Category: Work & Jobs

How many jobs have you held in your life? I have had a total of 33 jobs in 17 years. This does not include all of the musicals, operas, television and film projects either. I am a professional singer and actor. Did I plan on having 33 jobs in 17 years? Of course not, but life has been a crazy wild ride. There were no drugs, very little alcohol, but my drug of choice has been WORK! Most of my adult life I have worked at least 3 jobs or more simultaneously in addition to performing. Each week I will discuss and reflect on one of my former or current jobs. Here is job number 4!

First United Methodist Chancel Choir

In college, I began singing in the choir at the United Methodist Church in Murray, Kentucky. The chair of the MSU music department was also the choir director at this church at the time. She would hire a few university singers to sing with her church choir. I attended rehearsals on Wednesday nights and sang with the choir every Sunday. It was a wonderful job for a college student and, even better for a music major to work on their sight reading skills.

Cultural Difference

Many predominantly white churches pay some of the singers. Before college, I had no idea that this was a thing because I had only attended black churches. Most predominantly black churches view paying singers as something you should not do. I have received so many mixed messages over the years about singing at church for pay.

Quitting

For me singing at church is not just a job. It has been my way of serving in the church. Well, the paid singers were serving First United Methodist Church in Murray because the university singers helped the elderly singers feel more confident with their singing as well. However, I quit this job because I had mixed feelings about singing at church for money. It was actually a classmate’s comments that convicted me about it.

Conclusion

After I quit the choir, I was often asked to sing at different churches during my time in Kentucky. I was always paid after I sang a solo at a church. So, I could have just kept my regular church job to be honest. One friend recently said something recently that resonated with me. She said that she invested thousands of dollars to be a trained singer.

So, she should be compensated for her singing at a church. It is not just a talent, but something that I have invested so much time and money into. However, I am still on the fence about this topic, even in 2024. As an adult I have been paid several times to sing solos at churches over the years. I am grateful to share my gifts in the church whether I am paid or not. If I am paid it is a nice bonus, but if not that is okay too.

https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/how-to-obtain-33-jobs-in-17-years/

https://www.murrayfirst.org/

How many jobs have you held in your life? I have had a total of 33 jobs in 17 years. This does not include all of the musicals, operas, television and film projects either. I am a professional singer and actor. Did I plan on having 33 jobs in 17 years? Of course not, but life has been a crazy wild ride.

There were no drugs, very little alcohol, but my drug of choice has been WORK! Most of my adult life I have worked at least 3 jobs or more simultaneously in addition to performing. Each week I will discuss one of my former or current jobs. I will reflect on my experience at each job. Here is job number 3!

First College Job

When I went to college, I debated multiple times whether to work while I was in school. I did not mind working, but music was an extremely time consuming major that required several rehearsals and way too many classes each semester. During my first semester of my sophomore year, I decided to get a job at Winslow Dining Hall at Murray State.

I cannot remember how much I got paid for this job, It was probably minimum wage. Minimum wage in Kentucky at the time was $7.25 an hour. I worked this job for only one school semester August 2009 until December 2009. This job involved some serious back breaking work on top of my crazy music major schedule. I worked Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Winslow Duties

I worked in the dish room for most of my shifts. Working in the dish room is not for the faint of heart. It is hot, wet, and you see some pretty nasty food combos on the dishes. On weekend mornings, I sometimes made omelets for students. I tried flipping an omelet just like my co-worker did, but dropped it on the floor. LOL. Also, I would have to clean all of the tables and there were several tables on both sides of the dining hall. This was a pretty big dining hall.

Quitting

If I had a normal major that did not require so many outside rehearsals, I would have continued working this job. Yes it was hard work, but it was similar to the work that I did at Ryan’s Grill Buffet & Bakery. Furthermore, I made straight A’s the semester that I worked at Winslow Dining Hall. The only time in my college career that I did that. This part-time job kept me more focused with my schoolwork because I had less time to complete it. So, maybe, I should have kept this job after all. If you are a college student, consider getting a part-time job. It actually may keep you more focused on your schoolwork than you think.

https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/how-to-obtain-33-jobs-in-17-years/

https://www.murraystate.edu/campus/Dining/index.aspx

How many jobs have you held in your life? I have had a total of 33 jobs in 17 years. This does not include all of the musicals, operas, and television and film projects either. I am a professional singer and actor. Did I plan on having 33 jobs in 17 years? Of course not, but life has been a crazy wild ride.

There were no drugs, very little alcohol, but my drug of choice has been WORK! Most of my adult life I have worked at least 3 jobs or more simultaneously in addition to performing. Each week I will discuss one of my former or current jobs. I will reflect on my experience at each job. Here is job number two!

My Second Job

In the summer of 2008 before I went off to college, I worked as a server at Ryan’s Grill Buffet & Bakery. This job may have been one of my worst job experiences to date. Ryan’s Grill & Buffet on Riverdale Road in Memphis, Tennessee was a very popular restaurant for years. I remember going there often to eat with my family on several occassions. However, it was much cleaner and well managed back then.

Bug Problem

When I worked at this restaurant, there was a significant roach problem. It was terrible. One day, a customer told me that a roach went into the salad on the buffet line. This was mortifying. When I would go to the stock room there were always roaches in there too. The Riverdale location closed not long after I left. I was not surprised when the location closed because I am sure they failed the health inspections.

Money Woes

Since Ryan’s servers received tips, the hourly wage was only $2.14 an hour! I had checks that were $14! My total tips for two months was only about $350 dollars. This was enough to pay for my college textbooks only. It is tricky when you are a server at a buffet restaurant because people do not think tipping is necessary since the server does not deliver the food to the guests. But at Ryan’s, I took all of the drink orders with unlimited refills, gave guests multiple baskets of buttered rolls, and bussed the tables.

Quitting for College

I quit this job when I went to Murray State in the fall of 2008. Ironically, there was a Ryan’s in Murray, Kentucky so I could have tranferred! Who Knew! This was my only restaurant server job to date. After this experience, I never wanted to serve again due to the super sporadic tips and low hourly wage. Furthermore, I was not the best server, even at a buffet style restaurant.

Yes, I was friendly, but moving quickly has never been my strength in life. A server has to work fast and swift especially at a non-buffet style restaurant. I struggled to be fast at the buffet style restaurant so there would be no serving for me in my future, not in this lifetime. Serving is a very challenging job that requires significant muli-tasking and strong customer service skills.

Food for Thought

I encourage everyone to appreciate their servers when they go out to eat. If the food is messed up, it is not the server’s fault unless the server took your order incorrectly. If the food is taking too long, this is usually not the server’s fault either. The cooks are probably behind on the orders. If you have ever been in a restaurant kitchen, it is chaotic back there, especially during rush hours.

Your server has between six to eight tables at a time. At the end of the day, most servers want you to have a positive experience and they are not trying to ruin your day. Servers have been some of the kindest people that I have worked with most times. Servers extremely hard working, even the grumpy ones, lol. Please give your servers some grace the next time you go out to eat. Empathy goes a long way.

Dominique Duarte

https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/how-to-obtain-33-jobs-in-17-years/

Looking for a Job? Try Indeed: https://www.indeed.com/

How many jobs have you held in your life? I have had a total of 33 jobs in 17 years. This does not include all of the musicals, operas, and television and film projects either. I am a professional singer and actor. Did I plan on having 33 jobs in 17 years? Of course not, but life has been a crazy wild ride. There were no drugs, very little alcohol, but my drug of choice has been WORK!

Most of my adult life I have worked at least 3 jobs or more simultaneously in addition to performing. So I will be doing a series on my 33 Jobs. Each week I will discuss one of my jobs and reflect on what I learned. Maybe you can apply for one of these jobs. Let’s start with my first job!

https://www.ghstv.org/

https://www.ppp.org/

My First Job

My first job was working for GHS-TV and Poplar Pike Playhouse as an intern for the summer of 2007. It was actually a full-time position that paid minimum wage which was $6.50 an hour at the time. In high school, I was enrolled in a class called “Production”. We were known as the “production students” by faculty and classmates.

Production Class

Most students thought we were insane and had no life outside of the theatre or televison studio. Well, they were not wrong. We basically worked full-time as students at GHS-TV and Poplar Pike Playhouse during the school year. The actual Production Class was during fourth period. We all had different positions in the class for both GHS-TV and Poplar Pike Playhouse.

Production Jobs

For the Poplar Pike Playhouse, I was an assistant box office manager my junior year and then box office manager my senior year. I was also a producer for Wake Up, Germantown and student reporter for GHS-TV. Our fourth period Production Class was a daily meeting between the fine arts faculty and all of the production students. After the meeting, we would get to work on whatever projects that we needed to do for either GHS-TV or Poplar Pike Playhouse.

A Small Misunderstanding

This job was a great first job. I just continued doing the work that I had been doing during the school year. But this time I got a paycheck, which was amazing. However, once the summer was over, the fine arts chairperson told be that I was expected to take Production Class for both fourth and fifth period during my senior year.

If I had know that I was expected to do fourth and fifth period for Production Class, I would not have done the summer internship. 4th Period Production Class and Chamber Choir were my only electives that year. All of my other classes were required in order to graduate. I could not have another elective and I did not want to drop choir.

The department chairperson was not happy, but there was nothing that he could do. I am so glad that I stayed in choir because I made the All-West Tennessee Honor Choir that year, which was a cool experience. Lastly, I became a music major in college. I may not have been accepted into the music department at Murray State if I had not remained in choir during my senior year.

Conclusion

Compared to most people’s first jobs, this was a cool first job. During the internship, I got to work with my classmates and prepare for my Production Class jobs for the following school year. Production Class responsibilities were extremely difficult to balance during the school year. The summer internship was a relief because I had no homework or classes in the summer.

During the school year, I stayed after-school quite late almost daily for Production related projects. Sometimes, I would get up at 3am just to complete my homework. The paid summer internship was probably one of the calmest times in my life. Furthermore, at the end of my senior, I won two regional Emmys for my news reports at GHS-TV and won best reporter in my production class. Internships are a nice way to expose yourself to the workforce. So if you are in high school or college, I would encourage you to apply to internships as soon as possible.

Dominique Duarte

https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/how-to-live-life-one-day-at-a-time/

Job hunting can be quite the experience for everyone. It can be arduous, time consuming, and exhausting. The job market is super competitive right now, so you need to be prepared with your best resume and cover letter to stand out from the other candidates. Assess your skill sets, apply for hundreds of jobs, and prepare for your job interviews in order to find a job.

Assess Your Skill Sets

What are your talents? What skills have you acquired thus far? Analyze your work experience and the skills that you have acquired from past work. If you do not have much work experience, then list any volunteer work or internships on your resume. Your resume can make or break you from getting a job interview. Your resume should be a summary of your past jobs and highlight your skill sets within each position that you held.

Apply for Hundreds of Jobs

Applying for jobs is a numbers game so you should apply for as many jobs as possible. Apply for hundreds of jobs at a time. Use https://www.indeed.com/ to apply for a massive amount of jobs in a short period of time by uploading a resume to the website. When you apply for jobs make sure these are jobs that conincide with your past work experience and skill sets. Please make sure the resume looks professional with no typos or errors.

Prepare for Interviews

You got called in for an interview! Congrats! Now this is where you need to shine bright like a diamond. Please bring your best personality, your resume, and your best business casual attire. Practice possible interview questions with a friend if you get nervous during interviews.

The most challenging questions tend to be the following: What are your weaknesses and why? Why did you leave your last position? Why should we hire you? Tell me about a time when you had a conflict at work and how did you handle it? Be prepared to answer these questions because at least one of these questions will probably come up in an interview.

Conclusion

Assessing your skill sets, preparing for your job interviews, and applying for hundreds of jobs should get you a job as soon as possible. Remember to apply for jobs within your skill sets and past work experience. Furthermore, you can create more than one resume to fit into different job types. For example, I have three resumes, one for customer service applications, one for teaching applications, and one for performing applications. Each resume serves its purpose and I submit the appropriate resume for whatever job type that I am applying for at the moment.

SIDENOTE

Lastly, there are many more job opportunities in certain cities and areas than others. If you are struggling to find work in your current area, consider applying for jobs in other areas and possibly relocating. Yes, relocating can be costly, but if you end up accepting a full-time job that pays well, you can afford to relocate and make up the financial difference once you begin working.

https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/how-to-be-a-good-employee/

Hope this helps,

Dominique Duarte

How do you prepare for job interviews? Comment below!

“The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice. It is conformity.” -Earl Nightingale

Society loves to tell you which jobs are the best and the worst and why. Social media and the internet post articles all the time about this subject. Your own family and friends will inadvertently tell you their own prejudices about certain jobs. Who do you listen to? To compromise or not to compromise, that is the question?

Jobs & Career Prejudice

We all have a tendency to look down on some jobs and romanticize other jobs. The people who work at the job make the difference, not the job or career itself. For example, if you work in a service job, the assumption is that you must have made a mistake or lost your way. If you are a teacher, people will remember their own educational experience, which leads them to either demonize education, or overromanticize your job role.

Other people view you as almost angelic for doing such a selfless act as teaching young students. In the arts, singers, musicians, artists, dancers and entertainers are viewed as glamourous, talented or pompous and self absorbed, if they are successful. When the success dies down, they are villainized. If they self destruct, it was because they chose such a horrible career choice. Or, if you are trying to make it and have not had instant success, then you are wasting your life. If someone makes it, then they were just lucky, no hard work was involved along the way, it was only their pure talent that got them to the top.

Why Are You Showing Up for Work

Are you doing the job with integrity and honoring your true self? Or are you giving a subpar performance just to get a paycheck? Do you give 100 percent and still feel unfufilled in your work? When we choose to compromise, we give up our true callings to win societal approval and avoid discomfort financially. You can be whatever you want to be in life. If it is legal, of course.

Unfortunately, some people do find ways to do illegal things within legal jobs and careers. Go figure! However, most of us choose a practical career or job in order to have stability. We settle! We settle to fit in, to not stand out, to be accepted by our family, friends, and colleagues. There are no good or bad jobs as long as you do not compromise your intergity and your authentic self while working that job or career.

What Makes a Job or Career?

YOU make a job or career! You make the difference! If you are doing a job that you find fulfilling, then that makes it good no matter what anyone else tells you. Teaching is a beautiful career, especially when someone is passionate about it. Every customer service job is essential to the function of our economy and day to day living.

When a service worker is giving 100 percent, he/she can make a person’s experience memorable. If someone hears a beautiful piece of music or watches a powerful film or play, it can have an impact on his/her life forever. When you show up and give the best of yourself, you will feel happier no matter what job or career you have.

Conclusion

I remember getting so much praise and appreciation from people in general for having a teaching career, which fed my longing for approval abundantly. If I wanted to keep up the people pleasing and the NYC teaching salary and benefits, I could have continued working in education.

I was chasing a check, caving in to familial and societal approval, compromising my integrity regularly, and neglecting my mental health on a daily basis. Your conscious knows when you are conforming, but you ignore it. We all know that there will be hard days at work no matter what job or career you have. But ask yourself: how do you show up to work each day? Are you just trying to get through the day every single day? Are you using any of your natural gifts? Do you know what your gifts are?

Find out as soon as possible if you do not know. Listen to your conscious or God or whatever you believe in. Tune out what the world is telling you. This is hard, but I believe in you. If we would become self-aware and be true to our authentic selves, I truly believe that we would all find contentment and peace within.

Book Suggestion: The Big Leap: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/6391876

https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/the-best-ways-to-find-a-job/

Hope this Helps

Dominique Duarte

In one week, I will turn the big 33! Woohoo! It is hard to believe that I have been an employee for 15 years already. I have had 35 jobs since I was 17, and I have never been let go from a job, except Campus Pizza in college. Of course, Campus Pizza was run my student managers, go figure! I have had several jobs over the years and have tried to be a good employee overall. Here is what I have learned over the years. Show up consistently, communicate with your employers, and be open to learning and growing.

Best Job Search Site: https://www.indeed.com/

The Best Ways to Find a Job: https://bydominiqueduarte.com/the-best-ways-to-find-a-job/

Show Up Consistently

This is a big one! I think most people get let go from a job because of attendance. This is the easiest thing you can do in any situation is to just SHOW UP. We all have sick days and this is totally understandable, but you must communicate this to your employer. Communicate anytime you are unable to come to work. Your boss will greatly appreciate it.

If you have to miss work or are running late, your employer is more understanding if you let them know ahead of time. Attendance led to my one and only firing at Campus Pizza in Murray. I had worked there for a little over a year on weekends. When I had performances that conflicted with my shift, I would try to get someone to cover for me.

However, there were times when I could not get anyone to cover my shift. Since I could not find anyone to cover one of my shifts, I got the boot for not being able to find coverage and then not showing up for the shift to perform in a musical. Basically, if you do not show up, it effects everyone else during the shift, no matter the reason. Show up and be on time.

Always Communicate to Your Employers

Communication is key and in the Campus Pizza situation, I should have asked for the student managers cell phone numbers in advance. I called the dining hall before the shift and no one answered the phone so I left a message. The student manager did not get the message, so it was considered a no call, no show. The student manager immediately sent a termination email without talking to me first.

She knew that I had been a reliable employee in the past, but no call, no show means immediate termination for most jobs. As far as communication goes, the situation with Campus Pizza is an anomaly for sure. Post college, I have always been able to contact my employers through email, text, or by phone. In 2022, there is no excuse to not contact your employer about your attendance. There are too many ways to contact your managers so take advantage of it. If you have any other concerns about anything job related, let your managers know in a professional manner.

Be Open to Learning & Growing

Learn as much as you can about your job. Go above and beyond, even at the simplest of jobs. When you continue to learn at your job, you gain more life skills, and it can make even the most mundane jobs more interesting. Always ask questions so that you can become as knowledgeable as possible about the ins and outs of the job.

One of my favorite jobs other than acting was working at Trader Joe’s. I loved bagging groceries and stocking the shelves since I love to organize things. Also, there were so many different tasks to do at Trader Joe’s, so it was never boring. There was always something new to learn.

Futhermore, working at Cracker Barrel helped me with my communication skills because I had to answer the phones and check out guests daily. I learned how to be interested in other people and ask open ended questions to get to know people better.

This is an essential life skill that I have used in all areas of my life. If you ask people open ended questions like” What did you do today?”, you will get most people to open up so quickly. Lastly, there will be changes at work sometimes, so become as informed as possible to continue doing your job efficiently with the changes.

Conclusion

So whether you just got a new job or have been working at your job for years, show up consistently, communicate with your employers, and be open to learning and growing. If you show up well at work, you will feel better about yourself than if you are just doing the bare minimum and barely showing up. Be the best you at all times.

Hope this helps,

Dominique Duarte