to not want to work in a supermarket ..

[Lola528]

Yes, it is very snobby of me I know, and especially right now it’s a “needs must” situation when so
many are being made redundant and don’t have much choice. The only jobs where I am right now seem to be in a supermarket or cleaning houses or offices (I’m a rubbish cleaner).

It may be petty, but I don’t want it on my CV amongst the other jobs I’ve had (aviation/travel working with major players of the industry) to then have “Asda” or equivalent as my most recent job. I just feel I have so much more to offer but nobody in my industry of choice is hiring right now (understandably).

AIBU to think this will go against me for future job opportunities? Or will future potential employees understand this is a blip of “COVID times” and not see it as a negative? Am I just being stupid?

Wish you the best op. You've done amazingly well getting a job, I think any job is a good one at the mo

Why does working on a shop floor prove you're a grafter more than a long, successful and senior career in the relevant industry?

I'm sure if I saw OP's CV without the Asda line (WHICH SHE IS PUTTING IN ANYWAY) and instead a note that she was made redundant due to the pandemic, I wouldn't think she was a lazy dosser.

@browneyes77 you said it all. You were much more eloquent than I was. I hope @Lola528 reads your post

What attitude problem? Attitude problem would be refusing to do something you don't want to do and letting other people subsidise your choices. Or doing the job and moaning to new colleagues constantly. Op can't help not being thrilled about this. But she's getting on with it. And there's no hint she'll say anything negative to colleagues. Good attitude if you ask me.

Her problem was that she was too honest in her opener - but if people really think that everyone else who's lost a job they chose and were successful in is happy about taking other roles, they are deluded. There are loads of posters here going on in admiring tones about professionals working in supermarkets. Well, most if not all will have gone through the same or very similar thought processes as op.

To look at it another way, my manager would presumably not be impressed if they were demoted to my role. Less money, less responsibility. It would be disappointing after working in a more senior role for many years. I imagine they'd feel quite embarrassed about the reversal of fortune around colleagues. That's just natural, and I don't think they look down on me or don't appreciate me though!

As for gaps on a CV, I don't necessarily think this is bad at a certain level as people tend to assume you've used redundancy as an opportunity for a break. This is very common. Not suggesting op does this, just agreeing with recent posters that a break doesn't always look bad on a CV.

I know it’s not the same thing but a City firm I worked for employed receptionists via an agency. The agency liked to employ ex-cabin crew but only crew from airlines like BA, Virgin, Emirates with business class experience.

They didn’t employ crew from low cost airlines like Ryanair or EasyJet even those crew work really hard and clean the cabin between flights.

When I was trying to get a job as a PA in the City, it was hard as I had worked as an NHS medical secretary but apparently my experience at a premium airline was a bonus. The agencies advised me to leave my student work in retail off my CV. My NHS experience definitely went against me.

if people really think that everyone else who's lost a job they chose and were successful in is happy about taking other roles, they are deluded.

Yep.

Despite the abuse, name calling, sneering, moralising and virtue signalling that's been rampant on this thread, I don't believe a single reader truly doesn't understand why a senior aviation professional would be worried and dejected by having their industry savaged and needing to make a change such as this.

Everyone knows that you tailor your CV so it's relevant to the job you're applying for so of course you can leave it out. You'd mention the transferable skills instead, the same way you'll have ended up bagging this latest supermarket job.
Good luck in your new role

@goldielockdown2

Everyone knows that you tailor your CV so it's relevant to the job you're applying for so of course you can leave it out. You'd mention the transferable skills instead, the same way you'll have ended up bagging this latest supermarket job. Good luck in your new role

Please don't leave things off your cv. It always comes out in the wash and always reflects badly. Another one with 20 years in recruitment here. I have never once known that to end well. Be honest.

Please don't leave things off your cv. It always comes out in the wash and always reflects badly. Another one with 20 years in recruitment here. I have never once known that to end well. Be honest.

I’m a finance director. I don’t put my Saturday job at Miss Selfridge or the bar work I did in my twenties on my CV.

When shall I expect to receive my P45?

If I were made redundant and did an in-between job at Sainsbury’s, I wouldn’t put that on my CV either. Not because I look down on supermarket work or similar nonsense, but for this reason: what would it add to a CV tailored for senior finance roles?

@Iamthewombat

Please don't leave things off your cv. It always comes out in the wash and always reflects badly. Another one with 20 years in recruitment here. I have never once known that to end well. Be honest.

I’m a finance director. I don’t put my Saturday job at Miss Selfridge or the bar work I did in my twenties on my CV.

When shall I expect to receive my P45?

If I were made redundant and did an in-between job at Sainsbury’s, I wouldn’t put that on my CV either. Not because I look down on supermarket work or similar nonsense, but for this reason: what would it add to a CV tailored for senior finance roles?

I'd expect you to use common sense re your Saturday job.

Don't leave jobs off your CV. Tailored doesn't mean fraudulent.

A CV isn’t a legal document. I have the past 10 years only on there and I’ve left off short term temping jobs. And the job I left after half a day.

When I did security vetting I put all the roles in the past 5 years on the form as requested. That’s different to a CV.

So the eight weeks or so that I spent on a shop floor 12 years ago, with no relevance to what I do now... I need to declare that?

A gap on your cv will look worse. A willingness to take any job shows your a grafter. Most employers will hire someone whos in work rather than someone who is out of work.

This. Every time.

Does a gap on an otherwise stellar CV, in these times, for an industry decimated by the pandemic, really look so awful? Won't most employers see what has happened?

Are people really suggesting they'd look at an impressive CV whose writer lost their job due to Covid and think "lazy dosser, should be working at Asda"?

But it is honest to tailor the CV so it's relevant to the role you're applying for, Today. Never did me any harm, it would be completely random to include every job I ever did before I settled on my career after retraining. Referring to the skills you made use of/learnt and stating how they apply is fine enough.

Fraudulent would be lying about a job you didn't have as opposed to omitting an irrelevant job.

@goldielockdown2

But it is honest to tailor the CV so it's relevant to the role you're applying for, Today. Never did me any harm, it would be completely random to include every job I ever did before I settled on my career after retraining. Referring to the skills you made use of/learnt and stating how they apply is fine enough.

But this isn't before, is it?

It's the same thought process. It isn't imperative to have it on the CV. I'm surprised you're implying it matters so much, Today.

Please don't leave things off your cv. It always comes out in the wash and always reflects badly. Another one with 20 years in recruitment here. I have never once known that to end well.

Well, that rather depends on who you are recruiting, doesn’t it?

If you are recruiting people for junior temp roles with a high turnover, eg for G4S or similar, then you could, I suppose, legitimately worry that a gap on the CV might indicate that the person had been in prison.

But a senior professional with twenty plus years in the industry, whose career had clearly been interrupted by COVID? Don’t be daft.

That your cv should be truthful? You don't need 35 bullet points about an irrelevant role but you should cover it off. Even if it's "Temp jobs due to C19 refundancy." Paraphrased nicely.
I've had candidates had job offers rescinded in the past for missing things off their CV. It's just not worth it.
If it's years ago, it doesnt matter the same unless you've hugely stretched out dates to cover something.
Only passing on professional experience! And honesty wins out every time.

What was your role in the aviation industry? My point is unless you were an CEO and now having to work In a supermarket I really don’t think it matters. I think this is more about your own insecurities than other employers!

What was your role in the aviation industry? My point is unless you were an CEO and now having to work In a supermarket I really don’t think it matters. I think this is more about your own insecurities than other employers!

Another one trying to tell the OP that she’s not all that. Unless she was a CEO she should be happy to do anything because she’s nothing special. Bonus insult: she’s also insecure.

Genuinely, where does all this resentment come from?

I just don't agree, that's all, today. Most don't see it as dishonest to leave off a completely irrelevant role to the one being applied for, it's always been advised to tailor your CV, make sure it is relevant, mention soft skills learnt if they will be of use. Being selective and judiciously tying it all together is seen more positively than listed off every job like you're writing a shopping list. Less jarring than having a random job in the middle leaving the interviewers wondering why the applicant included it.

If I was hiring someone and this came up, I'd be impressed with their work ethic/attitude. Also don't underestimate the work itself, you'll be exposed to how stock ordering works, supply chain, pricing etc etc - the system's and processes that front supermarkets are complex and interesting - understanding them may be useful/could lead to a new career, or just do what it needs to to keep you in the green.

@Iamthewombat

What was your role in the aviation industry? My point is unless you were an CEO and now having to work In a supermarket I really don’t think it matters. I think this is more about your own insecurities than other employers!

Another one trying to tell the OP that she’s not all that. Unless she was a CEO she should be happy to do anything because she’s nothing special. Bonus insult: she’s also insecure.

Genuinely, where does all this resentment come from?

Genuinely...I think it is the ironic flipside of the MN class obsession. The horror of being seen as "common" or "chavvy" also translates to attacking anyone who suggests that supermarket work would look anomalous on their CV because they had a senior role in another industry before this. (How dare YOU get above yourself....) Add to that the opportunities for moralising and virtue signalling, which are also prominent on here and related to the class obsession, and you do have something of a perfect storm.

I really don't believe anyone on here doesn't understand where OP is coming from. And a lot of the comments about CVs and hiring sound very naive to me.