resume questions!?

Question

i need help with my resume..here's most of it i would love some constructive critcism

OBJECTIVE :
A Co-management position in a company seeking a highly motivated and dependable sales leader, dedicated to exceeding sales goals and exceptional customer service.


QUALIFICATIONS :
Experience with meeting the needs of a range of customers, children, teens as well as adults and parents alike
Knowledge of loss-prevention, prevented a refund of over $100 worth of stolen merchandise.
Experience with company merchandizing, executes a variety of complex floor sets.
Proven ability to creatively merchandize to maximize sales.
Responsibility for over 1 million in annual sales.
Delegates individual duties to associates to boost productivity.
Learns new products comprehensively.
Innovative sales lead with a belief in selling to meet the needs of the customer, therefore increasing sales as well as customer satisfaction.

Strong desire to work in retail management, as well as to grow and commit with a company.
Rapid promotion within one year from seasonal hire to an essential member of key-holding management.


then after that i list my
RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE:
i've only had a few jobs with relevant work experience should i include the word relevant or leave it at work experience and if they ask about other jobs just say that they werent really relevant to the job i was applying for?

heres one of the descriptions i wrote for one of my jobs.
Opening/closing store, executing floor sets, sending and receiving shipment, markdowns, specialty updates, processing freight, developing associates, prioritizing, ensuring store coverage, visual merchandizing, customer service, meeting or exceeding sales plans.

tell me what you think...too much too little more verbs less verbs?...etc.

Answer 1

First question - is this the entirety of your resume, or did you just cut and paste a snippet?

Your objective statement is much too long. Take out the part about "a company seeking"... you want to tell them what your objective is. It can be very simple - my objective statement is "an entry level position with a performing arts company". To say your objective is to work as a supervisor in a retail environment would suffice.

Secondly, make these bullet points, with no punctuation. On a resume, it's acceptable to use kind of incomplete sentances. Here is an example of how to clean up your first point:

* Experienced in meeting needs of a range of customers

You say you have experience with a 'range of customers', then go on to enumerate them (children, teens, adults, parents)... that's unnecessary.

*Used knowledge of loss-prevention procedures to prevent the refund of previously stolen merchandise

It is often better to use percentages rather than firm numbers. If you're applying to a Mom & Pop store, $100 might sound impressive, but a Target or Wal-Mart might not really find that a huge savings.

*Experienced with company merchandising schematics

I'm kind of rushing through these so they may not be perfect corrections, but the use of "experience with" and then in the same line (after the comma) "executes" is slightly incorrect. Also, you say "proven ability"... but you have nothing to say that backs that up (for instance, did it improve sales by 25%? HOW is it proven that your creative merchandise maximized sales?) I would take that out if I were you, though it might be something you could incorporate into a cover letter or interview.

"Responsibility" is the wrong form of the word. "Responsible for" is correct. But how are you responsible for it?

If you are already in a managerial or supervisory role, I would take out the "delegates" line - that's in the definition of a manager or supervisor, so of course you'll have delegated responsibility.

I don't know about your second to last line ('learns products"...) but I like the last one for the most part. I don't know that it belongs in the resume though, but it would look great in a cover letter. It isn't an innovative idea to provide customer service when selling to a customer, so I would lose the word "innovative".

I've noticed several different tenses being used (past, present, etc) as well as a few misspellings. You spelled "merchandise" correctly, but then in the next two lines spell it "merchandizing" instead of "merchandising" - the second spelling is correct.

Make sure you put as much contact information as possible on your resume, of course. I put name, mobile phone, home phone, email, and street address. Put contact information on both cover letter and resume, as these two pieces sometimes get separated from one another.

Since this position you're applying for isn't the only job you've ever had, you need to include the name and dates of employment of your past employers (at least one or two). Put your educational experience, especially if you've earned an Associate's or Bachelor's degree.

Include an "Activities" section if you belong to any sort of trade organization or if it will help speak to your leadership abilities. IE, if you've been the President of Toastmasters, if you are a mentor, if you're a part of the big brother/big sister program... etc.

I went through my resume and took out the personal information of mine, so that I could post it here for you to look at. I don't think all the formatting will stay true (I have some parts in bold, some italics, some in a larger font...).

Make sure someone - friend, colleague, librarian, whoever - proofreads your resume before you send it out. Once your eyes see a document a lot of times (and also, since you know what it SHOULD say), you might overlook errors. I've spoken with several hiring directors/instructors/etc who have said that when they first get resumes, they basically weed out and are looking for any reason to throw a resume into the shred pile. Misspellings are one of the number one ways to get your resume tossed. It shows that you're too lazy to bother going through with a spellcheck, and also that it's not important enough for you to waste your time proofreading if they get a document with misspellings, mixed tense, incorrect punctuation, etc.

I really hope this helps! :)

PS I center my heading - name/address/etc.

My Name Here (bold)
1234 Main Street, Anytown, OR 12345
Cell 123.456.7890 ۰ [e-mail]

OBJECTIVE (bold)
To obtain an entry-level position as an administrative assistant


EDUCATION (bold)
University of Wherever, Eugene, OR
Bachelor of Arts in Music, August 2006

EXPERIENCE (bold)
Job Title (in bold), Dates of Employment (regular type)
Business Name, City, State (in italics)

•Bullet Point 1
•Bullet Point 2
•Bullet Point 3
•Bullet Point 4

Development Assistant, September 2004-May 2005
Business name, Portland, OR

•Bullet Point 1
•Bullet Point 2
•Bullet Point 3
•Bullet Point 4
•Etc.

SKILLS
•Read, write and speak Japanese
•Proficient in use of MS Word, Excel, Outlook, and Internet
•Strong communication and customer service skills

ACTIVITIES

Answer 2

To be honest with you, this really isn't a resume. There is no work experience listed. No time frames to look at. Also as a manager, looking for a co-manager, they are not looking at a sales leader. They are looking for somebody to drive bussiness through the employees, so a leader. That is the number two thing. The number one, is customer service, always show that you put the customers first!
It looks like you cut and pasted a lot of what this says with out paying attention to the wording or organization. A co-manager is not a sales leader but a store leader.
I really recommend you go to monster.com and follow their tutorial for resume writing, then copy and repaste her (minus your personal info) and ask for advice on that. Good luck.

Answer 3

Directly to the point, it's too long. If I were a company in search of a person for a quick hire or with noticeable talent, knowledge, and experience, this resume is too long. Just list the basics, and try not to give all of your experience within on resume, as you want to fall back on that information during the actual interview. Therefore, your resume should be utilized as a "door opener" ...you want to entice that company with your abilities and let them know you know what you are doing and are more than experienced in that field. Your objective sounds as though you are searching for someone to feel that position, so try: (paraphrasing what you have stated)

"Objective: As a highly motivated and dependable sales leader, my goal is to obtain a Management position with, (give the name of the company that you are applying for the position), where my dedication toward exceeding sales goals/quotas, along with exceptional customer service will be a valued asset."

Qualifications listed in bullet formation:

---Loss Prevention/Assessment of Merchandise
---Proven ability to creatively merchandize.....
---Profit and Margin responsiblity in excess of $900,000
---Logistics of merchandise/Schematic planning
etc....

Just some thoughts...Just give them the basics of what it will take to get your foot in door for an interview, then within the interview inform them of all the other qualities and experience you have. Try to keep it to One Page of your Resume, and One page of Your References...Good Luck and be Safe...(smiles)

Answer 4

"A Co-management position in a company seeking a highly motivated and dependable sales leader, dedicated to exceeding sales goals and exceptional customer service."

Get rid of the comma between leader and dedicated. It doesn't belong.

"Experience with meeting the needs of a range of customers, children, teens as well as adults and parents alike"

"adults and parents alike" is redundant and hokey sounding. Teens and children can also be considered redundant.

Answer 5

too verbose.....don't get involved with telling each thing accomplished i.e. prevented 100.00...not good, that is an expectation , meeting the needs of a wide range of customers, you do not need to spell out the ages....get a book on resumes. It can be tough when you are young, but it has to stand out or you wont get the interview! co mngt shoudl be changed to asst mng or supervisory etc. good luck

Answer 6

I honestly don't see anything wrong with it. You have refrained from using "I" or "I Have", which is a big no-no.

I think it looks good personally.