Making a resume for a part time job... (preferably a valet parker)

December 19, 2010 11:23 AM

What is a good way of finding out how to make a resume? For my past part time jobs, I have never handed in a resume.

My goal: Obtain a part time job so I can save up money for university tuition and housing.

My other question:
What are good qualities of a valet parker? I have a clean record, absolutely LOVE cars, and I drive a stickshift daily. I also have full coverage insurance. While I do have a 3.0+ GPA at my local community college, I have a few classes that I dropped from (about 5+?). I'm not sure if showing the employer my transcript is the greatest of ideas...

It doesn't necessarily have to be a valet parking job either. I just want a job where I can hit the books in between customers.

posted by RaDeuX to Work & Money (6 answers total)

I'm not an expert on resume writing by any means, but the "transition" class the military sent me to before I retired was pretty darn good. Check out the section of the manual that taught how to write an effective resume. The resume chapter starts in section 3.10. You'll notice that a lot of the examples are slanted toward former military people, but the form of a resume is the same no matter what content you put in it.

Also see the US Department of Labor's resume tutorial.
posted by ctmf at 11:33 AM on December 19, 2010 [3 favorites]

I have never applied for a job in valet parking, but I would be flabbergasted if they actually wanted a resume. The looks I got from fast food restaurants when I tried to give them resumes... yeah. Chances are there is a paper application you'll need to fill out.

Don't hand out your transcripts. Tell them your GPA if you think it's a good one.

Look up lots of resume samples online. Like this one. Google words like "resume sample part time". Copy ruthlessly - the point of a resume is a quick snapshot of why you'd be a great hire, not your amazing creativity.

Your community college should have a career services center that can help.
posted by SMPA at 11:35 AM on December 19, 2010 [1 favorite]

If you have Microsoft Word, they have a bunch of templates which I have used with success in resume writing. (File>Project Gallery>Resumes)

Also n'thing no transcripts--I don't know about yours, but both of my sets have my social security number on them. Employer should only get that during the hiring process.
posted by smirkette at 11:40 AM on December 19, 2010

Probably a good quality of a valet parking guy is just plain looking good, in addition to the obvious clean record and ability to drive a manual. People would be a lot more comfortable handing their keys over to someone with a neat clean-cut appearance than to a crazy homeless-looking dude, if you know what I mean. I would find a way to say something about that in a resume aimed at a parking job. (Do parking jobs really require resumes? I imagine it's more of a fill out an application and chat with the boss kind of thing.)
posted by ctmf at 11:40 AM on December 19, 2010

Resumes for Dummies.

If an employer wants a transcript, they'll ask for it, but it might not be a bad idea to include your GPA.

As to the other things you mentioned, I would mention that you drive a stick -- not everyone can do that, and it has to be a useful skill in this context.
posted by J. Wilson at 11:40 AM on December 19, 2010

I would emphasize that you:
- Are prompt (you will be on time for shifts)
- Are responsible (you are driving other people's cars)
- Are customer-friendly with a professional attitude (you are customer-facing)
- Can be discrete and somewhat unobtrusive (you won't go through a customer's stuff, you won't get into long discussions about their car's features)
- Understand that the valet makes a lasting first impression on the business's customers
posted by Houstonian at 12:11 PM on December 19, 2010 [2 favorites]