How To Get A Warehouse Job

Warehouse work is also known as "light industrial" employment. This industry has several different job descriptions, each with a different level of compensation. This could include order pick/packing, truck loading/unloading, driving a forklift and more. The exact nature of the work may vary by the type of freight stored in the warehouse. Retail merchandise, for example, requires different approaches, regulations and procedures than industrial chemicals. All of these jobs provide solid employment opportunities with potential for advancement, pay raises and benefits. To enjoy these extras, you must first learn how to get a warehouse job. This guide gives some tips to help land a warehouse job.

Create or revise your resume

This is an essential step for most successful job hunting. Creating your resume helps clarify your expectations and set realistic goals, which are placed into one topic sentence at the top of your resume. Prior warehouse experience not only helps you land a job, but it may lead to a better position within a warehouse. Recent experience driving a forklift is not always enough, but if you have a current OSHA certification, it may greatly increase your chances of landing a position.

Look for work

The quickest way to look for warehouse work involves your local newspaper's classified section. Typically, Sunday papers are the best places to look, as that is when most of the newest postings are added. Most newspapers now have online editions, allowing you to read the classifieds online for free.

Visit a temporary staffing agency

While newspapers can often lead to gainful employment, you may face stiffer competition in getting to the interview stage, since these positions are advertised publicly. While you are waiting for a potential call, take your resume to a temporary staffing agency. You likely have to fill out an application with each agency, and you are usually required to take a number of screening tests. Agencies, however, work with employers that skip newspapers altogether. Once you are placed in a temporary position, many warehouses may offer you a permanent position once you have proven yourself.

Conduct yourself professionally

Once you have an interview, show up on time. Phrase all your responses in warehouse terms. Highlight your experience, and if you have OSHA certifications for light-industrial equipment like forklifts, make sure you mention it in your answers. Keep anecdotes about your personal life to an absolute minimum.

Warehouse work is often grueling and physically demanding. However, it can pay well and offer its own levels of satisfaction. Do not fear taking a lower-paying position, especially if the warehouse offers OSHA certifications for driving a forklift. These can prove to produce feathers in your cap for future job opportunities or promotions.

Warehouse work is grueling and physically demanding