It's tough out there, no doubt about it. According to the latest Labour Force Survey, unemployment in Canada remains close to eight percent, with small gains in the service industry offset by job losses among young people who often start in customer service jobs. Competition is fierce.
That's where having a great resume can make the difference. With as many as 70 applicants for each available customer service job, a resume that stands out from the crowd can win you the job.
Imagine being an employer for a moment. You place an ad for a customer service representative at your company. A flood of resumes lands on your desk. You scan them quickly for the best three applicants to interview. The rest go to the bottom of the pile or the shredder.
What determines whether your resume gets picked or thrown away? The answer can be as simple as a typo in the first line. An employer who sees misspellings and poor grammar knows that the applicant doesn't care about sweating the details.
Don't let that happen to you. Follow the rules of great resume writing and give yourself the best chance to get in there and inspire your prospective employer with your enthusiasm and ability.
Objective: Make your resume clear, concise and to-the-point. Summarize your qualifications at the top of the page in no more than three sentences. Use verbs wherever possible, and keywords that apply to the particular job or industry.
Customize: Tailor your resume to fit the job. If you're applying for the position of hotel desk clerk and your experience is in food service, note how your abilities as a server make you better able to handle desk clerk responsibilities, especially when it comes to difficult situations.
Include success stories: Briefly explain how you helped a previous employer achieve a goal in each job in your history. Include statistics if they're appropriate.
Tell the truth: Don't exaggerate your qualifications. A good resume includes phone numbers and contact information for previous employers. Assume that you put on the page will be fact-checked, because it will be.
Edit: Once you've collected all your work experience and put it on the page, go back over it. Remove extra words and rambling sentences. Employers scan resumes quickly, so keep paragraphs short and packed with information.
Format: Avoid fancy fonts or multiple fonts as well as excessive use of italics and bolding. Too much formatting makes the resume hard to read and hard to follow.
Proofread: Get another pair of eyes to check your work, even if you've proofed the resume ten times. A different set of eyes will often pick up a mistake or see something you missed.
A great resume gets your foot in the door for an interview, where you can let your personality and qualifications shine. Give yourself the best chance at an interview by sweating the details. An employer who sees a carefully written, tailored professional-looking resume is twice as likely to contact you. Good luck!
That's where having a great resume can make the difference. With as many as 70 applicants for each available customer service job, a resume that stands out from the crowd can win you the job.
Imagine being an employer for a moment. You place an ad for a customer service representative at your company. A flood of resumes lands on your desk. You scan them quickly for the best three applicants to interview. The rest go to the bottom of the pile or the shredder.
What determines whether your resume gets picked or thrown away? The answer can be as simple as a typo in the first line. An employer who sees misspellings and poor grammar knows that the applicant doesn't care about sweating the details.
Don't let that happen to you. Follow the rules of great resume writing and give yourself the best chance to get in there and inspire your prospective employer with your enthusiasm and ability.
Objective: Make your resume clear, concise and to-the-point. Summarize your qualifications at the top of the page in no more than three sentences. Use verbs wherever possible, and keywords that apply to the particular job or industry.
Customize: Tailor your resume to fit the job. If you're applying for the position of hotel desk clerk and your experience is in food service, note how your abilities as a server make you better able to handle desk clerk responsibilities, especially when it comes to difficult situations.
Include success stories: Briefly explain how you helped a previous employer achieve a goal in each job in your history. Include statistics if they're appropriate.
Tell the truth: Don't exaggerate your qualifications. A good resume includes phone numbers and contact information for previous employers. Assume that you put on the page will be fact-checked, because it will be.
Edit: Once you've collected all your work experience and put it on the page, go back over it. Remove extra words and rambling sentences. Employers scan resumes quickly, so keep paragraphs short and packed with information.
Format: Avoid fancy fonts or multiple fonts as well as excessive use of italics and bolding. Too much formatting makes the resume hard to read and hard to follow.
Proofread: Get another pair of eyes to check your work, even if you've proofed the resume ten times. A different set of eyes will often pick up a mistake or see something you missed.
A great resume gets your foot in the door for an interview, where you can let your personality and qualifications shine. Give yourself the best chance at an interview by sweating the details. An employer who sees a carefully written, tailored professional-looking resume is twice as likely to contact you. Good luck!
About the Author:
Bob Hunter is a resume expert many years of experience in the industry. Please visit CustomerServiceResume.ca for additional tips for gaining employment in this exploding field.
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