Anyone mind giving me a little help on Resume

So it has come to my attention from a long time IT friend that my resume is quote "complete poop". I can't see the problem with my resume but I'm willing to trust the man who makes six figures over the contract IT guy. I've recently been attempting to leave the contract IT work dead zone since I am completing my Western Governors Degree, and already have my associates. Also simply working IT contract for about 5 years gets tiring. I can pm or email the original if it helps anyone. Oh and I have of course removed personal contact information which was at the top of the resume. Thanks

Professional Summary
Setting myself apart from the average person I tackle any challenge that presents itself in not only a professional manner but with an open mind to new and improved techniques.

I apply this drive to the field of Information Technology in order to not only improve my life but that of those around me in furthering their interaction with technology.

Key Skills
· Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Mac OS, Microsoft Office, Word Excel, PowerPoint Microsoft Outlook, Hardware upgrades, Bitlocker encryption, virus removal, Active Directory maintenance, Microsoft Exchange, Citrix, Symantec Endpoint Protection, Cisco VPN, Blackberry, iOS, and Android, Norton Ghost, Mobile Application integration

Employment History
Novartis Global, 220 Mass Ave. Cambridge, Ma July 2014- November 2014
Helpdesk Support
· Cisco Unity Connection Administration
· Microsoft Outlook
· Microsoft Lync
· Desksite Management
· Imaging
· Bitlocker Encryption
· Lenovo Think brand maintenance
· Claris
· Windows 7
· VIP Support
· Cisco telecommunication
· DRA support
Mintz Levin PC, One Financial Center Boston, Ma May 2014- June 2014
Helpdesk Support
· Monitoring the Footprint support ticketing system
· Provide personal Helpdesk support via phone and email support.
· Use of escalation as a last resort
· Microsoft Outlook
· Microsoft Office including Innova
· Microsoft Unified Messaging
· Microsoft Lync
· Desksite management
· Active Directory account management
· Cisco Jabber
· Fast paced environment, support 1000 users across various locations
Bitlancer LLC, Boston, Ma June 2012- April 2014
Helpdesk Support
· Windows 7 migration
· Monitoring the Footprint support ticketing system
· Provide personal Helpdesk support via phone and email support.
· Use of escalation as a last resort
· Microsoft Outlook
· Password creation and reset
· Active Directory account management
· Tier 1 helpdesk support to upper management

Peak Systems Inc, Greater Boston Area September 2013 - Present
IT Contractor
· Windows XP to Windows 7 migration projects across the Greater Boston Area.
· Projects involve Unisphere Service Manager, Dell Optiplex 780/960 and HP 8100/8200 hardware upgrades, BitLocker encryption.
· Hardware maintenance including building new machines.
· Microsoft Outlook integration
· Server security and password creation

Sentient Jet LLC, Braintree, MA May 2012 – September 2012
IT Intern
· Monitored and responded to the Zendesk support ticket system. Performed troubleshooting procedures to diagnose basic software and computer hardware issues.
· Virus removal, physical desktop and laptop repair, Symantec Ghosting, hard drive, memory, and other pc component upgrades.
· Provided assistance to staff on information systems as necessary including programs used by the company such as Microsoft Office 2010 and Windows 7.
· Managed the building badge system and maintained the ACL for employees.
· Experienced server management and general system maintenance such as Active Directory account creation password resets and frozen accounts.
· Windows 7 migration and deployment/ Norton Ghost

AJC Video Productions, Weymouth, MA January 2005 - Present
A/V Consultant
· Set up projector screens for event support.
· Interface laptops with LCD projectors.
· Run cable, monitor and set up wireless microphones and other A/V equipment.
· Windows 7 migration and deployment with Norton Ghost.

Blockbuster Video, Weymouth, MA July 2008 - November 2010
Store Manager

Office Max, Hingham, MA Jan 2008 - July 2008
Computer Support Specialist
· Worked on customer laptop and desktop computers for repair or upgrades.
· Hardware diagnostic and upgrades such as memory and hard drives.
· Trained customers on Windows Vista compared to Windows XP.

Education
Western Governor's University, Salt Lake City, UT
Bachelor's Of Information Technology- Inprogress

Massasoit Community College, Brockton, MA
Associates Degree, January 2014

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Comments

srabiee

You really need to upload this in Word or PDF format.

jukeboxhero

I attempted to upload it in the original word but the up loader said invalid format. Now that I'm in not so much a rush as before I take it I need to save as a txt not doc?

MeanDrunkR2D2

Well, from what I see, drop the Key Skills and Professional Summary section.. They take up space and honestly nobody really cares about that. Your key skills will show with your experience as you will want to highlight those skills in the jobs.

As far as your WGU degree, do you have an expected graduation date? That may point to the employer how far into your degree program that you are in progress with and may show them an end date expectation for that.

As far as your experience goes, it looks a bit disjointed and jumbled. Probably due to the contract and temporary basis on a few of the jobs you have that are "current", but may have large gaps between jobs. I'm sure someone could elaborate on a better way to position that and if it confuses someone looking to hire for a position, they may just pass you over due to that. Such as the AV consultant stuff. Unless you are doing that as a full time job, it's not really "IT" related as far as wanting a helpdesk or desktop type of position. I'd probably drop that, especially if it may be only a once or twice a year thing you do. There also seems to be a bit of overlap with your positions that would also make it quite confusing. There have been alot of job hopping from what it looks like as well and it would need to be something that you would have to explain why it looks the way it does. If any of the other jobs you have listed also deal with the IT Contract position you appear to be working, there are better ways to show that so they know that it's contract work and not a full time position with them.

jukeboxhero

I'm really confused at this point both .doc and pdf keep saying invalid.

jukeboxhero

So would you say I'm better off scrapping the current resume? The job hopping is due to all my jobs being contract work.

cyberguypr

Although I wouldn't call it that I do agree I would send it to the circular file. Here's why:
- Professional Summary does not summarize your professional accomplishments
- "Key Skills" - what does this mean? Are you a master of this stuff, have you heard read about them? Tells me absolutely nothing.
- Employment History - why do some list duties and other just technologies? This is confusing. This is where you need to show what you did and how your contributions made a difference.
- Why is your experience ordered in such a weird way?
- WGU degree - "in progress"??? Again, give me something concrete. This could mean next month or May 2025.
- "Symantec Ghosting" - Ghosting is not a product.
- "frozen accounts" - what is this? locked accounts?
- "Lenovo Think brand maintenance" - hmm... what where you going for here? Lenovo ThinkPad perhaps?
- What's up with all those short jobs? If all contract work you MUST specify that. As a hiring manager with 30 seconds to look at your resume and in the absence of that explanation I default to "job hopper" and move on to the next guy in line. You gotta make it easy for me.

Overall this resume screams to me lack of attention to detail. The best advice I can give you is look through the other resume threads were fellow techexamers have posted their resumes with formats that are awesome, flow great, and highlight accomplishments. You need to focus on differentiating yourself from the thousands of techs out there that can "install, maintain, and configure".

cwshellhamer

I would just keep everything chronological and in the description list it as a "6 week contract with company XYZ"

That's what i did with my contract position

jukeboxhero

Everything on the resume is contract as unfortunately thats all you can get in my area with no degree.

jukeboxhero

So its clear I have no idea what I'm doing since this was the latest version of the resume and i started on it two years ago

Would I be better off hiring a professional creator?

MeanDrunkR2D2

I wouldn't say that you need to hire a professional resume creator to help you out. That's an unneeded cost when you are more than capable of creating it yourself. I can see why your friend said it's "Complete poop", it's not "That" bad, but not far off.

You can look at other resume examples others have worked on here and build from that. Keep your experience chronological and specify which ones were contracts with Contract company A and which were with Contract company B, etc. If you have a personal side business with work that you do sporadically, I'd drop it completely. Now, as far as the tasks in your experience, build off that with slightly more detail. Instead of Bitlocker, state what you did with it. Decrytping? Encrypting? Managing the encryption? You don't need to make it a long detailed list, but using say "Image with Symantec Ghost for new PC setups" looks better than Symantec Ghosting.

Keep in mind the tense that you use with those descriptions. If it's something you are not doing currently, you don't need the "ing" at the end. Build out the details just a bit on what you did at each job. If it takes more than a sentence to describe, then shorten it. Cisco Jabber. What did you do with that? That you know what it is? Or that you did "what" tasks with it.

srabiee

There's an absolute wealth of information on these forums. You just have to utilize the search function a bit. These links should help you get started:

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/105909-resume-review.html

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/105896-looking-my-first-networking-job-what-look-resume-review.html

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

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/104429-resume-critique-advice-final-draft.html

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/91333-resume-time.html

jukeboxhero

So is it appropriate to list programs I know of and have brief knowledge of or only list those I can feel safe saying I know.

srabiee

Here's the thing about listing skills and programs...you are more than likely going to be asked about your professional experience and proficiency with these programs. You also open yourself up to the possibility of an interviewing IT manager or supervisor asking you technical questions about these technologies. If you cannot answer even moderately simple questions, you reveal yourself as embellishing or even lying on your resume, which makes you look bad and doesn't bode well for your chances of being hired. That's why many of us will recommend that you only list technologies that you are fairly proficient in, particularly with experience in a business/enterprise environment.

cyberguypr

^ Excellent point. In my experience most of the time when candidates laundry-list technologies or products they can't speak authoritatively about them. I've seen it a lot for help desk positions, particularly with Cisco products. I ask basic stuff like how to change the host name or copy the running config and all I get is a blank stare. When I challenge the candidate it becomes clear all they did was racking devices and powering them on, with zero command line interaction. This is fine, but I rather see it listed as what it is: racking equipment. Another common offender I've seen is Exchange, which the OP mentioned on his resume. What have you done? Created accounts? Deployed servers? Any Unified Messaging? Restored/repaired databases? Big difference between all of those.

By providing context of your experience you save time for both of us, as I'm not making any assumptions or spending valuable interview time trying to figure out your level of expertise with any given product.