A Much Needed Update.

djfunz

So after wiping all the dust off my resume and reading some of the advice posted here I have my rough draft ready for critique. I think the original format I had was from 8 years ago. It's amazing how old an 8 year old format can look. Well needless to say, I updated that as well. Plus a career change can make things difficult as well given the lack of experience, certificates and a college degree higher than an Associates. Have a look and feel free to critique.

reppgoa

My first reaction when I opened the resume, before even reading it, was "meh". Its boring. There is nothing that pops out at me. You should definitely work on getting it down to one page if possible. I think that you could easily do it with the information you have on there. This is cursory information, I really just glanced. Hope it helps

aordal

I think the 1 page requirement is old and outdated. I would say put anything you actually want someone to read on the the first page. Then fill in another page or two on employment history, projects and thinks of that nature.

But I do agree it doesn't "pop" out at me.

BradleyHU

reppgoa wrote: »

My first reaction when I opened the resume, before even reading it, was "meh". Its boring. There is nothing that pops out at me. You should definitely work on getting it down to one page if possible. I think that you could easily do it with the information you have on there. This is cursory information, I really just glanced. Hope it helps

yeah, i was like "blah" also...i more info on your current position now can be added. Also, put months, not just the years.

djfunz

Ok, three blahs definitely bring mediocre to mind. Outside of fluorescent highlights and shiny backgrounds with stickers, what are some snazzy recommendations to spruce it up a bit and make it "pop" out?

Stotic

There doesn't seem to be enough meat. I agree that a summary statement is just useless and most people will glance over it. I'm going to be be pretty mean to you so just bare with me.

You should go into more depth on your bullet points. Hands on experience with Cisco? What does that mean?

"Excellent with troubleshooting, upgrading and configuring hardware and software" Vague and generic

"Creating and translating easy to understand documentation of company software from German to English" Are you a translator or an IT person? No one cares about that.

Replace "Created and managed company standards" with Engineered new technical standards and protocols

"Excelled in renderings and animations for presentations to clients" Take out excelled and rephrase/be more specific here. Of course you excelled at it (you mentioned it on your resume)

"Determined and solved various IT issues" This is just ugly - take it out

"Awards for perfect attendance" and GPA 3.5 - take these out. You're 8 years removed from college.

You should be more specific in your resume. If you're applying for a technical position, potential employers want to see examples of specific technical skills and how you applied them. List various projects you've been involved with.

Also, get it onto one page (lower font size)

djfunz

Thanks for the warning and honest critique Stotic. It's appreciated and I'm going to use your suggestions and update the resume right now. As you can probably see, the internship I currently have is the only real experience I've gained as a systems admin. I've been there 6 months and none of the admins have given me any access rights yet or any real big projects. My previous position was a drafter for an architectural firm, that's why although probably irrelevant, is also listed.

Lets see I've:

Imaged computers
Installed hardware and software
Worked a little with DNS and DHCP to configure and setup a few printers. Uploaded drivers to iPrint to make user installation easier.
Remote connected to users using Novell ZenWorks Browser
Looked at Novell Console One to see our tree system.
Imaged barcode scanners.
Patched a few ports on the Cisco switches.
Worked with the ticket system HP Openview.
Document creation and translation.
Studying Linux+ in my spare time
Done a lot of cleaning and carrying old computer equipment to the trash cans.
Picked up a lot of packages that arrive in the mail.

That about wraps up the 6 months in a nutshell. The question
is, how to make that handful of experience sound good enough on a resume to land an entry level position at a good company? I really want to come back to the states and work in the Bay Area. That's my goal.

MentholMoose

I agree it's OK to use two pages, but in this case there really isn't enough info to justify it. Drop the Summary and Additional Information, reduce the margins slightly, and it will easily fit on one page.

Flesh out some of your current responsibilities. For example, which Cisco router and switch models, how many total ports/users, what did you actually do, and how did it help the company? Also in education, put the actual name of the degree (Associate of Science, or whatever it is).

reppgoa

Here is the one I used. After using an old format for about 2 months, I switched to this format and got the first job I sent it to. I love this format

MickQ

reppgoa wrote: »

Here is the one I used. After using an old format for about 2 months, I switched to this format and got the first job I sent it to. I love this format

Short and sweet. Has a load of info and cuts out a lot of the usual stuff. Also the change in layout helps distinguish it for those looking at résumés all day.
Particularly excellent for those with little experience.

djfunz

reppgoa wrote: »

Here is the one I used. After using an old format for about 2 months, I switched to this format and got the first job I sent it to. I love this format

Wow, that looks really great reppgoa! Thanks for the up. I'm going to try that template for myself if you don't mind.

reppgoa

not at all man, have at it. GL in the job search!

djfunz

Well hello again everyone! I hope all had a great and enjoyable Easter break. For the first time all year the weather has been pretty agreeable here in Deutschland. Well after a nice rest over the break I've come back with my resume in the new improved format with the suggested changes implemented. Please continue to critique as needed or if it's as ready as it will get given the lack of experience, I'm o.k. with that as well. I would like to send it off tomorrow to my contact and we'll see what he can do. Thanks for the continued input guys.

I've been tossing a coin on whether I should include the LinkedIn link or not.

reppgoa

much better! The only thing I can spot is that there seems to be a difference in font size in one of the lower paragraphs and a few small punctuation errors, Specifically comma's near the top. I would say grab a friend, or even someone here that has english as there first language and knows how to effectively write and have them go over your english version with a fine toothed comb. Not saying that your english isn't very good, its great, but in every language there are small things that sometimes get past ESL speakers Great job on the resume!

Edit: I realized I may have made an assumption on your native tongue, if so, I apologize!

djfunz

reppgoa wrote: »

much better! The only thing I can spot is that there seems to be a difference in font size in one of the lower paragraphs and a few small punctuation errors, Specifically comma's near the top. I would say grab a friend, or even someone here that has english as there first language and knows how to effectively write and have them go over your english version with a fine toothed comb. Not saying that your english isn't very good, its great, but in every language there are small things that sometimes get past ESL speakers Great job on the resume!

Edit: I realized I may have made an assumption on your native tongue, if so, I apologize!

Haha no worries. I am in fact a native English speaker. Punctuation has never been my strong suit. Add to that, I've been in Germany close to two years and I'm quite sure some of the finer points have been lost.

Great catch with the font size too. My -8.5 eyes must have missed that.

LoMo

Leave your address out and you should be all set.

Essendon

First off, I like the new format. Might use it for my own resume.

Now if I may take the liberty of suggesting a few changes, here goes:

1. Lose the System Administrator bit just below your contact details. Dunno what it's supposed to be for.

2. Notice the white space between Technology Summary and Systems: .... Decrease it to a single line.

3. Clubbing your responsibilities from the two roles into one just creates a potato mash of your duties. Now separating them into two different roles will do two things, first and most importantly, clearly let the reader what you have done most recently. Second, spill your resume over to 2 pages. To avoid this see point 4.

4. Get rid of the stuff you have under the Key Skills section. Here put in the various technologies and software and other stuff you have under the Technology Summary section. By doing this you create space as the Technology Summary is no longer there. You can use this newly created real estate for expanding on your current and past roles' duties.

5. You can put the bi-lingual (English and German) at the bottom alongside "Able to work and travel"

Otherwise the resume format is good. I'll consider changing my resume over to this format.

Hope this helps!

djfunz

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'm sure the resume is not perfect but it's a heck of a lot better than it was. I sent it out yesterday and we'll see what happens.

PPforLife

djfunz wrote: »

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'm sure the resume is not perfect but it's a heck of a lot better than it was. I sent it out yesterday and we'll see what happens.

Any luck?