Help me find my job title

March 27, 2007 10:37 AM

I'm French and I'm doing my CV in English. Help me find my job title.

Last summer, I worked for one month in the tourist office of my hometown in France. I was one of the students who work there over the summer to make some money. Basically, I was alone in an office, and whenever a tourist passed by and asked questions, I would reply, either in French, English or Spanish. I would also call taxis and hotels for them if they asked me to, and finally, I would compile statistics everyday about the number of tourists I helped and about their nationalities.

My French job title was "agent saisonnier", meaning "seasonal employee", but I'm not sure I can write that on my CV. Is there a job title that I'm not aware of that could better describe what I did last summer ?

Thanks for your help!

posted by celine to work & money (24 comments total)

Terms like "associate", "assistant", and even "manager" get thrown around fairly casually on resumes. While manager might be pushing it, I doubt any prospective employer could really give two craps what your job title was, and would rarely bother verifying it. Just choose something generic like "Tourism Liason" and then concentrate on your cover letter.
posted by deadfather at 10:54 AM on March 27, 2007

Might want to spell "liaison" correctly, however.
posted by deadfather at 10:55 AM on March 27, 2007

Tourist guidance officer. Or put "seasonal tourist guidance officer".

If you want to use "liaison" that's the correct spelling.
posted by zadcat at 10:57 AM on March 27, 2007

start with "concierge" and amp it up a bit.
metaconcierge?
posted by bruce at 11:17 AM on March 27, 2007 [1 favorite]

"Tourist kiosk attendant"
posted by smackfu at 11:26 AM on March 27, 2007

"Travel and Tourism Advisor".
All the above are good, but this sounds a bit swankier.
posted by Dizzy at 11:30 AM on March 27, 2007

customer service representative
posted by jannw at 11:30 AM on March 27, 2007 [1 favorite]

Sounds like the most important part of this job to get across on your resume is that fact that you were answering questions multilingually. I don't think any of the titles alone are going to get that skill across.

So, I'd just pick a title (any of the fine suggestions above) but then make sure to point out the relevant skills after in a short job description.
posted by divka at 11:45 AM on March 27, 2007

I'd say "Tourism Intern."

"Intern" is often shorthand for a temporary job held by students.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 11:52 AM on March 27, 2007

"Multilingual Information Officer for a French Regional Tourist Board" sounds good.
posted by jacobean at 11:54 AM on March 27, 2007

"Intern" is often shorthand for a temporary job held by students.

I'd stay away from that designation unless it was sponsored by a school for credit.
posted by dr_dank at 12:27 PM on March 27, 2007

Multinational Logistics Coordinator
posted by scarabic at 12:28 PM on March 27, 2007

"Visitor Assistant / Concierge"
posted by cmiller at 1:33 PM on March 27, 2007

I would probably say something like "Customer Service Representative, XX Tourist Office" (where XX is the name of the town or region), because it sounds like the bulk of the job was helping customers/tourists.

You could also say something like, "Front office staff, XX Tourist Office," or "International Tourism Coordinator, XX Tourist Office." ("Coordinator," as scarabic suggested, might be good, if you were helping people with bookings and such, especially if you were suggesting places.)

It might help if you told us what kind of job or program you're applying for -- you could slant the job title depending on what aspect of your experience you'd like to highlight (whether it's the language experience, the customer service aspect, the tourist industry angle, etc.).
posted by occhiblu at 1:35 PM on March 27, 2007

When I worked at Nortel Networks, "intern" simply meant someone who was:

a. still in school (university)
b. only worked for a short amount of time (less than 3 months)

We didn't make any distinction whether or not it was a "proper" internship through a university for credit.
posted by gregvr at 1:54 PM on March 27, 2007

"Tourism Legate"
"Travel Information Assistant"
"Tourist Concierge"
posted by plinth at 1:57 PM on March 27, 2007

Something like "Travelers' Aid" or "Travel Assistant" might also work.

(If you haven't yet figured it out, there's probably not a single set answer to your question!)
posted by occhiblu at 2:14 PM on March 27, 2007

"Staff" is a good word with little negative connotations. "Officer" or "coordinator" would be overdoing it.
posted by smackfu at 2:31 PM on March 27, 2007

What kind of job are you aiming for? The title you use should hinge on that.
posted by acoutu at 3:13 PM on March 27, 2007

"staff, tourist office"

And then highlight what you did. There's no need to pump up the title.

(I can't help but admit at a good laugh at folks telling a French person how to spell "liaison")
posted by vacapinta at 3:47 PM on March 27, 2007

I like "Tourism and Travel Advisor" (above) although I think the most correct title for this job is probably "Customer Service Representative" and then put the place you did it "Tourism Office xx". I think if you want to be honest, I'd go for that...

Although, I second what others said, in that if you want to sell the language aspect, maybe consider writing a short job description as well.
posted by ranglin at 4:29 PM on March 27, 2007

"The lady that showed people the way" ?
posted by growabrain at 4:31 PM on March 27, 2007

Multilingual Visitor Services Associate

no need to indicate that it's a temporary/seasonal job--the start/end dates you provide will be sufficient.
posted by thinkingwoman at 4:36 PM on March 27, 2007

multi-lingual tourist officer
posted by bystander at 11:31 PM on March 27, 2007