Resume critique - Network Engineer position

thomas_

Hi Everyone,

I am looking for feedback on my resume for a Network Engineer position. I had to attach it as three different Jpeg images.

I'm never quite sure how much of my experience I should put on my resume. I usually just try to include the most relevant experience for the position I'm applying for, but I often feel my resume is inadequate.

My basic job history is that I was in the US Navy for 8 years, and then got out to go to college. I did two semesters at college before getting a part-time job at the university I attended working as a network operations technician. Then my girlfriend moved and I decided to go with her. I found a program where I could study for two semesters at a college in the state she moved to, and only have to go back this summer to finish up a capstone and two other courses.

I'm not sure if the stuff I did in the Navy is really relevant to a network engineer position. I installed and troubleshot systems that were Navy specific. Most of the repairing I did just consisted of swapping out circuit boards that went bad and sometimes the entire piece of equipment depending on what was considered to be the LRU.

Any feedback you can give me is appreciated.

Robertf969

First thing I noticed is that its three pages, make it two. List your experience as just experience, obviously its relevant if you are applying for the job. Your first bullet reads like two separate bullets. 14 months is not a lot of time resolving end user connectivity issues, if you are proficient I would drop the 14 months and let potential employers assume you have 7 years of experience. All of the equipment and punch down bullets should probably be combined into one or two strong bullets Remember when you accomplish a task it’s good to show how it helped improve the organization, I recommend the star method for bullet writing (google it). I would drop the comfortable climbing ladders (I would hope so, you run a lot of cable). I would drop the typing speed (IT people can type, you’re not applying for a data entry job).
I would turn your work experience into cause and effect bullets (Again see the STAR method). I would move your education and certifications into the same section (That’s my personal opinion, but at least put them next to each other if you don’t).
If you worked with all that equipment that you mentioned, use it in your bullets. What did you do with it? How did it help? If at all possible use units of measure 90% increase in blah blah blah. Quantify, Quantify, Quantify your experience.
It looks like you have decent skills, fix the resume and get it out there.
Good Luck,
Rob

srabiee

I agree that three pages is excessive. Your resume should be no longer than two pages.

The job history and relevant experience sections need to be combined into a comprehensive "Professional Experience" section.

Within the professional experience section, each job description should begin with a high-level overview of your daily duties and responsibilities, and then use bullets to highlight special achievements, projects, promotions, etc. I will link you to a resume that's a great example on how to format and write this properly.

I would recommend moving the Certifications section underneath the Education section.

Refrain from using personal pronouns such as "I." There are better, more academic ways to write your resume. Again, refer to the examples listed below, particularly ptilsen's resume. (which is sort of considered the golden standard on these forums)

The information within the "Networking Equipment Worked With" section should also be incorporated into the professional experience section. Instead of listing a bunch of software, technologies, and protocols like this, and I would rather you expand upon this information and explain HOW you are proficient in these skills, especially in a business/enterprise environment.

This is an excellent resume guide with example resumes, a huge list of action verbs, sample summaries, etc:

http://www.filedropper.com/resumeguide

This thread contains a fantastic example of a properly formatted and written resume (ptilsen's resume):

Resume time

I recommend making some major modifications to the resume formatting as described above, and then re-upload your resume in PDF format for further feedback. Good luck!

thomas_

Hi everyone,

I've revised my resume and uploaded it as a PDF. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

srabiee

Try to avoid using personal pronouns such as "I" "you" and "we". For example, in the sentence "I have 7 years of experience..." you could say "Possesses 7 years of experience..."

Your professional summary should be a very high-level overview of your experience and capabilities. Your existing summary has too much minute details such as "upgrading layer-2 switches" and "resolving tickets." Unless this is 100% of your job duties throughout your entire career, I would try to stick to a very high-level overview. Again, refer to ptilsen's resume as a good example of how to write this section.

Your dates should be right-aligned on the page. The alignment looks off.

You may want to include city and state for each job position.

You used "Unpacked, inventoried..." in two consecutive bullets. Try to vary your language a bit more. The thesaurus is a great tool for this.

"Made and installed..." Try to find a more academic word for "made." Again, thesaurus would be great for this type of thing. You could say "created" or "constructed," for example.

On your second job description, you begin by using the numerical digit "8" but then type out the word "three" in the next sentence. You want to be consistent in your grammar.

Under education, you don't have to say "on 4.00 scale." The reader will already know this information.
Also, the line "Anticipate Graduation Date: July 2015" can be deleted because it's redundant. You already have "July 2015 (Expected)" listed in the right margin.

Under certifications, I would remove the word "certified." It's redundant IMO.