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I am in a gap year and have decided to apply for retail jobs. Is this CV suitable when applying for retail jobs?
PS: I never worked a paid job before.

PROFILE
I am a highly resilient and positive student who has completed their A-levels, looking to enter the world of work with your organisation. I possess a strong work ethic through my years of working under a youth-led organisation and volunteering in many fields.

EDUCATION
School | Milton Keynes, UK
November 2020 – June 2023
A level (Achieved)
Subjects: Biology (B), Chemistry (B), Maths (A)
GCSEs (Achieved)
Subjects: Math (9), Biology (8), Chemistry (8), Geography (8), English Literature (8), Physics (7), English Language (7), Sociology (7), Art (3)

EXPERIENCE
company name | Director of Educational Resources June 2021 – November 2023
Outline
Acting as the first point of contact when collaborating with other youth-led organisations. Prioritising managing workshops by finalising dates necessary, producing content, and leading teams to ensure content is produced efficiently and on time.
Key Responsibilities
● I participated in every monthly team meeting to discuss future aspirations about the organisation's goals. I lead team discussions by contributing thoughts and ideas and encouraging other members to do the same.
● Planned and assigned workshops and tasks to team members, enhancing our ability to provide efficient and empathetic mental health support to the public.
● I developed engaging toolkits addressing current social crises via Google Docs and PowerPoint, catering to the diverse needs of our customer base.
● I used editing software such as Canva, iMovie, etc to edit reels about topics that focus on destigmatising mental health.
● I developed time management skills by initiating an activity plan for the workshops ahead of time.
Key Achievements
Received a certificate for participating in a pop-up festival where we had a productive discussion about sensory evaluation towards inanimate objects.

Volunteering | Invigilator April 2022 – May 2022
Outline
Exercised patience while guiding visitors to their expected artwork, offering assistance, and ensuring an enjoyable experience while maintaining a safe environment.
Key Responsibilities
● I demonstrated calmness under pressure while remaining alert to attend to customer needs in potential emergencies, showcasing adaptability and a customer-focused mindset.
● Utilized in-depth knowledge of exhibition content and gallery layout to provide valuable assistance to visitors, offering directions and relevant contextual information, thereby enhancing their overall experience.
● My communication skills were improved when talking to visitors and staff through my work.

Key Achievements
Volunteering at the MK Gallery, allowed me to develop my empathy and gain insights into a social worker's work life.

NCS Camp | Volunteering August 2021 – August 2021 Outline
Developed my leadership skills by organising and planning charity events within a team, plus volunteering for a cleaning-up task. Leading panel discussions by brainstorming ideas and designing the outline for the charity events.
Key Responsibilities
● I volunteered for litter picking at the 30,500-seater MK Dons stadium, where I and my team, diligently cleaned up the stadium thoroughly.
● I organised a quiz night to collect funds for the DreamSai charity and created food and drink packages that were later delivered to the Bus Shelter charity.
Key Achievements
Received an NCS certificate for participating in multiple events that significantly improved my self-esteem, communication and my role as a team leader.

ACHIEVEMENTS
● Awarded with High achiever in Math.
● Received many completion trophies for my dance performances.
● Certificate of completion for multiple Springpod programmes.

ADDITIONAL SKILLS
Languages: Malayalam (Conversational), English (Fluent)
Software: Proficient in Microsoft Office, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Slack
Skill: Proficient in Problem-solving, Leadership, Customer Service, Creativity, Communication, Organisation, Planning and management

HOBBIES & INTERESTS
–Karate, reading news articles about science and sociology, and activism.
–Participated in a summit where I took the initiative towards problem-solving beside Stanford professors to develop an understanding of societal violence. I had to work independently on formulating a declaration form, plus compiling strategies and outcomes on social issues regarding violence.
– As a Social Media Intern at [company name], I curate and craft daily Instagram posts but also develop engaging and service-focused content strategies aimed at captivating our audience.

References

(edited 4 months ago)

Reply 1

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Original post by Happypower1234

I am in a gap year and have decided to apply for retail jobs. Is this CV suitable when applying for retail jobs?

Remove specific details about your school/ companies from the forum (but retain them in your original CV) to make you less identifiable on the forums.

When applying for retail jobs, in this context, I would suggest to put your education section after your experience section. You have a lot of volunteering experience which is arguably more useful for retail jobs.

You should not put “(Achieved)” next to your A-Levels or GCSEs results. You should not list all your GCSEs. Just state “9 GCSES including Maths (9) and English (9)”. Aside from university, GCSE’s will now become less relevant. You may wish to mention additional subjects only if they are relevant for the role.

Put the date first before the job role. It is easier to read.

Avoid saying “I developed” or “I used”. Say “Developed…” or “Used…” instead. In other words, each bullet point should start with an action verb.

Give more specific examples and avoid wishy-washy comments. For example, this is reasonable:
“I used editing software such*as Canva, iMovie, etc to edit reels about topics that focus on destigmatising mental health.”

“Utilized in-depth knowledge of exhibition content and gallery layout to provide valuable assistance to visitors, offering directions and relevant contextual information, thereby enhancing their overall experience.”

But this is just you declaring you have skills and not giving much or any detail:

“I demonstrated calmness under pressure while remaining alert to attend to customer needs in potential emergencies, showcasing adaptability and a customer-focused mindset.”

Other comments can be improved, such as:
“My communication skills were improved when talking to visitors and staff through my work.” -->
“Presented artwork and exhibits to a range of visitors including children, adults and large groups of 5-10, helping them to learn about … and enhance their visit to the gallery”.

Personally, I would not mention receiving a participation certificate. You have a lot of experience already, which is far more valuable than a certificate of participation.

You should avoid repeating yourself:
“I volunteered for litter picking at the 30,500 seater MK Dons stadium, where I and my team, diligently cleaned up the stadium thoroughly.”

The user is already aware it is a volunteering role, so there is no need to repeat this information. It should also read “My team and I…”. This is actually a good, detailed example. I would also consider putting the time it took to do this task.

I am not sure what relevance any of the achievements listed in the achievements section have with regards to looking for a retail job. Avoid putting unnecessary fluff to a CV. You want to highlight skills relevant to the employer – in this case a retailer. Having a dance award in itself does not really show anything. Explaining how it can help is preferred. You already show competence with your maths A-Level grade. Having a high achiever certificate is irrelevant in comparison.

I do not know what “Springpod” is. Avoid having expectations that the reader will know what specific acronyms or programmes are.

In the additional skills section, you mention Office and then write Word, PowerPoint and Outlook, which are part of Office. Mention Office, or the latter three, but not both.

I would avoid listing generic skills like leadership in the additional skills section, but that is my personal preference.

The karate hobby is irrelevant. Remove it. Reading news articles is also not relevant for this role.