keeness in everything you do, even if it is the job from hell. And like Hama said, don't let yourself be bullied or taken advantage of. If you get into that rut you're stuck in that rut.

[YoGi_93]

I recently took on a lad with no experience, he stopped me whilst we were working and asked how he could get into arboriculture, I liked the fact that he'd chanced to ask which meant I'd met him face to face and had opportunity to suss him out a bit, he seemed like he didn't have an unhealthy ego and looked like he could hump logs all day so I took him on for a day and he's still with me a few weeks later, he charms the old ladies, works well, gets on with the other chaps, his back chat is coming on nicely and if we work late i give him some more cash after buying him a pint. now he wants to develop and is off to get his tickets.

 

show your enthusiasm and willingness to learn and be prepared to offer a free trial, a good company will always pay you your worth anyway but it gives them some insurance if you turn out to be utterly useless, and you should have your foot somewhere in the vicinity of the door.

 

 

That sounds like some pretty decent advice! Do you think it would be a good idea to visit a couple of my local arb companies and ask them if they need any workers? Im going to college so ill tell them but obviously if they say they would take me if I just had my tickets then I would probably stay. Possibly.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

get stuckin, get your hands dirty learn the game, understand what it is we do. BUT, after ten years get on with the technical stuff early on i meant to thloiught about it and left it too late, it take s around ten years to get your head upo to speed, on the tech, to make contacts and get your foot in the door and be respected, so get down and dirty now, but dont leave it till your pushing fourty to get up that ladder. start the tech at 30.

[Taupotreeman]

when I was at college but on block release I was sat at home one day when a crew turned up to trim the tree outside our house. I made the guys a cuppa and got talking. The boss was on site and told me when I got out of college if I wanted a job to give him a buzz, which I did. I spent four years with him. Bit of a mickey mouse outfit at the time but it set me up for life. You just have to ask. Too may people these days I reckon rely on email to much. Emails are just so easy to ignore.