Can You Use Mystery Shopping on Your Resume?
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Well, they are not employers. But you could put something to the effect that you are in independent evaluator, or something similar 
Yes, any sort of independent contracting is a job experience, with you "self-employed." In addition, I don't think that the ICAs prevent us from stating our occupation and naming some of our clients (MSCs) and/or the industries in which we have shopped. However, since MS is generally misunderstood in the "outside" world, you may want to state that your occupation is something like "customer satisfaction evaluation."
Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Personally I would not put the MSC names or their client's name on my resume. Since MS'ing is a business, you are a small business owner, self employed, independent contractor. I think it is more important to list all the positive job-related skills on your resume rather than worry about a job title. Keep the job title very generic.
Since you also can't use them as references, get references from other people you know, such as respected neighbors, local elected officials, business people that you may have done a small assignment for. If you know your doctor or nurse outside of their work, ask them to give you a character reference. They will know about your condition but not mention it. Have you taken a class and impressed the instructor? That kind of thing. You don't have to have references right away but having them ready is good.
List yourself as a freelance "business consultant and evaluator" on the resume. It's on mine and when asked by an employer about the details I tell them I evaluate a business and give them objective feedback as per the client's guidelines.
Her Serene Majesty, Cettie - Goat Queen of Zoltar, Sublime Empress of Her Caprine Domain
JMHO, never refer to mystery shopping in your resume. You could say evaluator, auditor, quality control inspector etc. but never ever mystery shopper or secret shopper. The term would be interesting to an interviewer, but your aim in sending a resume is to get an interview. If there was one thing I learned, never mention anything that would allow a resume reader to form a bias, in age, race, religion, political leanings, etc. It takes less than a minute to scan a resume. And you want that interview! You don't have to lie but you don't have to volunteer unnecessary information.
There are so many ways to make your experience stand out. As a mystery shopper, you have valuable tranferable skills. Concentrate on the description of your skills. Any necessary explanation can be expanded in an interview. Two-page resume but preferably one page, unless you are aiming for highly skilled and professional jobs. When I changed careers, I also adjusted how I rewrote my resumes. Good luck!
There are so many ways to make your experience stand out. As a mystery shopper, you have valuable tranferable skills. Concentrate on the description of your skills. Any necessary explanation can be expanded in an interview. Two-page resume but preferably one page, unless you are aiming for highly skilled and professional jobs. When I changed careers, I also adjusted how I rewrote my resumes. Good luck!
This is a worthy topic for Jacob's next magazine and for any future books written about ms..
That's a great question. I would leave it off my resume if I were looking for a job since it wouldn't be relevant to my field, but it might be useful experience for some types of jobs in marketing, customer service, or something related.
OceanGirl,
I really agree with risinghorizon on this. The focus should be on skills you use so they can determine whether you fit the position to which you are applying.
I can also attest to the title of “Mystery Shopper” getting the wrong kind of attention. I had it on my resume once and listed the skills I use in this line of business. But, a perspective client gave me a telephone interview that made it clear that she was not interested as much in my qualifications as she was in hearing about getting some juicy details about MSing.
I changed that entry on my resume to a title of “Self Employment”, a subtitle of “Retail Auditor” and bullet points that highlight skills I use that pertain to the objectives of the jobs I seek. For me, it happens to be Accounting and Clerical positions.
So, I list signing up with the companies as “Contracting with various national marketing firms”.
My entry for the onsite evaluations is “Visits to local corporate and franchise business locations”.
I list what I do there as “Documenting compliance to merchandising and service standards”
And the last bullet point is: Maintaining company records as my own micro-business.
This way, it all looks very dry and mundane. But, it also looks generic enough to not draw attention to the “Mystery” aspect or imply that I goof off in a mall for a living. Sometimes, I think that’s the way that some MSCs try to recruit the people who work for them as field agents.
You’ll notice that I did not mention setting up the jobs I do. I just don’t want anyone to think I might be interested in logistics. But, there are people who would be.
If you are looking to get into scheduling, you might want to make sure setting up your own schedule is highlighted. Commenting on communication skills is another suggestion, along with any other pertinent skills. But, above all, make it match what you seek in some way.
If you really think about it, Mystery Shopping demands an awful lot of marketable skills and we should not sell ourselves short by just calling it Mystery Shopping.
I really agree with risinghorizon on this. The focus should be on skills you use so they can determine whether you fit the position to which you are applying.
I can also attest to the title of “Mystery Shopper” getting the wrong kind of attention. I had it on my resume once and listed the skills I use in this line of business. But, a perspective client gave me a telephone interview that made it clear that she was not interested as much in my qualifications as she was in hearing about getting some juicy details about MSing.
I changed that entry on my resume to a title of “Self Employment”, a subtitle of “Retail Auditor” and bullet points that highlight skills I use that pertain to the objectives of the jobs I seek. For me, it happens to be Accounting and Clerical positions.
So, I list signing up with the companies as “Contracting with various national marketing firms”.
My entry for the onsite evaluations is “Visits to local corporate and franchise business locations”.
I list what I do there as “Documenting compliance to merchandising and service standards”
And the last bullet point is: Maintaining company records as my own micro-business.
This way, it all looks very dry and mundane. But, it also looks generic enough to not draw attention to the “Mystery” aspect or imply that I goof off in a mall for a living. Sometimes, I think that’s the way that some MSCs try to recruit the people who work for them as field agents.
You’ll notice that I did not mention setting up the jobs I do. I just don’t want anyone to think I might be interested in logistics. But, there are people who would be.
If you are looking to get into scheduling, you might want to make sure setting up your own schedule is highlighted. Commenting on communication skills is another suggestion, along with any other pertinent skills. But, above all, make it match what you seek in some way.
If you really think about it, Mystery Shopping demands an awful lot of marketable skills and we should not sell ourselves short by just calling it Mystery Shopping.
"All we want are the facts." Sgt. Joe Friday
Goldilox, I'm also looking to transition into the accounting field, but I have no previous employment experience handling money in any capacity. Do you say anything else to highlight the money management aspect of keeping your own business?
What I wrote about in that post was the top heading of my list of experience only. I was trying to suggest other ways to present the skills we use so that we look credible and show that we have something to offer in many other areas of employment. I went with what I know works for me when someone wants to know what all I have been doing recently.
If I get your question right, the rest of my resume shows finer details of what I have done in my W-2 jobs. Of course, I also include a cover letter tying my experience, skills, and education to the particular job to which I am applying at any given time.
When it comes to getting into the field, handling money per se shouldn’t necessarily be a prerequisite. Accounting is an intricate subject and not everyone is going to be cut out for it. But as long as you have a real interest in the subject, it is worth pursuing.
Do you just want to have a job doing accounting related tasks or do you want to be an accounting professional? The former seems to be included in a lot of job descriptions I have seen lately for receptionists and administrative assistants. The latter takes a lot of study and hard work.
In fact, my college counselor told me that Accounting carries the heaviest homework load of any major field of study. That was back in 2005. There may be other majors that require more now, but I doubt it.
If I get your question right, the rest of my resume shows finer details of what I have done in my W-2 jobs. Of course, I also include a cover letter tying my experience, skills, and education to the particular job to which I am applying at any given time.
When it comes to getting into the field, handling money per se shouldn’t necessarily be a prerequisite. Accounting is an intricate subject and not everyone is going to be cut out for it. But as long as you have a real interest in the subject, it is worth pursuing.
Do you just want to have a job doing accounting related tasks or do you want to be an accounting professional? The former seems to be included in a lot of job descriptions I have seen lately for receptionists and administrative assistants. The latter takes a lot of study and hard work.
In fact, my college counselor told me that Accounting carries the heaviest homework load of any major field of study. That was back in 2005. There may be other majors that require more now, but I doubt it.
"All we want are the facts." Sgt. Joe Friday
@af517 wrote:
That's a great question. I would leave it off my resume if I were looking for a job since it wouldn't be relevant to my field, but it might be useful experience for some types of jobs in marketing, customer service, or something related.
Having a command of the English language (verbal and written) and meeting deadlines are important qualities for almost any job field in North America and beyond.
It is on my resume. I am a Quality Assurance Contractor. Employer- Self. Then you have some creative license with your skills. For me I perform announced audits so I can throw in contract compliance and a host of other stuff that you may not be able to get away with if you are always unannounced. I have done market research for a study that is published annually so I throw that in. Then the usual stuff- Interact with general public, Generate reports and track assignments using Microsoft Office Suite (I could cut and paste into Sassie...don't judge me). But I literally- with every job description- I look for the skills and verbiage they use and bend, twist, squeeze and cajole every living ounce of every task I do for mystery shopping into the job requirements. We do customer service or client service every time we interact with a scheduler. We meet tight deadlines and contractual requirements for multiple clients. (Are you people writing this down?) We evaluate customer service and provide detailed written feedback for performance improvement. We take pictures of pizza...(okay...maybe I don't put that in there..because apparently I don't do the pizza thing very well- 8 out 10...its a friggen pizza!.. don't get me started). We are patient, courteous and professional. We are required to demonstrate excellent time management skills to tend to the needs of multiple, often demanding clients (8 out of 10?...REALLY? I'll give YOU a picture...stick THAT in your report!). You can really go on forever (not about the pizza audit...well maybe about the pizza audit). Just really study the verbiage on the job description and give them what they want. This work is tough and requires professionalism and IMHO you really should not miss out on the advantages of showing your stuff on your resume.
But if ms is the only employment on the resume for a specified period of unemployment, then leave it on as a gap with NO job whatsoever will be held against you. Which is disgusting, but typical of the adversarial climate in today's world of work. Not LOL, some employers believe you can find work within a few days...
Plan B would be to delete ms from the resume and find a trusted person to create an alibi job for you so there is no gap in your employment.
Best of luck to you. Wish I was close by to help with your resume.
Plan B would be to delete ms from the resume and find a trusted person to create an alibi job for you so there is no gap in your employment.
Best of luck to you. Wish I was close by to help with your resume.
@Arch Stanton wrote:
Plan B would be to delete ms from the resume and find a trusted person to create an alibi job for you so there is no gap in your employment.
Lying on your resume is NOT a good idea. A man recently got busted for falsifying resumes for other people.
To the above, you can only be arrested for lying on a resume if it were for a government job, based on the filing forged documents, nobody in the private sector in this country can "arrest" anybody for lying on their resume. Termination would be the only outcome.
Who was ever arrested for falsifying resumes and what exactly were the legal charges filed against them???
Yes, lying on a resume is not a good idea, and neither are the employers who refuse to accept valid reasons for gaps in employment, and there are many valid ones , like death in the family, maternity leave, unavoidable medical problems, etc. Employers want to hear b.s. and you need to give it to them...
Who was ever arrested for falsifying resumes and what exactly were the legal charges filed against them???
Yes, lying on a resume is not a good idea, and neither are the employers who refuse to accept valid reasons for gaps in employment, and there are many valid ones , like death in the family, maternity leave, unavoidable medical problems, etc. Employers want to hear b.s. and you need to give it to them...
@ManofMystery (Are you people writing this down?) Are you a George Strait fan?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/18/2015 03:55PM by writermagic.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/18/2015 03:55PM by writermagic.
Gaps in employment may also be explained as stint in volunteering or something like taking a short specialization course. There is no lying there. When I chaired an organization, I had to take a short break. Companies seem to value
employees who are active in volunteer work. Skills which you may not get in a regular job, you usually hone in volunteer work. That means you have to style your resume as functional to avoid giving focus on the gap.
Modern resumes do not have specific dates. You are not obliged to give your birthdates, dates of employment or anything to age you or even where you were born. As a matter of fact anything that happened more than 20 years ago, don't mention it but include it in your overall skills. Stick to the 10 years limit. But of course, in professional jobs and highly skilled ones, you will have a longer resume and you are expected to mention your educational attainment and major accomplishments to get the interview.
If you think you will be over qualified, tone down on your degrees and accomplishments. Just the bare minimum. When you get your foot on the door and the company seems to be noticing you, give them your complete resume. For sure they can sense your qualifications by your performance. Or may even promote you before you have updated your resume. It takes guts, determination and humility to apply for something you are told you are overqualified.
A well prepared resume and an effective cover letter should really be adjusted to a particular position. Don't include your references. Just state that you will provide it in an interview or upon request. That way you can alert your references. References who are not prepared do not do the best jobs. You need them to say positive things about you and to be
at least relevant and command the respect of the interviewer. It is nerve-wracking to be interviewed on the phone about someone you hardly know.
employees who are active in volunteer work. Skills which you may not get in a regular job, you usually hone in volunteer work. That means you have to style your resume as functional to avoid giving focus on the gap.
Modern resumes do not have specific dates. You are not obliged to give your birthdates, dates of employment or anything to age you or even where you were born. As a matter of fact anything that happened more than 20 years ago, don't mention it but include it in your overall skills. Stick to the 10 years limit. But of course, in professional jobs and highly skilled ones, you will have a longer resume and you are expected to mention your educational attainment and major accomplishments to get the interview.
If you think you will be over qualified, tone down on your degrees and accomplishments. Just the bare minimum. When you get your foot on the door and the company seems to be noticing you, give them your complete resume. For sure they can sense your qualifications by your performance. Or may even promote you before you have updated your resume. It takes guts, determination and humility to apply for something you are told you are overqualified.
A well prepared resume and an effective cover letter should really be adjusted to a particular position. Don't include your references. Just state that you will provide it in an interview or upon request. That way you can alert your references. References who are not prepared do not do the best jobs. You need them to say positive things about you and to be
at least relevant and command the respect of the interviewer. It is nerve-wracking to be interviewed on the phone about someone you hardly know.
@Sybil2 wrote:
Having a command of the English language (verbal and written) and meeting deadlines are important qualities for almost any job field in North America and beyond.
So is breathing and being able to wipe your own ass, but I don't put that on my resume. Some things should be understood.
The issue would be that in some professions, putting experience that's entirely unrelated to your specific field when applying for jobs raises concerns that you're not particularly committed to working in that field. That doesn't apply to a lot of generalized professional white-collar jobs, but in some fields you do want to leave off unrelated experience once you're beyond entry-level.
Many smaller companies don't value any volunteer experience, larger ones do.
True, but sad and despicable, some NYC employers actually ran ads requiring only applicants who have not been out of work for the last six months. The NYC City Council then banned that practice.
Yes, current resumes only list the years of employment for each job, BUT...the job application does require the exact start and finish dates and I have seen interviewers hold up both the application and resume in each hand to cross reference them both.
True, but sad and despicable, some NYC employers actually ran ads requiring only applicants who have not been out of work for the last six months. The NYC City Council then banned that practice.
Yes, current resumes only list the years of employment for each job, BUT...the job application does require the exact start and finish dates and I have seen interviewers hold up both the application and resume in each hand to cross reference them both.
Sadly, many companies simply won't hire unemployed applicants. They have less of a buyer's market now than they did a few years ago, but in many areas they can still take their pick.
@Arch Stanton wrote:
Many smaller companies don't value any volunteer experience, larger ones do.
True, but sad and despicable, some NYC employers actually ran ads requiring only applicants who have not been out of work for the last six months. The NYC City Council then banned that practice.
Yes, current resumes only list the years of employment for each job, BUT...the job application does require the exact start and finish dates and I have seen interviewers hold up both the application and resume in each hand to cross reference them both.
That really depends on the company. I have not encountered any that did not value volunteer work especially if you have headed it and it was a known company because they know they could use you.
That of course did not apply to professional job. That's always an exception. They want to know the details. I have been there, done that.
When I moved to Toronto, the first thing I did with regards to employment was to take a course in Professional Resume Making as I had to change my specialized career and start low. When applying for a job and I encountered one with pages and pages of job application, I showed them my resume and they just told me to attach it to the blank job application. I did that and got the very first job I had which was as Customer Service Rep. Then as Administrative Assistant.
I got a job related to my field of study, as an analyst. As I became older, age discrimination became evident, so I took 'Resume Writing for over 40' while still holding a demanding job. I noted resume writing had changed and it became very interesting. I now write resumes for friends, etc. First and foremost in my mind is to get that interview for someone even if he had a doctorate and just aiming for a managerial position or lower. It's harder to make a resume for a recent immigrant. I've been lucky so far.
@af517 wrote:
@Sybil2 wrote:
Having a command of the English language (verbal and written) and meeting deadlines are important qualities for almost any job field in North America and beyond.
So is breathing and being able to wipe your own ass, but I don't put that on my resume. Some things should be understood.
Have you read the forum lately? There are lots of people posting who do NOT have command of the English language. I bet wiping their own arse is a challenge for some. You totally missed my point and I don't have the desire to spell it out for you.
@Arch Stanton wrote:
To the above, you can only be arrested for lying on a resume if it were for a government job, based on the filing forged documents, nobody in the private sector in this country can "arrest" anybody for lying on their resume. Termination would be the only outcome.
Who was ever arrested for falsifying resumes and what exactly were the legal charges filed against them???
Where did I say that the person got arrested? I said busted. Big difference. I guess some people do not have command of the English language.
Sybil2,
"Busted" is a very, very commonly used phrase in this part of the country for being arrested and my friends in different levels of law enforcement also happen to use it.
Sorry you got so damn offended.
"Busted" is a very, very commonly used phrase in this part of the country for being arrested and my friends in different levels of law enforcement also happen to use it.
Sorry you got so damn offended.
@MotherDaughterTeam wrote:
Personal attack deleted.
WOW. Just WOW. Attacking, un-called-for behavior from a poster whose posts have not impressed me as being either professional or ethical. MotherDaughterTeam, please cease and desist.
This is a personal attack. While our forum is lightly moderated, attacking behavior is not encouraged. MotherDaughterTeam, kindly lose the attitude and knock it off.
It is funny how MotherDaughter "likes" many of my posts. And the only "foul" language I used is as an example in the Meta thread showing that Jacob already has filters in place to weed out what he thinks are "bad words" and replacing them with a combination of symbols. MotherDaughter actually "liked" that post as well. There is lots of T Behavior happening here and is has been reported by many forum members.
And this personal attack is coming from the same person sending out religious PM's to members? Great example there, MotherDaughter.
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