Discussions

I work for a specialty retail shop and, although I don't directly do the hiring, I am one of the people who looks through resumes to decide who is called for an interview. There are a few mistakes that are repeatedly made and I'd like to make a few suggestions so that perhaps next time you'll get a phone call and not just have your resume permanently filed.  
 
If you choose to submit your resume via email or fax, include a decent cover letter! Remember, this is your only chance to make a good impression as no one from the company has been able to meet you. Simply sending a resume says to me that you don't really care enough about this job to put any work into applying for it. Therefore, it gets permanently filed.  
 
As I said before, I work in specialty retail. That means please state in your cover letter clearly what skills you bring to the job. I want to know that you are passionate about what we specialize in. Please be specific! Don't be afraid to show some personality! Stand out from the crowd. Sending a cover letter that details your office experience doesn't help you get a retail job.  
 
Also, when coming into the store to apply, please leave Mommy in the car. She isn't going to get you the job, we're not hiring her. And Mommy, please let your kid do this themselves. An overinvolved Mom/Dad can mean trouble down the road.  
 
And listing an objective on your resume that simply says: "To get a job" doesn't cut it. If you don't have anything impressive to say, just leave this off. I already know you need a job.  
 
Please take these thoughts into consideration when sending out your resume in the future. We really do get stacks of resumes when a position is posted and it's very discouraging when only 1 or 2 are worth calling in for an interview. I'm sure many more people are worth considering but if your cover letter and resume doesn't show it, you unfortunately won't get a call.