~Off Topic Thread~

[Jeraly 4]

Ok - so this is what I have so far - it's a first draft so it's a bit... *ahem* well... cr@p really but there you go

Alyson Rxxxxxxx

912 xxxxxxxxxxxxx Road

Palm Springs, CA 92262

(xxx)-xxx-xxx

Objective

A Management position that offers challenging responsibilities and allows

for personal growth and career advancement.

Summary of Qualifications

• Recent Art & Design Graduate with wide experience in retail. Exemplary customer

service skills; organisation and planning skills; communication skills on a variety of

levels and flexibility to meet goals in the workplace; excellent IT skills.

Summary of Achievements

• Co-ordinated and produced reports to feedback Road Safety information to

schools.

• Strong background in retail and management skills through my degree.

Experience

Active Employment

Administrator, 2007 - 2008

Worked at Motability Operations, a non profit organisation on a long term contract

calling disabled customers, car dealers and auction sites to locate vehicles. Took

extra responsibilities to ensure logistics department ran efficiently during busy periods.

Also worked closely with Upper Management at Avon Fire and Rescue Service,

organising, collating and producing information for Fire and Road Safety reports to

be presented to the County.

Yate Open Access Playscheme

Deputy Play Leader, 2005 - 2007

Managerial role included organisation of staff, children and activities and

communication with parents, staff, children and upper management.

BP Safeway

Retail Clerk, 2002 - 2005

Delivered excellent customer service. Managed and displayed stock and worked

under pressure in a busy retail environment. Worked independently and as part of a

team to ensure store was run efficiently.

Education

University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

B.A., ITE (Primary) Art & Design in Education, 2007

Any hints? Suggestions? Looking at the examples online, Resumes are more direct and less fluffy than CVs but I am struggling - it's for a retail management position and it would be so great if I could get it but my retail experience, while extensive, was a while ago as I wanted to get out of it(!). I've cut out some positions that are bitty (for example a playscheme job that was a few hours a week) to make sure that I can even get a small piece of my retail experience in but I can't seem to find a way to make it stand out - most of my achievements were working for the Fire Service as I had so much independence and responsibility... Hellllp!!!!

[NickyMcMillan 0]

I think it's a great start on a resume. Just a couple minor pointers:

I would just make sure that the spelling is in US standard spelling.

I would use the cover letter as an opening to state the extensiveness of your retail experience. Also, there are lots of different formats for resumes over here...you could probably bring a resume to an interview that would be more specific as to your retail experience.

Basically, a resume is something to catch an employer's eye...what is so special about you that will make you a stand out candidate? If you have the space, add a personal interest section where you can describe your interest in making jewelry.

I have a great resume/cover letter/salary letter/reference letter booklet I got from Loyola (that is my alma mater) when I took a careers course there that has been extremely helpful for both Nicky and I. If you want to pm me your email addy, I can scan it and email it to you Monday if you like.

[Ban Hammer 12,962]

good morning uk.

personally, i don't like being within 500 yards of bears. photographing one at 100 yards is very brave

[Jeraly 4]

Thanks Ginger that would be awesome! I don't *think* I've got any UK spelling there but then I just scribbled it down last night before Jeremy got home from work so I will double check!

I have a cover letter too that is, again, a work in progress:

I believe that I am an ideal candidate for the Assistant Manager position listed on CareerBuilder.com. Based on my exemplary Customer Service Skills, experience in Retail and Art, as well as my personal interest in the jewelry industry, I am confident that I would be a great addition to your team.

My resume highlighting my experience and abilities in the retail and customer service industry sector is enclosed. During my time at Avon Fire and Rescue Service, I was able to streamline the project management and production in place in order to save time and produce professional feedback to relevant parties including regional management. By liaising closely with management and the project reports' intended audiences, I was able to produce templates and structures that were made available to other Counties in order to relieve the workload on Fire Service Personnel.

I am excited about the Assistant Manager position and the ability to help Company Name to be a continuing success. Thank you in advance for your time and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. I would appreciate the opportunity to review my qualifications in more detail and look forward to hearing from you shortly.

Sincerely,

Again, I think it is pretty weak on the retail front but I was younger when I worked in retail and it was "just a job" so didn't really have any major responsibilities - I am sure I could construct something more impressive-sounding but nothing stands out

Oh and the job requires no retail experience as training will be given and only requires High School level education I think it is more aimed at the sales side of things but who knows?

[StillThePrettiest 3]

I spotted 'organisation' which should be 'organization' here, but that was all

it's hard to know whether to specify the location of each place - on the one hand, someone might think: where is Avon, and why do you mention 'county'? - ie specifying (UK) would be good in that instance... but on the other hand, adding (UK) to all of them could just emphasise (emphasize ) that all your experience is abroad... tricky

I had the same dilemma when I was first preparing my CV to do the rounds in England...

hello UKers

I have been away from you all too long

*general huggage*

[Jeraly 4]

Hehe - thanks for the spot! Have changed the s to a zee

It is a real pain in the behind - Jeremy read through and said that he thought the resume was good but the letter was OTT... After writing application letters for teaching(!!!!) I think three paragraphs in a letter is pretty sparse but all the examples were similar...

[StillThePrettiest 3]

I don't know from zee

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

What does your letter say Jer? I think the CV is good.

I was on the phone with my mother trying to help her help my niece with her homework (when did the seventh grade get so hard?) when she asked what I was doing for Thanksgiving. When I told her that I was visited my father in South Carolina she became very awkward. I reminded her that I was spending Christmas with her and I was staying a week (as opposed to a long weekend). She then started grilling me about my dad's new wife - I wasn't going to trash the woman to bolster my mother's self esteem so I just said she was "different" to my mother. Wrong answer. How was she different, what do you mean different? Different in a better way, different how exactly. Finally I relented - "I don't know she wears more makeup than you." Long, awkward silence. Knowing her, she'll spend the weekend beating herself up on whether she should have worn more makeup when she was marreid to dad. My parents have been divorced for over 10 years now.

[Jeraly 4]

Oh Robin - sounds like a nightmare

Luckily my mum never went through that, although I was only 9 when they split up so maybe she did but kept it under wraps to protect us kids. There was a power struggle between my parents though, primarily fueled by my then step-mother (yeah I know - sounds like a cliche) and we had posters go up around the village on the way to school saying that we wanted to see dad and he wanted to see us like we were being kept from him. There were custody battles where they tried to take everything from mum, including the house, purely so they could get custody of us - if she didn't have a house, how could she look after us, right??

Everything that was said or done was twisted, and I remember when my parents told me they were splitting up, I cried and said I didn't want them to get divorced (before I really understood what that meant - I just thought it was a big word for breaking up ). This then provoked a massive argument between them over who told me that they were getting divorced blah blah blah...

Long story short (there are lots of stories) - I stopped seeing dad because of my step-mum's mind games and incessant need to put my mum down, along with my dad's lack of support for me. Eventually dad and her broke up and she ended up with most of what he fought mum so hard for because he literally just left. I see him now from time to time but I lost a lot of respect for him.

Random rant! I guess what I am trying to say is that there isn't much you can do aside from being supportive in the best way you can, but you already know that Sometimes it feels like parents are kids themselves

Oh! Letter

Dear Sir/Madam,

I believe that I am an ideal candidate for the Assistant Manager position listed on CareerBuilder.com. Based on my exemplary Customer Service Skills, experience in Retail and Art, as well as my personal interest in the jewelry industry, I am confident that I would be a great addition to your team.

My resume highlighting my experience and abilities in the retail and customer service industry sector is enclosed. During my time at Avon Fire and Rescue Service, I was able to streamline the project management and production in place in order to save time and produce professional feedback to relevant parties including regional management. By liaising closely with management and the project reports' intended audiences, I was able to produce templates and structures that were made available to other Counties in order to relieve the workload on Fire Service Personnel.

I am excited about the Assistant Manager position and the ability to help Company Name to be a continuing success. Thank you in advance for your time and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. I would appreciate the opportunity to review my qualifications in more detail and look forward to hearing from you shortly.

Sincerely,

I think it needs more focus on the retail aspect but most of my achievements have been qualitative in my job at AFRS...

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Random rant! I guess what I am trying to say is that there isn't much you can do aside from being supportive in the best way you can, but you already know that Sometimes it feels like parents are kids themselves

Oh word. My parents seperated when I was in my 20s after 30 years of marriage. They didn't feel the need to protect me and got locked in a vicious War of the Roses style affair. I learned more about my parents' relationship I ever cared to know. I took my mother's side (as she was the wronged party) but knew she wasn't blameless in the breakdown of the marriage. My dad and I didn't talk for 2 years. AS bad as that was, they are both happier people now. My new stepmother is the complete opposite of my mother in every way - but ultimately much better for my dad (she knows how to manage him better). I obviously can't tell that to my mother. It upsets me that she won't move one - she had a nice gentleman friend for a time who platonically took her out to lunch and to art galleries and what not (stuff dad didn't do) but she wasn't "ready" for anything else (this was 5 years later) and I don't think she ever will be.

Anyways - your letter. I think it's great. I might consider adding in a sentence specific to retail, but I think what you have said about your experience at AFRS is very relevant - surely streamlining procedures and creating efficiencies is an important part of any job.

[Jeraly 4]

Well that's what I thought - I could go into the logistics of what I actually did but it wouldn't be relevant for most jobs - the fact is that I was a temp there for two and a half months, took on a couple of important regional projects, produced training and guidance notes for my replacement and trained my replacement... I absolutely loved the job even though I was "just" a temp because I had so much freedom yet my work and opinions were valued.

I just hope that I find something I love just as much I must say, working with guys was a lot more preferable to the b1tchy female office environment I was in before. I took on increasing workloads in both jobs but the other one just felt like I was being dumped on when people couldn't be bothered to organise their time to get things done themselves...

[StillThePrettiest 3]

my goodness, girls

my parents are still happily married and I have always been grateful for that, but never more so than this minute... bless you both for being able to stand all those goings on you describe! (and I know that must be the tippiest tip of the iceberg, what you've actually mentioned)

*hugs all round*

*marshmallows*

*a big vat of fruity punch spiked with loads of coconut rum*

[Jeraly 4]

Awww it's all worth it for the marshmallows

[Ban Hammer 12,962]

good morning uk people!

[VisaJourneyLady 33]

Hugs all around.

My parents are still married, and though I'm sure overall that's a good thing, I have to admit, I have no idea about most of how their relationship works. They have always been pretty closed down people, really unlikely to show any physical affection, even pecks on the cheek. While it must have been (and still is) incredibly hard to deal with the break down of those relationships, it at least gives you an insight in to how hard it is to make these things work, and that what may look like smooth sailing, actually has a lot of bumps. Useful insight since we are all trying to suceed at our own relationships. (And Muffin, I'm thinking of you in all of this too)

Anyway, that's my monday morning blurb to all of you. Hope your all looking forward to the week ahead! hugs hugs hugs

:blush: