I’m a fresh microbiology graduate with zero experience in the field, and I’m starting a new resume to apply for Real Microbiology Jobs.
Aside from the fact that I have no experience, a problem I’m running into is the fact that I’ve been a server for the last 15 months at three consecutive places. Honestly, waitressing at one place is about the same as waitressing at another, in terms of your responsibilities, the skills required, and the things you learn. In only one case did the job differ significantly from the others: I was “headwait” at my first waitressing job, which basically means I performed the nightly admin duties that managers didn’t want to do. With two of the three jobs being functionally equivalent, and the other one the same plus a few additional duties, I feel it would be redundant to list all three. However, if I omit something, it’ll look like there was a gap in employment where there wasn’t.
Any advice on this? If I sound young and naive, it’s probably because I am. :o
Also, and completely unrelated:
Is it appropriate to ALWAYS send a cover letter with a resume? Especially if you’re applying through the company’s website, and it says “paste resume/CV text here”?
My vote: List all 3. Location, dates, that sort of thing. But, if you have bullet points about what a great waiter does, consider listing them only under the most recent. Don’t go on at great lengths about something irrelevant to your hoped for position.
If nothing else, it proves you can stay in a moderately boring job without making a mess of things, and without pissing off the customers or your supervisors, and you can even do that while studying microbiology at the same time. So you’re a safer prospect than someone who’s never done that, or tried waiting on tables and either dropped meals on customers’ laps or made inappropriate remarks to them all the time. So put it down, but don’t dwell on it, because it doesn’t prove much more than that.
Well, I wasn’t going to really say anything about how I can balance x number of plates over my head while running upstairs and singing Yes We Have No Bananas; it’d be more like “developed time-management skills in a fast-paced environment” and other broadly applicable things.
So it’s acceptable to just list them, and only expand upon one? I was thinking that’d be the best way to go, but I didn’t know if that was ok. Also, do you think it’d look weird if I only listed bullet points on the least recent one, as opposed to the most recent? That was the one that really taught me the most, and I had more responsibilities there than at any of the others.
Giles: so you think I should list all three and not expand on any of them at all? I think it might be a good idea to show them that I learned SOMEthing valuable, and I think I really did, but just… not really after the first job.
Well, being headwaiter is actually of more significance, as it involves management/supervisory skills and experience. So, yes, emhasis that for the first job, and just list the other two, since they don’t really add anything apart from you not being unemployed.
I am an HR person and I have a few more questions/ suggestions. Why did you move from job to job? The fact that you changed jobs twice in essentially one year is not a plus, unless it was something obvious like going home for the summer.
You probably already realize that in your situation education should be listed first on your resume, then employment, since you are marketing your education.
Also, there is no requirement that a resume list all jobs. On an application, yes, it is a chronological listing of all your employment, but not on a resume. A resume is a marketing tool. Bearing that in mind, I think you’re fine to leave the waitressing off entirely, assuming you have extracurriculars to fill out the resume a little bit.
If you do include it, my preferred alternative would be a single listing
Waitstaff: O’Bennigans, Springfield, MO Jul-Sep 2006. Chilibees, Collegeville, MO May-Jul 2006. Cheescake Warehouse (head of waitstaff) Dec 2005 -May 2006. Provided excellent customer service. Managed time in a fast-paced environment.
Avoid the feminine form “waitress.” It sounds “cute” and cute is not what someone is looking for in a microbiologist.
As soon as you have a real job to list, these ones can be dropped from your resume (not applications, though).
I’d keep it minimal. Someone who’s hiring for Real Microbiology Jobs is probably not that interested in unrelated job experience.
I wouldn’t even label it as “past experience”.
I may just simply put "emploment history- waiting tables 01’ thru 06’ "
There’s not much use in telling them what you did there if it doesn’t apply or is generic “I was never late, I was a good employee, etc.”
You just want to basically express that you did hold a job while going thru school.
Keep the resume education heavy. Highlight accomplishments and projects you were involved with in school.
Put the waiting tables at the end.
And yes, do include a cover letter. And not a generic one. One that’s customized to the job description your applying for. Express why it caught your eye, why your interested in it, and what “you” can do for “them” in that position.
Yeah, and I realize that. It was unavoidable in the first case; I was being verbally abused by a short-tempered manager and I really couldn’t take it anymore. In the second case, I wasn’t making enough money on which to survive, which is why I sought the third and present job, at which I intend to stay and work nights when I get a day job.
Definitely. I intend to list my lab skills before my work experience as well.
Hmm… well, I knew it wasn’t a requirement, but I thought it would be sort of misleading. Also, if I only list the most important of the three, that leaves a sizable gap in employment about which they would certainly inquire or at the very least wonder.
Yeah, that’s the thing; I really don’t. The subjects I studied didn’t come easily to me, and I worked around 30 hours a week, so I didn’t have time to pursue anything extracurricular. Thus I kind of feel obligated to list everything work-related, as I didn’t really do anything else.
That’s interesting. I didn’t know that was an acceptable format. That may in fact be the least ugly and most functional form I’ve yet considered.
Of course. I was going to use “server”, but if you think that waitstaff would sound better to an HR person I may use that instead.
Thanks so much for taking the time to advise me; it was exceedingly helpful!
On that issue, as the father of two children who have been waiters, I much prefer the term “waiter” regardless of gender. I don’t understand why any other word has toi be used to make it non-gender-specific. (And of those two children, yes, one is my son and the other is my daughter). “Waitstaff” shounds like more than one person, and so it’s fine for “head of waitstaff”, but doesn’t sound right to me when you are just talking about yourself.
I’m under the impression that the entire point of a cover letter was to be specific and let the company know you’ve done your homework on them, as well as to convince them you’d be an asset, so I would never ever write a generic cover letter.
But, ok: here’s the website through which I am applying. As you can see, there’s not really two separate spaces for cover letter and resume, so I’m just wondering how best to show that they are two separate documents, or if I should worry about that at all.
If your university has a career services office, I recommend dropping by to have your resume critiqued by a fresh pair of eyes. It’s amazing what can come out when you talk about your resume with another person.
Not a HR person, just a person who has been looking for a job long enough that if you want a job now, my advice may not be the advice to take. (Though I have finally acquired a first professional job).
Bullet points on only the least recent job sounds odd, but could probably be effective. Or do the combined listing suggested above.
Things to keep in mind (general):
Different HR folk have different opinions on what is best–despite the anti-waitress stance in this thread, there are probably HR folk who would prefer the word waitress. I’m not saying you should use it, I’m just using it as a trivial example of different people having different opinions on issues. So while you should work hard to keep typos out of your resume, don’t lose sleep over certain small details. Or try several styles of resume and send them to different places.
The purpose of the resume is to get the interviewers attention so you get called for an interview. Don’t lie, but do sell yourself aggressively–no one else will.
As a recent graduate looking for a first real job, with no experience, it is not unusual for it take some time to find the job. Be prepared to answer this question quickly, honestly, optimistically and briefly. But also be prepared for interviews in which they ostentatiously ask each candidate the identical set of questions–which leaves no room to care about the distinction between “I’ve been waitressing at 3 restaurants 'cause I don’t get along with my managers” and “I didn’t start waitressing till 3 months ago so there’s this big gaping hole on my resume”.
I have “waitress” on my resumé and no one has ever had a problem with it. So what if it’s a feminine word? I’m female! I’m all for equality, but not at the expense of my identity That is, of course, just MHO!
Thing is, while I have work experience in my field, it’s all been at the same company. So I had the fun of putting in a full time position (about 2 years) at Company X, then putting in two summer jobs at Company X (listed as “Summers 2002, 2003”) then the two waitressing jobs, at two different places (although seeing as they were also in completely different provinces, there wasn’t much need to explain why I left… I just now need to explain why I came back!)
I agree. While my personal preference is for “waiter”, it’s unlikely to make a difference, unless you are going for a job in some specialised areas, e.g., Lecturer in Women’s Studies, or Equal Employment Opportunity Officer. But in those areas, saying you had been a “waitress” might make them wonder
On the “waitress” thing, it’s been my experience that women in professional and technical fields need to guard their professionalism very closely. It is easy to be dismissed or discounted. The OP has worked hard to earn credentials in Microbiology, and kudos to her for that. There’s nothing wrong with working as a waitress, but going forward it has no place in her professional identity if she wants to make the most of her career. If someone asks how she can carry so many petri dishes at one time, she should just smile and say “countless hours in the lab.”
So, one additional point, don’t mention that you plan to continue working nights. Matter of fact, if you get a microbiology job and don’t financially have to work nights, I recommend against it. You will get more long term return for studying or putting in OT at your real job.
mnemosyne, depending on what field you’re in, you may want to consider downplaying the waitress thing as well. It’s not so much that people will have a problem with your resume saying “waitress,” but that they will just put your resume in the no call pile or give you a lower salary offer because of the image it brings to mind. I’m not trying to come off as snooty. I have had just-a-jobs myself, and omit or minimize them on my own resume.
Oh, the waitressing is downplayed - I worked at 2 places, three seasons at one and one summer at another, and they each only have one line on the page. Something like;
“Summer 2001, Waitress, Overrated Snotty Golf Club, Armpit-of-Ontario, ON”
“Summers 1998-2000, Waitress, Snotty Fancy Golf Club, Rich-MF-ville, QC”
They are on my resumé simply to show that I worked while I was in cégep. But I will still use the word “waitress”. That’s how I refered to myself at the time, and I don’t find anything offensive in it now (and I’m pretty open-minded and believe in equality).
All the other relevant skills, obtained at Company X across the 2 summers and the full-time work, take up all BUT the waitressing and contact info space on my resumé! I have gotten some interviews so far with it, so it seems to be working. Though I highly suspect that the biggest asset is the fact that I tend to email/mail it out in both English and French Bilingualism is GOOD!
That is, of course, just MHO!