Ways to get entry level jobs?

I am in the Topeka , Ks area and I am having a very hard time finding entry level work. I attended a school in the Kansas City area and I have a couple certs but I can't seem to find work in my area.

I apply for everything I see on the job websites , I have dumped off resumes on all the local shops a couple times , and I watch the websites for the big companies here.

The school helps people get jobs but they are all over an hour away from me. Any suggestions?

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Comments

sprkymrk

Are you getting any call backs on your resume? Some people have posted their resume here for suggestions on making it look better.

druid318

Here it is minus my header. I have gotten a couple of interviews but they are few and far between.

Education:
Centriq Foss Training Leawood Ks
MCSA Career Track 8/06 to 4/07

Certifications:
MCP (70-270) Windows XP Professional Aug 29, 2007
Comptia A+ Certified Professional Dec 28, 2006
Comptia Network+ Certified Professional May 23, 2007
Dell Foundation 2007 Desktops July 30, 2007
Dell Foundation 2007 Portables July 30, 2007
Dell Customer Experience V.2.5 July 26, 2007

Experience:
Henry Industries Topeka, KS
Independent Contractor 07/03 to 10/06
Held contracts with Henry Industries Courier Network
Delivered pharmaceuticals and time sensitive materials
Planned and implemented delivery routes

Home Depot Topeka, KS
Associate 04/03 to 06/03
Customer Service
Ran a cash register

Wood Oil Ottawa, KS
Cashier 11/01 to 11/02
Customer Service
Ran a cash register

Tenth Street Medical Supply Co. Topeka, Ks
Technician 10/00 to 11/01
U.S. Rehab Certified wheelchair technician
Installed and repaired mobility equipment

druid318

Tear it up guys. This is the bulleted format that the school told us was best to use. The bullets didn't show up though so I guess use your imagination.

ajs1976

Under education, did you get a degree, certificate, etc? What was the date of completation?

druid318

The date is on there, there is no degree , just some silly certificate.

I hope to finish my mcsa within the month , but I don't know if thats realistic.

empc4000xl

Did you even list the job that you were looking for on here? You have to put down a objective of employment that you want. Then you can find the jobs that you were looking for and match what they are looking for to a resume that you will talior make for the job that you want. Generic resume's don't work as much anymore unless you got some hot skills(CCVP/Security). For work experience you have "ran a cash register" hmmmm. You gonna have to find a better way to say it without the slang. For your other jobs you put down what you did, but what did it result in? You have to have some impact to what your job did for the company and people. I would also change the order to something like this

-Objective of employment

-skills you have that match the job you are looking for.

-Previous employment(tighten yours up and add impact statements to it)

-Other traning and education you received.

druid318

I had this as my objective statement , but I recently took it off to see if that would help.

Objective: To obtain an entry level position in the IT field

I'm not real sure what kind of impact statement I can use for being a cashier.

ajs1976

I use this format for the education section on my resume

EDUCATION
Community College of Allegheny County (in Bold), Pittsburgh, PA May 2004
Associates in Science (in Italics), Network Administration

the completion date is on the same line as the school but over towards the right margin.

I usually do not list the dates that I completed certifications or exams.

sprkymrk

Maybe just me, and someone else can offer an opinon too, but on the Certifications section you might want to leave off the dates, as they give away your lack of experience. Also, the Dell Certs are next to worthless, so it may look like filler for a newbie.

Any way to put a better slant on your previous employment than "ran a cash register"?

druid318

The dell certs are filler. I planned to take them off once I got my mcsa done , think I should just **** them now?

Good point on the dates , I never thought about it that way.

I could use:

Operated a cash register

Not so sure that looks much better. Those jobs were pud. One was a gas station , the other is of course home depot.

Is the job for henry industries confusing ? I was a contract courier but no one seems to know what a Courier is anymore...

druid318

Henry Industries Topeka, KS
Courier 07/03 to 10/06
Delivered pharmaceuticals and time sensitive materials
Planned and implemented delivery routes

Home Depot Topeka, KS
Associate 04/03 to 06/03
Customer Service
Operated a cash register

does that look any better?

Netstudent

HOw about Implemented a Point of Sale system.

Did you have to run reports or was anything electronic? Did you do electronic inventory? try to polish everything you do and talk it up a little bit.

Darthn3ss

if he was a cashier at homedepot, chances are he didni't implement a point of sales system, he just scanned barcodes and gave change

BeaverC32

I don't know about "implemented" a POS system...doesn't sound like he installed, configured, or otherwise setup the registers.

I do agree that the resume comes off as somewhat bland, though. One thing that helped me when I first started looking for a job was to describe specific classes that were part of my degree. For example, UNIX programming, Project Management, etc. Not only does that provide a clearer picture of your education, but it also serves as a good topic of conversation during an interview.
Good luck!

Netstudent

Ya, maybe he did maybe he didn't, I don't really know. I was trying to offer a suggestion to make his resume look a little more technical.

druid318

Home depot was exactly as described. Scan the barcode and make change. I did some inventory and such at the gas station though, guess I should add that in there.

sprkymrk

druid318 wrote:

Henry Industries Topeka, KS
Courier 07/03 to 10/06
Delivered pharmaceuticals and time sensitive materials
Planned and implemented delivery routes

Home Depot Topeka, KS
Associate 04/03 to 06/03
Customer Service
Operated a cash register

does that look any better?

How about leave off the cash register thing altogether?

Home Depot Topeka, KS
Associate 04/03 to 06/03
Customer Service

Actually, I just noticed, did you only work there 2 months back in 2003? Might not even include it. Just put something about customer service experience in a skills section? Not sure...

leefdaddy

If it were me I wouldn't put those jobs on a technical resume at all.... I'd rather talk about my experience in a home lab then running a register at home depot for 3 months.

druid318

Yeah , I only worked there a couple of months. That place is horid. I didn't make enough money to pay bills and they wouldn't leave me on one shift so I couldn't work a second job.

SamCarter

You might want to add an "OTHER" section after your certifications that lists your computer-related hobbies. Some people might consider it fluff, but with little experience I think it shows that you have the initiative to learn on your own. Something like this:

OTHER
- Set up home test network consisting of Windows Server 2003 along with four Windows XP clients and one Windows Vista client.
- Regularly handle PC hardware and software issues for friends and family including hardware installation/replacement, software installation/updates, and virus/malware removal.