Handing CV's in to shops

If you go to a shop and give them your CV, should you put a covering letter with it or hand it in on it's own?
And should it be in an envelope?

And if you want to apply for a specific advertised job, and have been told to hand in your CV, should you include a covering letter/written application for that job, or is it ok to just give them the CV, as that is all they've asked for?
:smile:

Reply 1

menagerie

12

cover letter all the time

try and customise them slightly to suit the shop.

Reply 2

milan5baros

15

wallflower*

If you go to a shop and give them your CV, should you put a covering letter with it or hand it in on it's own?
And should it be in an envelope?

And if you want to apply for a specific advertised job, and have been told to hand in your CV, should you include a covering letter/written application for that job, or is it ok to just give them the CV, as that is all they've asked for?
:smile:

I think generally it's fine to just give your CV in. I suppose If you write a cover letter as well it might look better. But really your going to be giving out 10+ CVs so you might not really have the time to customize all the individual cover letters.

Good Luck anyway. :smile:

Reply 3

obessedwithu&rockmusic

i wouldnt, they do most things online now, best thing is to check company websites....they will refuse you CVs unless you send it to them online

Reply 4

Dubstepper

cover letter + staple it?

most in store vacancies are done in the store but for management online.

Reply 5

kkdonut

Hi,
I would go in to a store with a CV and actually ask there and then if there are any vacancies, and if not for them to pass on a CV on to the manager.

The majority of CV's we just basically get chucked at us, get thrown away as the management prefer people physically asking - as sometimes vacancies pop up whether its a temp one or just one member of staff is needed for a period.

Reply 6

Sakura-Chan

20

I agree that you should give it to the manager, in his/her hand if possible. Any CV's that get handed to the shop floor staff where I work get put in the desk draws, and usually casual read throughout the day by whoever's working, which isn't what you want. They often go unread by the managers for weeks if not months.

Reply 7

dontknow1

No big retail (John lewis, house of Fraser, Harrods, Selfridge) will accept in-store CV. All information has to be found on their database it is part of policy. Also you can only apply if they have a job available on-line

Reply 8

Dinosaurus

3

Cover letter ALWAYS. It doesn't matter if you use a generic retail cover letter, but simply giving in a CV shows that you don't care about getting the job. It's just "this is me in a nutshell. Thanks". Whereas if you give a cover letter, it shows you are eager for the job. You've actually thought about what they would need, what skills you have to offer, and how they will apply to that specific job.

I would advise you to first create a generic cover letter as a base. Just outline ANY skills and extracurricular activities you have that would help in a work environment (e.g. captaining a sports team in your spare time = leadership skills; previous job serving people = communication and people skills; group projects in university showed you work well in a team; individual uni projects show you have self motivation and discipline etc.).

After you have a generic cover letter, go into town and make note of anywhere that is actually advertising vacancies. Then go home and tailor that generic cover letter for each store that had vacancies (remember to save each different cover letter with a different file name). Make sure to mention their company name, like "Starbucks in a worldwide institution, and to be part of their team would be a fantastic opportunity" or whatever. And then mention what skills you think will be relevant for that job (don't just list every single one even if the skill isn't relevant). Then you can print out one copy of each tailored cover letter, and then a handful of copies of your generic cover letter, and hand them out to anywhere that is accepting.

Also don't forget to keep it all condensed and efficient. If you don't have much experience, both CV and cover letter should be 1 side only, and the CV should use bullet points and one or two line sentences MAX.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 9

StarsAreFixed

13

Just the CV, ask for a manager. If you are just looking to be a sales assistant, no cover letter. IF it's a department store, do not ask for a manager- they have absolutely no say in hiring you, HR does. Hand it in to the customer service desk. Any company that hires online, use that first. Notice they just want you to email them the application form and/or CV. They have no interest in a cover letter, it's just not that kind of job.

Yes I worked in retail for years! CV's handed to managers ended up at tillbanks, either lost or severely delayed in being handed to customer service, where the HR manager collects them. Big department store though but remember, managers only have hiring power in smaller shops.