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IT Resume Thread

Uh, how are you working 3 jobs, taking classes, and applying for a new job?

Yep it's all on a part-time/on-call basis. It keeps me pretty busy.

Says a consultant not full time and maybe off hours?

Angry_Birds-
Maybe it would be better to just group your consulting together and maybe offer them as references. This resume seems quite short. Anything else you can add?

Other opinions?

There's not much else work-related (and I'm only 19). I was an Eagle Scout but IDK how much a potential employer cares about that. Do you think I should include it?
 
For a 19yo I'd put the Eagle Scout. That's a good character point. And yes, consolidate those consulting jobs.
 
I hate writing resume's, so stealing your guys ideas is a ton of help. Thanks for posting them for all the job seekers and thanks to everyone that reviews and helps.

You guys all deserve +1
 
I hate writing resume's, so stealing your guys ideas is a ton of help. Thanks for posting them for all the job seekers and thanks to everyone that reviews and helps.

You guys all deserve +1

I was so in the same boat as you. This forum helped me a ton and even got me to register on it.

A HUGE thank you to the contributors.
 
updated my original post again.
No, I actually had it with the tildes. I will now be using the bullet point character. My name is 14pt the rest is 11. The headers are bold and in caps. The companies and locations are also bold. I will post it on my Gdocs in a few minutes. A real doc is worth 1000 words? As for Hardware and software, My only problem with tables is they don't convert very well.

You misspelled "SECURITY CLEARANCE".

I'd write "seven" instead of "7", as most style guides suggest. "Cisco-based", not "Cisco based".

"*Hardware*" and "*Software*" should be secondary indentation headings, or deleted. Certainly not having asterisks.

The way you describe your skills does your a disservice as you don't explain the scope of the work. For example, did you install Red Hat Linux just once, or 100s of times? On a network? Coordinated with a deployment system, on a network, in a domain?

"Base-wide", not "base wide". "Base-wide" does give some scope, but I don't know how many nodes or how much hardware is involved. Pretty big, I guess, but you don't explain specifically.

Saying that you assigned VLANs tells me that you typed in a few commands. Did you do more than that? Were you following someone else's plan, or did you design this yourself?

Without explaining at what level you owned the tasks,

You have things like "Company AFB, CA" and "Company Camp, Kuwait". I can't tell if you're trying to hide personally information or these are just bad typos for headings and organization in the network.

What is "SrA Network Management"?
 

You spell "seven" and write "9"; be consistent. Most style guides recommend spelling numbers ten and under, and writing numbers 11 and greater.

You should use a non-breaking space between "Windows" and "XP" to avoid that awkward word wrap.

Most style guides recommend against using ampersands.
 
Ok almost done with mine after reading a vast majority of the 28 pages on here

Would appreciate any/all input

Edit: Fixing now
 
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Curious what you all think, keep in mind google docs broke the formatting a bit:


https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1Q3iDGJRfQ7-G1dMqqjp8uNQfsWwJL_FfcLufgUTpQvg

There was a recent post here from someone who said they didn't like "Objective" statements in resumes. I don't mind them, but I think that yours isn't well written. Getting a degree (or degrees) isn't an objective. It's a step towards reaching an objective. Why do you want to get a Masters or Doctorate in those fields? What would it enable you to do? That end goal is your true objective.

"802.1x clients" doesn't seem like "Software" to me; I'm not sure why you've got that bullet listed in this section.

The formatting with the initial letter bolded, underlined, all-caps fonts in a box is pretty busy. Go through your resume and count how many different fonts you use; if it's more than three, you've got too many.

The summarization of your skills is nice because you enumerate what happened specifically, but the narrative is terrible. "My focus started to change as I began" is not well constructed, for example. If you started, when did you finish? You never mentioned finishing; why did you stop, then? What was between you and your goals? Those sentences are really meaningless and wasting space you could be using to help me understand more details about your project and your careers.

"to include standing up of 200% more hardware" doesn't make sense.

The details you do provide aren't enlightening. You've explained what tools you used, but not what you did with them; how long was the project? How big was the user base or installation? Doing a SharePoint Portal for six or eight topics and three users is a vastly different project than doing a portal for eight thousand topics and 3000 users. You're not telling the hiring manager which end of the spectrum you're on.

Of course you are "working with my manager and other team members". Who doesn't? Phrases like that are completely superfluous.

Among the skills on your resume, you list programming languages such as Java and C. In fact, they're first, which implies to me that they're the deepest skills you've got. But I don't see either Java or C on your resume in a professional application, and don't see any programming work on your resume at all. Is a section missing?
 
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Would appreciate any/all input

You use ampersands instead of spelling out "and". I think that doesn't read well and most style guides agree. It's particularly awkward because you use a trailing comma before an ampersand.

Same for slashes: "support of hardware / software / networking buildup" should be "support of hardware, software, and networking buildup". What is "buildup" anyway? It sounds like the crud on the bottom of a bathtub, not any kind of project.

"HTML" is not software. You list only operating systems, then, under a heading which says "OS/Software".

You first say "Level 1 and 2", then enumerate "Tier 1" and "Tier 2" experience. Are these the same things, or is there some sort of mistake?

Several grammatical errors, like "took over" and "Proposed to project management that included"
 
can anyone help me word this right.
Basically I want to say that I have provided over $100,000 in savings as a result of me working at my last job. Somehow saying it is documented or proven or something along those lines.

Something like "realized savings of $100,000 as a result of me working there :D "
 
$100,000 over what period? How often? By doing what? Something like this would be appropriate:

Implemented a software license management system that saved $100,000 per year by eliminating redundant license fees.
As it succinctly explains your technical contribution, what the savings was, how often it occurred, and what business-oriented result was.
 
$100,000 over what period? How often? By doing what? Something like this would be appropriate:


As it succinctly explains your technical contribution, what the savings was, how often it occurred, and what business-oriented result was.

Great point. Metrics, metrics, metrics! Keep a journal or some method to track your accomplishments even if you just summarize the monthly/quarterly/yearly reports you send to your bosses. People want to see experience and accomplishments. Keeping a personal copy, while respecting NDAs, allows you to reference the info when you're working at home or job hunting after leaving a position.

"Managed pharmacy photo lab" isn't as good as "Increased holiday card sales by 30% through improvements in customer service and quality control"
 
The $100,000 was realized over the course of two years and amounted to savings from several sources. Licensing, outside vendor labor fees (since I was able to do the work in-house), negotiating with hardware vendors for better prices, etc.

I am attempting to basically say that I will pay for myself :)
 
I am attempting to basically say that I will pay for myself :)
You should focus on explaining your skills and contributions, and showing how you make decisions about what to do and why. The numbers are great, but demonstrating that you're going to carry your own weight should be a given because employers expect any employee's contributions to pay for their salary, and then some. Adding value is what's important; that's why the company exists.
 
Sad to say but i'm being laid-off from the company I've worked for over 8+ years. Good news, they are giving us almost 2 months to find a new job within the company or outside. Since I would like to stay with the company, my resume right now is gear towards them but I will be working on one for the masses. Its been years since I worked on a resume, any pointers would be greatly appreciated. Also, this resume is heavy for telecom but i do have a network background and will be tweaking one for networking also.

Not happy how Google docs changed my formatting but the last 3 pages are images of the resume.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15SyipPo-MJMZ7fwhKE81Q-8JVXMS96YYSm4zp0MUpX0/edit

Thanks in advance,

Stephen
 
Hi guys, I'm currently looking for my first 'real' IT job and I could use some help with my resume.

Link

I have a decent skill set but not much formal work experience in the industry, so I'm sort of at a loss on how to best present myself. Ideas?
 
It's a bit awkward that your "Skills" section is longer than your "work experience" section.

"full-time" should be hyphenated.

You might reorder the "skills" section and put like work together. Some of your skills are categorized as "intermediate", most others have no self-evaluation. Is the reader to assume you're only a beginner with those, or that you're an expert?

It would appear that you haven't yet graduated. Most candidates will list an expected graduation date. Why are you studying mechanical engineering if your work objective is a position in the IT field?

It's more common to list "education" last, after work experience.

The "work experience" section need some help. You enumerate some activities but don't describe them in the slightest. "learned MIG/TIG" welding is awkward; you should instead state that you know how to weld and what your experience is with welding.

Listing each bit of experience on its own line (like in your "skills" section) would help; much more readable than the comma-delimited list. That would also give you the room to expand about each item.

SolidWorks or drafting don't appear in your "skills" list.
 
Could someone take a look at my resume below and let me know what you think? I found a position (system administrator, concentration in Citrix Solutions) that really appeals to me and I thought I would take a shot at it even though I am fairly happy with where I am at. I read through countless pages in this thread so I am hoping it doesn't need too much work. I could add a lot more qualifications but I wanted to keep it all on one page and plus keep it geared towards what they are looking for. Thanks!




Summary
IT Professional with six years of experience in server and network administration, technical support, and project planning. Strong practical, troubleshooting, administration, and people skills.

Key Qualifications

• 3 years of experience maintaining and supporting Citrix Presentation Server 4.5 and Citrix Access Gateway.
• 5 years of experience with setup and support of key Active Directory features such as GPOs.
• Administration and troubleshooting of Server 2000/2003/2008 platforms.
• Experience in configuring, supporting, and deploying Symantec Endpoint Encryption along with McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator configuration and support.
• Microsoft Hyper-V implementation and administration.
• Developed strong problem solving skills from working with a wide range of technologies over the past 6 years.
• Advanced Desktop support experience for Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7
• Exchange 2007 Support
• Support and configuration of various SAN appliances
• 6 years of experience in monitoring systems performance and resolving any issues that were present.


Professional Experience

Network Tech II (March 2005 – Present)
XXXX Hospital XXXXXXX

• Responsible for helping with the administration, troubleshooting, and project planning of the entire hospital network that consists of 155 servers, 1000 workstations, and 1200 users.
• Support and/or administer technologies such as Citrix, Active Directory, Hyper-V, Symantec Backup Exec and Endpoint Encryption, McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator, and Imprivata Single Sign-On.
• Work with upper management in various departments when working on projects and new software implementations for end users.
• Provide assistance to help desk for advanced issues.
• Install, maintain, and troubleshoot hardware within the entire organization.

Education & Industry Certifications

Bachelor of Science in Computer Technology [2006]
XXXXXX University – XXXXXXXXXXX

Microsoft Certified Professional [2004] - Installing, Configuring, and Administering Windows 2000 Professional

CompTIA Network+ Certified Professional [2004]
 
Actually a pretty good job!! My only suggestions are as follows:

1. It may be worth it to mention your certifications in your summary.

2. I'd add qualifications to EVERY skill bullet you mention. To that end, I'd prefer your skills to be sorted rather differently. I think it's easier for the reader to look at several short paragraphs of skills that are sorted into categories rather than one long list of them. Also, by sorting them into categories that are all related, you don't have to add a "qualifier" (like the number of years of experience) to each bullet like you have right now.

Other than that, I'd say you've done a smashing job and are one of the few that has actually read through a good portion of this thread BEFORE posting your resume!!
 
Thanks for the advice! It is very much appreciated and will change some items around as you had mentioned.
I am glad I read as much as I did as it was very helpful in putting the resume together. Not sure why it is so hard for others to read through the wealth of information in this thread. :D
 
I agree with this too. I'd see if you could clean up your experience section. Also, there's something about your second bullet point about AD GPOs that doesn't sit right with me. Maybe you could elaborate it more. It sounds underwhelming. I don't like using analogies much but it's like a bartender saying "I make lots of drinks, like Captain and Coke."

Also I don't think you should be using periods in bullet points but I'll let someone more experienced in that comment if you should change it.

Actually a pretty good job!! My only suggestions are as follows:

1. It may be worth it to mention your certifications in your summary.

2. I'd add qualifications to EVERY skill bullet you mention. To that end, I'd prefer your skills to be sorted rather differently. I think it's easier for the reader to look at several short paragraphs of skills that are sorted into categories rather than one long list of them. Also, by sorting them into categories that are all related, you don't have to add a "qualifier" (like the number of years of experience) to each bullet like you have right now.

Other than that, I'd say you've done a smashing job and are one of the few that has actually read through a good portion of this thread BEFORE posting your resume!!
 
Periods with bullet points are only if the point is an actual sentence --but frankly I don't personally care either way...

The reason most don't read this entire thread is because it is extremely LONG!! I don't blame anyone for just shooting from the hip and posting their resume here. I actually feel like apologizing about it because I still think it's the best resource for resume writing but just not in the best format for quickly getting the information out --and I just haven't had the time to summarize all the information into a single place yet.
 
Periods with bullet points are only if the point is an actual sentence --but frankly I don't personally care either way...

The reason most don't read this entire thread is because it is extremely LONG!! I don't blame anyone for just shooting from the hip and posting their resume here. I actually feel like apologizing about it because I still think it's the best resource for resume writing but just not in the best format for quickly getting the information out --and I just haven't had the time to summarize all the information into a single place yet.

I basically feel the same way. Also it's worth mentioning bullet points should not be sentences or more then one sentence. That's the point of a bullet point.

I'm in the middle of some WordPress hacking and it made me want to post this.. nowadays you can get your own web hosting account for less then $10 a month, and then slap on WordPress which has some great free and pay resume/homepage themes. Why not have an easy to find webpage with your name as a domain name?
 
Actually, web hosting is as low as $5/mo for a simple site these days but I think this may be a bit off-topic in this thread...
 
Hey guys,

I'm using www.resumesimo.com as my resume template and there's a place for your picture (I really don't know why they thought it was a good idea). If I don't place a picture there's a blank square space in the upper right corner of the resume. I'm no Brad Pitt and I don't have appropriate photos of myself to place on a resume anyway (as in I'm dressed in business attire or something like those stock business photos) so I was brain storming of a picture to place there.

For now I'm thinking this one
nerd2.jpg


My question is: do IT resumes usually go directly to someone who is in IT or do they get filtered somewhere by an HR person or something? If they go straight to IT I'm sure they'll get it and won't take that photo seriously and think that really is me.

Probably not appropriate to put that picture on a resume but if an IT guy checks it out he might get a chuckle.

I really like the template from resumesimo so I kinda need a picture. Do you have any suggestions? Maybe something clever that has to do with IT?

edit: yeah, I'm sure not a good idea. So can someone give me a suggestion for a funny/clever picture that relates to IT?
 
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Don't use a picture at all. If I receive a resume with a picture, I throw it out -- I have to in order to avoid lawsuits.
 
OK thanks for the tip. I've removed the photo. Doesn't look that bad without it.

I have another question: I'm 21 years old, just finished my first associate degree. Should I include my high school and HS graduation date? That obviously gives away my age - but is that a bad thing at 21 when it comes to IT?

Normally I wouldn't include it but it's ranked 4th in my state and it's a very hard HS. Some employers may not have a heard/care of the high school though so not sure whether to include that or not

Thanks!
 
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Hey guys I could use a little advise with my resume. Obviously :p

I'm currently finishing up two degrees BBA in MIS and BS in CS online and would like to get started in an entry level systems/network job.

I've messed around with a lot of different things and learned quite a bit on my own, but my professional experience is somewhat lacking. For the last 6 months or so I've been working at a church on an as needed basis fixing their computers, network, phones, website, etc. I'm not sure how exactly to list this.

I have two different resumes, the first one is that I had someone from the university look at. They didn't really help me as far as what to add or put on it, mostly just fixed what I had.
The second one is a more recent one. I've added more detail and tried to include more of my skills. I had to take out some spacing and narrow the margins way down to fit it on one page. Would it be better to just let it go to two?

Original
Latest
 
You don't want two pages unless the second page is mostly full.

You claim 5 and 3 years of experience in some technologies, but you don't have work experience that backs that up.

Your resume doesn't tell me much. You've been at your current position for six months, and tells me "Perform maintenance on website, computer, network, and phone systems. Advising on new hardware and software solutions." That doesn't give me any idea about what you do; is it all hardware maintenance? Did you do maintenance on the website software? "Advising" means anything; solutions for what problems? How big or complicated or interesting were they?

After reading your resume, I should want to hire your or at least be more interested in talking to you. Write something that inspires the reader's interest.
 
I've been revisiting this thread and updating my resume and I thought about sometime. I've been at my current job for 6+ years now, however I've worn many hats since I started. Should I add a new section under employment / experience for each position held or just my most recent one?
 
Each position held, if they're unique. If they're level promotions, you can combine them. For example, combine "Software Engineer" with "Senior Software Engineer". Don't combine "Software Engineer" with "Chief Research Scientist". You might indicate in the description or with a single line at a lesser heading the title change or promotion date.

Something like this, though it's nearly unreadable for the crummy VB formatting.



Terran Millitary 2009 - Current
Terran Senior Space Marine 2009 - Current
  • Responsible for infiltrating Zerg and Protoss bases to aid in the recovery of gas and crystals.
  • Led Ghost Recon teams.
  • Provided drop-in support leading a team of seven other Marines on Medivac-based missions
  • Scored more than 30 kills.

Terran Space Marine 2009 - 2010
  • Led base defense and second in-command at forward-position bunker.
  • Responsible for defense, mainly against light Zerg units.
  • Scored more than 15 kills.

Terran Support Crew 2006 - 2009
SCV Operator
  • Collected Minerals and Gas
  • Built research structures including Armories and Engineering Facilities.
 
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You don't want two pages unless the second page is mostly full.

You claim 5 and 3 years of experience in some technologies, but you don't have work experience that backs that up.

Your resume doesn't tell me much.

After reading your resume, I should want to hire your or at least be more interested in talking to you. Write something that inspires the reader's interest.

I tried to add some more detail as to what exactly I've done. Like I said, I don't have a whole lot of work experience in the area so I'm not sure how to present it. I've been working on computers forever. I listed 5 years because that's when I had my first real related job. The 3 years of programming comes from school.

Could you give any more advice on what I could do given my limited professional experience? Is the format I'm using good or would you recommend changes?

Thanks

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WbWxm7dVY4FAJvEfn6kMhJPaVbG_wsjexd5EAEyYCgE/edit
 
You can always stretch your resume by being somewhat creative with the formatting. A two-column design with a narrow column on one side can be effective for laying down that "laundry list" of skills that some employers like to see. Don't do anything too crazy or unconventional (unless the position is crazy or unconventional), but don't feel like you have to stick to single-column, 12pt Times New Roman.

Also, don't forget to always tailor your resume to the position you are applying for. The skills you feature and your bullet points about your work experience should relate to the employer's desired qualifications wherever possible. It's good to have a base resume that you work off of, but don't send the same one to every job you are after.
 
I tried to add some more detail as to what exactly I've done. Like I said, I don't have a whole lot of work experience in the area so I'm not sure how to present it. I've been working on computers forever. I listed 5 years because that's when I had my first real related job. The 3 years of programming comes from school.
You claim three years of programming but you don't list any projects which substantiate that experience. What did you do for three years? What projects did you complete? How did they turn out? Were you just taking classes for three years? That's not experience; it's education.

If you had your first job five years ago, why isn't it listed in the section that enumerates your detailed experience? Your experience section says you worked for one summer in 2006. That was five years ago, but that doesn't mean you have five years of experience -- it means you have three months of experience.

How can you be fluent with OSX, but only have a "basic knowledge of Linux and Unix systems"? OSX is Unix-based, so that just doesn't make sense. It must mean that my definition of "fluent" means a substantially higher level of competency than yours does.

Is the format I'm using good or would you recommend changes?
I wouldn't worry about the format until you've got the content sorted out. "5 plus years" is completely wrong. "More than five years" is how that sentence should start. Sentences end in periods.

Could you give any more advice on what I could do given my limited professional experience?
Be trutful, mainly. Everyone knows that entry-level applicants are entry-level applicants. What can set you apart from others is your real experience. What did you really do, aside from take classes, during those three years?

You mention COBOL, C++, Java, and Visual Basic but there are no projects at in your work history using those langauges.

As I point out a few posts above, make sure your descriptions include some indication of the scope of the work you've done. I'll again demonstrate the point with fabricated details:

Before:
Updating script used for website management. Installation of wireless access points. Advising on Internet service and new network hardware. Setup of new SIP handsets. General maintenance, system updates, and configuration of workstations.

What you wrote provides absolutely no detail or scope; in reading that, I've got no idea if you've done these tasks each once, or do them all day every day for multiple customers at differnt locations in all sorts of different situations.

Let's re-write that; I don't know the details (because you never provided them, LOL!) so I'll just make them up:

After:
Updated a set of twenty Python scripts ranging from 300 to 3500 lines code each, used for website management. Installed three dozen wireless access points to cover corporate campus, including guest and limited access networks. Advised three to five clients each week on obtaining Internet service and deploying SOHO network hardware. Setup new SIP handsets for prominent customer, including 75 desktop sets, eight conference-room sets, and three receptionist workstations. Responsible for maintenance and system updates of installed workstation machines on 250-node network, and configuration of new hire workstations at a rate of three per month.

With a bit of formatting, this will look great. But the real goal is to tell the hiring manager both subjectively and quantitatively what you're capable of and what you've accomplished.
 
Would you recommend add a link / reference to your Linkedin profile on a resume? I have several recommendations and it never hurts to have business related referrals.
 
I'd add it subtly in the block where you have the rest of your contact information, if you think it's beneficial to have it.
 
OK thanks for the tip. I've removed the photo. Doesn't look that bad without it.

I have another question: I'm 21 years old, just finished my first associate degree. Should I include my high school and HS graduation date? That obviously gives away my age - but is that a bad thing at 21 when it comes to IT?

Normally I wouldn't include it but it's ranked 4th in my state and it's a very hard HS. Some employers may not have a heard/care of the high school though so not sure whether to include that or not

Thanks!

Any opinions?
 
I don't really like my skills section. I am really a Jack-of-all trades guy. Not really an expert. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Code:
Summary
Senior Application Specialist with 8 years of experience in development, stress testing, troubleshooting and deployment of an enterprise wide CRM suite for over 10,000 users.

Technical Skills
•	Expert knowledge of data manipulation language (DML), Oracle9i, 10g
•	Intermediate knowledge of data definition language (DDL). Oracle 9i, 10g
•	Intermediate Unix(Solaris) knowledge
•	Intermediate Application Performance tuning
•	Intermediate shell scripting for automation and application deployment
•	Intermediate batch scripting for SQL automation
•	Intermediate Websphere Application Server and WAS cluster troubleshooting
•	Intermediate knowledge of Websphere MQ
•	Intermediate JAVA knowledge for debugging and development
•	Working knowledge of SAN and NAS
•	Working knowledge of TCP/IP, DNS, SMTP

Work Experience
New York Life, Corporate Information Department
10/11 – Current 	Senior Application Specialist
•	Liaison to software vendor for systems access 
•	DB knowledge transfer from previous vendor
•	Java code development
•	HTML/CSS/JavaScript debugging
•	Project estimation for Oracle data corrections

04/08 – 10/11 		Application Specialist
•	Production Support for 10,000 user CRM Software
•	Oracle data analyst
•	Troubleshoot ETL tool for legacy software conversion

10/06 –04/08  		Programmer Analyst
•	Develop Shell scripts for application deployment.
•	Create and run SQL scripts to extract data from Oracle databases
•	Application log analysis

9/04 – 10/06		Programmer
•	Create MS Access databases for reporting purposes
•	Develop Crystal Reports from customer requirements
•	Develop application test scripts and Winrunner scripts
•	Administer web CRM application (G2X Agility & EZ-Data SmartOffice) 

10/03 – 9/04		Application Development Testing Associate
•	Configure and deploy Crystal Reports
•	Create test scripts
•	Discuss software bugs with the application vendor
•	Test vendor application 
•	Create bug reports

Education
Bachelor’s of Science in Information Technology, University of Phoenix expected  December 2011
Pursued Liberal Arts Degree, Purdue University 2000-2002

Activities
Zeta Psi, Tau Gamma Chapter, Purdue University
Technology Chairman
•	Setup computer network throughout entire house
•	Applied patches to operating systems
 
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