Fruitless Job Search in Chicago

Hello guys. It's been a month now since I started looking for entry level help desk jobs here in Chicago. So far not too good. While I've managed to get in on a couple phone interviews, I'm always told in the end that I don't have any real professional experience to be considered. It's just hard to stay positive when I'm looking at the time and money I poured into getting where I am now. I had to sacrifice a lot just to get back at school and get certified. Some people are into sports, video games or whatever. I am into IT because I truly have a passion for it. Besides music (heavy metal) it's the only thing I ever do. Anyways, I would really appreciate it if you guys can take a peek at my resume. I know it can use some improvement. Thanx.

Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx

XXX-XXX-XXXX xxxx@xxxxx.com

Customer service-oriented freelance repair technician with over 5 years of practical experience in computer networking and systems. Cultivated and expanded a highly satisfied client base through word of mouth by providing professional and courteous service. Capable of articulating complex technological processes into layman's terms by utilizing a strong set of written and oral communication skills.

Certifications

Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP): Enterprise DST

03/2015

Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA): Windows 7

03/2015

Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS): Windows 7 Configuring 04/2014

Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)

04/2014

CompTIA A+ Certification

10/2015

Education

Oakton Community College, Des Plaines, Illinois

A.A.S., Computer Networking and Systems, High Honors

12/2013

Windows Server Administration Certificate

12/2012

Windows Desktop Support Technician Certificate

08/2012

Windows Support Technician Certificate

08/2012

EARIST Laboratory High School, Manila, Philippines
03/1996

Work Experience

Xxxxx Professional Services Mailroom Support Staff
10/2006 - 04/2010

Proactively maintained networked printers, plotters and fax machines. Escalated high-level issues to service technicians when necessary.

Efficiently trained customers in utilizing shipping applications from major vendors and third party alternates.

Consistently processed a minimum of 25K pieces of mail for our CVS Caremark client to surpass expected SLA's.

Xxxxxx Corporation Warehouse Team Leader
11/2000 - 09/2006

Piloted new strategies that increased productivity and reduced labor hours.

Implemented training courses for new recruits and cross-training for team members.

Recognized as “Employee of the Month” for September, 2005 by my peers and supervisors.

Subway Sandwiches Associate
08/1998 - 11/2000

Worked flexible hours including weekends and holidays.

Collaborated with managers to improve physical security.

Practiced safety at the workplace and adhered to proper working procedures.

Memberships

Chicago Computer Society

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society

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Comments

bpenn

Hey man, definitely dont get discouraged. You are only a month in to searching! I have 3.5 years of IT experience and have been searching for a new job for 8 months. Someone WILL take a chance on you, eventually. Also, since you are getting rejects for lack of experience, have you tried doing some volunteer work on the side? Might be a good way to fill that void in the meantime.

dustervoice

dont give up keep at it.. like the above post mentioned try to get into some volunteer work..

scaredoftests

Remove Subway from the resume.

coreyb80

I was in your same position just 2 years ago. When on the phone interviews sell them your willingness to learn as your passion in learning new technologies. Entry level help desk is moreso about customer service than it is the technical side of things. You can teach technical you can't really teach great customer service IMO. Keep looking and someone will take a chance on you no doubt. If you would like, I can put you in tune w/ some of the recruiters I've worked w/ in Chicago that can possibly get your placed. Blessings on the journey!

bugzy3188

Took me about 4 months to get an entry level position, not saying it will take you this long but it does take time. Focus on managed service providers, and, brace yourself, look on Craigslist for jobs. The thing about Craigslist is you often get the smaller operations which that are willing to give you a chance. My first HD gig was for a very small MSP and I got it from CL, I spent 3 years there and learned a ton, not to mention got that precious experience. I am turning down HD gigs left an right now that I have the experience.

636-555-3226

My advice is join every local and regional IT group or club that you have time for. LinkedIn might help with this. Networking is a huge help. It's a lot easier for someone to hire they already know (and hopefully like) than someone cold off of the street. Also helps to have recommendations from those people in a pinch!

scaredoftests

practice on a test server.

ratbuddy

Get 'freelance' off that summary line. No need to include high school either. Have you truly not worked since 2010?

scaredoftests

Also, take the dates off when you got your certs...

jvizmanos81

Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement. I do really need to hear that and I appreciate it a ton. I will surely heed all your advice especially the volunteer work bit and the user groups. I have free time at nights and weekends so I will check out what my alma mater has to offer first. I haven't worked since 2010 and when asked about that during interviews, I always say that when my wife graduated from nursing school and got her first nursing job, I went back to school full time while being a stay-home dad for our 2 little kids. That's all I say, but in reality it took me longer to finish school because it's just really hard to juggle kids and school. It also took me another year to get the mcsa: windows 7, that exam kicked my arse. Then we moved to a new house and that delayed me at least another 6 months working at certs. In contrast, I got the A+ a month after the dust settled. I'm not sure if that 5 year gap is hurting me the way I explain in the interviews. Anyways, I've updated my resume to reflect everyone's suggestions. I'd appreciate any feedback. Thank you

[FONT=Arial Black, sans-serif]Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx[/FONT]

XXX-XXX-XXXX xxxx@xxxxx.com

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Customer service-oriented repair technician with over 5 years of practical experience in computer networking and systems. Cultivated and expanded a highly satisfied client base through word of mouth by providing professional and courteous service. Capable of articulating complex technological processes into layman's terms by utilizing a strong set of written and oral communication skills.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial Black, sans-serif]Certifications[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP): Enterprise DST[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA): Windows 7[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS): Windows 7 Configuring [/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]CompTIA A+ Certification[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial Black, sans-serif]Education[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Oakton Community College, Des Plaines, Illinois[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]A.A.S., Computer Networking and Systems, High Honors[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]12/2013[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Windows Server Administration Certificate[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]12/2012[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Windows Desktop Support Technician Certificate[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]08/2012[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Windows Support Technician Certificate[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]08/2012[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial Black, sans-serif]Memberships[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Chicago Computer Society[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial Black, sans-serif]Work Experience[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Xxxxx Professional Services Mailroom Support Staff[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]10/2006 - 04/2010[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Proactively maintained networked printers, plotters and fax machines. Escalated high-level issues to service technicians when necessary.[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Efficiently trained customers in utilizing shipping applications from major vendors and third party alternates.[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Consistently processed a minimum of 25K pieces of mail for our CVS Caremark client to surpass expected SLA's.[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Xxxxxx Corporation Warehouse Team Leader[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]11/2000 - 09/2006[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Piloted new strategies that increased productivity and reduced labor hours.[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Implemented training courses for new recruits and cross-training for team members.[/FONT]

[FONT=Liberation Serif, serif]Recognized as “Employee of the Month” for September, 2005 by my peers and supervisors.[/FONT]

jvizmanos81

coreyb80 wrote: »

I was in your same position just 2 years ago. When on the phone interviews sell them your willingness to learn as your passion in learning new technologies. Entry level help desk is moreso about customer service than it is the technical side of things. You can teach technical you can't really teach great customer service IMO. Keep looking and someone will take a chance on you no doubt. If you would like, I can put you in tune w/ some of the recruiters I've worked w/ in Chicago that can possibly get your placed. Blessings on the journey!

Thanks I would really appreciate that. Some recruiters are good, some are just plain horrible. I had one recruiter cold-call one of my reference who got really upset and asked if I just not use him the future. After a long heartfelt apology email I got my reference back. Rookie mistake on my part, never give recruiters references until there's an offer on the table. References are so valuable.

coreyb80

jvizmanos81 wrote: »

Thanks I would really appreciate that. Some recruiters are good, some are just plain horrible. I had one recruiter cold-call one of my reference who got really upset and asked if I just not use him the future. After a long heartfelt apology email I got my reference back. Rookie mistake on my part, never give recruiters references until there's an offer on the table. References are so valuable.

Give Marianne Marino w/ the Addison Group a call @ 312-253-2152 and tell her Corey Brewer referred you. She just landed me an excellent position with a company downtown. Also give Ryan Hoesley w/ Modis a call @ 312-596-6123, good guy. Either of them should be able to locate you something. Give me a shout anytime.

jvizmanos81

Thanks Corey I will definitely call them! I appreciate it. By the way, I posted something in response to everyone's feedback but it needs moderator approval first so it hasn't shown up yet. I think it's because I re-posted my updated resume. So thanks everyone for the great advice.

gespenstern

Agree on advice to remove subway.

You have pretty impressive certs, I would tune this up a bit towards system administration level from just computer/network technician and would remove "freelance" and "repair"...

And yeah, they keep telling us how American IT doesn't have enough workforce and how we need more H1Bs and outsourcing. A capable certified admin can't land a job in Chicago!

markulous

Surprising you're not getting much with an Associate's and those certs. I'd take the resume advice these guys gave you and also try to volunteer for some work. Once you get some type of experience like that on there, companies would be foolish not to bring you in for an interview for an entry-level help desk.

techfiend

To add to what other's have mentioned:
1. I don't see how you have 5 years of experience, immediate red flag. Are you getting paid for this repair work? If so, list it in the experience as independent consultant. This whole bit doesn't belong in the summary.
2. One big thing is missing, problem solving skills,. You must be using them in your repair position, briefly explain them in your summary and possibly the new experience you add from #1.
3. The style looks pretty neat, but it may really throw off scanners. Plain and simple is highly sought after.
4. In the long run you want to put a spotlight on customer service and problem solving skills, adding some buzz terms like quick learner, great decision maker, etc. can only help.
5. Even if you add #1 you'll want to bury your experience as much as possible, thus make it a very small part of your resume. You do a good job mentioning successes, make them more impactful by adding measures like 'reduced labor hours by 50%'. HR love numbers!

Chitownjedi

Remove everything but A+ and MCSA 7 from certs.

ratbuddy

Agreed. Also, try to account for what you've been doing since graduating in 2013, or better yet, since 2010 when you are last showing work experience.