World domination is going to take a little bit of seed money. Um, come back a bit toward up to that “not for long” comment I just made. I want you to COMPLETELY forget about company loyalty. The days of working 5, 10, 15 years for one company are done. You’re NOT going to stay with this company. It WON’T be the only job you’ll have in your life. So, be a professional. Whatever "class" you are hired on to be. Be the best you can at it. Do your job. Do it well. But you AIN’T staying! Because WHILE you are working there. You will CONTINUE to look for OTHER jobs. Ones that pay better. Ones that benefit you more. Using each one as a stepping stone for the next. Now. You are certainly welcome to work you way up through the SAME company. But it doesn't hurt to LOOK for another job while you are currently in one.

I remember when I first started working as a bank teller. After my 3 month trial, I was eligible for sick pay. After 2 years of NEVER getting a raise, they bumped me up from 9.00 to 10.50. I know of a person working retail who will get a 0.25 raise after ONE YEAR! Btw, the math on that is 2.00 a day, or about 10 bucks a week. And that is only if they are "good." THEY MAY GET LESS!

It hurts me to see fellow gamers, busting their tail at a job for years up years. They are HOPING for someone to notice. HOPING for someone to say, "oh, you work so hard. Here is a raise. Here is a promotion." The odds just aren't in your favor. And I want to save you that heartache. You are MUCH better off getting a job, (let's say one that starts at 11.00 an hour) and then company hopping to a job that pays 13.00. And don’t feel bad about that!

Newsflash. Companies. DO. NOT. CARE! They don’t give a SHRED concern when they have to lay off a bunch of workers. You can give your blood, sweat, and tears to a company for YEARS. They may SAY they value you as a person. But what they are REALLY saying is that they value you as a worker. The moment you stop producing is moment they stop caring. All it takes is a simple twist of fate for you to go from paying all your bills, to being unemployed. IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO BE YOUR FAULT! It could be that business is slow. Or the boss just having a bad day. Now, I know that as gamers, we like comfort. Oh. We LOVE the familiar. And when you DO get a job, after your first couple paychecks, you’ll want to stay. You’ll want to sorta coast. DON’T! Just keep stepping from one job to the next. Rinse. Repeat. Lather.

I’m going to yell at you really quick. Unless you LOVE your company. Unless you can can move QUICKLY forward and up within that company. If those conditions have no been met, and you have been with a company for more than 1-2 years. You’re doing it wrong! Jump ship already! This applies ONLY if you are a new job hunter, and are doing entry level stuff. IF YOU: have an education, a degree, or specialized skills/knowledge

ALREADY KNOW you are starting a CAREER job

are SURE that if you just stick it out for a few years, you WILL get a significant promotion

or are already making good money right out of the gate Then stay at that job! I repeat. If you have a four year college degree. Or are on a career path, like joining a carpenter trade, or learning the ropes to be a financial wizard. This guide won't apply to you! DO look for other opportunities on occasion. I'd still suggest keeping half an eye out for a better paying job within the industry, but this guide is mainly directed toward newer job seekers who don't have the experience or seasoning to make about 1.5 times minimum wage or more. Reminder! You do NOT jump, until you have the other job IN HAND. And you do this, pretty much until you can’t anymore. Eventually, you will reach some sort of hard cap where you aren’t going to find better paying jobs out there unless you jump past the “gateways.” A gateway being specialized skills, experience, education, and so forth. I want you to be in a place where you will do your job search, and say to yourself, "welp, unless I go back to school, or stick it out where I am at for another two years, I ain't finding a better job. THAT is when you stop jumping. One of the questions that I get is, “won’t that make me look bad to my next employer? What if they see that my resume has a bunch of 6 month jobs runs?”

Answer. Don’t list all your jobs. You don’t have to. It’s not illegal to leave stuff out. So. Just jot down the few past jobs that look the best.

The other question I get is, “What about references? If I’m jumping from job to job, won’t that hurt my job references.” Answer. First of all. Don’t be afraid that some past employer is going to be out to get you. People jump from job to job all the time. People quit all the time. You’re just not going to run into a situation where some evil overlord boss is going to make a phone call and get you banned from working forever. It wouldn't matter anyway because: Second. And Yes I am repeating myself here.

You don't leave a job until AFTER your new job is 100% in hand. Personally. I wouldn't even give my two weeks notice. I'd just keep working at the old place, as if nothing was going on. I'd show up, and work. All the way up until the first day at the second job.

The day before. I'd call in and quit. I wouldn't do it in person. I wouldn't tell them why. I WOULD have looked ahead and packed up my belongings ahead of time. So take your favorite stapler. Pack anything you wish to keep. And leave. One more repeat about not giving two weeks, and quitting on short notice. The reason you do not leave a job until you have one in hand is because your new employer has ALREADY hired you. Again! They aren't going to check your references if they have ALREADY hired you! So. You don't need a good word from you past job. Alternative! a) You could give your two weeks notice. b) You could give your original job a chance to match the offer. And going back to the topic at hand. THIRD! As you are doing own YOUR job jumping, you’ll find that your MANAGERS jump around too. And since you will already be schooled in this concept, you will see it for what it is. People doing the same thing you are! So. Find a manager that you actually like. Get their contact info. And even if you are stuck at ACME pizza, and they are at Blizzard, you can still use them as your reference. IF someone wants to check on your references, the phone call will go something like this. “So and so Gamer listed you as a reference. What did you do?” “Gamer and I worked together at ACME pizza.” “I was their manager, and they were great.” And that’s pretty much it. Okay. Concepts aside. Let’s help you get that job.

Step one. Put together that resume. Never had one before? We can do it together. Just follow along. Run down to google, and get yourself a resume template. You'll need to either create a google account or sign in to be able to access it. ​Resume Template Here! Just click on any of the templates that look cool. No right or wrong here. Most starter or entry level jobs don’t need a lot of detail for your resume. So don't worry if you don't have "enough." Just start the fairly straightforward process of just cutting and pasting your own information. The usual snag, would be the “skills” part. If you don’t already know what skills you have, the generic answer is a list/combination of these: Communication

Ability to Work Under Pressure

Decision making

Time management

Self-motivation

Conflict resolution

Leadership

Adaptability

Teamwork

Creativity. If you don't have any experience. Skip it and delete that section. Besides that, you can just fill in the blank with Education and stuff. Now. Download your resume onto your computer so you have it on hand. Do so twice. Get both the Microsoft Word doc, and the PDF Document versions.

Okay. Now that you have a fairly serviceable resume. Let's go on: Step two!