Need Resume Review

GeekyChick

I'm applying for a SOC job and I'm looking for some constructive criticism on my resume. Tell me what you think.

DatabaseHead

I would remove your dates from your degree. Lately I have removed skills and certifications and list all my MOOC, Books etc under professional development.

EANx

What do you mean by "eligible for DoD Secret Clearance"? Do you have one currently? Did you have one before and it went inactive? Are you hoping for one and if so, why limit it to DoD?

As a hiring manager, my biggest question would be why you left technical roles and why you want to get back into them. Your work history seems to be going backward, with technical roles early on then interning and basic office roles recently.

GeekyChick

EANx wrote: »

What do you mean by "eligible for DoD Secret Clearance"? Do you have one currently? Did you have one before and it went inactive? Are you hoping for one and if so, why limit it to DoD?

As a hiring manager, my biggest question would be why you left technical roles and why you want to get back into them. Your work history seems to be going backward, with technical roles early on then interning and basic office roles recently.

That's exactly been part of my problem with writing my resume. I left the field to stay home with my kids and now I'm returning to the tech field. Would it be good enough to explain my leave of absence in my cover letter?

I do not nor have I had Secret Clearance but our town is heavily military and I thought that would help if I mentioned that. I guess what I was getting at was I could qualify for Secret Clearance, no felonies etc. Does that make sense of should I leave it off?

EANx

A cover letter is a good place for that info. I'd suggest stating something like that you needed the job flexibility due to raising your kids but your passion has always been IT and you're looking forward to getting back to it.

Specifying a DoD clearance might tell recruiters that you aren't willing to consider clearance jobs with other agencies when DHS, DoE, DoJ and State all have positions out there (probably more). I'd suggest this is an area you should include in your cover letter, indicating a current and past lifestyle that is clean as a whistle without including details.

GeekyChick

Thank you EANx!

@DatabaseHead - thanks too. I would really like to take all the dates off. I'll start with the degree though.

scaredoftests

Explain 'leave of absence' if asked. I was kinda away from IT when my son was little as well.

GeekyChick

Yes, good advice scaredoftests. I was glad I got to spend time with my kids. I'm hoping hiring managers will see that as a positive and not a negative.

scaredoftests

Some do, some are asshats.. I had to go part-time and it was hard to find a good IT job after budget cuts had me laid off from the best part-time job that I had in IT.

EANx

The biggest thing for me is attitude. If you're brought in for an interview it's because on paper, you're close. What's the worst that can happen? You might say "get asked a question that I can't answer" but you'd be wrong, what about get every question right but still be dismissed because of a poor attitude?

If you ever go through a period where you lose several people and have to replace then, plan on spending a lot of time doing interviews and seeing a lot of attitudes. And it amazes me just how much arrogance is out there. Two things, in my opinion will set you apart:

1) Call the interviewer (or the head of the group if more than one) sir/ma'am every so often.
2) Send an email, phone call or letter thanking them for the opportunity to interview with them. Nothing else, just a thank you for the opportunity.

Every once in a while we interview someone who drops sirs and ma'ams like they're from the south and expecting their momma to be behind them with a belt and the comparison between an arrogant and entitled engineer is staggering. I have gotten precisely three "thank you for the opportunity" notes in my career and we always kept that person's info front-and-center. They might not have been right for that job but with that kind of courtesy, we wanted them somewhere. We eventually brought one on board, the other two found jobs before we could find places they would like. We get more people who casually drop f-bombs in interviews than thank us for the opportunity.

DatabaseHead

Geeky, another iteration coming up?

stryder144

As a hiring manager, I have much more respect for people who leave the field due to personal commitments than others may have. To me, that person would put the time and effort into the job, as well. Just my take.