How to Get a Better Job

This is a comprehensive guide on how to get a $15+ per hour job.

I’m going to outline all the tools you need to do it and the exact steps to take.

That’s me, Dustin, at the Margarita Ball in Dallas last year.

I’m a full-time corporate guy so when I first started mentoring people on their careers it was typically friends or other people in similar positions as I.

Helping people advance their careers provided me a sense of meaning and value beyond what I got from my regular day job.

Soon I was posting on Craigslist offering free “career coaching” to people who wanted to improve their situation.

I’m not a full-time career coach but I was able to help people because most people’s problems aren’t that complicated.

It might be obvious, but I’ve found the best way to help people with career goals is to utilize a clear-cut system.

And systems work best when their purpose is well understood.

This guide is for anyone who wants to get a $15+ per hour job.

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In a Nutshell

Here’s my 100% foolproof system to getting a $15+ per hour job. Not really but if you’re going to use a system for this here’s how it should go.

Choose a job target
Prepare your resume
Get a job search strategy
Hide your social media
Search patiently and consistently
Network constantly
Thorough interview prep (so important)
Repeat steps 5 to 7 as needed
Get your higher paying job and refer your friends here 😉

Does this list seem daunting?

Use my coaching service and have 10X more success with your search.

Job Target

Here are the things a typical career coach would tell you to consider when choosing a job target: life purpose, values, interests, knowledge & skills, work experience, career objectives, and income potential.

Those are great but maybe deeper than we’re looking for.

We may not necessarily be looking for our true calling or to serve some higher purpose (besides not going broke).

Our best approach is starting with a list of $15+ per hour jobs and selecting 1 or 2 attractive targets.

Here’s a list of the 50 most common jobs that pay $15+ per hour with no college degree:

Job Title	Pay per Hour	Req’d Exp.
Customer service representatives	$16	None
Office clerks, general	$16	None
Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive	$18	None
Construction laborers	$17	None
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers	$16	< 5 yrs.
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	$19	< 5 yrs.
First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers	$27	< 5 yrs.
Maintenance and repair workers, general	$18	None
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products	$28	None
Sales representatives, services, all other	$26	None
Assemblers and fabricators, all other, including team assemblers	$15	None
Light truck or delivery services drivers	$16	None
Carpenters	$22	None
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	$33	5+ yrs.
Electricians	$27	None
Medical secretaries	$17	None
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	$31	5+ yrs.
Industrial truck and tractor operators	$17	None
Fitness trainers and aerobics instructors	$19	None
Bus drivers, school or special client	$16	None
Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	$26	None
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	$29	< 5 yrs.
Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks	$16	None
Billing and posting clerks	$18	None
Social and human service assistants	$16	None
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	$18	None
Insurance sales agents	$24	None
Police and sheriff’s patrol officers	$30	None
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	$23	None
Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants	$29	< 5 yrs.
Self-enrichment education teachers	$19	< 5 yrs.
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers	$20	None
First-Line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, except aircraft cargo handling supervisors	$27	< 5 yrs.
First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers	$32	< 5 yrs.
Food service managers	$26	< 5 yrs.
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders	$15	None
Machinists	$21	None
Painters, construction and maintenance	$19	None
Production, planning, and expediting clerks	$23	None
Real estate sales agents	$23	None
Pharmacy technicians	$16	None
Industrial machinery mechanics	$25	None
First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers	$35	< 5 yrs.
Protective service workers, all other	$15	None
First-line supervisors of personal service workers	$18	< 5 yrs.
Correctional officers and jailers	$21	None
Insurance claims and policy processing clerks	$19	None
Property, real estate, and community association managers	$28	< 5 yrs.
Electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assemblers, except coil winders, tapers, and finishers	$16	None
Parts salespersons	$15	None

You Have to Focus

If you want to have a successful job search, you’ll need to pick 1 or 2 jobs to focus on.

This will allow you to tailor your resume specifically for your job target and narrow your search.

We want to go narrow and deep with our search not wide and broad.

Resume

If your resume isn’t great this will never work.

And I don’t mean you need impressive work experience or education.

You need a resume that highlights whatever experience you do have in context of the job you’re going after.

This means once you’ve chosen your job target your resume should be tweaked to make you look qualified for that particular job.

Resources:

I’ll Update Your Resume

The #1 thing I’ve helped people with is their resume.

I have a professional resume writer I work with that can update or critique your resume.

It’s hard to objectively assess something we put together ourselves.

It’s also hard for people to highlight and promote themselves as much as they should on their resume.

Check out my resume services.

Job Search Strategy

Think of your job search as guerilla warfare.

You need to use every tactic, strategy, cheat code, shortcut, hack, etc.

I’m going to outline all the resources you should be using to find job job openings.

Websites

The two websites you’ll need are Indeed and LinkedIn.

Each one has its own merits and between the two you’ll get visibility to 95% of the posted jobs out there.

I emphasize posted because there’s a large number of hidden jobs out there you can only access through networking (discussed below).

Indeed

Here’s your to-do list for Indeed:

Register at Indeed if you don’t have an account.
Upload your resume. Once you do this it will be searchable by employers so make sure it’s perfect.
Set up job alerts for your target job title. You’ll get emails when new jobs are posted.
Apply early. There can be hundreds of applicants to a new job posting so apply as early as possible to be considered.

LinkedIn

You LinkedIn strategy is similar:

Register for LinkedIn
Set up your profile. Check out this guide.
Configure job alerts for the target job you choose. You’ll get emails when new jobs are posted.
Apply early and you’ll be more likely to make it into consideration.

Recruiters

I’ve gotten multiple jobs from recruiters over the years.

They’re not all the same and some are better than others.

The only way to find out though is to give them a chance.

Do a Google search for your city & job title & ‘recruiter’ or ‘agency’.

If you get the chance, ask a recruiter to critique your resume.

Job Fairs

Every big city has job fairs going on all the time with tons of different industries and employers.

Go to job fairs with your target job(s) in mind and talk to different employers – it’s good practice for interviews.

Ask every employer at the job fair if they’re hiring for your target job.

Get business cards from everyone you speak with and after the fair email them something like this:

Hi Jim Jobfair,
It was nice meeting you today at the job fair, thanks for the info on COMPANY NAME.
As I mentioned I’m interested in JOB TITLE positions so please keep me in mind for the future.
Thanks, and have a great week!
– Suzie Jobseeker

Newspaper Ads

I know it seems crazy but there are still a ton of jobs posted in newspapers.

You’ll probably have to figure out how to get your hands on one (check your local library).

The good thing is a lot of your competition is not checking newspapers and we’ll take every advantage we can get 😉

Your memes, TikTok’s, selfies, and political opinions will keep you from getting the job.

A 2018 survey determined that at least 70% of potential employers will screen candidates by checking their social media.

Use these links to hide your stuff:

Be Patient & Consistent

You’re going to make a lot more money at your new job.

So much so you’ll wish you had made the move sooner.

There’s a cost associated with that new income – it’s patience and consistency.

Most people are too lazy, distracted or easily frustrated to do what you’re trying to do.

That’s a good thing – most of your competition will take themselves out over time.

You’re going to win at this game by patiently waiting for each opportunity to come up and then presenting yourself in the most attractive way possible.

My coaching program helps you overcome procrastination, distractions and self-doubt.

Be Constantly Networking

Here’s what you should consider your network:

All your friends and family
Everyone on your social media
Everyone you’ve worked with
Everyone you’re connected with on LinkedIn

Let say conservatively that’s 500 people.

Those 500 people know at least 20 people each that you don’t know.

So, your network is at least 10,000 people (500 x 20) strong.

It’s way easier to get a job through your network than applying alongside everyone else.

How to network:

Find out who you know that’s already doing your target job. Get a referral from them at their work. LinkedIn can help find connections.

Find out who works at a company that employs the position you’re looking for. Have them put you in touch with HR. Try searching LinkedIn.

Go to Meetup’s or search for networking groups in your city. Attend and build relationships (start by trying to help other people).

Use Glassdoor to find companies in your area you’d like to work for. Find people that work there on LinkedIn, connect with them, then try to reach decision makers or HR.

Interview Prep

The best way to avoid being nervous for an interview is to be totally prepared.

Research

Gather all the information you can on the company, everyone you will meet (LinkedIn stalking recommended), and the industry.

Have interesting points to discuss and questions to ask regarding all of these.

Research tools:

Bloomberg search
Yahoo Finance search
Glassdoor (be careful to not bring up negatives)
LinkedIn

Dry Run

Do a test run going to the interview location.

Try going at the same time of day as your interview and see how long it takes and what traffic is like.

Attire

Articles:

Videos:

What to Bring

Multiple copies of your resume
Notebook and pen (the nicer the better)
Driver’s License (may need to check in with security)

The Moment of Truth

Most likely you and a few of your competitors have made it to the interview stage.

We’ll assume all of them will also show up on time and dress well.

There’s only one way to beat them.

We must have better answers, questions, and dialogue than everyone else interviewing.

Here’s how you’re going to kick everyone’s ass:

Have 10 interesting questions pre-written in your notebook that you prepare during research.

Study these common interview questions. Seriously, this list is so good and you’ll for sure have to answer several of these questions.

Study these body language tips. This is an easy way to get an edge.

Don’t do anything on this list of pitfalls.

Crush Your Competition

Become a fierce competitor with my coaching program.

We’ll do live mock interviews and hit you with the tough questions, so you’ll have nerves of steel during your real interview.

Rinse and Repeat

Sorry, you’ll almost never get a job on the first interview.

I’ve had dry spells of 4 or 5 interviews with no offers.

It’s very frustrating and its natural to start questioning everything from your attire to attitude to ability.

The fact is though it’s just a numbers game, like shooting free throws, blackjack, or playing scratch-offs.

You can get lucky right away, go on a cold streak, or most likely just have to give it a few tries.

The thing you’ll need most to get a higher paying job is patience (and consistency).

Think of it like a hobby or something you just do like working out or walking the dog.

It just takes a small time commitment every few days (searching, applying) and maybe one or two larger obligations (job fairs, networking, interviews) every few weeks.

Join my coaching program and never run out of motivation.

When It’s All Over

If you follow the steps I’ve outlined and stay committed and persistent, you’ll land your new job.

When you do here’s what you can look forward to:

$500 or more per month in increased income ($6,000 per year)
Greater financial freedom and independence
More happiness and satisfaction
Greater meaning and contentment with work
Pride and self-respect
Increased career opportunities
Brighter career outlook

Coaching

We’re all working with limited time, energy, patience, and attention.

Achieving anything that isn’t an absolute necessity can be challenging.

Join my coaching program and you’ll have a dedicated partner in your search.

I’ll guide you through all the steps outlined in this guide and keep you on track.

You won’t have to worry about all the details I’ve described above we’ll just go one step at a time as a team.

I will commit to doing everything I can to get you a $15+ per hour job.

Includes:

Guided coaching
Resume critique
Search strategy
Weekly check-ins
Live interview prep

Join Coaching Program ($29 / mo.)*

*cancel anytime

Resume Services

I have a professional resume writer I use to help my clients.

Resume Writing

It’s hard to objectively write a resume that makes us look our absolute best.

And most of us don’t know how to write resumes that get past automated filters and grab employers attention.

We can provide you with a top 10% resume.

Just send us whatever resume you already have and a few links to the kind of job your targeting and we’ll send you back a resume that beats the competition.

Order Resume Writing ($29)

Resume Critique

If you want to do your resume yourself but want professional feedback and tips we can provide that.

Send us your resume and we’ll outline all the changes and additions you need to make to achieve a top 10% resume.

Order Resume Critique ($9)

More Info

If you have questions about this guide or my services text me (Dustin) at 972-740-0209 or email dustin@whatevercoach.com.