If you’re just starting out in your career, you might be wondering if some of your previous part-time jobs are worth putting on your resume. The short answer is yes! Part-time jobs don’t just give you a paycheck: they teach you a host of valuable and transferable skills you’ll use throughout your career. Keep reading to find out three great learning jobs you should experience once in your lifetime and include on your resume, no matter what type of job you’re going after today.
Retail
Think experience working in retail doesn’t provide transferable skills you’ll use the rest of your life? Try again. Retail is an excellent training ground, as it teaches you serious customer service skills. You’ll need to know how to make recommendations for people, solve their problems and handle their complaints with grace.
Retail also teaches you valuable lessons about doing whatever is necessary to get the job done. Any given day could have you running registers, merchandising, stocking, cataloging inventory and even sweeping floors. You do what is required to keep the store running smoothly, and a willingness to pitch in is always a valuable attribute.
Waiting Tables
Serving restaurant patrons is not for the faint of heart. It is a fast-paced job that requires attention to detail, exceptional customer service and diplomacy skills, speed and stamina. And if you’ve ever worked in a restaurant, you know that you’ll also learn how to navigate very temperamental coworkers.
Waiting tables requires you to do whatever it takes to make the customer happy; otherwise, you don’t get good tips. That often means covering for someone else’s mistakes, owning your own, moving quickly to rectify an error or even just rolling with the proverbial punches when you’ve done nothing wrong because the customer is always right. This job also teaches you how to work under intense pressure and remain quick and calm, even when you feel like your patience is thin.
Receptionist
Being a receptionist is about more than just answering phones, transferring calls and signing in guests. This is a highly fast-paced job that requires intense attention to detail. Transferring someone to the wrong extension, losing a message or taking a message incorrectly can spell major trouble for the company.
You quickly learn important soft skills and how to navigate ever-present office politics. People often want you to break the rules for them or their guests, or they will come to you for office gossip. You must adhere to your ethics and commit to confidentiality at all times.
Ready to Advance Your Career? The Reserves Network Can Help!
Reception, retail and restaurant service are great jobs, but you might not want to do them forever. They should be incorporated into your resume to highlight important transferable skills, but it’s not always easy to know how to advance your career into a new line of work.
If you are looking for a great new job, The Reserves Network is here to help. Browse our current job openings or contact us today to find out how we can help you move onward and upward.