Resume critique as well as a few questions

Hello, it has been a while since I last posted here. The main reason for this post is that I would like my resume to be critiqued, but I also have a few questions related to the resume (with somewhat of a back-story). I got injured on my last job (it was a long-term injury, still recovering, though I am about at 80% at what I was before I started the job), so I was unable to work and then got into a legal battle (I don't want to go into details). The company settled and then let me go. I began to attend WGU a few months after getting injured, and eventually got my degree In late 2013. Initially, I was planning on getting a degree, so I could get a Help Desk or Desktop Support position, but the programming courses, while hard (at the time), made me so interested in programming, that I decided to take a one year "sabbatical" on learning how to become a much better programmer, than when I had graduated WGU, good enough to get an entry level programming position. I have made some personal projects (most are small, though a couple medium sized ones) that have helped me become more competent in programming; I have also earned some programming certifications that can hopefully show an employer that I am willing to produce, and learn to be an even better programmer.

My questions are:

-I ended my last job on bad terms (all of which was due to me getting injured), should I still include that job in my resume, even if it has nothing to do with IT or programming?

-Should I include any position that has nothing to do with IT or programming? -Are there any specific syntax, placement, font style or font size mistakes?

-Should I include my personal projects and school projects in the resume?

-I have quite a few certifications, and I know that most of them should be left out. Which certifications should I take out?

-Is there anything else I can do to make my resume stand out?

I want to thank this website for helping guide me through WGU, as well as helping as a person. The valuable information that I have gotten out of TechExams has been priceless. Here is my resume.

TestResume.pdf

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Comments

IIIMaster

I have review you resume and wow !!! those are a lot of certs lol. The fist change I would make is the format, have the categories align left and reformat your education so it can be easily read. Here is an example

Associates of Applied Science, Networking Specialist April 2012
Eskew Technical College, Eskew, TX

Change you bullets to traditional dark solid bullets. In regards to your certs, I would only list the certs that apply to the job I'm applying for but if you wish to list them all list them in tiers of relevance such as 1st tier CIW certs going horizontal, 2nd tier your Comp TIA, etc. This should save space and make it look clean and compact . For your professional experience I would list the jobs that are related to IT then I would make another category name other experience and place the non IT jobs there.

IIIMaster

For some reason the example for school format did not show up correctly. The graduation date or expected graduation date should align far right on the resume.

CenturionMario

So for the education, I should also include the month of graduation? The reason why I say this is that I read on a resume construction website that it is not a good idea to put something like 3/2002, because the automation might not correctly read it, but it didn't say anything about putting "March 2002" (without the quotes). Also, you mentioned to put the degree title above the name of the school, does this also apply to jobs (Putting the title above the company worked for)?

For the certs, as I mentioned before, I understand that most of them should probably be left out, but I haven't had any real job experience in the programming industry. I suppose I could take your advice and just leave only the certs that pertain to the actual job (That means no CompTIA, no MTA Windows certs, and possible no CIW certs, as I have read that they are pretty useless when it comes to applying a job, same goes for the MTA certs).

As for the professional experience, I suppose I can do what you mentioned. Should I put the IT Experience at the top, even though that position was nearly 5 years ago? Also, what about the job where I left on bad terms?

IIIMaster

You can use months, years or both but I never list exact dates... I have success with this format. In regards to the company name yes, place your position first then company and location.

As example

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Sales Associate

> 2013- Present (align for right)

Walmart , San Diego, Ca
List task for jobs here

I would not leave out all the certs but I would just format them cleaner. Any cert that relates to job is better than no certs no matter where you got them from. I applied for one job and I have my net + but its expiring, the HR lady told be I HAVE TO RENEW it once hired. I was in silence because I have my CCNA and higher. But for some HR people they don't know the difference only what their bosses is looking for.

Yeah you do want to place the most relevant job at the top because that is your experience and the other jobs will go a different category called other experience. My thought process is this, no one want to go down 20 lines of work experience until they realize you do have experience, highlight and show off what is necessary. It may be 5 years ago but you been to skill and you have gain certs, so you have continue education in IT which in a way excuses it. In regards to the job you left on bad terms you can be honest or act as if it never existed. But from mine understanding they can only verify your employment there, that is it. I know at my job there is no way you can speak to my manager unless I provide you his information but most likely it would be the generic company number where they can verify my employment. If you work for a small company then that there be an issue, especially if you did some bad deeds.

CenturionMario

A few more questions. When you say align the categories to the left, do you mean Education, certifications, work experience, etc...? Also, do you think I should put in my school projects and personal projects, and if so, where? Thank you.

CenturionMario

Here is the new version of the resume. I'm thinking about adding some of my programming projects, although I'm not sure if I should put them below the summary category, below the certifications, or below the technology summary.

TestResume.pdf

xiny

I'm not sure if this could apply to your resume due to how you format your certs, but I always like to add colored logo's of my certs.
Make's feel like the resume "pops out" more.

azjag

Do a Google search on entry level IT resumes or recent graduate resumes for some ideas.

Entry-Level IT Resume Sample

Me personally, I would get rid of the "Other Work Experience" and build off of the fact you just got your degree and are looking for employment in your chosen field. You can mention your previous position in the interview and the fact you were injured on the job and use that to justify the gap in your employment. However, don't bring up any legal details (mention that you are suing them or in court) or bad mouth previous employer. It reflects poorly on you. I would tailor the resume towards the position you want. Mention projects you worked on in school or any volunteer/intern work that you did that involved programming. Throwing everything you have done creates a lot of clutter and fluff that is not relevant to the position you are applying for. The certifications should be ok to include. Having the CompTIA certs can only help your search. A basic understanding of security and project management is always a plus. I don't put a lot of faith in the CIW certs but I'm not a programmer. YMMV.

Good luck

CenturionMario

Here is the summary that I am thinking about using to replace my old one:

"-Western Governors University graduate offering a strong academic foundation in software development and programming principles across multiple platforms"

"-Experienced in object-oriented programming; developing, testing and debugging code; utilizing databases."

"-Quickly learn and master new technologies; proficient in a range of computer systems, languages, tools and testing methodologies."

I'm not sure what else to add to that, as it already gives off that I am trying to apply for entry level positions.

Mention projects you worked on in school or any volunteer/intern work that you did that involved programming. Throwing everything you have done creates a lot of clutter and fluff that is not relevant to the position you are applying for.

What area should I add the school project in? I think the education section makes the most sense, but I would like more feedback on that.

CenturionMario

I'm nearly done with my resume and cover letter (I also plan on having a GitHub to put some of my coding examples for employers to see), although I would like to have my cover letter reviewed. here it is:

Dear Hiring Manager,

This letter is to express my interest in regards to the Computer Programmer position with [COMPANY NAME].

I am a recent college graduate in Information Technology, and because I enjoyed the programming aspect of Information Technology so much, I spent about a year immersing myself in as many software developmental concepts as much as possible. My resume includes certifications that have been earned in various technologies and languages, such as Java, and C, including web development languages, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Although I don’t have work experience as a computer programmer, I have written various programming projects, both in school, and on my own time, to become a more powerful and versatile software developer. Being able to work for [COMPANY NAME] would allow me to show off the abilities I have gained to be a plus contributor to the bottom line for the company; it would also allow me to gain valuable experience as a software developer, which could over time help make [COMPANY NAME] even more efficient. Please see my resume for additional information on my experience.

You reach me at any time using my cell phone or e-mail. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to speaking with you about this employment opportunity.

Sincerely,

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