Resume Review - System/Network Administrator

inverse_one

I've been using this resume to find network/system administrator roles without much luck. Most positions are looking for 3-5 years experience in this area (Administration). Target salary (Upper Midwest) would be 81K/yr.

Here is the link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9tzvzvixUHiZjFYNWExREtoaGM/view?usp=sharing

Let me know what you think and/or what to change.

networker050184

Not a fan of the split layout. Couple suggestions:

Drop the skill section and work how you used these technologies into your experience section.

Reword your overview to lean more towards the admin side if that's what you are going for.

PCTechLinc

I'm a bit confused over the MCSE 2011 entry.

636-555-3226

Unless there's a cover letter, make sure you address the specific job requirements in your resume. generic resume is sort-of-ok if you've got a cover letter specifically targeting yourself to the job you're applying for. target, target, target. hiring people see tons of generic resumes/letters. make sure yours calls to them specifically

inverse_one

PCTechLinc wrote: »

I'm a bit confused over the MCSE 2011 entry.

Oh, probably because it's for the 2003 server line, but completed in 2011.

inverse_one

networker050184 wrote: »

Not a fan of the split layout. Couple suggestions:

Drop the skill section and work how you used these technologies into your experience section.

Reword your overview to lean more towards the admin side if that's what you are going for.

Wouldn't it be better to have the skills laid out so they don't have to spend too much time reading all the job descriptions? My goal with the one page is to make is very quick to pin point the technologies they are looking for and leave something there for then to discuss with me.

cyberguypr

Having read hundreds of resumes, I really dislike the skills laundry list. It tells me nothing about your level of experience with said skills. I may be looking for someone entry level, mid, or senior level. I need to be able to spot if you fit what I'm looking for. This goes with what was said above about tailoring the resume to whatever role you are going for. Right now this resume doesn't scream sys/network admin to me.

For example, "Cisco routers, switches, etc." Nowhere in your resume I see what exactly you've done with them. Did you just pull them out of a box and rack'em? Were you responsible for supporting/troubleshooting them? It's in your best interest to be as specific a possible so I don't have to spend too much time guessing.

gespenstern

Nitpicking: VMware instead of VMWare. vSphere instead of VSphere. These mistakes may show that you aren't very familiar with the technology, that's what I would think.

More general: try to shift from a "doer" into an "achiever" approach and throw in numbers, managers love them. For example, the one I used in my resume "slashed a number of spam e-mails in a typical user mailbox down to 0 per week from 5-7 per day on an old domain with 50 000 unsolicited e-mails per day leveraging DKIM, DNS-BL, tarpitting and graylisting techniques" or "Designed and led implementation of a vSphere virtual infrastructure that cut down a number of physical servers by 85% in under 1 year, energy consumption down by 50% and administrative support efforts down by 250 tickets per week".

They are looking for someone who can solve their specific problems so they can report to their own managers. Like "cut down costs 5% by year 2017" or "achieve PCI DSS compliance by year 2018 according to this project plan using this audit results". So you need to show them that you can achieve measurable goals in limited timeframes and therefore should use appropriate wording in your resume. Again, THROW IN NUMBERS.

inverse_one

Do any of you have example resumes that would get more attention?

inverse_one

Here is an updated resume using advise from this site and your comments here. Let me know what you think:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9tzvzvixUHiY0xRWG1LdVRSdmc/view?usp=sharing

YesOffense

Here's a good resource if you haven't visited already:

https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadminresumes/