Here's the deal: I started mystery shopping back in 2012 and I tend to average about 10-15 shops a week when it's slow and maybe 30 or so a week normally. Prior to that, I went to nursing school. With that being said, I prefer the 'make my own hours' that mystery shopping affords me. I don't have a mortgage or car payments as I pay cash for all of my purchases. I only mention that to show that I don't HAVE to make X amount of money per week to survive. I'm big into the couponing world so my grocery bill is maybe $5 a month a most. Now, here is the reason for my post. I have seen quite a few scheduling positions pop open, and I know they want a resume. The problem for me is that I don't have a typical 9-5 job and haven't had to get one for a while now. I worked a lot in retail during my 20's aside from attending nursing school. Would it be appropriate for my resume to focus mostly on my mystery shopping experience and just touch on my 'regular job' experience or should I try to incorporate a bit of it all? I feel as though the time gap between my last job and the present is so large that it might be viewed in a negative manner. It's not as though I haven't been earning money...it just hasn't been a 'normal' paycheck. I haven't 100% decided to apply for anything yet, but I did want to get my resume prepared so it can be readily available should I decide to go forward.

Well you have to fill the gap, that's for sure. If shopping is what you've been doing there's no harm in saying so.

@panama18 wrote:

Well you have to fill the gap, that's for sure. If shopping is what you've been doing there's no harm in saying so.

Thank you! I've been trying to figure out the best way to do that, so I think I'll just make a subcategory for that specific type of job. Since it is a mystery shopping company, I'm sure that they will be more understanding than a typical retail/healthcare/restaurant company would be. By that, I mean to say that if I tried to apply to a retail or healthcare position and only listed mystery shopping as the job I've been doing for almost the last decade, they might tend to frown on that. However, in my eyes, work is still work. I might not punch a timecard but I'm still putting in the time and energy.

Focus on the skills you have developed as a mystery shopper. They are significant! There is a previous resume thead that focused on job titles for shoppers. That would be helpful as well.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

Focus on the skills you have developed as a mystery shopper. They are significant! There is a previous resume thead that focused on job titles for shoppers. That would be helpful as well.

Thank you Those skills have definitely come in handy over the years.

People are intrigued by mystery shopping. I got my current job (after passing the initial two interviews) by mostly talking about shopping in the final interview. The director and assistant director was fascinated by the whole concept. It has absolutely very little to do with analytical chemistry, but it definitely made me stand out.

Time management, self-discipline, attention to detail, ability to work under pressure, etc are all skills that good mystery shoppers have.

I think that I put, "Retail Auditor / Compliance Analyst" and then described what I did.

@SoCalMama wrote:

People are intrigued by mystery shopping. I got my current job (after passing the initial two interviews) by mostly talking about shopping in the final interview. The director and assistant director was fascinated by the whole concept. It has absolutely very little to do with analytical chemistry, but it definitely made me stand out.

Time management, self-discipline, attention to detail, ability to work under pressure, etc are all skills that good mystery shoppers have.

I think that I put, "Retail Auditor / Compliance Analyst" and then described what I did.

I'm so glad that I posted my question! I was thinking of writing something similar in my resume, but just wanted to confirm that I wouldn't sound like an idiot It sounds normal to us, but for most people they probably have no clue as to what we are talking about.

All excellent replies above, but correct me if mistaken that Market Force and possibly others, will not give out references for their shoppers. Best of luck to you.

Correct Arch. When I put a mystery shopping job description on my resume, the company that hired me had to use my 1099s to verify my employment. Now, I leave it off.

The OP is self employed. While helpful if available, a reference from her client would not normally be expected.

Would the owner of your local quickee-mart be expected to solicit references from each slurpee purchaser and submit 1200 reference? Would it mean something if they did, when the writers see only a small sliver of their work life? A self employed person needs to make their case for their workplace value some other way.

Were the OP a W2 employee a reference from her employer would be the norm. But as s/he is self employed no one would be put off by the absence of the traditional reference scenario.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

Correct Arch. When I put a mystery shopping job description on my resume, the company that hired me had to use my 1099s to verify my employment. Now, I leave it off.

To verify your "employment"? Or to verify your income? What of the income received from MSCs that did not meet the threshold for filing 1096 / 1099? I've usually used a P&L or a tax return.

This was to verify employment. I ended up sending in a PayPal statement for a few months and that sufficed.

I just did a resume for a research position. During my time as a shopper, I also sold product on ebay, built websites, and similar things. That was how I made money during the recession and is how I am making money right now while I am recovering from major surgery. I listed that work as Entrepreneur. Neither of the two guys I interviewed with were concerned. They especially liked my flexibility and ingenuity.