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70 wpm is not really a "skill" without quantified accuracy
MS Office is not a "skill" if it is 2007 suite. Clarify/Quantify
Experience section
nothing quantified
example
"Balanced inbound call flow volume"
Improved inbound call flow volume balance by 23% over 3 months.
(or whatever the #are , don't lie obviously)
metrics, metrics, metrics.
Regarding skills... but wouldn't they want to know how fast I type if the job involves a lot of typing? Should I just leave out MS Office period? Because some jobs require you to be familiar with MS Office/Excel/Etc...
Regarding experience... If I can't lie about that, how exactly am I supposed to find out that kind of information? Do I just call up the employer and ask them how much % call flow improved when I was an employee? It's not like their computer would tell me something like that when I'm taking the calls. I don't even remember how many calls I was taking per day, because it was high-volume.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying my contribution as an employee was lacking. I worked hard, I wasn't a slacker. Did my contribution to... let's say the call center jobs... did it help? Yes. But we're talking about a HUGE call center with over a hundred reps, it's impossible for you to know how much % you improved the call volume, unless your system tells you that sort of things. The same goes for the sales associate positions... should I just call up Bloomingdales, "Hi, I was an employee ten years ago, I'm calling because I'm curious to find out how many items I sold while employed there?" I mean that sounds a little awkward. Unless that is the sort of thing that is going on nowadays(?) then I guess I'll have to do that.
It's not like I suggested new ideas for the company, got promoted to supervisor, invented a new method, or something extraordinary along those lines. Almost every "sample" resume I come across that mentions that sorta thing makes me laugh, because they're not being realistic. Not everyone who has worked a non-managerial position is going to be like that. A lot just go to work, knowing the responsibilities, work their butts off doing the best they can, and go home. I didn't do those things not because I didn't care, but because they weren't part of my goals/plans at the time or I wasn't given the opportunity to do them.
Last edited by nycotherapist; 09-17-2015 at 07:02 PM..
I get what you're saying. But what I'm trying to say is that it's impossible to measure what I did at those jobs in terms of *numbers*. Is there an alternative to that?
Nycotherapist,
I see what you're saying in terms of not being able to measure work in dollars and cents. I worked in jobs where I was just a member of the team, and when I did my job and the team did theirs, we made our employer money. How much of that did I contribute? I don't know, I didn't come up with a revolutionary idea, or a new invention, or a new process, I just did my job.
About the Microsoft Office skills, put down the version (like MS Office 2013) and your level of competence. Advanced Word and Excel, intermediate Access, ect.
Nycotherapist,
I see what you're saying in terms of not being able to measure work in dollars and cents. I worked in jobs where I was just a member of the team, and when I did my job and the team did theirs, we made our employer money. How much of that did I contribute? I don't know, I didn't come up with a revolutionary idea, or a new invention, or a new process, I just did my job.
About the Microsoft Office skills, put down the version (like MS Office 2013) and your level of competence. Advanced Word and Excel, intermediate Access, ect.
IheartWA,
Exactly! You actually put it into better words than I did. Thanks. So what have you been putting on your resume in place of that?
Exactly! You actually put it into better words than I did. Thanks. So what have you been putting on your resume in place of that?
Just put the power words in and make it sound like you took initiative, you were conscientious, diligent in cleaning up old accounts, things like that.
I get what you're saying. But what I'm trying to say is that it's impossible to measure what I did at those jobs in terms of *numbers*. Is there an alternative to that?
Let's put it this way ... how was your performance determined?
At a Call Center, it's usually: Average Calls Taken, Average Handle Time, First Call resolution rate, CSAT survey results, Upsell rate, etc. Call Centers are very metrics-driven so I'm surprised you don't know what they are. Do you have old performance reviews?
Were you an average employee in all aspects?
Did you exceed in any of these measurements?
What kind of call volume is considered "high call volume"?
What makes you say you are an "excellent" employee compared to your colleagues?
Did you train anyone?
Let's put it this way ... how was your performance determined?
At a Call Center, it's usually: Average Calls Taken, Average Handle Time, First Call resolution rate, CSAT survey results, Upsell rate, etc. Call Centers are very metrics-driven so I'm surprised you don't know what they are. Do you have old performance reviews?
Were you an average employee in all aspects?
Did you exceed in any of these measurements?
What kind of call volume is considered "high call volume"?
What makes you say you are an "excellent" employee compared to your colleagues?
Did you train anyone?
Gotcha. Ok, performance reviews. Now I understand where all that info comes from. Well... here's the thing.
1. Patient Care Technician - Where I currently work. The RN manager just gives us the performance review, three or four papers stapled together. It's in the form of a checklist and you're either marked Poor, Good, or Excellent. Then, at the end, she's writes a short generic "Good" paragraph about you. Every one of my co-workers, from what I hear, usually gets Good on everything all across the board, including myself. It's been that way for the past 4.5 years I've been there. She doesn't elaborate on any of it, she just gives it for you to read and sign off. That's it.
2. Emergency Medical Technician - Pretty much the same deal as Patient Care Technician, except you get a little bump in pay on top of that.
3. Cablevision/Call Center Rep - I was only there for three months, but I masked that in the resume by leaving out the months and just put the year. Reason is because I wanted to go to EMT school and the schedules conflicted. So I wasn't at Cablevision long enough to have a performance review. The call volume was high though because it's a pretty big cable company here in NY and you only have 1 minute to document the call before the next call is automatically forced upon you.
4. Locksmith/Call Center Rep - I was there for 11 months until the company decided they were going to relocate to Florida. I couldn't do that so I left before they relocated. However, they never gave performance reviews as far as I know. I for one never got one. I honestly don't think they cared because they were ripping off customers' money anyway.
5. H&M/Sales Associate - No commission involved. This was your basic "fold clothes, keep fitting room and sales floor neat, check people out at the register" retail job. I worked there for 1 year and two months. I don't recall getting a performance review, but then again I wasn't there for too long. Towards the latter half of my employment, I had a little bit of a lateness problem. At the time, I was 19 and stuck in an emotionally abusive relationship with an older woman. So I was let go. But I don't plan on telling interviewers that, instead I would say something like "I wanted to transition out of retail into a different environment (i.e. call center)".
6. Bloomies/Sales Associate - This one involved commission mixed w/ hourly pay. I was there for a year, I started folding clothes and got promoted to sales in the shoe department about 7 months in. I think I had at least one performance review, I don't recall what was said though, we're talking 11 years ago. I have no idea how many shoes I sold. I left them because I was in high school at the time, working part-time, making a lousy paycheck. H&M offered me more money so I went with them. I don't tell interviewers that though.
So there it is. Do you think I should just call up my past employers and ask for a copy of my performance reviews? I don't know what to do about the ones where I never got a review though.
Last edited by nycotherapist; 09-18-2015 at 07:35 PM..
sometimes if you look at alot of help wanted adds you can kind of see what they want to see on a resume by what they list under qualifications. try to work in some of what they are listing without it seeming like your just listing what they listed. look at examples of resumes on google and take what you think might fit yours. building a good resume is tricky business. good luck
I'm not keen on words like Strong, proficient, "high level", etc. They don't really say anything. For example, when you say "proficient with MS Office" - what does that mean? Most likely it means different things to different people.
And +1 with the others in the your experience needs to highlight your accomplishments. What you have right now is essentially a job description for each role you had. Sure, you may want to explain what your primary role was, but the meat of it should be what set you apart?
How did the people you worked for/with benefited from you being there? Did you create/enhance process that made things easier? Were you a top performer (in quantifiable terms)? Etc. And how are those skills/accomplishments going to help the company you're applying to? This is what people mean when they say you should tailor the resume to the advertised skill.
In essence, why should the hiring manager talk to you vs. the 50 other candidates that submitted their resumes?
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