Your supermarket staffer may be a superstar in another field

The term ‘check-out chick’ is part of the Australian vernacular. It’s a jovial, vaguely condescending term that suggests a young, ditzy gum chewer.

Yet as a recession settles upon the nation, your humble supermarket cashier is likely to be a stood-down senior manager, a UX designer between jobs or the nation’s next startup founder.

In times of crisis, we all look for work where we can find it, and this particular pandemic caused a boom of supermarket spending just as other industries were laying off roles.

It led to Woolworths hiring 20,000 new workers, including stood-down Qantas employees, and many are finding this step back to basics is actually setting them up for future success.

Qantas South Australia state manager Anthony Penney, 41, is working a few days a week in his regular role, so he’s taken up work at Woolworths, landscaping and doing admin at a psychology practice. He tells Get Hired Australia the experience has been transformative.

“My roles over the last few years have been dealing with state and federal politicians, meeting with ministers and even the Prime Minister. Then, finding myself working at Woolies, and being completely anonymous has been a re-grounding, I must say.

“You’ve got to swallow your ego a little bit and realise that there’s dignity in work. There's dignity in all work.”

At Woolworths, his managers are in their 20s and Penney is finding himself continually impressed with the way they operate.

“They have treated me with absolute respect and dignity. I am part of the team, and they treat me as part of the team.

“Seeing their approach to customer service, and how they engage with other team members and complete strangers has really instilled a lot of confidence in me for the future generation of business leaders.”

As for landscaping, he says he could barely walk the day after his first shift, but he’s getting stronger muscles, stronger callouses and a newfound respect for doing a job well, no matter what it is.

“I have gained a greater appreciation of humanity, of diversity of roles and recently, I've been familiarising myself with the concept of 'dignity in work'. No matter how senior a role is, no matter how much experience you've got, we’re all just equal and we’re all just people doing a job we hopefully enjoy.”

Click on the image to read his post.

Bachelor of Aviation student Arthur Van Der Vennet, 20, has been working in a Brisbane supermarket for a year, and never in his wildest dreams imagined a real pilot would walk into the staff room, but there was James Spruce, stood down Jetstar second officer, getting ready for a shift in online deliveries.

“I honestly couldn’t believe it at first,” he told Get Hired Australia. “He’s become a friend and a real mentor to me.”

As a student of aviation, the near shutdown of the industry has been a blow, but he says his friendship with Spruce was a source of confidence.

“It was quite demoralising and upsetting to see the state of the industry. We’re working so hard to get into this industry, and I feel like James has helped me to stay motivated.

“James has taught me: Don’t quit. Keep going. Have your eye on the prize. When everything picks up again, be ready to go.”

As for Spruce, he says he is equally inspired by his supermarket colleague.

“I was only at his stage three years ago, so it’s a good feeling to help him out. I was part of a cadet program and when we received the indication we would be part of the international fleet, I couldn’t have been more excited. It’s a fantastic lifestyle to go abroad multiple times a week to fantastic holiday destinations.”

He says walking into the supermarket on the first day, he thought, “oh wow, I’m going to be spending long days inside these four walls”.

“I’d say I’ll look back on this time as a really positive turning point. The only negative consequence is missing flying and financially lacking the pay of course. In terms of mental health and fitness, and having interactions with social groups, it’s been fantastic.”

A lot of Spruce and Van Der Vennet's conversations have been about going for a fly together, and last week, it finally happened. Here they are, friends, mentors, and colleagues. Time will tell if one day they’ll be colleagues again, but this time, as commercial pilots.

Click on the image to read his post:

Flight analyst and father Carl Herve, 40, tells Get Hired Australia he’s keeping busy working in a cleaning crew on a Wollongong construction site as well as his local supermarket.

“I could be at home on JobKeeper but staying at home gives you nothing. Nothing to learn. Nothing to earn. Nothing to experience.

“When we paused our mortgage, we could live off JobKeeper but I knew that when our mortgage started again, it would not be enough. I took a gamble and went looking for work. My kids are at school, my wife takes the car and I got myself a bicycle.

He says he’s pinning hope on getting back to his role while he works Monday to Friday cleaning and at the supermarket on the weekend.

"I worked in hospitality for 17 years and I applied many times to work for an airline. When I was finally offered a job, it was a dream come true for me. Psychologically, I am very tired. But I try to stay positive. I am lucky to have a job and to be earning some money.”

Click on the image to read his post:

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Australia has officially entered a recession — its first in 30 years. The worst economic contraction since World War 2 has been confirmed, with Australia’s GDP slumping 7% through the June quarter, the largest quarterly drop on record. Household consumption expenditure dropped by 12.7% while spending on services was down by 17.6%. Read more here.

Struggling to juggle work, family and everything in between? Join LinkedIn News Australia today at 2pm for the #TogetherInBusiness live chat with Boost Juice founder Janine Allis, corporate wellness specialist Bec Mitchell and parenting expert Dr. Jodi Richardson.

Do you really need a cover letter? Cover letters are likely growing in importance because it’s another way for job seekers to stand out among the crowd. Wendi Weiner, who is a personal branding and career expert at The Writing Guru, says “You may need to write out a well-crafted cover letter that showcases why you’re different than the other applicants.” Read more here.

Next week on #GetHiredAustralia, career coaches will share how the coronavirus pandemic will likely improve workplace flexibility and foster a greater understanding of the realities of being a working parent.

Missed last week's edition? Here’s why women lost more jobs than men at the height of the pandemic.