I believe in your product, and would like to sell it. Does that make me qualified?

July 9, 2009 8:30 AM

How can I tailor my resume for a retail job, when I usually emphasize my masters degree and five years of federal government experience?

There's this really cool pastry shop that I would like to work for in a behind-the-counter capacity. I called to see if they're hiring, and they said they're "accepting resumes." I want a part-time position, and am would be doing it for the love of their beautiful and tasty products, not for the money.

I'm concerned, though, that I'll appear either not qualified at all, due to my lack of retail experience, or over-qualified, because of a masters degree. I did work as a hostess at a restaurant for a few years, but that was from 2001-2003. Should I leave my masters off the resume, and just focus on my hostessing skills, or...what?

posted by lagreen to work & money (10 comments total)

Leave the masters off. It'll make it look like you're only looking for temporary work, and will up and leave as soon as you get bored or something better comes along.

What did the federal government job involve?

If you have any customer service experience, emphasise that.
posted by Jilder at 8:38 AM on July 9

Thanks for the response, Jilder. My job does involve frequent "customer service," but over the phone, not in person. Mainly I train people and evaluate grantee performance of grantees.
posted by lagreen at 8:54 AM on July 9

Technically, I work(ed) in customer service as well (as a sysadmin), but it's a far cry from retail customer service, which I think is significantly more difficult from a CSR perspective.

Leave off the Masters. Also, do you need a job? Be prepared for the possibility of not hiring you if you don't need it. A few years ago, there was this cool bookstore that I wanted to work at in the evenings after my day job. I applied and was told that their preference was to hire someone who actually needed work. While I was bummed that I couldn't work there, that significantly increased my level of respect for the place.
posted by zerokey at 8:57 AM on July 9

Generic advice for retail jobs: make sure the resume fits on one page without having tiny text, because no one hiring for an entry-level retail job is going to read a two-page document. This might be self-evident, and it might not be. Keep it clean, don't go into too much detail about any one entry.

I'd give a brief overview of your education (e.g. graduated from X school in Y year). you don't have to go into detail about your Masters but it's good to show you have basic credentials. You can definitely spin your federal government job if it involved contact with clients, teamwork, and independent work. Do you have any volunteer experience (at the library, at events/festivals, whatever) that involved dealing with the public? Mention that.

You might have better luck going into the store, asking to speak to the manager, and giving your resume to them personally - this way you can talk about about why you want to work there, and show your personal attachment to the products/the store. My general sense from retail jobs (and YMMV, depending on the culture at this particular shop) is that they tend to hire for personality and train for competence after that. Most of the tasks are fairly simple, they want someone the rest of the team can get along with and who can relate to the customers.
posted by Phire at 8:58 AM on July 9 [1 favorite]

The job is yours.

Obviously the pastry shop has already hooked you in on the "feel good" atmosphere. Stores like this don't just sell cappuccino and croissants. They sell Satisfaction. You need to express how important that is to you - you don't just want to buy croissants, you want to be a part of the experience that you already enjoy so much! You want to help extend that strong feeling you have to everyone else - and that benefits the pastry shop and you. It's amazing how perfectly your interests are aligned with the shop owners.

In a cover letter, you should describe that unique pastry experience, tell how it's impacted you directly, and how that has gotten your dollars in the tip jar. That's why you want the job. That's why they want you to have the job.

Then, in your resume, highlight how you've worked on experiential issues in the past, even it's a little bit of a stretch. If it's good, your cover letter should be enough.
posted by Pants! at 9:02 AM on July 9 [5 favorites]

From friends who work retail:

When interviewing, retail places never hire those that equivocate on how long they expect to work there. Even if it's a summer gig, lie and say you're committed to it.
posted by stratastar at 9:47 AM on July 9

I work at a bakery/pastry shop in a small town, surrounded by land and other small towns. It's the community center and popular spot for locals to hang out as well as a destination for People From the City. That said, we get a lot of applications for employment. Here is what I perceive to be the hiring process:
1. Do we have a need, any need? Are we crunched for bakers, or dishers, or counter people?
2. Would the cost of paying another person alleviate the stress, or add to it?
3. Is the applicant a regular? How well do they know the business, and the people who work there?
4. Are they a local? Did they grow up in the area?
5. Do they have any sort of food-service experience?
Obviously you can't do much about anything except for #3. Do you talk to the counter people.. more than just small talk? Do you ask questions which reflect a genuine curiosity of pastry making?
In small businesses like this, employees often do a little bit of everything. Counter people work the counter, but they also dish for an hour, weigh out cookies, restock paper goods, etc. Leave the masters degree on your resume. If you do get hired, it may come across as deceitful when it's revealed (and it eventually will be.) Emphasize your love for their products! Emphasize the awesome atmosphere of the business, and how you would make it even better.
posted by pintapicasso at 10:37 AM on July 9

My general sense from retail jobs (and YMMV, depending on the culture at this particular shop) is that they tend to hire for personality and train for competence after that. Most of the tasks are fairly simple, they want someone the rest of the team can get along with and who can relate to the customers.

This. In our fairly small-ish town, I was recently picked to fill one of three server positions at a large chain restaurant, out of forty applicants. I've never had any server experience, or even restaurant experience. I did have two solid years of retail experience, however. Also, I'm only here til late August.

Anyway, they tell me I was hired because I was friendly, eager to work, and seemed like a good fit for the team. I'm also not working for the money, so I know exactly how you feel. It's loads of fun. Good luck! If you come across half as excited as I'm sure you are from your posts, you're a lock.
posted by Precision at 10:55 AM on July 9

Find out what particular skills and competencies employers in the particular retail sector you're looking at currently want - you can often get a good idea of this from what is being taught in vocational courses for that sector.

Reliability is extremely important in retail - anything which demonstrates that you're punctual and adhere to schedules is a very good thing to emphasis in your resume, as is anything which shows your ability to comply with enterprise policies and procedures.

If the shop independently owned or part of a chain. If it's the latter, check out the "culture" of head office on their website so you can relate to that in your cover letter.
posted by Lolie at 12:08 PM on July 9

Thank you so much for your answers, everyone, and also your encouragement. I'll update this thread with the results!
posted by lagreen at 7:42 AM on July 10