Please, give me a job GameStop!

 I've been looking for a job for...  Well, at some point it's best to lose track of for how long.  Needless to say I've been looking for a job for a long time.  My expectations have fallen in line with the times, and I don't believe I'm unreasonable in my wishes.  I just want a job that will further my career, and won't make me want to blow my brains out.  Fair enough, right?  I don't demand a large salary, or excessive benefits, just a level of satisfaction with what I do and a reasonable sense of autonomy. 

My scope has settled on Gamestop as my last, best hope of immediate employment.  I've applied there any number of times, but I've done my utmost to strike up a rapport with the local manager.  I feel like I've been successful, considering I am a consistent customer, and a acquaintance of much of the staff.  However, I feel like I just keep getting blown off.  Maybe my local manager just doesn't know when they're hiring, but she generally doesn't seem receptive to my earnest to work there.  It can be a frustrating situation to sort out.

Even part-time work would be huge in the wake of my latest rejection.  I felt that traveling to Canada to work in Japan would be proof of my earnest to secure work, but being rejected by a English teaching company was just yet another sobering experience.  It seems unreal that someone with a college degree, a strong work ethic, and solid credentials couldn't get work.  But, it's the troubling story of my life so far.   

Furthermore, this will sound crazy, but I feel that GameStop is the perfect place for me at this juncture.  I have a deep knowledge of the current video game climate, and I really enjoy interacting with and helping people.  Also, ideally, it would give me a foundation of experience to start penetrating the video game industry.  It may be highly idealistic, but I'm willing to do anything to make moves at this point.

Well, thats where I'm at now.  If you have any advice or want to share your experiences with retail or the current economy, leave it in the comments.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to hustling.     
 
Davebefree

 I've been looking for a job for...  Well, at some point it's best to lose track of for how long.  Needless to say I've been looking for a job for a long time.  My expectations have fallen in line with the times, and I don't believe I'm unreasonable in my wishes.  I just want a job that will further my career, and won't make me want to blow my brains out.  Fair enough, right?  I don't demand a large salary, or excessive benefits, just a level of satisfaction with what I do and a reasonable sense of autonomy. 

My scope has settled on Gamestop as my last, best hope of immediate employment.  I've applied there any number of times, but I've done my utmost to strike up a rapport with the local manager.  I feel like I've been successful, considering I am a consistent customer, and a acquaintance of much of the staff.  However, I feel like I just keep getting blown off.  Maybe my local manager just doesn't know when they're hiring, but she generally doesn't seem receptive to my earnest to work there.  It can be a frustrating situation to sort out.

Even part-time work would be huge in the wake of my latest rejection.  I felt that traveling to Canada to work in Japan would be proof of my earnest to secure work, but being rejected by a English teaching company was just yet another sobering experience.  It seems unreal that someone with a college degree, a strong work ethic, and solid credentials couldn't get work.  But, it's the troubling story of my life so far.   

Furthermore, this will sound crazy, but I feel that GameStop is the perfect place for me at this juncture.  I have a deep knowledge of the current video game climate, and I really enjoy interacting with and helping people.  Also, ideally, it would give me a foundation of experience to start penetrating the video game industry.  It may be highly idealistic, but I'm willing to do anything to make moves at this point.

Well, thats where I'm at now.  If you have any advice or want to share your experiences with retail or the current economy, leave it in the comments.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to hustling.     
 
Davebefree

Why would you be clamoring to work at a place where you will be making little more than minimum wage and be treated like shit by both the company and customers?

Ya I live in Canada and have a great job. 
 
Good luck to you my friend.

One issue might be that you're over qualified to work there.  If you have on your resume that you have a Master's Degree and have had significantly higher paying jobs in the past they may overlook your resume. 
 I understand that you have been building up a good rapport and that's great.  Hopefully that has helped them learn your situation and they'll be more receptive of your situation.  At this point maybe you should just be straight with them and ask if it's ever going to happen and if not start looking elsewhere.

 If you want to work at Gamestop then, whatever you do, don't put any work history or college experience on the application or your resume. Small places like that don't hire people like us with really good credentials. The reason being because they think we'll be expecting a high pay. No matter how many times you tell them you don't care if you get minimum wage, they still have the idea stuck in their head. Trust me, I've worked at a casino in the cash vault for almost five years. I know jackpots, California taxes, payouts, money laundering, etc like the back of my hand. Not even Wal-Mart will hire me.    

It's hard times for a hustler.

Sorry, this will either sound really dumb or not like a good question buuuuttt : What experience are you looking to get out of Gamestop?  Are you looking to be hired as a store associate?  How will that get you into the video games industry?  
 
Maybe, (pr probably) I don't get the games industry.  So I will explain from what I understand.  I work in finance.  I have a crappy degree, but now good work experience and industry knowledge.  Of high finance.  So say I wanted to go work at some big wall street firm.  If I went to say, one of their storefront opperations and tried to get in as a loan officer or (hilariously misnamed) financial advisor, because it would get my foot in the door and help me get into that firm, it would be a horrible idea.
 
In our industry, people who work hourly and minimum wage jobs are largely fodder.   They are expected to be unskilled, and aren't looked to as the rising ranks of the company.  Often time 'employee's of the month are these people, and I figure that's because the pay is so bad emotional promotion is very effective. 
 
What I'm trying to suggest is that maybe trying to work at a gamestop store will not help, but rather hurt, because to an industry insider they would read that and say "oh he's unskilled" even at the expense of seeing your other credentials.  Work experience tends to trump, both on the up and down.  So my degree is super terrible (Philosophy, near D gpa grade levels)  But my work experience is strong and I have time under my belt, so that weighs more heavily.  I would think if my degree was good but I was just a loan officer doing meaningless things for the past few years my resume would be weaker.
 
 
 
Just my 2p, and maybe things work differently for video games than they do for my industry.  So take it for what it's worth (which could be nothing)

Maybe you should broaden your search if you've decided that you're alright with retail work. Gamestop gets tons of applications from kids who think it would be awesome to talk about video games all day, when in reality it's just like any other retail job. You're doing the right thing by getting to know the manager personally, though; landing a job is all about who you know and your past experience. I worked part-time at Gamestop with a college degree but it was only because I had been friends with the manager since high school.
 
Sadly, even when you do finally get a decent job, you'll likely find that the people in positions above you are incompetent. Nepotism routinely allows people of questionable qualification to fill positions above the employees who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of a company.

" It's hard times for a hustler. "

" Why would you be clamoring to work at a place where you will be making little more than minimum wage and be treated like shit by both the company and customers? "

" @Noodles: Resume boosting, homie.  You need to have as much recent experience as possible, otherwise employers look at you sideways.  Also, you gotta pay the bills, and minimum wage is better then nothing.  Times is tough, unless you live in Canada...   "

" @FourWude said:

" It's hard times for a hustler. "

Pimpin' ain't easy. "

" @Axxol said:

" @FourWude said:

" It's hard times for a hustler. "

Pimpin' ain't easy. "

Especially when he's tryin' get the money for the rent "

" @FourWude said:

" @Axxol said:

" @FourWude said:

" It's hard times for a hustler. "

Pimpin' ain't easy. "

Especially when he's tryin' get the money for the rent "

He needs the Hustle and Flow to make it in these streets. "

My only advice is don't have your heart set on one place. Apply everywhere you would possibly want to work (basically everywhere that isn't a fast food restaurant) and see what happens. 
 
I have a great job at a local grocery store, and that is how I got it, it took a long freekin time.

If you want to know what hell is like, work at Gamestop.
 
Old people come in and ask for "That game with the shooting, and the monsters." Irresponsible parents drop off their kids there like your some sort of day care, and let them destroy the walls of games just throwing crap wherever they want. GOD FORBID you talk to them about their children, those sweet angels can't do anything wrong. Your manager will most likely be a complete idiot who only got hired because the smart people had bailed on the God-Forsaken store long ago. He will be incompetent and most likely make you do all the work while he/she sits around in the back 'doing stock'.
 
You will randomly be called into work, and then suddenly have all your hours taken off. You will be forced to pester customers constantly about the stupid edge card which offers minimal benefits. The other  employees will do nothing to help you save a few really cool people who thought this would be a good job like you did. And those useless empolyees will watch you stumble blindly with a customer when you don't know how to do something and they will take amusement out of it. Why? Because they are dead inside, they have most likely been working at Gamestop for over a year.
 
tldr; I'd rather swallow bees, shove my hands into a fire ant hill and stuff my face into a bucket of liquid nitrogen than work at Gamestop again.

" @Noodles: Resume boosting, homie.  You need to have as much recent experience as possible, otherwise employers look at you sideways.  Also, you gotta pay the bills, and minimum wage is better then nothing.  Times is tough, unless you live in Canada...   "

" If you want to know what hell is like, work at Gamestop.
 
Old people come in and ask for "That game with the shooting, and the monsters." Irresponsible parents drop off their kids there like your some sort of day care, and let them destroy the walls of games just throwing crap wherever they want. GOD FORBID you talk to them about their children, those sweet angels can't do anything wrong. Your manager will most likely be a complete idiot who only got hired because the smart people had bailed on the God-Forsaken store long ago. He will be incompetent and most likely make you do all the work while he/she sits around in the back 'doing stock'.  You will randomly be called into work, and then suddenly have all your hours taken off. You will be forced to pester customers constantly about the stupid edge card which offers minimal benefits. The other  employees will do nothing to help you save a few really cool people who thought this would be a good job like you did. And those useless empolyees will watch you stumble blindly with a customer when you don't know how to do something and they will take amusement out of it. Why? Because they are dead inside, they have most likely been working at Gamestop for over a year.  tldr; I'd rather swallow bees, shove my hands into a fire ant hill and stuff my face into a bucket of liquid nitrogen than work at Gamestop again. "

I worked in my local game store, it wasn't awful. Customers do treat you like shit but it's ok if you have a decent crowd of co-workers to laugh about it later with.
 
I saved a whole lot of money on game purchases due to the perks though, so in my mind minimum wage is not so bad if you look at it like that.