Resume Review

Chrisbari14

Good morning,

I have compiled two resumes that I plan on using to obtain a job soon. Will be relocating to Florida. Could you guys give me the pros and cons of both resumes? Would really help!


Thanks!!!

LonerVamp

Both have bullets, so I am confused.

Just on first glance, I like the Complete Bullet Points format a little better. I would pull Experience up above Education. I would pull Certifications out of the Skills & Abilities and either make it separate or include them in another section inside Education. I initially didn't like that you mentioned some of them twice, but I get what you're trying to illustrate. You could conceivably remove the line for Related Coursework and just leave the Current line in. This lets you just list those Certs once, and also lets you keep your current studies and goals in place without seeming forced.

I'm old, so I'm a fan of an actual Objective/Summary statement at the top, rather than your Summary list. They're often cookie-cutter, copied from someone else, and short, but I at least like to see if someone can make sentences, ya know?

There's a few errant spaces in front of the text after a few bullets. Make sure those lines up. (Comptia A+, Related coursework)

For the No Bullet Points resume, the biggest problem is the style of the Certifications/Network/Hardware/Software titles being the same as the other headers. It honestly looks like you tabbed a bunch of times on them and they're an accident. Also, that sort of grouping for the technologies and things is awkward to skim.

One of the always-awkward things is making a list of Network/Hardware/Software entries and keeping it tidy, but complete. For instance, you talk about firewall rules in your experience, but nothing about firewalls or WatchGuard in the list. As long as you keep these relevant to the job details you're applying to, then whatever works. I also see mention of Active Directory in the bullets, but not in the software/network list.

edited to add: There's no real good reason for it, but IT Helpdesk Support Specialist sounds better than just Helpdesk. I also prefer to keep employment dates only as specific as the month. No real need to keep the day in.

networker050184

The summary is better as a paragraph.

I've never been a fan of the "skills" section when reading a resume. It's just a wall of words that tells me nothing. DNS? VPN? What about them? It's a bit more understandable when you don't have a lot of experience, but I'd so what you can to make it meaningful and not just filler.

For your experience I'd go with a few sentences in paragraph format explaining the position. Then use the bullets to point out projects, achievements, etc. Should be quantitive if possible as well. The bullets should be to draw attention to highlights, not list every little responsibility.

EANx

Both would end up in my trash. I'm not sure how you can say "no bullet points" when it seems all you did was replace bullets with dashes in some areas but still left 18 bullets just under the one job you list. Someone with less than three jobs should have a single-page resume. IT people like to use lots of words, get used to being brief.

Compress the education and drop it to the bottom. I see you're trying to slip past the BS requirement and you can bet a lot of people will see it as well. In fact, people who will give you credit for working on it will **** your resume for trying to be sneaky. IMO, it should be two lines:

Bachelors of Science: In progress (maybe add projected finish date)
Assoc of Applied Science: 2015

Get rid of the "skills and abilities section". Too often these are a section of "things I have touched before". This tells me nothing of your skill level with the thing you list and is a waste of space. Combine certs with education at the bottom.

You have one job, make it count:

Company X: May 2015 to present

Para 1

Para 2

Maybe Para 3 if you have space

Phrases like "Essential piece for daily tasks for small IT team" are a lot of fluff. As a hiring manager, I want to know what you did and what you're capable of. You worked with Windows 7/8/10, don't spell it out for each version.

yoba222

In the first one, the objective section doesn't actually state an objective.

Also not a fan of the certs in progress. Isn't a Linux+ and the LPIC1 basically the same thing? Isn't Windows 7 going EOL in 2 years? Since they're "in progress" may as well throw in PMP, MCSE, MBA, and CISSP in too.

scaredoftests

UGH, the Bullets!!!! NOOO. Get rid of skills and abilities. Move certs and education to the end of your resume. WRITE a brief summary for each of your jobs.

PocketLumberjack

Setup a meeting with the Career Center at WGU, they are very helpful with resume reviews too.