Circuit City Firedog

pLuhhmm

Ok I have an interview with Firedog tomorrow anyone work there or has? If so what should I expect from the interview and what if im hired. thx

sharptech

I never worked for Firedog, however I did work for Circuit City years ago.

Some advice - wear a suit if you have one - I know its Circuit City, however when I went in for my interview - there were 4 candidates including me and I was the only one w/ a suit and I got the job (not saying that was the only reason, but it helped!)

Expect questions that have to do your IT experience etc.. - bring a resume or two in case the person interviewing does not have one, bring some questions to ask - when they ask you do you have any - you will be prepared.

Other than that you should be good to go.

kriscamaro68

Well I worked there about 1 year ago and when I was interviewed they asked me alot of situation questions. If a customer comes in and is angry with the service they had what do you do, that type of stuff. Also the person who interviews you will not know crap about computers most likely so be prepaired for that. Also you will be asked if you feel comfortable selling. Even though you think its a tech job you are required to sell and they push it big time. That is why I hated working there and left. Now I work for a big company and never have to deal with that crap again. The one thing that I didnt take advantage of while I worked there and regret it now is this: They pay for you to get your MCP 70-270. They supply the materials and pay for the cert so get it before you leave dont pass that up. Good luck. OK so never mind you already have yours. They will also pay for the vista cert which is the 70-620 i think so take advantage of that instead.

pLuhhmm

Ok heres the resume I plan on taking could you tell me what you think?

http://img403.imageshack.us/my.php?image=resumep1fh6.png
http://img508.imageshack.us/my.php?image=resumep2bf5.png

the education park screwed up for some reason but w/e its normal on print.

dynamik

No mobile number? Aww

No prank calls to you tonight, I guess.

You need to fix your objective to say something about what you want to be doing on a day-to-day basis there. Right now it just sounds like, "My objective is to use you as a stepping stone for a real job." That might not go over so well.

You might want to put certifications in their own section. I don't think dates or locations matter for those (I could be mistaken on this). I just think that makes it look unnecessarily complicated and busy.

For your skills, replace "Beginner" with n00b. That'd be funny.

Is the ability to speak English not assumed? That seems out of place, but it might be appropriate depending on your area.

The certs listed in the additional info area seem redundant.

Is being elected to the home coming court something that would impress an employer? I don't know if I'd list certs-in-progress either. Short-term goals like that seem to be unworthy of mention. You should try to keep it to one page if at all possible.

Is your desired job title really "Computers," or did something get cut off?

The summary section also seems a bit redundant. It's only about one page of content, so it shouldn't need another half-page summary.

It's good overall, and those are just my opinions. You just need to tweak some things. Mine is simply objective, summary, education, and work experience. My summary section is actually a summary of my skills, not the resume. I need to add a certs section though. I haven't updated it since I started obtaining those.

pLuhhmm

lol, well its just monsters set-up, and Ive been told the home coming court thing shows that im sociable or w/e idk, the computers thing was a error! thanks for catching it, also do plan on using them as my tool!!!! but i guess i cant tell them that -_- and i would hope that they would figure on english being my main lang... thanks for your opinion.

This is my first job interview for anything so....

pLuhhmm

Also Id like to know if I should keep the home coming court in there or not, opinions welcomed

Daniel333

It's Firedog, entry level. No reason to mention Servers or anything of the like. It's not like your experience level with them in mentionable. And if it was, it would hurt you as they would expect that you would quit soon if they hired you, so they wouldn't.

Firedog is thinking, "intermediate computer skills, home audio skills, customer service and budget". So your resume needs to cater to their desires.

I dunno man, that resume is hurting. Get it to under one page and list your certifications in a cleaner fashion. Line by line would be better.

I don't know man, I am not gonna spend the next hour rewriting it. But goto a few web sites and see what others have done. Focus on your XP, Vista and Network+ knowledge. Ditch all the "seeking" stuff.

Best of luck!


edit:

"Also Id like to know if I should keep the home coming court in there or not, opinions welcomed"
Ditch it! GF who is a hiring manager said "that is just bad"

astorrs

For Objective (I hate these on resumes, but since you're just starting out) make it something like
"Dedicated Microsoft Certified Professional seeking an entry-level position as an IT Technican"

Under Education->Certification, I would combine the two training center entries together (2 months in between doesn't matter in my opinion) and clearly list the 3 certifications you received there (one per line).

Under the Skills section, loose the ones you have no experience with

Drop the Languages section

Drop the Additional Information section

Drop the entire Target Job/Target Company section

It should fit on one page (but remember white space is still important)

pLuhhmm

Ok new resume check it out. Thanks for the opinions. more are welcome!

http://img135.imageshack.us/my.php?image=resumezn4.jpg

pLuhhmm

Heres a few questions I plan on asking since quite a few sites have said to ask some so here they are.

What are the daily responsibilities of this job?
What do you guys fell about certifications? - if someone could rephrase that for me thatd be cool.
Are there any career paths in this department?

astorrs

Loose the skills you don't have (Mac, Novell, etc).

When do you finish the MCTS and CompTIA training/certs?

astorrs

pLuhhmm wrote:

Heres a few questions I plan on asking since quite a few sites have said to ask some so here they are.

What are the daily responsibilities of this job?
What do you guys fell about certifications? - if someone could rephrase that for me thatd be cool.
Are there any career paths in this department?

Putting a different light on them:

Can you tell me what an average day might look like in this job?

Do you encourage employees to achieve further certifications? If so, what kinds of certifications do you usually recommend they pursue? Do you help with the costs of the exams/training materials?

What kinds of opportunities for advancement within the company would be available to someone like me?

pLuhhmm

Do you guys think under skills I should put like, Router Configuration since its firedog?

astorrs

What kinds of routers have you actually configured/setup? Don't go overboard, be honest about your experience levels. You have the interview, so you have a foot in the door, use that time to communicate about those kinds of things.

dynamik

I think you should find out specifically what they focus on and tailor your resume to that. Instead of all the Mac/*nix/etc. stuff, put spyware removal and other tasks that they're going to expect of you. If they do router configs for people, put it on there. You're supposed to be showing how you'll fit in and be a good employee.

pLuhhmm

Yea thanks.

pLuhhmm

well aparently when you apply for firedog you apply for all of circuit city -_-, after the interview the guy told me there were no openings with firedog but there are with sales so i guess ill be sellin stuff... and the guy acted wierd when i handed him my resume as well... thanks for your help. maybe geek squad would like someone that knows how to use a computer -_-.....

networker050184

You probably shouldn't list a skill and then put last used as never. How is it one of your skills if you have never used it?

Like others have stated fill it with stuff that you have experience with that is relative to the position.

pLuhhmm

because Ive studied it....and my final resume isnt posted.

networker050184

Just leave off the last used part. I would also replace the objective with a more detailed summary of skills followed by an education section since you do not have work experience.

undomiel

Ok, first off I would recommend ditching the Objective. It is wasted space. Move your skills up to the top. Also take off the Skill Level and Last Used parts, that is irrelevant. If you have a skill on your resume then they can assume you know how to utilize it. In the interview they'll gauge your level. Education move to the bottom and just change it to school names and dates. I'd recommend changing partaking to undertaking. Take off the exam you tested with and just put MCP Microsoft Certified Professional. Now, you should have lots of room on your resume. Start expanding on your skills. You should certainly have more skills than just operating systems. Expand on some of your networking skills, your hardware skills. Have you volunteered anywhere? Have you done any contracting? Fill that page with your skills and ways that you have used them to accomplish great things for people.

pLuhhmm

ok before anyone keeps commenting on the old resume ill just post the new one.

pLuhhmm

http://img102.imageshack.us/my.php?image=resume3dq7.jpg

undomiel

I stand by what I said earlier. Also I'd move the certifications and works in progress into the education section.

Talic

From what I've seen working at circuit city as a computer sales person, they mostly just hang around their bench, repair peoples computers, do computer services on new computers (install anti-malware, do their optimization) and do any services for customers over the phone (telling them how to set up their home router comes to mind).

I learned this the hard ware: they don't hire anyone that hasn't done sales to be a firedog tech, they always bring someone from within the company to do it. And usually the one thats been selling the computers the longest gets first dibs on it. I also think qualifications don't matter either, just how long you've been there.

pLuhhmm

well thats "****" i need a job and im being made to get one but i dont wonna work at fastfood i wanna try and get some background in computers whether it be firedog or a local service store ):

drainey

Hey a job's a good thing. It's nice to be self-sufficent (or as much as possible).

Looking at your resume as a potential employeer I find myself asking questions that leave me unsure about hiring you.

1. You list GASC: MCTS Vista Config. & CompTIA Network+ training Cert. What exactly do you mean by that? Are you MCTS:Vista config and Network+ certified or did you just go to training for them?
If it's just training then make that more clear. I'd list it under education. Something like the following:

9/2006 - 6/2008 Genesee Area Skills Center Microsoft and CompTIA certification training.

Leave off the location as it's not relevant. For the high school also. You don't need to list what certifications you received training for, they'll ask if they want to know.

2. You list your MCP as addition info, why? Do you not consider it important? It's very easy to miss in it's current location.

I'd add a section called Certications and list your MCP there. Then as you achieve more it's easier to add them and they stand out more as well. Also many HR personel just scan resumes looking for key words and Certs are high on the list so this makes it easier for them to spot and helps ensure your resume ends up in the keep pile.

As you only have the one cert I'd go ahead and list which area you are certfied in.

e.g.

Certifications:
Microsoft Certified Professional: Windows XP Professional

3. As everyone else said you definitely should move your skills section higher and leave off the skill/experience level or incorporate them into the skill definition itself.

For example:

Skills:
Highly skilled in Hardware and Microsoft Operating System installation. As well as Software installation, Wireless network setup and configuration and Xbox/Wii setup and configuration to include wired and wireless networking. I am also skilled in Malware removal and knowledgable of Windows server 2003 and some Linux.

Otherwise just list your skills by themselves. As posted earlier, the inteviewer will ask questions to gauge your level of skill with what they're looking for. You want to sell yourself and your current format tends to do the opposite.


4. Again a repeat of a theme but move the Education section below the skills section.


I'd recommend a similar format:

Objective: (can be left off but helps as your resume is missing valuable work history due to being new)

Certifications:

Skills:

Work History: anything is better than nothing if you have some to list. List any volunteer work if you have it (if not try to get some).

Education:


This way your certification and skills stand out more and are seen right away. Otherwise it's very easy to miss your MCP certification and get distracted by the skills area. Things that'll get your resume tossed quickly. Most HR people spend 30 seconds or less looking at a resume on the average unless it grabs their attention. So you need to make sure yours grabs their attention. Also double check for Spelling and Gramatical errors (not that you have any), and formatting. As the presence of such easily fixed errors tend to make a bad impression.


Hope all that helps. And keep appling for computer related jobs as they come open you'll get your break eventually.

nicklauscombs

I would take off the linux and windows server 2003 mainly because it has nothing to do with firedog but also it seems you dont have any real experience with it

jamesp1983

You should def change that objective.

Mmartin_47

Well I had my interview today. Took 15 minutes. Asked me 2 technical questions and told me it was 70% sales and 30% actually repairing PC's. =(