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I decided to head back into the work force for a more consistent paycheck that we really require right now, but so far having ebay and Amazon as a job has not won anyone over. I either get one of two responses. They either think I don’t really need a job since I already work for myself and they worry I will just quit on them because once again I dont really “need” a job in their eyes while others do. Or they think what I have been doing the past few years isnt really a job at all and I’ve just been somewhat unemployed. It has gotten so frustrating that I’ve just changed my resume to I’ve been working for someone else who has a business. At least then I might get a different response. Seriously though most of the time I never even get called in for an interview and when I do I get questions and responses that fall into one of those options. I’m open to any tips that might help me land a job. We are really hurting for money right now and I have a health limitation that keeps me from getting a stand on my feet for 8 hours job.
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First of all, you’ll get more traction talking to people you know, expanding your network, getting in touch with old friends, etc. Finding satisfying work is a full job in and of itself. And it isn’t fun.
I used to tell a friend of mine ( we have both been doing eBay since the late 90s) that he had probably done more sales on the internet than most of the people getting jobs with web retailers. If you think of what eBay sellers have to do nearly everyday, and put that on your resume, you might be able to tell a convincing story.
Think of it! Customer service!!! Admin skills needed to list and maintain records and do analysis!!! Inventory management – purchasing – liability and fancy terms like cogs, roi, turns!!! Operational pick, pack, ship, and knowledge of best practices!!! And did I mention…
Customer service???
Being an eBay seller requires you to Always adapt.You can tell your story with what you can do better than a title and a date range.
But at the end of the day, relationships and referrals and advice if others will help the most
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Blackcat,
I think buytikiselltiki has some good advice. List out the skills you are using doing ebay and Amazon. Most people don’t know what those skills are. Also, put a slant on it, depending on what position you are applying for. I don’t mean lie, I mean focus on the skills that are important for that particular job. If it is a customer service position, focus on that. If it is an accounting position, focus on that. If the position has nothing do to with with the skills you do on ebay and Amazon, show how the skills you have are transferable to that position.
Also, be prepared for those questions you know are going to come at you. Like, what is your weakness. The best way to answer that is to pick a weekness that you have worked on and show what you did to overcome it and then it can actually become a strength. For example, I am bad at remembering the tasks I have to do. So, to improve myself, I started making a list and adding to it every time I had a task to do. Now I rarely forget anything (that is one of mine). Now it is a strength!
I took a 2 day intensive seminar on how to look for a job and answer those tough questions and I have also interview hundreds of people. You want to rehearse this till you can do it in your sleep. You also need an “elevator speech”. That means you have to say what you are good at and why in 30 seconds or less so that you could tell it to someone on an elevator ride and eventually in an interview when they ask you about your background (another very common question).
Mark
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If your store has a focus, you might be better off saying business owner rather than Amazon or Ebay seller. If you want to get specific: clothing store, or antiques store, or something like that. Then, if you have a skills section, you could put all of the points that buyselltiki/Mark S have said above: “customer service,” “mailroom” all the sort of BS that employers like to see on a resume. Or, “photoshop,” “excel,” that sort of stuff.
I think a lot of it depends on what sort of jobs you are applying to, as well. Try to rewrite Ebay and Amazon selling to fit in specifically with the skill sets of those jobs.
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Thank you for your responses so far! To answer Jay, I have applied for mostly customer service type positions (call centers, data entry, front desk). I’ve also applied for a few hybrid positions where it’s half warehouse half clerical. Prior to ebay I had warehouse, call center, customer service, retail, and food industry experience. Some of the employers don’t even ask me questions about my eCommerce job, they skip right to the job I had before that one. I don’t think they know how to proceed talking about ebay as a job. And i try to “sell” it but really it didn’t work out so great if I’m there to get a job anyway. It worked out great in the first year or two but for some reason my sales declined and my money dried up to put back into it. The thing is, I know I have a great mind to help someone else achieve their goals. It’s really their loss for not hiring me, but I can’t make them hire me. I have never had physical limitations before so not being able to apply for jobs that require more standing is hurting me. But I can’t do anything about that right now so I’m focusing on the jobs I can do. I almost think it’s a let down situation. On paper it looks like I have this great online business but then when they ask specifics and find out it’s just Ebay and Amazon they lose interest and right back to the two options of responses I get.
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Ah, for those sort of jobs your best bet is to go through a temp. agency. It’s hard to get hired straight through by a major company unless you’ve already been working for the company for a few months.
If they’re more mom & pop type operations, they might be out of the loop for what younger people are doing for employment these days. If they’re reacting that way about Ebay or Amazon, I imagine they would be the same if you had said Uber or whatever.
I wish there was a professional term for resellers that didn’t sound so jokey or scammy, even though all businesses operate on “buy low and sell high,” so I don’t know why one is considered technically better than the other.
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Yeah, the average paper pusher is just going to think this isn’t a real job because they are closed minded and think anything other than the status quo 8-5 job is “unnatural” or “lazy”.
Join the club with the “stay at home mom”, the “homeschool family”, the “homebirth family”, etc, etc for out of the norm skills, hobbies, and lifestlyes.
Having said all that, our local Goodwill would hire you in a second to run their online retail business I bet. Maybe you should check around with any well organized thrift chains in your area and ask to talk to district managers to sell yourself.
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