The Resume Question

[AnqeiicDemise]

Yeah, I know I should be reading the other posts in regards to this, but I can't seem to find them and my lunch is almost over.

Anyway, this is the Hubby's resume. I feel its lacking somehow and I don't know how to fix it other than padding it with his hobbies. I would love to recieve some type of input to make it more presentable before I give it to my boss. (we're hiring, they pay well, might as well.)

FYI: we did use mine as a template of sorts.

Demise's Hubby of Doom
Boring Address next to Hell
Tel: (123) 456-7890 email: dhubbs@email.com

Objective
In need of a long term, stable work envoirment with possibility of improvement.

Work History

Target Retail, city,state Aug. 2007 - Dec. 2007
• Sales floor specialist
• Customer service
• Education of product
• Sales
Sitel Call Center, city, state July 2007 - Aug. 2007
• Tech Support training for DirecTV.
• Sales training for DirecTV television packages.
• Bank training, payment handling, etc
Landscaping, City, State July 2005 - Aug. 2006
• Handling client's desires
• Required eye for detail
• Following specific guidelines


Education
General Education Diploma
Gardner Learning Center, city, state

Skills
• Computer Skills:
Word Processing (Microsoft Word, Wordpad, Notepad, Jarte)
Comfortable with common computer tools and programs
Experience with call center tools, notes, etc
Webcommunity management experience
• People Skills:
Above average customer service
Patient, able to work under supervisor and customer pressure.
Effecient and fast pace work method
Level headed, focused, hard to distract

[Caveat Emptor]

Handling client's desires


Uhhh...this can be "interpreted" in more than one way...

As for the rest, could he elaborate one some of the tasks he regularly performed?

[AnqeiicDemise]

::blank stare::

Wow.

Normally my mind's in the gutter but I guess I need to move to Rap's neighborhood because I *totally* didn't get it. :devil::angel:

All I can say, is.. He better not!

[Seshat]

Objective
In need of a long term, stable work envoirment with possibility of improvement.


What type of work does he enjoy? What type of work is he good at? Why this particular job, and not some other? Right now, that objective works equally well for ditch-digger or some high-falutin specialist accountant.

It's good, but it needs to personalise a bit more. Oh, and run a spellcheck. Environment is misspelled.

[Gurndigarn]

Warning: possibly brutal response follows. Please don't take anything said personally. But as someone who's looked over applications in the past, several red flags got raised to me at the very least, and I naturally assume that if I see them, other potential employers will, too, and thought you ought to be aware of them.

Objective
In need of a long term, stable work envoirment with possibility of improvement.

Overall, this is a fairly bland objective. While it is a rather important one to you, it's not going to mean much to HR— after all, most people have this as an objective, whether they enumerate it as such or not. Objectives are optional, so I would recommend either removing it, or focusing it a bit: what type of work envornment? What type of improvement? That kind of stuff. Based on other things in the resume, something like "Seeking stable work environment with possibility of advancement to supervisory position after necessary job skills are mastered" or "Seeking position in [job field] to learn skills needed for [skilled position in same field]".

Work History

Target Retail, city,state Aug. 2007 - Dec. 2007
• Sales floor specialist
• Customer service
• Education of product
• Sales
I know this is a generic retail job, but does he have any accomplishments of note from this job?
Sitel Call Center, city, state July 2007 - Aug. 2007
• Tech Support training for DirecTV.
• Sales training for DirecTV television packages.
• Bank training, payment handling, etc
One month? Is there a strong reason to include this job on the resume?
Landscaping, City, State July 2005 - Aug. 2006
• Handling client's desires
• Required eye for detail
• Following specific guidelines
This is the most interesting job on the list. However, the job description you have... says nothing. What did he do? What does "handling client's desires" mean? Or "following specific guidelines"? The "eye for detail" is a good point, but is lost without some factual things to frame it in— IE, unless you say what type of detail, or why it was important, it doesn't mean anything to the guy on the other side of the counter. In addition, I notice a year in between landscaping and call center... what happened?


Education
General Education Diploma
Gardner Learning Center, city, state

There's little reason to put high school graduation on a resume. There's even less reason to put GEDs on. I know that at a certain point you're going to want to fill up space, but honestly, there's a certain stigma attached to GEDs, whether that stigma is deserved or not. It's not so bad on applications, since (A) they asked you for details, and (B) most jobs that take applications and not resumes don't care, so long as you can claim you graduated in any form.

Skills
• Computer Skills:
Word Processing (Microsoft Word, Wordpad, Notepad, Jarte)
Comfortable with common computer tools and programs
Experience with call center tools, notes, etc
Webcommunity management experience
• People Skills:
Above average customer service
Patient, able to work under supervisor and customer pressure.
Effecient and fast pace work method
Level headed, focused, hard to distract

These are going to be your selling points, by and large. The jobs you have listed are mostly standard part time (was the landscaping part or full time?) employment that young people find... not bad, but nothing that's going to really attract the notice of HR people, either. You might want to move the skills section above the employment section so it's seen first, then in your employment section, mention things that refer back to the skill section: ie, "updated customer database" or "was part of the team that scored second in district in customer satisfaction" or whatever accomplishments he had in those jobs. Yeah, I know it may be a stretch to find accomplishments from a seasonal job at Target... but there isn't enough detail here for me to start with. Can you tell us more about what he did, or conditions at his places of employement?

Also, "able to work under supervisor and customer pressure"... customer pressure is good. Supervisor pressure, though, gets suspect. I know what you mean, really, since I worked retail too, but hinting that you had issues with supervisors isn't usually a good idea, at least not on a resume. And what does "above average customer service" mean? Do you have any details (awards, listings, etc) to back that up?

[myswtghst]

The biggest thing I noticed as well was the objective. I just finished writing up a new cover letter and re-vamping my resume for the millionth time in the last few years so I can submit for a training position that just opened up at work. My objective is a decent paragraph in size - noting the specific position I'm applying for, why I want it, why I think I'll be good at it, and all that. I know his will be somewhat different, as he doesn't already work for the company, but this is just an idea.

Also, my resume is formatted thusly. Here's the generic-ed version:

Objective : •My objective since beginning my career at *mycompany* has been to put my people skills, my love of problem solving, and my drive to help others to good use by helping out my fellow agents, either as a Trainer or as a Lead. I feel that my time in both call centers has made me very familiar with many of our [...] processes and procedures, as well as the purpose and structure of the organization. In addition to these skills, I am also proficient in Microsoft Office, as well as the programs and websites utilized in both call centers on a daily basis.

Education: Lists college and high school, including details, dates and my college advisor's info.

Experience: Lists the jobs I've held over the past 6 or 7 years, including dates of employement, job title, boss info and any other relevant details. (Some of my jobs were self-explanitory, but "intern at theatre company" required some details of what I actually did)

Honors/Activities: Lists any and all honors and such from school and previous jobs - things like customer compliments, employee of the month, etc. Also lists the things I do in my spare time, especially things that might relate to the job - my experience in theatre and film helped me become a better public speaker and comfy w/ most technology, so I included that in the resume for this application.

[anyanka2]

I would also suggest removing the objective part. From what I've read, if you include a cover letter and or short note with your resume, then it is unnecessary because you are repeating yourself.

[Slytovhand]

I agree with Gurn - it definitely needs a lot of filling in - and the skills would appear to be the clinching point - if it's done right.

Firstly, I would suggest not using the name "Demise's Hubby of Doom" - might put some in HR off a bit. Is it Mr Doom, or is 'Hubby of Doom' the full surname - like a 'Van der Dyke'?

And is "Boring Address next to Hell" close to where he is looking for work? or will it be a bit out of the way.....

I'm presuming the "In need of a long term, stable work envoirment with possibility of improvement." was for our reference only? If not, then definitely either spruce it up, or remove it completely. It needs to say something to tell the employer that they want that job with them, and they want it BAAADDDDDDDDDDDDDDD......

Ok - a bit more seriously, for a couple of other things not covered above - in the skills section, I would wipe the Wordpad and Notepad reference, but detail uses of MS Word - graphics, tables, formatting, mail merges etc - that looks good (do that myself, and nice to hear the prospective employer say "Oh, good - you can do that.."


"Comfortable with common computer tools and programs" - So XP? Vista? Linux? Which tools and programs? Anti-virus, email, program installation? Deletion? System Admin? Settings etc?


Experience with call center tools, notes, etc".... Inbound/outbound? Sales? Customer Service? problem resolution? Accounts? Privacy?

"Webcommunity management" - again.. doesn't say a lot. What's it mean (especially if it goes to computer illiterate).



What's a "Sales Floor Specialist"??? Details? etc

RE: Landscaping... details? Quotes/Estimates? design? Measurements? supply and logistics? materials purchasing? Landscapes? Gardens? Sporting fields? Maintenance? Including the plumbing for watering systems? etc etc etc...


I think you get the idea. And as others have suggested - put in a bit of personality - be it awards, honours, achievements etc - even if they're outside of the normal work fields. Talking points are good - it gets a person interested in you - which always gives an advantage over any other applicant who can't pique a boss' interest somehow. My very first interview as warehouse thing (I don't know - I forgot what..). I apparently got down to the final 3 or 4 - and I had absolutly NO experience. Why?? Because I put on my resume that I did astrology! (At the interview, he asked me which the best sign is. I said Sagittarius - guess why ;-) co-incidentally - he was a Sag too.... :D ) So it can make a big difference.


Good Luck Demise :-)

[alogram]

I am graduating in May (YAY! FINALLY!) and we have to take a class on resumes, interviewing, etc. etc.

Anyway, our professor has said that the objective should be left off, that is what the cover letter is for.

Then again, maybe in his situation he doesn't need a cover letter, in which case maybe it should be left on?

Also, he said that if you do include an objective, it should be short.

Good luck!!

[tropicsgoddess]

Objective
In need of a long term, stable work envoirment with possibility of improvement.


• People Skills:
Patient, able to work under supervisor and customer pressure.


I would change it to Patient and able to work under pressure. For the Objective: Seeking a long-term, stable environment with the possibility of advancement. That's just my suggestion.