Resume Help. CCNP/CCNA/OSCP 4 months Internship.

moses zhang

- I am not a CS/IT major student(Math major instead). I have already got my CCNP/CCNA certs, and will get OSCP(Offensive Security Certified Professional) this month.

- In the last 4 months, we worked as an Network Engineering Intern at the State Grid Corporation of China. But other than that, I have no more experience in the field.

- I am graduating from Rutgers this fall, so really hope I can find a job soon. Until now, I have got any call back yet. So I did some modifications on my resume, and please, any advice would be valuable.

- You can see my resume from the following link:


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6XeEoL0AqGMWmlESWIwaDBKc00/view?usp=sharing

BradleyHU

One thing i would suggest is to apply NOW for the graduate programs @ firms that start in Dec/Jan. Look for those type of programs that have a networking program for new grads.

moses zhang

Hi Bradley, do you know which kind of firms should i apply for? I found only big companies have new graduate programs, and most of them are open to software engineers.

BradleyHU

Couldn't tell you off hand...i just know that they're out there. You got to do some digging around to find them. Also, check with your career center @ Rutgers, and see if they can get you some interviews with some firms that have that type of program.

broli720

The qualifications are there so it must be your resume. After taking a look it does need a bit of work. Diction and soft skills are key if you want to differentiate yourself from the pack. I suggest that you subscribe to a resume service. They will ask for sample job descriptions and and tailor your resume to that field. The language in there at the moment just seems a little too basic in my opinion.

These resume services are fairly inexpensive ($50-100) but worth it to get a nice template. Once you do that I'm sure you'll get calls back. At that point it's up to you to sell yourself.

doctorlexus

I think your academic qualifications mixed with your limited experience will turn a lot of employers off. Your degree and certifications are more of what a company would expect in somewhat intermediate or senior level, yet your experience is along the lines of entry level.

Without the experience, you won't be considered for intermediate/senior level jobs. But at the same time your credentials are going to make employers nervous about hiring you for an entry level job. They'll see you as someone that's going to leave very fast, and thus they won't want to invest training time in you.

My suggestion is strip off some of those credentials for now. At the very least, lose the CCNP and the OSCP from the resume, and probably lose the History degree as well. Just say you have a Bachelors in math and a CCNA. Those credentials, coupled with your 4 months experience, should put you in the running for a good entry level job.

broli720

doctorlexus wrote: »

I think your academic qualifications mixed with your limited experience will turn a lot of employers off. Your degree and certifications are more of what a company would expect in somewhat intermediate or senior level, yet your experience is along the lines of entry level.

Without the experience, you won't be considered for intermediate/senior level jobs. But at the same time your credentials are going to make employers nervous about hiring you for an entry level job. They'll see you as someone that's going to leave very fast, and thus they won't want to invest training time in you.

My suggestion is strip off some of those credentials for now. At the very least, lose the CCNP and the OSCP from the resume, and probably lose the History degree as well. Just say you have a Bachelors in math and a CCNA. Those credentials, coupled with your 4 months experience, should put you in the running for a good entry level job.

I completely disagree with this. He earned the credentials and if he can back it up with the knowledge then why should he leave it off his resume? And I think you give some senior roles way too much credit. It's not how long you've worked but how productive you are. Age means nothing. If you can produce then they will hire you and pay you what the market rate is for your skill set.

I never understood the "you need to start from the bottom" mentality that some people display on this forum. Some need to while others don't. It all depends on the person and circumstances.

doctorlexus

broli720 wrote: »

He earned the credentials and if he can back it up with the knowledge then why should he leave it off his resume?

Because as he said, he's not getting any calls. I doubt it's simply a resume format issue.

nikalis

I would say include your ccnp if you are actually able to demonstrate the WAN skills involved, this really opens you up to obtaining a Jr systems/network admin/engineer position vs with the ccna your mostly likely going to have to start at helpdesk/noc

maybe have two resumes to send out, tailor one to lower level and one to higher level that is maybe out of reach but worth a shot

mistabrumley89

Remove the pictures. Make the summary a summary, not bullet points. Restructure the bullets in your job description. Instead of saying 'switchers', I would probably go with 'switches'. If you are going to have lines breaking up your resume make them black, not blue. Skills & Expertise... I would probably redo this section. Do you have an expertise in Penetration testing with 0 experience in the field? Maybe move some of the more specific things you have worked with, trying to hit vast keywords like... IOS-XR/XE, NX-OS, OSPF, BGP, MPLS, etc... List technologies you are good with. Personally, I would apply for an internship. Many companies offer new-graduate internships if you have less than a year of school left.

The list goes on.

I also wouldn't do what 'doctorlexus' said above.

nikalis

Do you have 50 bucks? find a fiverr gig to format the resume and do basic editing. Well worth it. Then edit yourself again.

Need better skills, be specific it will help get past hr filters


Also not to cloud the thread but i need to know. how could a firewall work at layer 2, filtering frames doesn't seem correct to me? like theoretically it could work. In this case would it just be like a l3 switch in that it can switch and route?

mistabrumley89

nikalis wrote: »

how could a firewall work at layer 2, filtering frames doesn't seem correct to me?

MAC Filter.......?

NetworkNewb

those lines and pictures in the resume look horrible... And would pretty much remove the "Skills & Expertise & Languages" section. I don't even know what "Multimedia Deskhelping" and "Research Writing" mean.

I also don't care for the whole "Summary" section either.

And are you listing OSCP on your resume before you actually passed it?

moses zhang

Thanks, Bradley. You are right, I should try career services earlier.

alias454

Definitely **** the icons as it looks more like a sales flyer for some podunk pc repair shop. Double major in History and Mathematics is super impressive to me but will that scare off people thinking you are nothing but an egghead with no social skills? I dunno.

goatama

So I'm seeing two degrees in progress, and while you have a CCNP, you got it barely six months after your CCNA, and your OSCP (maybe) a month later. To me that screams test ****. Although you still haven't passed the OSCP, and with that one the proof is in the pudding. If you legitimately get that cert, then you most likely know some of you are doing.

Maybe focus on something? With your CCNP, it might make sense to focus more on networking jobs. If so, maybe leave the OSCP and pentesting "expertise" off?

Sheiko37

That's a good point. How in the hell are you completing two bachelor degrees (not relating to IT), and at the same time, in the span of 6 months you've got two CISCO certifications and the OSCP??

moses zhang

hi broli720, thanks! after reading the comments, i do found my words are not that nature. i will try resume service.

moses zhang

hi doctorlexus, thanks. 4 months internship do gave me some hand on experience, but overall, i dont think i am capable of doing senior jobs all by my own. I would probably try two different resumes.

doctorlexus

moses zhang wrote: »

hi doctorlexus, thanks. 4 months internship do gave me some hand on experience, but overall, i dont think i am capable of doing senior jobs all by my own. I would probably try two different resumes.

Two resumes is a good idea. While I don't have advanced certifications yet, I do have two math degrees and previously used to teach university math. I found once I removed my degrees and teaching jobs, I got a lot more replies for IT job offers.

moses zhang

nikalis, thanks. You are right, i would make two resumes, and also try resume service. during my internship, most of my works are still pretty basic (assigning/ reassigning address, check configuration, make config copies). configurations those concern bgp mpls-vpn, i do know how they are employed on company's network, but there is rarely any serious work, such as trouble shooting (which is my master's job, i just stand aside and watch).

moses zhang

that is really interesting, i will keep it in mind. so you also went into IT after graduated with a math degree?

NetworkNewb

Getting your CCNA, CCNP, and OSCP within a 7 month time frame while going for 2 Bachelors degrees and only having a 4 month internship as experience is pretty impressive btw.

And by impressive I mean crazy impressive. And by crazy impressive I mean unbelievable. And by unbelievable I mean I actually don't believe it. But hopefully you didn't use **** and your just a lot smart than I!

moses zhang

I dont have some deep knowledge on firewall so far. but based on what i did, you dont have to do too much on a second layer firewall, most jobs are simply applying policies from a remote terminal. and those tasks were assigned directly from up level, which means we apply policy after received task email from up level IT department. and also, the up level departments are responsible for maintaining layer 3 firewalls.

moses zhang

ip/ports filters, every similar to access list.

moses zhang

hi networknewb, i made some changes on my resume, and uploaded it to the forum. hopefully i will get my ospf exam passed this month. the resume is more like an ideal one that i would like to use in the future.

moses zhang

i dont think i am a smart guy. i would have chose a CS major if i am smart. i began to realize it is hard to find a job for a math major some two years ago (history major is more like a hobby). so i began to study ccna/ccnp/programming by myself from that time. programming studying didn't go well, whereas ccna/ccnp went quite good (i failed my first ccna).

taking oscp training is because it is hard to decide a career path for me right now. cyber security maybe a hot spot in near future, and network engineering is going down. i am an international student, so i have to find a job before graduation, one more option is always good (though i do found oscp and ccna/ccnp are two completely different things).

moses zhang

hi alias, you are right, i may take the history major off.

moses zhang

hi, goatama, oscp is a 3 month training + 3 month exam preparing process. so i began my study at the every beginning of the year, and still haven't got it. ospf is more like a mixing bowl, they just put linux(big part), sql, jave/c, python/ruby all together. you dont have to reach really deep on every topic, the essence is to be completely familiar with the environment. overall, it is hard. and you you can try as many times as you want to pass it.

moses zhang

hi sheiko, i began the preparation of ccna/ccnp like two years ago, and i do failed my first ccna. hopefully i would pass oscp this month.
college education, in my opinion, is easier than studying cisco techs and cyber security (it is all about getting enough time on it). i know some math/cs double major at rutgers, they are the beasts.

moses zhang

Hi mistabrumley89, i was thinking about putting technologies like BGP MPLS-VPN, OSPF, VRRP, MSTP on it. But the networks that i worked with is a completed structure, i was not there when they implements those techs, can i say i have expertise on them if my daily job only touched some surfaces of those techs?