Entry level resume/cover letter and what to do
techfiend
Member Posts: 1,481 ■■■■□□□□□□
Hi, this looks like a very helpful forum and might be just what I'm looking for.
A bit about myself, I'm 33 and have been actively seeking an entry level IT job for 5 of the last 8 years (3 years of medical issues). I have sent out 100's if not 1000+ resume's and only interviewed for about a dozen. I've been tweaking my resume for the past month but I'm still not really satisfied with it and haven't paid much attention to my cover letter, it's rarely asked for. I can't attach either in doc or pdf (invalid file error) so it's in code blocks below, would really appreciate some constructive criticism.
Some notes about the resume, my last job, in 2013, I had to leave during training for medical reasons. I actually felt relieved after working 11+ hours every day with no day off in site and barely making above minimum wage when all expenses were considered, I never got paid, Should this be on my resume?
In 2007-2008 I was caring for an ailing family member. Then the whole financial issue happened a week after I started applying online again, I tried for about 2 years and eventually gave up after no luck. 2012 was the beginning of a recurring medical issue that's been an issue twice now and earlier this year another medical issue was discovered that may need more attention in a few years. Should either of these be on my resume to help fill the large gap?
I had 3 temporary jobs that lasted no more than 2 months between 2003 and 2006 that are completely unrelated and haven't put on the resume.
For the past year I've been actively applying online when I've been healthy enough, I see on average ~100 IT jobs, mostly senior positions a day and only apply for 5-10. If it requires more than 1 year of experience I pass. My resume is posted on monster, indeed, careerbuilder, dice and 2 local job boards ( www.minnesotaworks.net and Minneapolis, Minnesota Jobs and Careers | JobsInMinneapolis.com ) with only 1 employer contacting me just days after A+ certification but it was on the opposite side of town and I was looking at a 90-120 minute drive one way, half the working day would be paying for gas.
I have applied for geek squad and the next day said I wasn't qualified. Glassdoor reviewers say this is a good entry-level job, my confidence is next to nothing currently after getting this news but have applied for another entry-level job that apparently takes anyone, support.com. The problem is I'm not great at solving issues over the phone with naive clients. I get frustrated when they don't understand what I'm trying to tell them. I don't use technical jargon but some things are tough for me to explain. Hands-on instruction is much more my style.
As far as certifications, I'm trying to decide between Network+ and CCENT. I have the Lammle book for the latter and have read it through once but unsure if another certificate at this time is worth the money.
I've thought about pursuing a BS either at WGU or local B&M but require some incoming money to do this.
Craigslist reply button has been a large part of my job search but with 0 results I'm probably going to give it up. Applying directly on the company's website often results in a reply of you are unqualified or we've hired someone else, which is usually harder for me to handle then no reply. I'm considering a plain text resume like described at Stuck in the black hole applying for jobs? | thebrandedResume is this a good idea?
I have another opportunity outside of the field, school bus driving. I'm not excited to do it but financials are getting tight and the job history might look ok on my resume, any thoughts on this?
Some other things I'm considering, posting resumes on simplyhired and getting on linkedin but I'm naive when it comes to social networking. I know of 3 people that worked in IT. None of them attended college and they don't have certifications. 1 switched from support to programming years ago, another left the field to run his own food business, the other just acquired an IT job with the county after being out of the field for 8 years, his 5 years of past experience got him the job. Some guidance would be really appreciated, I often think about stopping my pursuit and near the desperate stage but keep persisting.
Formatting notes: Both are 10 bit Arial, right aligned resume uses 12 point bold for Titles (Certification, Education, etc.) Years worked and city, state are right aligned on resume. Resume fits 1 page with 4 empty lines on the bottom.
A bit about myself, I'm 33 and have been actively seeking an entry level IT job for 5 of the last 8 years (3 years of medical issues). I have sent out 100's if not 1000+ resume's and only interviewed for about a dozen. I've been tweaking my resume for the past month but I'm still not really satisfied with it and haven't paid much attention to my cover letter, it's rarely asked for. I can't attach either in doc or pdf (invalid file error) so it's in code blocks below, would really appreciate some constructive criticism.
Some notes about the resume, my last job, in 2013, I had to leave during training for medical reasons. I actually felt relieved after working 11+ hours every day with no day off in site and barely making above minimum wage when all expenses were considered, I never got paid, Should this be on my resume?
In 2007-2008 I was caring for an ailing family member. Then the whole financial issue happened a week after I started applying online again, I tried for about 2 years and eventually gave up after no luck. 2012 was the beginning of a recurring medical issue that's been an issue twice now and earlier this year another medical issue was discovered that may need more attention in a few years. Should either of these be on my resume to help fill the large gap?
I had 3 temporary jobs that lasted no more than 2 months between 2003 and 2006 that are completely unrelated and haven't put on the resume.
For the past year I've been actively applying online when I've been healthy enough, I see on average ~100 IT jobs, mostly senior positions a day and only apply for 5-10. If it requires more than 1 year of experience I pass. My resume is posted on monster, indeed, careerbuilder, dice and 2 local job boards ( www.minnesotaworks.net and Minneapolis, Minnesota Jobs and Careers | JobsInMinneapolis.com ) with only 1 employer contacting me just days after A+ certification but it was on the opposite side of town and I was looking at a 90-120 minute drive one way, half the working day would be paying for gas.
I have applied for geek squad and the next day said I wasn't qualified. Glassdoor reviewers say this is a good entry-level job, my confidence is next to nothing currently after getting this news but have applied for another entry-level job that apparently takes anyone, support.com. The problem is I'm not great at solving issues over the phone with naive clients. I get frustrated when they don't understand what I'm trying to tell them. I don't use technical jargon but some things are tough for me to explain. Hands-on instruction is much more my style.
As far as certifications, I'm trying to decide between Network+ and CCENT. I have the Lammle book for the latter and have read it through once but unsure if another certificate at this time is worth the money.
I've thought about pursuing a BS either at WGU or local B&M but require some incoming money to do this.
Craigslist reply button has been a large part of my job search but with 0 results I'm probably going to give it up. Applying directly on the company's website often results in a reply of you are unqualified or we've hired someone else, which is usually harder for me to handle then no reply. I'm considering a plain text resume like described at Stuck in the black hole applying for jobs? | thebrandedResume is this a good idea?
I have another opportunity outside of the field, school bus driving. I'm not excited to do it but financials are getting tight and the job history might look ok on my resume, any thoughts on this?
Some other things I'm considering, posting resumes on simplyhired and getting on linkedin but I'm naive when it comes to social networking. I know of 3 people that worked in IT. None of them attended college and they don't have certifications. 1 switched from support to programming years ago, another left the field to run his own food business, the other just acquired an IT job with the county after being out of the field for 8 years, his 5 years of past experience got him the job. Some guidance would be really appreciated, I often think about stopping my pursuit and near the desperate stage but keep persisting.
[B]Name[/B][LEFT][B]Address [/B][B]Phone [/B][B]Email[/B] Dear Hiring Manager,[/LEFT] I’m interested in the <open position> found on <job board>. I’d be a great fit for the position because I’m very efficient and often multitask. I’m analytical, always looking for better ways to do things. I’m also a great problem solver whether it’s software or hardware, I’ve never been stumped by a problematic computer issue. I really enjoy hands-on work and working with others whether it's as a team or independent projects and have taken leadership roles in previous jobs. I'm also helpful, when I'm not working on something I see if anyone else needs help. If things need to be done, I'll do what it takes to get it done, whether it's coming in early or staying late. Sincerely, John Doe
[FONT=Arial]Name[/FONT][LEFT][FONT=Arial]Address [/FONT][FONT=Arial]Phone [/FONT][FONT=Arial]Email[/FONT][/LEFT] [FONT=Arial][B]Certification[/B][/FONT] [FONT=Arial]CompTIA A+ September 2014[/FONT] [FONT=Arial][B]Education[/B][/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Network Engineering A.A.S. 3.0 GPA Major, 2.8 overall 2006[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Saint Paul College [/FONT][FONT=Arial]SaintPaul, MN[/FONT] [FONT=Arial][B]Computer [/B][/FONT][FONT=Arial][B]Skills[/B][/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Built and repaired dozens of computers which included some soldering[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Fixed hundreds of software issues[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Proficient with Windows Desktop OS[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Somewhat proficient with Linux and Windows Server OS[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Written batch scripts to automate tedious processes[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Worked with Citrix XenServer[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Worked with Active Directory domains of 10-15 computers[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]A lot of Terminal Services and Radmin experience Some GCC+mingw and Visual Studio compiling[/FONT] [FONT=Arial][B]Work [/B][/FONT][FONT=Arial][B]History[/B][/FONT] [LEFT][FONT=Arial]DirecTV Installer 2013 [/FONT][FONT=Arial]Sweatshop City, MN [/FONT][/LEFT] [LIST] [*][LEFT] [FONT=Arial]Always met the 2 hour window and left every customer happy [/FONT] [/LEFT] [/LIST][FONT=Arial]Auto Technician 2006-2007[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Small Auto Shop City, MN[/FONT] [LIST] [*] [FONT=Arial]Consistently completed 2 jobs in the time allotted for 1[/FONT] [*] [FONT=Arial]Past experience to perform things other technicians were unable to[/FONT] [/LIST][FONT=Arial]Assistant Manager 1999-2003[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Large Auto Shop City 1 and City 2, MN [/FONT] [LIST] [*][FONT=Arial]Promoted to Assistant Manager based on performance and customer service[/FONT] [*][FONT=Arial]Fixed POS systems, dot-matrix printers and daily tape backup[/FONT] [*][FONT=Arial]Successfully managed a team while consistently near the top in sales[/FONT] [/LIST][FONT=Arial]Assistant Manager 1997-1999[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Tiny Auto Shop City, MN[/FONT] [LIST] [*] [FONT=Arial]Promoted to Assistant Manager based on performance[/FONT] [/LIST]
Formatting notes: Both are 10 bit Arial, right aligned resume uses 12 point bold for Titles (Certification, Education, etc.) Years worked and city, state are right aligned on resume. Resume fits 1 page with 4 empty lines on the bottom.
2018 AWS Solutions Architect - Associate (Apr) 2017 VCAP6-DCV Deploy (Oct) 2016 Storage+ (Jan)
2015 Start WGU (Feb) Net+ (Feb) Sec+ (Mar) Project+ (Apr) Other WGU (Jun) CCENT (Jul) CCNA (Aug) CCNA Security (Aug) MCP 2012 (Sep) MCSA 2012 (Oct) Linux+ (Nov) Capstone/BS (Nov) VCP6-DCV (Dec) ITILF (Dec)
2015 Start WGU (Feb) Net+ (Feb) Sec+ (Mar) Project+ (Apr) Other WGU (Jun) CCENT (Jul) CCNA (Aug) CCNA Security (Aug) MCP 2012 (Sep) MCSA 2012 (Oct) Linux+ (Nov) Capstone/BS (Nov) VCP6-DCV (Dec) ITILF (Dec)