My inappropriate employment history
I do have retail and hotel experience--back from when I was in college,but that's too far outside of the 10 year backtrack of employment allthe apps seem to want.
I'm wondering, instead of putting down my most recent jobs in reverse chronological order, should I list only thejobs where I gained relevant experience? After all, the apps have aplace where I write down From/To for the dates of employment, so I'mguessing that if someone questions why my most recent job is 10 yearsin the past, I can say "Well, I do work full time, but decided to putdown only relevant work history, not just a rigid recitation of mylast actual jobs. And my last relevant jobs are past 10 years ago."
Any thoughts? I want to be honest about my work history, but don't wantto honest myself out of a perfectly good part-time job I know I can dojust because my last 10 years' worth of jobs are all writing related.
Write yourself a resume that focuses on your relevant work history. That' s the tool that gets you an interview. On the application, you have to follow the rules. If they want last 10 years of jobs, that' s what you ahve to put, not something else. Staple the resume to the application if you have to.
The application and the job history including everything from present time to 10 years ago is generally used as a tool for the employers to discover that you have had a solid job history. Usually, you cannot write "See Resume" on the application, but you can, and should, gather your resume with experiences relating to the position you are applying for and note that your resume is attached for further information in the margins at the top of the application.
Staple the application in front of the resume in the upper left corner. Don't paperclip unless you want your resume to slip off and get lost. If the application is a one page/front and back deal, you may actually want to ask if you can staple it just out of professional courtesy.
And, on the nosy side myself, why are you the sole provider? Are you an only parent? Or is it just because your significant other and you decided that staying home with the kids was the best thing at this time? Do the kids go to school so that your sig other can get a part time position?
Thanks for the advice on the resume. I hadn’t thought of creating one that specifically addresses only my relevant work history. However, I’ve been applying online for various places, and none of the online application mechanisms has given me an option to append a resume. I’ll have to figure out a workaround for that. I may have to forego applying online and submit a paper app.
>>And, on the nosy side myself, why are you the sole provider? Are you an only parent? Or is it just because your significant other and you decided that staying home with the kids was the best thing at this time? Do the kids go to school so that your sig other can get a part time position?
No worries on nosy...I don't mind. I’m the sole provider of a 4-person household—wife, two kids. My wife and I have vowed that our kids would never see the inside of a daycare center, therefore, one of us is to remain home so that the kids always have a parent at home. We want to make sure that even when they’re in school and come home at the end of the school day, that one of us is here. Wife doesn’t want a part-time job, and wants to stay home and raise the kids. That’s fine by me. And, It’s my job—as the father, husband—to bring home an income in order to put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads. And if that means I need to get a second job to do it, I will.
I think a resume may not tell them much since you have worked in one place for ten years. What you need is a cover letter and staple that to the application. You want to explain why you don't have relevant experience. Plust if you are looking in Restaurant Industry without any customer service experience they will just toss your app to the side. I had difficult time after I graduated from college because everyone has the expectation that you will have a job right away, so then you run into being "over qualified".
As for restaurant experience, they really toss your app ifyou don't have experience? Not to tick off any restaurant people here,but how hard can the job be? People skills? I have that. Ability towork under tight pressure and for long periods of time? I have that,too. Juggle multiple and competing priorities? Got ya covered. Dealwith different and many times disagreeable personalities? I do allthat--and have done all that--over the course of years. I can't see howany but the most dense hiring manager cannot see that my skills,knowledge and experience can easily transfer over to their restaurantjob without my having actually had restaurant experience. To toss myapp simply because my last job wasn't waiting tables strikes me asshort sighted. Anyhow, thanks for the advice.
The fastest way to get into the industry, and this is just from my experience is to show up in person. Managers make up their mind from your personality. For example in Dave & Busters if you get to the interview part they still give you a personality test that takes about an hour or so. If you are thinking Denny's or Ihop then you will not have difficult time getting the interview. There are steps of service to remember, memorizing menus inside and out, multi-tasking as you will rarely have only one table, and typically you are doing running sidework...it doesn't seem that much but it is. You have secret shoppers to worry about and some places will terminate you if and when you get a bad report from one of them. It is as easy and it takes a particular personality to deal with it. Good luck.
As for restaurant experience, they really toss your app if you don't have experience? Not to tick off any restaurant people here, but how hard can the job be? People skills? I have that. Ability to work under tight pressure and for long periods of time? I have that, too. Juggle multiple and competing priorities? Got ya covered. Deal with different and many times disagreeable personalities?
You're not ticking me off. I just want to tell you a story. Way way back in the dark ages, I worked for a restaraunt as an Assistant Manager/Hostess. The only experience I had was customer service. But they were willing to train the right person. We were a four star establishment. Kinda off the beaten track but the ambiance is part of the reason people went there. Anyway, one of the reasons, we were so good was because everybody knew everybody else's job. Ie: the manager or I could very often be found in the kitchen helping with prep or expediting. The salad chef would leave a specific amount of salads prepared under a damp cloth in the walk-in so that after he left there would be extra and I needed to quality control bcause I wouldn't like the look of those salads and go into the salad area and make fresh ones. One of the waitresses had a degree from a culinary school and there were times she would work the line. The bartenders needed to be waiters as well because food was served in the bar. Even though it was only sandwiches and appetizers, the bartender had to do two jobs for one paycheck. If a manager wasn't available, the prep and line cooks checked in food when it was delivered and the Sous Chef would sometimes help bring the food into the walk-ins.
Anyway, one night, I was filling in for the bartender who had called out sick. A woman came in who was very demanding. The entire restaurant knew and disliked her. She wanted what she wanted when she wanted it. I worked my bun-tails off keeping this woman happy and you know what? When she got up to leave, she stated I was a wonderful fill-in bartender, I was a terrific person and then left me a quarter for a tip.
That is why people say that restaraunt work is so difficult. There is little job satisfaction and only the very dedicated are good at their jobs. You have to have a hide as thick as an armadillo to deal with restaraunt patrons. It is absolutely amazing how a really nice person can go into a restaraunt and turn into a big jerk.
That’s a great story. A quarter tip!? Wow. Yeah, just from the dining end I can see how difficult it can be to do restaurant work. I cringe at the mess we leave behind for our waitress after we leave the restaurant (two kids make quite a mess). At the hotel I worked at during college, I encountered many of the same kinds of people you dealt with in the restaurant industry. I worked at a Disneyland-area hotel and we were overbooked every day during the summer months. Believe me, hotel guests can be very demanding—especially when it came to getting to and from the park, getting the rooms they want where they want, etc. And this is aside from those guests who refuse to pay for charges you know darn well they incurred, who completely trash the room, make off with your towels, linens, and pillows as if it’s a God-given right, or who berate you things totally beyond your control, such as the view from their room (“And may I ask what you expected to see from an Anaheim Hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon?!”). *sigh*
I’ll see about doing the functional resume thing and attaching it to a paper application. I’d be happy with behind the scenes work, such as busboy (do they still call ‘em that or is that now a no-no in our PC world?).
Hello Lomax,
I wanted to let you know that it is excellent to be honest. I think your idea of mentioning the jobs that will help you acquire what you are looking for will be sufficient enough. If the employer wants to know why you choice to put those jobs on your app, then you can explain why. The employer should understand. Logically, by putting the related jobs on the app is the smart thing to do because if you put only your writing experience then, as you said, you will not land that particular job. Just my thoughts. GOOD LUCK!!!!!