Covering Letter for Michael Lavelle

Contact Details:
Address: 74 Broad Ash, Greystoke Gardens, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE2 1PZ
Daytime tel no: 07956 779476
Email: michael.lavelle@hotmail.co.uk

Job Details:
Company: New Apex LTD
Location: North East
Position: Customer Service/Data Entry
Job type:
Job reference:

Employment History & Experience:

I began working from 18 years of age at Mills Newsagents (now One Stop) as a Customer
Service Colleague. My general duties included serving customers, stock checks and
replenishment, due diligence, ordering stock and booking in orders, and housekeeping duties
(rotation, facing, ensuring the store was cleaned and tidied to a high standard).
During my time at Mills I gained invaluable experience in a varying number of areas, including
face-to-face interaction with customers, correctly using EPOS and lottery systems, and diligently
and securely opening and closing the store.
Throughout my time there I was also entrusted with the handling and totalling of large sums of
money, and rarely found myself with any discrepancies. I built up a reputation as a hardworking,
trustworthy colleague who could carry out tasks quickly and thoroughly and as someone who
could flourish in a team but also who could use his own initiative and effectively carry out tasks
alone. I successfully passed a number of secret customer and National Lottery Age Identification
checks, due to Mills strict Think 30 policy.
Overall, I believe my time with Mills has benefited me in regards to the experience it has given
me. I have built up an extensive knowledge of many of the key aspects of retail and I feel I have
learned many more which could perhaps prove to be invaluable when applied to other areas of
retail.
Once Id left Mills I continued my studies at university, however I was unfortunately unable to fully
complete the BA Hons Journalism course due to not having enough money.
Since ending my studies I have taken part in a four week Work Placement Program, during
which I spent time working with Job Linkage in Thorney Close. This again proved to be fruitful as I
gained experience in a number of new areas, including administrative duties, reception work,
handling phone calls, face to face interaction with clients and small elements of IT work.
From my time at Thorney Close Action and Enterprise Centre, I went on to become employed by
Tesco Extra, specifically their in-store caf. My duties included preparing and serving food,
making a selection of coffees and other hot beverages and housekeeping, with a heavy emphasis
on customer service. My hard working during this period was rewarded when I was approached
by my manager to become a Team Leader, a position I accepted and embraced. I enjoyed the
challenges this offered, including team building and motivating the other staff and delegation
work.
I greatly enjoyed my time as a Team Leader at the Tesco Extra caf, and found it to be
invaluable, both in terms of learning vital new skills and expanding upon the ones I had already
learned. Unfortunately, as much as I enjoyed my job, a lack of available hours forced me to resign
from my position.
I then found telephony and inbound call centre sales work with Parseq, working with EDF Energy,
where my duties mainly included manning the telephones, customer service, data input, and
ensuring all information and records were kept up to date. Whilst this job was challenging, and an
entirely different working environment to any I had previously worked in, I was able to quickly
adapt and put my strong organisational and problem solving skills to good use and thrive in a
busy and demanding role. It was at Parseq where I really honed my ability to work to deadlines
and push to hit targets, as there were daily targets and goals set by our team leader which we
were expected to achieve. I found the time I spent with Parseq invaluable in terms of expanding
my skill set and developing the skills I had learned up until that point. I left Parseq a more
versatile, perceptive individual, able to handle high-stress situations and overcome any obstacle
thrown my way. However, as beneficial and gratifying as my time at Parseq was, I found it difficult
to balance working full time at the call centre as well as work 20 hours a week at Subway. I
decided to focus on just one job so as not to tire myself out, and stop myself becoming jaded.
Most recently I have been employed by Subway, initially as a Sandwich Artist, again, with a
strong emphasis on customer service. In the short time I have been with the company I have
been promoted onto their management program, where I successfully completed the
management training program. I was trusted with the day-to-day running with several stores,
where I was met with many daily challenges, and used the skills I acquired to try and overcome
these obstacles. Running a store is a challenge, but it is one I relish, as I know that in order for
things to run smoothly and efficiently, I have to ensure both myself and my staff are at our very
best. In particular, the store in which I am currently based is running on a +10-15% year-on-year
profit and regularly hits its KPI (Key Performance Indicator) targets. We also have a good repeat
custom rate, and a strong regular customer base which we are continuing to work toward building
upon and growing, through marketing, promotions and, of course, exceptional customer service.
In conclusion, I believe that throughout my employment history, I have proven to be a flexible and
dynamic individual, always looking for ways to better both myself and my employers, and capable
of motivating those around me to get the very best from them. I have demonstrated fantastic
organisational attributes, can consistently deliver outstanding customer service (both face-to-face
and over a telephone), and I am always looking to both gain new skills, and improve upon the
ones I have already acquired. Whilst I don't have much experience in recruitment, I do like to
think of myself as a good judge of character, and the work I have done with recruiting staff has
been mostly successful, with a number of staff hired by myself moving on to either management
training or some form of leadership role.
The experience I have gained, particularly in management, and my desire for personal growth,
has benefited me greatly, and I am confident that, if given the chance, I can prove to be an asset
to your company.

I hope you will consider me for your vacancy and thank you for your time.