IT Resume Thread

dss2010 said:
Can someone please assist me in revising my resume?

IT Professional who is talented, analytical...
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You're off to a good start on the formatting. Now it is time to get "qualifying" elements on all your skills --and remove the subjective statements. The fact that you're "talented", "dedicated", or the like is of no matter to most readers. It's not anything that can be measured and pretty much is your opinion of yourself. Leave that sort of thing out. I may condone the use of phrases like "versatile" when describing someone with a background in multiple disciplines but that can easily be backed up by the rest of the resume.

Your summary statement needs to establish right away who you are and what level of experience you have. Labeling yourself an "IT Professional" is great. Now just add your level of experience and you're good. As a reader, I need to know how expensive of a hire you're going to be. If I'm looking for an entry-level Helpdesk henchman, I don't want someone with 15 years of experience (and vice-versa). So set that information out there quickly so we can all get on with our lives!!

Your skills section suffers a similar issue. You must somehow qualify each of your skills. just listing them doesn't tell me if you're the world expert or just read about it in a magazine at the airport. As a reader, I need to know either a number of years experience, or some other form of qualification. For instance, can you setup an Apache webserver or simply manage one?

Lastly, get rid of your job descriptions in your work history and use the paper space to fill out your skills section. And from what I've read, you may want to throw in an additional skill category for "Clerical" or "Organizational" to be able to mention some of the non-IT related skills such as your leadership or organizational skills.

Good luck and don't forget to share back with us how you do!
 
Thank U so much JmRoberts70....I am sure I will have more questions for you, let me get started on revamping my resume.
 
dss2010 said:
Thank U so much JmRoberts70....I am sure I will have more questions for you, let me get started on revamping my resume.
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Absolutely +1!!! Appreciate all your guys help here.. So I applied for a position at the local hospital and received back information that it has been approved by the recruiter and forwarded on to the IT Manager for review. Hopefully I will receive a call here quickly for an interview!!! Saying my novena's to St Jude and everyone keep their fingers crossed!
 
gregnash said:
So here is the latest version for some more “fine-tuning.” Again, gratitude for all the help. I really do appreciate it...
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gregnash said:
Absolutely +1!!! Appreciate all your guys help here.. So I applied for a position at the local hospital and received back information that it has been approved by the recruiter and forwarded on to the IT Manager for review. Hopefully I will receive a call here quickly for an interview!!! Saying my novena's to St Jude and everyone keep their fingers crossed!
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Great news Greg!! Let us all know what happens. Your situation is a perfect example of a few things I like to mention.

1. Just because we pick apart a resume here doesn't meant you have no chance of landing a job with it. Hell, MOST resumes I read are terrible. I have just arrived at the conclusion long ago that this is just the way it is and hiring personnel better get used to the fact that you're going to have to comb through a ton of crap to find out very basic information we're usually looking for when hiring people.

2. Opinions vary! There is no hard and fast set of resume rules. I still run into HR departments that will specify the fact that they MUST have a "full work history" resume when applying there. I can't imagine why this is --maybe they're just gluttons for punishment or something. It's just so much more work to have to read all that just to find out if you're qualified to drive a forklift or prepare CAD drawings. I've been told a few times that they simply don't care how long the resume becomes as a result of all that detailed work history! Some people prefer an Objective statement even though it's pretty clear what that objective really is. That's why I will always suggest that if you're on the job hunt, write both a hybrid resume and then a detailed work history document to keep on tap in the event that they ask for one.

--Also, Greg, here is how I would word your "Summary" statement (which you currently have still labeled "Objective"...

IT Professional with 10 years of experience and 3 years of IT Project Management experience.

That gives the reader an immediate grasp of who you are. The fact that you enjoy your work really isn't relevant!
 
jmroberts70 said:
IT Professional with 10 years of experience and 3 years of IT Project Management experience.

That gives the reader an immediate grasp of who you are. The fact that you enjoy your work really isn't relevant!
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Ok so are you saying just use that sentence alone as the summary and get rid of the rest or start the summary section off with that... Here is what I changed it to....
"An IT Professional with ten years of experience and three years of IT Project Management experience with strengths centering around project planning, analysis, and critical thinking. As an IT Manager I have used my technological, Project Management, and Critical Thinking skills to ensure that projects are on-time, on budget, and meet the customers final needs."

Thanks for the help JM... still haven't heard anything yet but staying hopeful
 
I'm not a fan of the last sentence but I don't really see any harm in it and it may sell your case even better. Good luck!
 
Hello everyone. A friend sent me this post and recommended I post here when he saw my resume. I've read through much of it (yes a lot of the advice gets repeated a lot) and have re-done my resume according to what I've read here. I would appreciate further critique however.

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1oyE4QhAaaBVegbg3SZQxlfCZ5LlDbwOvpX_ieCyFkbk

My friend suggested that I needed to remove any experience that is not relevant to the job I'm applying for to get the resume down to 1 page. Should I do this and then take with me a more complete resume to the interview as suggested earlier? Or would having the complete thing in my LinkedIn profile or website and including a link to either on the resume be better?
 
arcardenas said:
Hello everyone. A friend sent me this post and recommended I post here when he saw my resume...

...My friend suggested that I needed to remove any experience that is not relevant to the job I'm applying for to get the resume down to 1 page. Should I do this and then take with me a more complete resume to the interview as suggested earlier? Or would having the complete thing in my LinkedIn profile or website and including a link to either on the resume be better?
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First of all, I don't see why you can't do both: a detailed work history document AND a decent LinkedIn profile for those people that use it.

I think your resume is a great beginning but it is a bit too short now! I'd put a little more detail in your skills section and get rid of the work descriptions and put them into your skills breakdown. Remember that your selling yourself and not just telling a story. Better to simply tell people your assets than have to read through your history to piece it together. Reading through your skills list at the beginning isn't very impressive --then as I mulled through your job descriptions, I was interested to see what sort of work you've been involved with. Better to put that at the very beginning of your resume than what looks like an afterthought --impress the reader as quickly as possible! I'd also get rid of the language list and simply make it a part of your summary statement --something like: "Fluent in both English and Spanish." as a second sentence.

I'm also not clear on your education list. "pursued a degree" doesn't tell me if you actually achieved the degree or simply dropped out. If you haven't completed the degree, I prefer to word it as, "27 credits earned towards a Bachelors degree in..." I may be saying the same thing (that you didn't complete your education) but it looks much better than what you have.

If you're thinking of removing the "tool crib" job as it isn't relevant, I disagree. In fact, I would add another skill category to your qualifications to include such things as your "organizational" or "clerical" skills as well as if you have a skill in customer relations. I'd like to know if you belong in the back room of my building or if I can put you out in front of my customers and not have you embarrass me!

Good luck and thanks so much for reading through this long sorted mess! I'm sure it was a lot of work and few people can stand it!!
 
Having a well documented LinkedIn profile is a good idea for about anyone. We find a lot of good people on there and I've been approached by a number of companies with good offers based on my LinkedIn info. I try to keep that and my resume up to date as much as I can.
 
Well interesting turn of events. Was contacted by a head hunting service yesterday regarding a contract job with a state agency. The woman I talked to was interested by my "Functional" format resume but felt there was not enough information listed on it so they wanted my chronological (4-pager) resume. Just interesting to me. If this works out, it will be a 1-year contract job that will pay about $10 more an hour than I was previously making, however the contract is only one year.... decisions decisions
 
gregnash said:
...Was contacted by a head hunting service yesterday regarding a contract job with a state agency. The woman I talked to was interested by my "Functional" format resume but felt there was not enough information listed on it so they wanted my chronological (4-pager) resume...
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Yeah, I still see this quite a bit now days. I think that some people are just used to a certain format and simply can't deviate from that process --even when the process is stupid and a waste of time. I've actually had HR people ask me to make the resume as long as possible. How insane is that! I won't get on my soapbox about my disdain for the HR profession (even though I'm actually in this career field from time to time) but suffice it to say that it is in your best interest to write both a good, well thought out functional resume and then keep a chronological resume on hand in the event that the hiring people are... well, you know...
 
I'm back again with the revisions as suggested.

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1oyE4QhAaaBVegbg3SZQxlfCZ5LlDbwOvpX_ieCyFkbk

It's almost 2 full pages now. I'm still not sure where to trim it down to 1 page. I guess I could remove the PR and graphic design sections if I'm applying for an IT Job.

I also created a version with detailed job descriptions. I'm still working on this one as it seems redundant to have some of the information on the Qualifications sections as well as the Job history section.

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=10ecD3ax80r_p4EeSAKolppqO4lr9yfY404gM4OQopwk
 
arcardenas said:
I'm back again with the revisions as suggested...
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Looks pretty great! I'm actually surprised its almost a full 2 pages. Maybe your font is kind of large? In any event, you can shave some space by doing a few things:

1) Make your contact information at the top better use the space by having your address and phone on one line and your two website URL's on the next (goes from a 4-line space to a 2-line space)

2) Make your employment history and education a single line per job. It looks like that will fit. That will shave another 4 lines off the page. Your College information will probably still be more than one line but everything else should fit.

3) The lines that are between paragraphs can be made smaller too. I personally use line breaks as opposed to paragraphs so there is an actual line that can be either modified or typed in between paragraphs. This way, by modifying the font size of that blank line, I can control the spacing between paragraphs. I know there is a way in MS Word to adjust the paragraph spacing globally and that may be the better solution but I've just not bothered to learn as it isn't something I have to type up all the time. Still, shortening the spacing between paragraphs over the entire sheet will definitely get you more room on the page without making the font so tiny that people can't read it.

4) Make sure your font size is small but not too small. I think I will go as small as an 11-point font for resumes but no smaller. You can experiment with this yourself and see what people around you think but maybe that will also help fit everything on a single page.
 
arcardenas said:
Great! Thank you very much for all the help :)
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You're most welcome. Just remember to pay it forward. Many years ago, a co-worker pulled me aside and ripped my resume to shreds saying, "please don't make me read this!" He then proceeded to help me better understand how to write them. It was many days of back and forth with him getting it right but I'll never forget the help he gave me asking nothing in return. So now I try and do the same for others...
 
jmroberts70 said:
You're most welcome. Just remember to pay it forward. Many years ago, a co-worker pulled me aside and ripped my resume to shreds saying, "please don't make me read this!" He then proceeded to help me better understand how to write them. It was many days of back and forth with him getting it right but I'll never forget the help he gave me asking nothing in return. So now I try and do the same for others...
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hi there jmroberts, do you have a sample resume of your own?
wink.gif
just asking, i mean if you could put up yours as example that would be great.
 
It's actually on this thread already. Man, it's crazy to think that was almost 7 years ago now! Anyways, the format is pretty much there. Reading it now, there's some wording I might have changed as it was a bit subjective but I wouldn't worry about it. The main concept of how a functional resume should look is there...
 
Hello all,

Jason - I saw your PDF and really liked some of your wording. I hope you don't mind if I borrowed a few words.

Rip my resume apart. Let me know how I can make it better. I've had better luck with a chronological resume than a summarized resume. But I tried to take elements from both and slap them together.
================================================
JOHN DOE
(555) 555 - 5555 • 1234 South St. • Cape Coral, FL 123456 • [email protected]

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

A technology specialist with 3 years of work experience, specializing in the design, maintenance and support of Windows-based environments with customer relationship management solutions.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science, Magna Cum Laude Graduated 2008 [ed - this is columned in my .doc format, it just looks odd on a board]
DeVry University, Miramar, FL
• Major: Computer Information Systems

INDUSTRY CERTIFICATIONS
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist
Configuring Windows Vista (70-620)
Configuring Active Directory (70-640)
Configuring Network Infrastructure (70-642)

Ongoing
Professional: Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator (70-646)
Technology Specialist: Windows Server 2008, Configuring Applications Infrastructure (70-643)
Professional: Windows Server 2008, Enterprise Administrator (70-647)

EXPERIENCE

Help Desk Support/Junior Admin. (April 2008 - Present)
Tigrent, Cape Coral, FL
• Implemented Active Directory changes to streamline GPO policies.
• Maintained and supported Windows production and development servers spanning Windows 2000 to Windows 2008 R2.
• Designed, maintained and implemented company-wide rollout of images for Windows XP SP3 which aided in increasing performance for multiple sites.
• Developed and implemented operating procedures for ISO 9001:2008 adherence.
• Adhered to daily requirements of network including desktop support, Active Directory account maintenance and security vulnerabilities.
• Developed and implemented solutions for a number of malware vulnerabilities including Conficker.
• Managed 4 site, 30-server Windows network with 250 clients.


EasyTech Technician (March 2006 – April 2008)
Staples, Cape Coral, FL• Worked with customer machines which ranged from Windows ME to Vista.
• Developed solutions which involved working with outside vendors and working within budget constraints.
• Developed, manage and maintain standard operating procedures for technicians to follow including knowledge-base.


Librarian Database Administrator (July 2005 – March 2006)
DeVry University, Miramar, FL
• Oversaw library database for technology-related books including location and subject.
• Maintained and secured computers for student use including the use of projectors or slide machines.
• Designed and implemented a WiFi network for the librarian database.
================================================

Notes:

I am thinking on adding a "Skills" section. Not sure though. I am very close to one page with this. 6 lines from 1 page.
 
NetJunkie said:
My updated resume. Sorry for the PDF but Google Docs destroyed the formatting.

https://files.me.com/jasonnash/1rotyq
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Well, I'd address your comment about "formatting" first. The truth is that most readers couldn't care less about formatting. Your information is frequently cut and pasted into plain text sorting platforms anyways. I would spend very little on formatting --in fact, I frequently will keep a straight .TXT version of my resume ready as many employment websites will take a copy of the resume and MS Word formatting will sometimes get it wrong in the translation...

Next, I would consider reading through this thread (or maybe at least the last few pages) as much of what has already been said applies to your resume. In essence, you currently have a traditional formatted resume which is basically a "detailed work history" report with some extra stuff thrown in for good measure. I still think it's a good practice to have this format ready as some HR people are... well, ok I'll be nice... Some people simply prefer a traditional formatted resume (and one as long and wordy as possible) no matter how wasteful and inefficient it may be.

As far as formatting goes, watch your page breaks though. I noticed your Gentronics job title ends the 2nd page and the description continues on the 3rd page. It may be better to try and keep them together on a page if you're making PDF-formatted documents. I would also include a "page 2 of 3" marker somewhere on each sheet just in case pages get separated.

Personally, I'm a huge proponent of a single page resume. I believe that there isn't a person out there that can't sum up their qualifications adequately on 1 page if enough thought is put into it. The fact is that your background is what many would consider "impressive" (I can hear Darth Vader's voice as I type this). You may be tempted to think that a single page resume just wouldn't do it justice but I still hold to my belief.

I will say that your blog is a great move. I've been working on sharing my projects and what I've learned through a blog and it has found me a lot of work over the years. I think that contributing to the community in your own special way really will pay off in the long run so bravo!

So I may be totally off base here and there may be an oncoming flood of people that disagree with me about trimming down your resume to a single page but just remember this: your resume is not supposed to be an exhaustive history of your professional life. It is supposed to be the document that lands you an interview by giving the reader a preview of the kind of person you are and the extent of background you bring.

Good luck and please share here how you do!
 
timtheenchantor said:
Hello all,

Jason - I saw your PDF and really liked some of your wording. I hope you don't mind if I borrowed a few words.

Rip my resume apart...
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Ok, here goes...

Read as much of this thread as you can stand! Much of what I'm going to say here has been said many times already...

You are the exact opposite of the previous resume --you have too little content and you're afraid that it won't look impressive if there's a bunch of white space on the page. The truth is that resume readers don't put a printout of your resume on a scale to see how heavy it is! A typical reader has some very basic questions in their head that they're looking for in each resume. First they're looking for key skills that the hiring manager is asking for. In many cases, the reader has no idea what those skills mean but if they find the matching words, you're in. This is important to know when applying for a new job. Read the job description very carefully and see if they word particular skills differently than the way you describe them on your resume. I frequently tell people to tailor-make just about each resume you send out. Hell, keep these different versions on tap in the event that you find another job listing that is similar. The second thing a reader is looking for is a match for the experience level you are to the requirements being requested. Usually this falls into to 3 categories: entry-level, mid-level, and senior-level. You simply need to convey this classification to the reader as quickly as possible. There's no point in trying to trick someone into to believing you're something you're not so don't worry about the potential for a resume to look "thin" or "weak" --it is what it is!

Definitely add a Skills section! In fact, that should be your most important section. It should be the largest part of the document. When I am looking for a potential match of skills, I'd rather comb through your skills list than sift through your "employment life story" just to find out if you can set up an Exchange Server from scratch!

Remember that a resume is like an advertisement --you put your best features first! So if your education isn't your best selling point (and it rarely is unless you JUST got your degree), don't put it at the top of the page. This also means that when you create your Skills section, sort out major categories based on the job you're applying for so that the skills they're looking for show up first --you can't do that with a traditional resume!!

Good luck and don't forget to share back here with your progress!!
 
timtheenchantor said:
JM,

I actually have a resume based on this thread. I am glad you asked. This fits on one page. On a word document, this looks filled out. I am not entirely sure what you mean by "thin" but neither resume leave empty space. I guess you mean thin by word usage...
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Great format! I have some thoughts on some of the wording but I'll address what I mean by a "thin resume": Sometimes, when writing a resume, it can be completed but simply appear to be not that flattering once it's done. Maybe it isn't as impressive as you may want it to be, maybe it looks like you haven't been up to much in your lifetime, etc... That fact is that most resume readers aren't looking to be "impressed" as much as they're looking for matches of experience levels and skill sets. So don't worry as much about looking impressive as trying to convey your skills and experience as quickly and easily as possible to the reader.

With that said, I do have some thoughts on your functional resume as listed above...

1. I have evolved much over the last few years regarding what I consider "flowery wording" or subjective statements. Your Summary Statement can be viewed that way. Sure, there's nothing wrong with saying that you're "driven" or have proven skills but I am leaning away from wording a summary statement like that anymore because it starts looking like you're more interested in impressing me than simply telling me the essential facts that I need to read. Case in point: from your summary statement, I learn that you are a "technology specialist in enterprise computing" and have 3 years in it. That actually tells me very little. Are you a Helpdesk guy or network administrator? I need a better title for yourself than the vague one you currently have. Don't worry, this may be the hardest sentence you will ever write. Take your time and test it out on your friends. It is also a good way to prepare for an interview. I always have the hardest time with answering the very first question of "so, tell me about yourself." It's not often that you have to sum yourself up so concisely so spending a lot of time thinking about it and trying it out will go far!

2. I'd change the category of "administrative" to "network administration". Usually when I see the term "administrative" I think of office administration and not what it actually is when you read it.

3. I would think long and hard about putting your education before your skills list. It may still work for you but just remember that you're putting your best selling point first. It is rarely your education (although your MCP cert may do that). Understand that this document is an advertisement for you so put your best features first.

4. I'd replace the "skills" category with something like "platform experience" or similar. I got slightly confused seeing "skills" come after "qualifications" as they're usually the same term in a resume.

Overall, I really like your resume! I like how you even added an "analytical" skill that has no time qualifier but is still qualified by milestones and achievements to demonstrate the skill level. Great job!
 
Thanks for the update. I'll probably end up revising BOTH styles (to fit what people want I guess?). Just using content to fit the style. I see where you are going for "flowery" words. I'll definitely think long and hard on that this evening. I'll see if I can repost my progress. I appreciate the look over. :)

The main issue I see is how to determine which format I should send out. I know you feel strongly about the style of format that provides less about my job past and more on my skills - but considering how companies are so .... old-fashioned ... I am afraid it would be discarded.

A secondary, but nonetheless important, issue is that I am between jobs. I am a Help Desk Technician but my responsibilities are most definitely Junior Administrator. I can modify ad groups, security, setup servers, and I am actually about to plunge into a AD Upgrade process. It's a different role here at the company than just Help Desk. So I find it hard to qualify my wording because I am afraid of the "well you told us you were a admin, you have the skills - why aren't you one" type of issue.

Do you think that as a possibility?
 
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timtheenchantor said:
The main issue I see is how to determine which format I should send out. I know you feel strongly about the style of format that provides less about my job past and more on my skills - but considering how companies are so .... old-fashioned ... I am afraid it would be discarded.
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I feel that finding work is part luck and part skill. Your best bet is to always try and contact the HR people that will be reading your resume and feel them out for what they're looking for. As I've mentioned above, I've actually had HR people tell me that they want as long of a resume as possible. What insanity! Oh well, I'm sure they have their reasons... It's your call dude.

A secondary, but nonetheless important, issue is that I am between jobs. I am a Help Desk Technician but my responsibilities are most definitely Junior Administrator. I can modify ad groups, security, setup servers, and I am actually about to plunge into a AD Upgrade process. It's a different role here at the company than just Help Desk. So I find it hard to qualify my wording because I am afraid of the "well you told us you were a admin, you have the skills - why aren't you one" type of issue.
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There's an easy way to answer that question --and you did it above. This is why I find the skills section so important --it allows you to demonstrate skills in positions that you may not already have "in title". It allows you to advance or move up due to your skills and merit as opposed to the traditional methods (which are rarely a result of skill or merit I'm afraid). In fact, I've seen this happen not only in my own life but many people I've helped out due to the flexibility of a hybrid resume. Just be prepared to answer the question and defend your statements when asked. There's nothing wrong with simply being in the situation that you're in. Just because you haven't been paid for work that you've done doesn't make it not real or somehow unqualified. Just because you haven't held an official position in a certain field doesn't mean that you can't possibly have skills in that area somehow. That's why the hybrid resume is so great. With a traditional resume, there's no way to convey your skills unless you've either been to school for it or already held a job doing it.

Good luck!
 
jmroberts70 said:
Well, I'd address your comment about "formatting" first. The truth is that most readers couldn't care less about formatting. Your information is frequently cut and pasted into plain text sorting platforms anyways. I would spend very little on formatting --in fact, I frequently will keep a straight .TXT version of my resume ready as many employment websites will take a copy of the resume and MS Word formatting will sometimes get it wrong in the translation...
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I care. :) My properly formatted resume is there for when I meet with someone in person and hand them a copy. I could easily dump out a text version if I wanted.

Next, I would consider reading through this thread (or maybe at least the last few pages) as much of what has already been said applies to your resume. In essence, you currently have a traditional formatted resume which is basically a "detailed work history" report with some extra stuff thrown in for good measure. I still think it's a good practice to have this format ready as some HR people are... well, ok I'll be nice... Some people simply prefer a traditional formatted resume (and one as long and wordy as possible) no matter how wasteful and inefficient it may be.
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I'm a believer in a traditional resume. I go through a number of resumes regularly myself and I like to see more detail. Going back and forth with a candidate to gather more information adds time and that's something we just don't have right now. The same thing when I was building a team at my last job. We had to do it quickly and getting more basic info cost us time. I've never met anyone that would ignore a resume due to it being 3 pages.

As far as formatting goes, watch your page breaks though. I noticed your Gentronics job title ends the 2nd page and the description continues on the 3rd page. It may be better to try and keep them together on a page if you're making PDF-formatted documents. I would also include a "page 2 of 3" marker somewhere on each sheet just in case pages get separated.
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This is a simple mistake as I dumped this PDF out quickly. I didn't bother to fix any of that. Since it wouldn't work in Google Docs I just told Word to make me a PDF and left it at that. If I was actually sending this to anyone I'd fix anything like that.

Personally, I'm a huge proponent of a single page resume. I believe that there isn't a person out there that can't sum up their qualifications adequately on 1 page if enough thought is put into it. The fact is that your background is what many would consider "impressive" (I can hear Darth Vader's voice as I type this). You may be tempted to think that a single page resume just wouldn't do it justice but I still hold to my belief.
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I don't argue that I could do it on one page...I do it all the time with speaker bios...but the question is whether it's worthwhile to do it. That's where we disagree. Maybe this is because I'm in an industry where we can't find enough people so something as arbitrary as resume length isn't anywhere in the decision criteria when sorting resumes. I would probably agree more with you if the IT field had standardized job titles and responsibilities, but we don't. A SysAdmin can mean one of 50 things. Same with Network Engineer, Architect, or IT Director. Without the added info I really have no idea what that person did.

I will say that your blog is a great move. I've been working on sharing my projects and what I've learned through a blog and it has found me a lot of work over the years. I think that contributing to the community in your own special way really will pay off in the long run so bravo!
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One thing I try to promote with the guys in my company and my peers is blogging and creating your own "brand". Use it to show how you are not a commodity in a sea of people. My blog and my interaction on Twitter has GREATLY expanded the sphere of people I know and work with and it's absolutely helped me in my career. Always happy to try and promote that.

Good luck and please share here how you do!
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Thanks but I'm not looking. :) I had my resume redone by Jason at http://resumetointerviews.com/ and think he did a great job. I wanted a traditional resume and I absolutely hate updating and reworking mine so I had him do it.

At this point in my career a resume is a formality. It's usually given to HR to help them do their paperwork. My offers come from people and companies that know me. My last interview (that I declined) consisted of me doing a 20-min presentation on anything I wanted it to be on...and then an hour of me interviewing them on why I'd want to join their company. The reason I had it redone was because I need it for some other projects I have going. I may be working on some VMware training material as well as putting in for a teaching spot for distance learning at a University. They want a standard resume so I'll give them what they want.
 
Don't focus on what you're doing wrong, focus on what you need to do right.

Your resume is not that bad. Its got a lot of goodness in it - just a matter of properly highlighting the important parts for the jobs you're applying for.

Keep in mind that when you apply for a job you almost always have to customize it for the job you're applying for. Its like hitting on women with the same line to every one. Women want to know what makes that specific woman special. The dime a dozen lines might work on the nasty hoes, but you want that high class babe, right? You've gotta do your research on who you're applying for and make your resume specific to them. Otherwise their sixth sense will kick in and just move on to the next one.

So what are you applying for?

Just my opinion, but listing hardware skills is kindof waste of space. I don't know what you're applying for, but most tech jobs I think just assume you know how to build a server if you need to. The challenge comes more in the following areas:
- Software knowledge/experience. Operating systems, protocols, network systems (software, like AD, LDAP, etc) and programming.
- Planning, documentation skills, project management, etc
- Communication skills - show examples of how you communicate well with people. There's plenty of skilled tech laborers but many of them never get out and have anger issues, lol. Show them that you are good at socializing.
- Did I mention programming? Let me emphasize this again... you are ten times more valuable if you can automate what you do on a daily basis. If you don't know how to program, learn how to. If you do (sorry, didn't read your resume that much) then highlight it at the top of your resume without making people have to look for it. But don't make yourself look like a complete non-social code head... show you can communicate too and know the business side of things.

If you are applying for a very technical job them make a matrix of all your skills in a table near the top. Categorize them, such as by "Systems Engineering/Administration", "Networking", "Programming", "Project Management", etc. Put your certifications in there as a category as well. Then list your experience under the skills matrix.

Less technical jobs won't care as much so for them start your resume off with some career highlights. List off your major accomplishments. Then put your experience under it.

Also - you misspelled Token Ring. It says 'Tokin Rings' but should be 'Token Ring'.
 
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mryerse,

Thank you for the prompt replay and insightful information. The jobs I am generally applying for are Network Administrator, as that and Systems Administration has been the bulk of my job for the last two decades. I have also, applied for Systems Administration jobs. I am sure there are several other roles I would be well suited for.. but those are the bulk of my experience.

I have tried in the past to attempt to tailor my resume to fit the job, but obviously I have been doing it wrong. My programming experience is mostly just C++, C# and Windows Scripting. However I am VERY good at windows Scripting. C++ and C#, I am more of a spoon coder. I understand it enough to change pre-existing code to do what I need, but not good enough to write the software from the beginning.

Certifications may be my falling point atm. I have always just done the work. No Certs needed. However, maybe with the abundance of unemployed IT workers, maybe my skill set and years of experience don't stand out so much anymore.

Cerulean,
With my experience, I don't think I need to make up jobs or experience. ;)
 
ViriiGuy said:
mryerse,

Thank you for the prompt replay and insightful information. The jobs I am generally applying for are Network Administrator, as that and Systems Administration has been the bulk of my job for the last two decades. I have also, applied for Systems Administration jobs. I am sure there are several other roles I would be well suited for.. but those are the bulk of my experience.
Click to expand...

Couple things I see as someone that has interviewed and hired a number of network/sys admins and hires consultants today...

First, drop the "multi-talented". It sounds a bit conceited. Maybe that was just my read after you said "m regularly the best at what I do, in the circles that I work..". That's a bad attitude no matter who you are. Again, maybe just me but I'd change that wording.

Second, your resume reads like a narrative. It's how I'd want us to talk and what I'd want you to tell me in an interview, not what I want to see on a resume. I have to read through it to find something. If I have 50 resumes to sort I wouldn't take the time. I don't need the story, just the information.

Finally, to be honest I don't see network/sys admin when I read this resume so I think you need to restructure and refocus it on that. I see a LOT of experience with a LOT of things. Narrow. Focus. Specialize. Rework the resume to show what you can do as the network admin, strip or lighten the rest. When I see "smart home systems" and "retina scanners" that's not network admin to me. Pull anything like that which is unrelated. Else you get put in a "general IT guy" bucket and that's not what you want. Lots of stuff you can remove and not hurt the content but in fact strengthen it.

Guess that wasn't Finally..one more. Either have someone really read through this or have someone write you a starting resume. As I've mentioned, I liked resumetointerview.com and they are very reasonable. Else do it yourself. But make sure you look at your grammer and spelling. Example, "In one of My first jobs for this current employer, I saved one of the non-profit’s I manage, from disaster when their RAID controller failed on their server.". You're comma happy. Too many. You also need to look at your capitalization. Why is "My" capitalized there? Other little things like "Token Rings" and "OS/2 Warped" are not correct. One or two of those is a ding but not something I'd toss the resume for, add them up and I'd toss this resume and move on.

Go take some certifications. Someone with 18 years experience in a number of different roles is the odd one out if they don't have any. To me, with no certs and no formal education a resume looks bare.

One word of advice that I do like. Where you say " I perform weekly maintenance and monthly maintenance, with scheduled downtimes on the various servers. I always keep detailed logs of system changes and various errors that I may encounter. Preventative maintenance on these servers have kept downtimes to an absolute minimum, which means more production time for the company." Do you have examples? I LOVE it when a candidate brings in examples of reports or logs or something and how they respond. I've only seen that a few times but it really leaves an impression.
 
Very good info! Thank you! Getting the Certs at this point in time, is not really much of a possibility. Unfortunately. But if I can ever land another job, I will make it a TOP priority. MY current employer has been going under for about 6 months.. in doing so, they have managed to seriously DENT my savings and nearly cripple my monthly income.

I actually DO have examples of my detailed logs that I can provide to possible employers upon request. I actually keep almost everything on hand, secured in a program on my iPad. However, I would have to scrub them for confidential information, but that would not be that difficult, or time consuming. I will make a point to do that and keep them handy.

Want to know a sad fact? I DID pay someone to write that for me. A local resume company.
I went to check out the site you listed... resumetointerview.com But they are listed as a hostile and dangerous site. When I told it to ignore the warning, the site is blank, at least at the moment. Found them... resumetointerviewS.com

I think I will hire them.
For their price, it can't hurt!
 
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I've finally "finished" this thread and I want to thank all you guys giving critiques, some really good information.

I don't want to sidetrack from the resume building theme going on but I want to ask some real world people about some real world advice.

I'm a college student who is almost finished with my IT degree and I wondering (and also worried) about what "tools" I should have when I go out into the IT world. I feel like my education at this university has sort of made me a jack of all trades but master of none. I will admit that I, myself am not positive on a specific job area that I want most.

My degree consists mainly of half business management and general "corporate" type stuff, and the other half being actual IT topics; some hardware, what I would call an introduction to programming (Java, Python, JavaScript, SQL, server side coding) and basic web design.

I think I would like to see myself at a company perhaps managing hardware and systems and not so much as a programmer although even this I am unsure of. I feel like I am being exposed to lots of areas but not actually learning any.

Are there some actual certifications I should probably have before I can seriously consider any decent job at a company?

Do I need to pick a specific area and say "Okay, I'm going to be a _______"?

Sorry for the ranting, I guess I'm having that "Oh crap, its time to enter the real world and I'm scared" moment.
 
Honestly, picking up books on areas you are interested in will be a good start. If you find yourself falling asleep at the topic - you should look elsewhere. The books and topics that interest you should be the ones you go for.
 
John1701 said:
I've finally "finished" this thread and I want to thank all you guys giving critiques, some really good information.

I don't want to sidetrack from the resume building theme going on but I want to ask some real world people about some real world advice.

I'm a college student who is almost finished with my IT degree and I wondering (and also worried) about what "tools" I should have when I go out into the IT world. I feel like my education at this university has sort of made me a jack of all trades but master of none. I will admit that I, myself am not positive on a specific job area that I want most.

My degree consists mainly of half business management and general "corporate" type stuff, and the other half being actual IT topics; some hardware, what I would call an introduction to programming (Java, Python, JavaScript, SQL, server side coding) and basic web design.

I think I would like to see myself at a company perhaps managing hardware and systems and not so much as a programmer although even this I am unsure of. I feel like I am being exposed to lots of areas but not actually learning any.

Are there some actual certifications I should probably have before I can seriously consider any decent job at a company?

Do I need to pick a specific area and say "Okay, I'm going to be a _______"?

Sorry for the ranting, I guess I'm having that "Oh crap, its time to enter the real world and I'm scared" moment.
Click to expand...

Ok so here is my "similar" experience so please take this for what its worth and a grain of salt.

I have been working with/on computers (both Apple and PC) for close to 20yrs. When I went to school I was very similar to you, had some traditional IT jobs but nothing really specific or geared towards one thing. I got my BS in IT and my schooling was like yours, you get a smattering of everything, enough to understand basic context and syntax but not actual expertise. Looking for jobs I ran into what I call the "IT Cycle." This is where you are graduated or about to graduate from school, you may have one or two jobs that gave you some IT related abilities/responsibilities but nothing great. So you interview and apply for jobs but never get anything due to "Lack of Experience." However, what these people don't seem to understand is that you can't get experience if someone doesn't give you a job, but you can't get the job because you don't have the experience.

Anyways, I went back to school and got my general MBA and learned how to work with teams, instruct and motivate others, and work as a "supervisor/managerial" position, do critical thinking and basically learn the stuff that makes a good manager. I never picked up and certifications (other than a couple in the last job that weren't really IT related) and now after three years of IT Management I am finding myself in the same position I was so many years ago.

My suggestion, get the regular certs: A+, Network +, XYZ programming certificates, whatever. You will need something to show that you have skills in a given area. While most places do care about experience, they care more about you having that piece of paper saying "You have the experience in...." more than anything else.

As to what to get "certified" in, well that depends on the types of jobs in your given area. You plan on staying in your region/area that you are right now? Then start looking at the different job websites and see what people are looking for, I can tell you where I am they are looking for programmers: Ruby on Rails, C#, C++, COBOL, AS/400, SQL, DBAs and that kind of stuff (which I am not). That will give you a good basis to start your search, then see about entry level (talking $12 to $16 an hour) positions at some of the larger corporations in your area and move from there.

Unfortunately, I went from a State position where I was valued as a Project Leader and IT Manager with little to no actual IT experience (certification wise) making good money to now having to look at close to a $20k/yr pay cut just so I have work, basically starting all over again.
 
If you have a lot of experience, skip the low-end certificates and go for the major certificates that Cisco, Microsoft, VMware, and others offer.
 
Cerulean said:
If you have a lot of experience, skip the low-end certificates and go for the major certificates that Cisco, Microsoft, VMware, and others offer.
Click to expand...

Don't forget RedHat, and skip the Sec+ and just knock out the CISSP instead.
 
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