Resume Critique for Entry-Level Networking Job

Mpstyler

Hey everyone. Beginner in IT Career here. I'm Network+, Security+ and Linux+ certified and just received my CCENT two weeks ago, but I only have 3 months IT experience at a NOC (May-July). It was an internship of sorts and I learned a lot about a large network infrastructure (Class B Network) and how things work on the inside, but they let me go because they wanted someone with more experience.

I'm stuck in the unemployment world again and have been using my free time to work on my resume and study for the ICND2 and receive my CCNA. I've been using GNS3 to emulate a virtual network and get good hands on with Cisco IOS and am fairly confident I'll have my CCNA by mid-September so that I can put it on my resume.

I wasn't impressed with the look and layout of my old resume and wanted to make it cleaner and easier to read at a glance. Below are links to the old and new. I deliberately left out months of employment on the new resume because I thought it better to talk about it in an interview than to be shot down at first glance. Let me know if you think I have the right idea. Feel free to pick apart as you will. Thanks.

Old: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pvcUpWhkQ3FLAh831Iz2Vy2SRtHVXwKRqQgvqMO-pRY

New: https://www.docdroid.net/847tCk5/fakeresume2.docx.html

networker050184

Ditch the logos. Super cheesy in my opinion.

Usually not a fan of the "Core Competencies" type section, but with only a related internship it makes sense to me.

Same with the separate lists for experience and past employment. I'd probably swap the order though.

What do you mean by Class B network? Like a /16 or something? If so leave that out.

PJ_Sneakers

Try putting your experience underneath the different positions for which they apply. Surely, you did not do the exact same things each separate position.

Mpstyler

PJ_Sneakers wrote: »

Try putting your experience underneath the different positions for which they apply. Surely, you did not do the exact same things each separate position.

In the effort to try and keep it one page, I figured adding a "related and relevant experience" section that would encompass only actual IT work would be ideal. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to put so much for IT related work.

PJ_Sneakers

Mpstyler wrote: »

In the effort to try and keep it one page, I figured adding a "related and relevant experience" section that would encompass only actual IT work would be ideal. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to put so much for IT related work.

Well, you can leave out the non-IT stuff if you want to. You don't HAVE to have it in there. I don't list Barnes & Noble and Taco Bell on my resume even though I worked at those places. If you're worried about space, take out the competencies section like networker said. People looking at the resume are going to want to know what you did and where you did it.

ccie14023

Agreed that the experience should go under the job. I would put as much under the relevant job as possible, and list maybe your prior two positions before that. I have read hundreds of resumes (including as an interviewer at Cisco), trust me I don't care that much that you were a waiter somewhere. I know listing your experience at the bottom "hides" the fact that your other jobs weren't relevant, but anyone who looks at your resume for two seconds will realize that anyways. Core competencies is fine. I would get rid of verbs like "assisted" or "aided". Yeah, you assisted with installing the phones, but if you touched the things then the verb should be "installed." Don't minimize what you've done. I don't see anything on hands-on configuration of network devices. I'd like to see that if you've actually done it. But since you are looking for entry-level, if you don't have it then fine. Go with what you have. One personal irk: all networks are classless now, I much prefer it if someone refers to a class B network as a /16. I wish they'd stop teaching CCENT guys about network classes when it hasn't been relevant for years. Just my humble thoughts.

Mpstyler

ccie14023 wrote: »

Agreed that the experience should go under the job. I would put as much under the relevant job as possible, and list maybe your prior two positions before that. I have read hundreds of resumes (including as an interviewer at Cisco), trust me I don't care that much that you were a waiter somewhere. I know listing your experience at the bottom "hides" the fact that your other jobs weren't relevant, but anyone who looks at your resume for two seconds will realize that anyways. Core competencies is fine. I would get rid of verbs like "assisted" or "aided". Yeah, you assisted with installing the phones, but if you touched the things then the verb should be "installed." Don't minimize what you've done. I don't see anything on hands-on configuration of network devices. I'd like to see that if you've actually done it. But since you are looking for entry-level, if you don't have it then fine. Go with what you have. One personal irk: all networks are classless now, I much prefer it if someone refers to a class B network as a /16. I wish they'd stop teaching CCENT guys about network classes when it hasn't been relevant for years. Just my humble thoughts.

Thanks for the tips. Went back and removed the "assisted" and "aided" language and used more direct language.

I have no hands-on with physical network devices at a job, but like I said up top, I'm using GNS3 with 8 hours of labs to emulate live cisco routers and switches and that will be actual experience, though not in a production environment. I'd like to leverage that and I think putting that under related experience once I receive my CCNA might look good.

Anyone have thoughts on this?

CIO

I would probably use a more professional email...something like first.last name @ gmail

Mpstyler

CIO wrote: »

I would probably use a more professional email...something like first.last name @ gmail

Yeah, that's just a bogus email address I came up with for the forums. My real email address uses my first and last name

Any other suggestions before I send it off?

drewbert87

Yes one thing I saw, CCENT is "Cisco Certified Entry Network Technician" not "Cisco Certified Entry Level Technician". Maybe splitting hairs but the acronym won't line up, it's an attention to detail thing.