How Kim achieved a career goal

I recently talked to hired Snagajob member, Kim, who is working as a cake decorator for Dairy Queen in Virginia. We first wanted to hear about her Snagajob experience and how we were able to help her find a job. But, we also found out about all the steps she took to reach the position she had been interested in since day one.

A few years ago, Kim was a high school student looking for a job. She needed to find a position where they would work with her busy schedule of school and extra curricular activities. Through Snagajob, she was able to find a job as a member of the “chill staff” at a newly-opened Dairy Queen. In this role, Kim helped make the ice cream treats and work the register. However, when she first went to apply to the restaurant, she applied to be a cake decorator, as that was something she was very interested in. The coveted position has already been filled, and she also learned that she did not have the expertise or experience to jump right in to the cake decorating role.

So, did Kim simply accept that the position she was interested in was not available and give up? Not in the slightest.

The first thing Kim did was stand out to her supervisors as an employee they could rely on. She made the best of her situation and realized that she really did enjoy being a part of the chill staff. Kim worked as hard as she could with her limited schedule and made sure her bosses took notice of what a valuable employee she could be.

In addition, Kim never gave up on her goal of becoming a cake decorator. During her breaks at work, she would sit with the cake decorator to get tips and training – something she wouldn’t have been able to do on her own. If she had an early shift, Kim would stay at the restaurant to continue her training and even start to test out her skills. Her supervisors definitely took notice of all of her extra work and started to talk to her about her career path at Dairy Queen.

When a cake decorating position became available, Kim was the obvious (and most trained) choice. Her hard work and dedication had paid off and Kim soon found herself working in the back decorating ice cream cakes with everything from celebrity photos to intricate landscapes.

Fast forward to a few years later and Kim is now in college. She made such an impression decorating cakes at Dairy Queen, that they ask her to come back and work during her school breaks. This is a reliable source of income that she knows will be waiting for her when school is not in session. Because she proved herself to be an ideal employee and showed how much passion she has for the business, Kim doesn’t have to worry about searching for summer and seasonal positions while many of her classmates aren’t so lucky.