The 2009 Copier Careers Service Manager Salary Survey, published in the August issue of ENX Magazine, is now available online. It reflects the responses of 1,511 service managers working in the copier industry. With an average of 24 years working in the copier business, these service managers are true veterans. Their breadth of experience has, among other things, kept them cool-headed during a long economic downturn. Their answers to our survey questions reflected this sense of calm and stability.

At a time when many others in the industry are concerned about losing their jobs and worried that their companies won't pull through, the service managers we surveyed seem mostly unflustered. They've seen plenty of market fluctuations in their time, and they know that everything will probably be just fine.

Copier Careers president Paul Schwartz believes that the recession, if anything, has improved job security for some service managers. “In general, you either have to replace the equipment or repair it,” he says. “So what sales loses, service picks up.” With many companies currently opting to hang onto their old equipment for another year, good leadership in a dealership's service department is indispensable.

To read the full 2009 Service Manager Salary Survey, visit www.copiercareers.com/salary_surveys.shtml. And while you're there, don't forget to participate in the 2010 Salary Survey: http://www.copiercareers.com/salary_survey/salarysurveys_form.shtml.
 

Recent government reports suggest that we may be coming out of the recession — and that means dealerships are going to be hiring again as business picks up. What better time than now to polish up your resume? Here are a few tricks to help yours get noticed.

1. Don't just update your resume — rewrite it. It can be tempting to open an old resume and tack your most recent job to the bottom, but most of the time — especially if the resume is more than a couple of years old — it's a bad idea. Employers get a lot of resumes these days, and they don't have time to wade through your old information. Any education, accomplishments, or on-the-job experience you list should be relevant to the position you are seeking. When you start from scratch, you have the chance to ask yourself, "Is this important, or is it just filler?"

2. Tailor your resume to each potential employer. Again — we really can't say this enough — your information should be relevant. Every job has slightly different requirements, and effective resumes are those that tailor your experience to the employer's needs.

3. Don't try to do too much. Your resume should always be one page, no exceptions. Employers don't want your whole life story — a brief overview will do the job, thank you. Present the most important information, and only the most important information. If your part-time job flipping burgers in 1986 isn't relevant to the job you're applying for now, please please please don't mention it.

4. Brag up your accomplishments. There's only one way for potential employers to find out how great you are, and that's for you to tell them . If you have an amazing sales record, let them know how amazing it is. If your education and certifications make you a perfect fit for the job, be sure to tell them how experienced you are. If you won an award, make sure to mention it. (But remember that being Burger King employee of the month in June of 1986 doesn't count.)

5. Focus on the company's needs, not your own. Here's an example of a bad objective statement: "To find a job that pays well, that's fun, and that will help me advance in my career." Hello, selfish! In case you haven't noticed, employers have their own objectives, and they're looking for employees who can help fulfill them. Instead of focusing on your needs, try something like, "My objective is to obtain a service technician position in a growing copier dealership where I can use my five years experience working on Sharp and Ricoh MFPs to improve customer satisfaction and help the company generate repeat business."

6. Don't make stupid mistakes. Spell check is free. Spelling errors are costly.

7. Submit it properly. If the employer asked you to email the resume, don't mail it in. If the employer asked you to mail it, don't send it over the internet. If the employer asked you to send it to Jenny O'Hara in human resources, don't address it to William Boggsworth, CEO. Resumes that break the rules do not get read, so just do as you're told in the application stage. It's better for everyone when you do.

Last month, we asked our readers to respond to the following question: "In a recession, what is most important to a dealership — sales, service, or back office?" The responses, some of them more friendly than others, poured in immediately.

As of August 20th, we'd received 306 votes, 61 percent of them in favor of service, 27 percent in favor of sales, and 12 percent in favor of the back office. Though we have no way to prove it, our gut tells us that most people voted for the home team — that is to say, service technicians voted for service, salespeople voted for sales, and back office personnel voted for the back office. Of course, the reality is that you need all three pieces to run a dealership, but not all of our readers saw it that way. We received an unprecedented number of comments on this poll, and though we'd love to print them all, we don't have the space. So instead we've selected some of our favorites:

"Sales, sales, and more sales. Without sales, there's no service or back office. You do the math."

"Service. We make the long-term profits for the dealer."

"In an economic climate such as we've had for the past year, many of my customers are holding on to existing equipment — they're hesitant to buy anything new unless it's absolutely necessary. My belief is that the best thing a dealership can do right now is service its customers in the best way it can. I am a sales rep, not a service tech, but I know that the service customers receive is what will keep them coming back."

"Regardless of the economy, the service department is vital to the success of any dealership. Service contracts provide a steady source of income, and service techs help maintain a relationship with the customer. Many customers remain loyal to a dealership because of the efforts of their service techs. Unfortunately, the sales department gets all the praise while the service department gets all the headaches."

"Without sales, there will eventually not be a service department to be concerned about. If sales reps don't produce, they become an expense."

"Here is the point to keep in mind: service has no job if sales doesn't sell and back office doesn't coordinate; back office has no job if service doesn't serve customers and sales doesn't sell; and sales has no one to sell to if there's no service or back office to support the product. It's really a three-way tie. This economy demonstrates how dependent we are on one another."

"The field technicians are the only constant for the customer. Through them, repeat business occurs and loyalties remain."

"I know it sounds geeky, but the back office is the most important — that's where the profits are squeezed out."

If you were the boss and you had to let one employee at your dealership go, who would it be?

1. A salesperson
2. A service technician
3. A back office employee
4. A manager