Looking for my first networking job -- what to look for/resume review

chronos42

Hey everyone, I'm starting the very beginning of my search for a job in the networking field. I've been working at my current desktop support job for 1.5 years, have obtained my A+ as a base cert, and am working on my CCENT/CCNA (taking ICND1 next month).

I know there are some positions that are willing to hire someone for a Cisco/networking position if they simply have a CCNA in progress instead of actually completed, and that's what I'm looking for at the moment. However, in the coming months, I will be looking for jobs requiring a full CCNA as well.

Two things:

1. What sort of job title should I be looking for, and what can I expect in terms of salary for things of this nature? My current thought are titles such as "Jr. Network Admin" or "Network Support Engineer", and am expecting pay to be around 45k. Am I in the right ballpark? (Location is Atlanta)

2. For anyone willing to do a resume review, I've uploaded a redacted version of mine for review. Any thoughts you have regarding experience notes, summary, job descriptions, anything would be helpful.

Thanks everyone!

Pressured

Looking at your resume, typically I would go:
1.Professional Competencies (Goals)
2. Certifications
3. Education
4. Work Experience
5. Follow up with some good achievements; I.e. Competed in a hacking competition for state, etc.
It looks good. The introduction with you stated, "CompTIA A+ certified professional with two years of technical support experience, skilled at operating in a wide range of platforms. Currently pursuing the Cisco certification track and focused on starting a career in networking." can be listed in the Goals. The goals is your introduction.
Why the company should look into hiring you. I am currently working with HP and I am working as an IT specialist. So in my resume I talk about not leaking information, troubleshooting and repairing, etc. There is also too much indentation. Make sure the company name followed by state is not indented from the time. I would copy my resume over to show you an example but it is currently on another computer.

srabiee

Your bachelors degree needs to be at the top of the resume right under your professional summary. Then put the certification below that, and then follow with your work experience. The "professional competencies" section comes off as a bunch of fluff and can probably be deleted. A "technical skills" section would serve you better if you wanted to incorporate something like that.

Also, the work experience of your current job needs to be expanded on significantly. You have a year and a half experience in that position and I can barely tell what you do on a daily basis based on the information provided. Ideally, you want to begin each position with a high-level overview describing your daily duties and responsibilities, commonly used technologies, etc. Then use the bullet points to highlight key accomplishments such as completed projects, promotions, etc.

Consider taking a look at the following thread. There's a wealth of information in there, including links to other professional resumes. May give you some ideas that you could incorporate into your own resume.

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/105603-resume-career-path-questions.html

chronos42

Excellent advice, thank you guys. I'll rearrange the sections, get rid of the fluff, and fix a bit of the formatting.

Anything else you guys can offer would be most helpful.

srabiee

Once you make those changes, upload the new version so people can give you further advice.

cwshellhamer

Take the advice.... I did the same thing on the forums maybe 2 weeks ago and now i have 2 interviews... related?? maybe but im not questioning it lol

chronos42

srabiee wrote: »

Once you make those changes, upload the new version so people can give you further advice.

Alright, main link has been updated. Still a work in progress, but this is what I've got.

chronos42

cwshellhamer wrote: »

Take the advice.... I did the same thing on the forums maybe 2 weeks ago and now i have 2 interviews... related?? maybe but im not questioning it lol

Would you mind attaching your resume so I could have a look? I'm interested what you ended up with.

Pressured

Your updated resume looks pretty good now. There are some things that I would recommend. The Best (And Worst) Words To Have On Your Resume -- Keywords or words that attract attention. It is basically like an essay about your career. Who are you? (Intro) What do you know? (Education/Certifications) Why should we hire you? (Certifications/Work Experience) -- This means that you have more value than the person that is applying alongside you.

Just ask questions on your resume. Tweak and let someone proofread. Then let them put some input on it. Make sure they have no clue on what you do. So this means they will look at it like. Okay, so you work for xxxx company for this time. You did this, this and this. Why is it more valuable, or why is it unique?

I will show you an example of mine later on. I am at work.

srabiee

A few minor things I immediately came across:

1) Because you only have two years of professional IT experience, I wouldn't mention the "two years" bit in your professional summary. Once you hit the 5 year mark, you can add that in as a selling point. Two years isn't a lot and you don't want to run the risk of drawing negative attention as soon as the reader begins reading the resume. (for example, if they are looking for candidates with a minimum of 4 years experience, you don't want them to immediately dismiss your resume as soon as they begin reading)

2) Be careful when using acronyms. Instead of listing "MIS Assistant," I would type it out in full. Pretend that the reader isn't tech or industry savy and has no idea what most of those acronyms mean. You can always spell out the title and then put the acronym in parenthesis.

I'm anxious to see how the resume turns out after you expand on your IT job, incorporate the high-level description, and then use the bullets for significant accomplishments. I think it should work really well in that format.

cwshellhamer

publicresume.doc

Not perfect but much better than what i had

chronos42

srabiee wrote: »

A few minor things I immediately came across:

1) Because you only have two years of professional IT experience, I wouldn't mention the "two years" bit in your professional summary. Once you hit the 5 year mark, you can add that in as a selling point. Two years isn't a lot and you don't want to run the risk of drawing negative attention as soon as the reader begins reading the resume. (for example, if they are looking for candidates with a minimum of 4 years experience, you don't want them to immediately dismiss your resume as soon as they begin reading)

2) Be careful when using acronyms. Instead of listing "MIS Assistant," I would type it out in full. Pretend that the reader isn't tech or industry savy and has no idea what most of those acronyms mean. You can always spell out the title and then put the acronym in parenthesis.

I'm anxious to see how the resume turns out after you expand on your IT job, incorporate the high-level description, and then use the bullets for significant accomplishments. I think it should work really well in that format.

Fixed the "MIS" acronym. Would you suggest replacing "two years" with a word like "thorough" or "significant", or just reword that entire line altogether?

The high-level description is difficult. I did what I could to expand on my daily duties, but they're so varied, I either have to separate them all into bullet points or have a high-level description that leaves a number of things out. I see a lot of resumes with just bullet points; could I just try to expand on them and be alright? Or is this overall description very necessary?

Also, thank you for all your input.

srabiee

"Accomplished IT professional possessing extensive technical experience spanning desktop support, server administration, and network management."

How does that sound for a first sentence?

As far as the work experience, make a list of everything that you can possibly think of that you have accomplished or would be pertinent to the resume. Then insert all of that info into the resume and I will see if I can come up with something to help you make it work as a high-level overview + bullets. The more info you come up with, the easier it will be to write that section.

For example, do you have Active Directory experience? If so, what have you done? Exchange experience? What versions of Windows Server and Windows desktop OS do you have professional experience with? What networking equipment have you used and interfaced with in the workplace? Wireshark experience? OS and app imaging and deployment software? (SCCM? WDS? MDT? What versions?) Any virtualization experience? (Hyper-V? VMware?) Try to brainstorm in that manner as much as possible and right down everything that comes to mind.

chronos42

srabiee wrote: »

"Accomplished IT professional possessing extensive technical experience spanning desktop support, server administration, and network management."

How does that sound for a first sentence?

I like it. Done.

I'll work on that list right now.

chronos42

srabiee wrote: »

"Accomplished IT professional possessing extensive technical experience spanning desktop support, server administration, and network management."

How does that sound for a first sentence?

As far as the work experience, make a list of everything that you can possibly think of that you have accomplished or would be pertinent to the resume. Then insert all of that info into the resume and I will see if I can come up with something to help you make it work as a high-level overview + bullets. The more info you come up with, the easier it will be to write that section.

For example, do you have Active Directory experience? If so, what have you done? Exchange experience? What versions of Windows Server and Windows desktop OS do you have professional experience with? What networking equipment have you used and interfaced with in the workplace? Wireshark experience? OS and app imaging and deployment software? (SCCM? WDS? MDT? What versions?) Any virtualization experience? (Hyper-V? VMware?) Try to brainstorm in that manner as much as possible and right down everything that comes to mind.

Updated job description to include all duties (aside from insignificant odds and ends). Unfortunately (?), my job here isn't hugely project-based, or at least not in a way that I can say, for instance, "Coordinated implementation of security camera system in Newnan", because that's something I've done multiple times for both locations. Everything I do is repeated and ongoing. Hopefully what I gave will suffice, as anything else would be nitty-gritty details.

srabiee

Are you able to go into more detail regarding specific hardware, software, and technologies? I think it would help a lot to make this resume look more technically proficient and detailed.

For example, do you have Active Directory experience? If so, what have you done? Exchange experience? What versions of Windows Server and Windows desktop OS do you have professional experience with? What networking equipment have you used and interfaced with in the workplace? Wireshark experience? OS and app imaging and deployment software? (SCCM? WDS? MDT? What versions?) Any virtualization experience? (Hyper-V? VMware?) Try to brainstorm in that manner as much as possible and right down everything that comes to mind.

chronos42

srabiee wrote: »

Are you able to go into more detail regarding specific hardware, software, and technologies? I think it would help a lot to make this resume look more technically proficient and detailed.

For example, do you have Active Directory experience? If so, what have you done? Exchange experience? What versions of Windows Server and Windows desktop OS do you have professional experience with? What networking equipment have you used and interfaced with in the workplace? Wireshark experience? OS and app imaging and deployment software? (SCCM? WDS? MDT? What versions?) Any virtualization experience? (Hyper-V? VMware?) Try to brainstorm in that manner as much as possible and right down everything that comes to mind.

Let's see. SCCM 2007 R3 (running on Windows Server 2008 R2) and some AD experience (albeit limited - I'm not the systems admin here). I don't have any further experience administering servers, and have no virtualization experience. The applications I support, aside from your basic desktop applications (i.e. Office, IE, etc.), are our business system (SYSPRO) and a few proprietary construction machinery service tools (Hino DX, AllinOneTool, Isuzu IDSS).

That said, I'm mainly trying to target this resume for a Cisco/networking-focused job, so a bunch of sysadmin-type experience may or may not be a huge benefit to me.

Thorough desktop OS experience with Windows 7 and Windows XP. Hardware experience spans laptops, desktops, monitors, peripherals, network cabling, and access points.

I am familiar with Wireshark, but most of my professional network experience is data-link layer stuff. That's why I'm going for the Cisco certs - so I can gain familiarity and expertise in those types of systems.

I wish I had more to give you, but unfortunately, again...I'm only two years into my career, still working my first help desk job.

Edit: Networking hardware (aside from sims/configs while studying for CCNA): D-Link DAP-2553 (WAPs, configuration and installation), Cat 5/5e/6 cabling (installation/troubleshooting), patch panels (troubleshooting), and some experience using various Dell PowerConnect switches (data-link troubleshooting only, no configuration).

srabiee

That's some good info. Maybe elaborate on any networking hardware that you worked with (vendor and model) and what you did with it.

I will work on this some more tonight when I get some more free time.

chronos42

srabiee wrote: »

That's some good info. Maybe elaborate on any networking hardware that you worked with (vendor and model) and what you did with it.

I will work on this some more tonight when I get some more free time.

Updated previous post to include networking hardware. Thank you!

srabiee

On the professional summary, I recommend removing the part that says "starting a career in networking." You don't want to give the impression that you have no professional experience in network technologies. That would be false, because you obviously do have some networking experience, right? You can leverage this experience to help you land the type of position that you are interested in. I would also omit the part about pursuing Cisco certs. Unless you already have your CCENT, I don't think it's of any benefit to mention that in this manner. I recommend getting your CCENT as soon as possible so you can add that to your resume.

I found a good article that explains the purpose of the professional resume and how to write it:
Resume Tips: Headings - Professional Summary | Pongo

Another thing...it would be a great idea to diversify the language of your resume This resume guide has a lot of good info in it. There are sample resumes, as well as sample professional summaries, guidelines, etc. Page 5 contains an extremely helpful list of action verbs that you could use to diversify the wording of your resume. For example, I noticed that you used the word "Provided" more than twice. You could use Provided once or twice, and then find other action verbs with a similar meaning to use instead. The last page of the document contains additional action verbs and other words related to the IT field that will help you come up with more ideas on how to diversify the language of your resume. What I did for my resume was went through it sentence by sentence and made a list of every action verb that I used, and tallied up how many times I used each word. I then replaced the words that I used too many times with something else. It made the resume sound a lot more academic, like I had a better mastery of the English language. (which in turn can convey intelligence) The sample resumes and sample summaries may also give you some ideas on how to restructure or reword certain sentences to improve upon the resume.

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srabiee

"Proficient in installing and configuring network hardware including wireless access points (WAPs)." Any other devices you could add to this list? Switches, routers, etc?

"Conducted wired and wireless network configuration and troubleshooting within an enterprise environment. Extensive hands-on experience in implementing Cat 5e/Cat 6 cabling and patch panels, as well as resolving issues related to physical network infrastructures. Rectified problems related to Dell PowerConnect switches."

This should get you started on building on the work experience and summary sections in order to steer the resume toward network administration and to leverage your networking experience. I would expand on this as much as possible.

chronos42

srabiee wrote: »

"Proficient in installing and configuring network hardware including wireless access points (WAPs)." Any other devices you could add to this list? Switches, routers, etc?

"Conducted wired and wireless network configuration and troubleshooting within an enterprise environment. Extensive hands-on experience in implementing Cat 5e/Cat 6 cabling and patch panels, as well as resolving issues related to physical network infrastructures. Rectified problems related to Dell PowerConnect switches."

This should get you started on building on the work experience and summary sections in order to steer the resume toward network administration and to leverage your networking experience. I would expand on this as much as possible.

This is all solid advice. I'll work on getting it into my resume.

Thank you so much for your help. I think I owe you a beer.