Resume Critique for Career Changer (Commercial Insurance -> Information Technology)

Hey All, I'm trying to break into the field of IT after spending about three years working in the field of insurance for commercial enterprises. I've been between jobs for most of 2014 but I've managed to stay busy by earning my Excel 2013 certification, CompTIA Strata, and CompTIA A+. Right now I'm at the local Cisco Networking Academy and I hope to earn my CCENT before the end of the year. I'm a total n00b so any and all criticism is welcome

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0rHp6mWPaa8dDFwVG5MbXJGUGs/edit?usp=sharingThanks, smath0

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Comments

datacomboss

As a manager I think the content and structure looks fine. The biggest question I would have is did you actually graduate with a degree in Chemistry from Illinois and if so, why were you in insurance? Considering your lack of experience, knowing you graduated with a tough degree from a great school would make me more interested.

smath0

Thank you datacomboss,
I did successfully graduate (late) with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a minor in Mathematics. I started working in insurance because that's just what I fell into after aimlessly wandering the earth for several years after college

I've also left off of my resume a tremendous amount of information regarding my certifications in the world of commercial insurance -- nobody in IT gives a hoot about my CPCU (which is an insurance cert of 8 fairly challenging exams) any more than people in insurance would care about my A+. Including something like that into my profile would count against me, as it would give the impression that I am aimless... which in large part is quite accurate!

olaHalo

Looks good to me. Very similar layout to my own.
I dont like the CompTIA logos though, but that is only my preference

datacomboss

smath0 wrote: »

Thank you datacomboss,
I did successfully graduate (late) with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a minor in Mathematics. I started working in insurance because that's just what I fell into after aimlessly wandering the earth for several years after college

I've also left off of my resume a tremendous amount of information regarding my certifications in the world of commercial insurance -- nobody in IT gives a hoot about my CPCU (which is an insurance cert of 8 fairly challenging exams) any more than people in insurance would care about my A+. Including something like that into my profile would count against me, as it would give the impression that I am aimless... which in large part is quite accurate!

With little IT experience, I would put your degree near the top as it is the most valuable thing on your resume IMO.

smath0

*thread bump*

smath0

Criticism is always welcome!

tkerber

Definitely would take the logos off. A+ is a nice certification to have no doubt, but I don't think it's worth shouting at the top of your resume. Also great resume layout though. Very appealing to the eye--nice and clean.

Out of curiosity? Why the move to IT??

smath0

Thanks for the input!

As for my move from insurance to IT, the short answer is compensation. The long answer is that an individual can only reach so high in the world of insurance on their insurance-specific technical skills alone(yes, those do exist.) Like any other industry, those who desire to truly reach the next level must grow into management -- something I really do not think would fit my introverted personality. An experienced IT professional who has reached the top of their game can earn in the 6 figures without growing into a supervisor role and rely on their technical skills alone.

It goes without saying that the HR person & hiring manager would hear something different!

tkerber

smath0 wrote: »

Thanks for the input!

As for my move from insurance to IT, the short answer is compensation. The long answer is that an individual can only reach so high in the world of insurance on their insurance-specific technical skills alone(yes, those do exist.) Like any other industry, those who desire to truly reach the next level must grow into management -- something I really do not think would fit my introverted personality. An experienced IT professional who has reached the top of their game can earn in the 6 figures without growing into a supervisor role and rely on their technical skills alone.

It goes without saying that the HR person & hiring manager would hear something different!

I see, well IT is definitely not a field to get into for money alone. There are lots of other fields that I think can yield greater financial rewards with less input and being an introvert isn't necessarily going to excel you in IT either. In fact a lot of what we do is dealing with frustrated and angry people. Even the big wig IT guys still have talk to someone sooner or later. The stereotype that all IT people are cave dwelling creatures that live on Mountain Dew and Pizza are quite a fallacy.

Also based on your resume I wouldn't be surprised if you will have to take substantial a pay cut moving into IT as well. Everyone thinks IT people are all rich and make lots of money--because everyone loves to talk about THAT uncle or brother who is some high end engineer pulling 6 figures. Reality is that the average IT salary (if there was one) is probably quite modest. But I wish you the best of luck and hope you will do some research before jumping the ship--believe me money alone will not keep you in this field.

srabiee

I agree that you should lose the logos, and education should go to the top of the resume above certifications. Also, I feel you should remove the part about "In preparation for CCENT." CCENT is an entry-level Cisco cert. You either have it or you don't, so I wouldn't put anything on there until you actually earn it. (If we were talking about the CCIE, that might be a different story)

Go ahead and make some changes to the resume and post an updated version. That will help you to get further responses.