Cheeky request for help with my CV!

[Island Electrical]

Hi, for the past few years I've been responsible for the day-to-day running of a small high street shop, selling electrical goods (kettles, radios, light bulbs, batteries etc). Recently, the business owner has decided to cut down my hours to save on costs - which is fair enough - but maybe it's a sign I should be thinking about moving on.

It's been different to what I'm used to (used to be in the IT industry sat in front of a computer), an awful lot to it, some of it quite mentally taxing - I don't think just any old bod could do it. I'm trying to convey in my CV the range of tasks and the skills required to carry them out successfully, but am finding it difficult to express in terms that would impress the reader.

If anyone out there has had a similar role that they've summarized successfully in their CV, could you kindly copy and paste the text into this thread?

Thanks in advance
Gary

 

[David Haughton]

What kind of job are you looking at? I think the content of a CV should be tailored towards the job post.

 

[Island Electrical]

What kind of job are you looking at? I think the content of a CV should be tailored towards the job post.

Thanks for your reply David, disappointing that no-one could help me out, I guess everyone out there in retail is busier than I am at the moment!

Trouble is, I have absolutely no idea what kind of job I'm looking for, I just know I need to be looking, and should I find something suitable, they'll need a CV and they'll want to know what I've been doing for the past few years. And I'm finding it hard to write anything much beyond the lines of "I've been running a small high street electrical shop".

Regards
Gary

 

[NickGrogan]

I have absolutely no idea what kind of job I'm looking for

The CV should be customised for the job that you're applying for, or at least the type of job.

Many employers look at LinkedIn, a good place to start when you're looking for inspiration.

 

[David Haughton]

Thanks for your reply David, disappointing that no-one could help me out, I guess everyone out there in retail is busier than I am at the moment!

Trouble is, I have absolutely no idea what kind of job I'm looking for, I just know I need to be looking, and should I find something suitable, they'll need a CV and they'll want to know what I've been doing for the past few years. And I'm finding it hard to write anything much beyond the lines of "I've been running a small high street electrical shop".

Regards
Gary

I'm in retail, not busy at the moment! Maybe have a think about the type of job you'd like to do first? Outdoors/indoors/well paid/with animals/do you want to be a surgeon? You definitely need an idea of what you want to do before you can start writing your CV otherwise how will you know which of your skills are applicable?

If you need a gap job like shelf stacking then i'd imagine the quality of the CV isn't paramount to the employer?

 

[Raw Rob]

I'm trying to convey in my CV the range of tasks and the skills required to carry them out successfully,

Maybe I don't fully understand what you mean, but why can't you just make a list of some (or all if appropriate) of the tasks you do and the skills you use. If the tasks are varied, eg ordering stock, bookkeeping, customer service, then listing them individually is maybe the only way.

 

[ethical PR]

Thanks for your reply David, disappointing that no-one could help me out, I guess everyone out there in retail is busier than I am at the moment!

Trouble is, I have absolutely no idea what kind of job I'm looking for, I just know I need to be looking, and should I find something suitable, they'll need a CV and they'll want to know what I've been doing for the past few years. And I'm finding it hard to write anything much beyond the lines of "I've been running a small high street electrical shop".

Regards
Gary

why can't you just bullet point key activities involved in managing a shop ie.

• Managing staff
• Managing and reconciling budgets
• Health and safety
• HR
• Stock-taking
• Marketing

Etc. etc. - haven't worked in a shop but I would imagine your role would have included the above.

 

[webgeek]

The problem with being too general is that you cannot impress as a generalist.

If you submit a CV that shows you're a perfect for for Job AB123 then you've got a lot better chance getting an interview than if you're an okay for 1,000 jobs.

As mentioned above, find some jobs that interest you, make a general CV and then tweak it to fit each.

If in doubt, pay a few quid for someone who's good at wordsmithing to spindoctor you into being a retail rock star.

 

[Mark Laurie]

If you go onto LinkedIn and search for a chap called Matt Cheevers https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-cheevers/ he offers to review your CV FOC

 

[Ray272]

Sounds like you are under valuing the skills you have attained.

I see a lot of people do this, they get so comfortable at what they are doing that they forget the reasons that got them there.

The IT experience sounds part technical maybe part customer interaction. Troubleshooting for people who need help maybe. Patience plays a big part.

Retail management can cover a lot of disciplines which would cross over to things like warehouse management but on the other side of that you also have a role which is customer facing which means you need good communication skills. Lots of skills that get forgotten about IMO.

 

[tony84]

Have you thought about speaking to a recruitment consultant?
They will be able to help tidy up your CV.

 

[Island Electrical]

Thanks for all your replies, I was beginning to think that no-one cared (sob!) There's a lot of sound advice in here.

I hear what you're saying: I need to brainstorm everything that I do day-to-day, month-to-month, have a long list of the activities that the job involves, and cut that list down to the relevant skills when I'm applying for a particular job.

My problem (okay, one of many!) is that I got into retail by accident, not design. My degree was in Computer Studies (a long time ago) and the bulk of my career, such as it was, was in IT. But that's a fast-moving world that I left behind around 6 years ago. Don't particularly want to carry on in retail, but can't go back to IT.

I guess first things first - try and list the skills I've acquired in my current role, get myself on LinkedIn, and decide what on earth I want to do with the rest of my working life!

Thank you all again!
Gary

 

[ethical PR]

Well actually the first thing you need to do is actually identify where you want to go next in your career. Speak to recruitment agencies about your skills set and experience, where you can go next and what you need to get you there.

There is plenty of advice and templates on CV and career development on places like Guardian Careers and dedicated sites. A much better source of advice for you than a forum of business owners for those who are in or want to set up their own business.

 

[Edward Sparrow]

It's been mentioned multiple times but I can't stress enough the importance of customising your CV to the job in question; try to use the same terms as in the job spec specifically.

Also, LinkedIn is more important than ever - make sure it matches with your CV and use it to flesh out any specific experience.

 

[Inva]

Write that you learn/read a lot outside work (i hope you do ) and are interested in doing the small things right. Also don't have any typos.

 

[Victoria_V]

What you can do is talk to people you've previously worked with and ask them to name some of your professional and personal qualities that stood out to them. It's not that easy to give yourself a fair assessment (as we tend to underestimate yourself). I'm sure you will be surprised by your colleagues positive feedback Then you can just go off of that and build up your CV based on those characteristics and your work experience. Canva has pretty cool CV layouts if you want to be a little creative

 

[Ziggrs]

Island, when you see job ad that you find interesting, try to understand what are job requirements well and think how your skills can fit into these. Then put it into your CV. Try also to add professional motivation letter. It is not crucial, but it is nice to have