Critique my C.V.(resume) Please

dazl1212

Hi

I have just updated and refined my C.V. if anybody could give me some feedback on it I would be grateful.:)

lsud00d

Is English not your primary language?

Honest question

dazl1212

Yeah but for whatever reason I have never been great at writing.
Why?

lsud00d

The semantics are awkward, you flow between present and future tense...it's generally confusing and it makes it seem that English is not your primary language.

Also, I would list the Network+ cert under certifications, and not education.

Also, some formatting would be nice.

dazl1212

Thank you.
I will implement what you have said.

Akaricloud

The formatting really needs some work. None of the sections share the same style, even within themselves. Font size changes randomly it appears and the indentations are not the same at all. I can't even stand to look at this long enough to figure out which sections are which.

Pick a tense and stick with it.

dazl1212

Thank you for you're input.
I think the problem with the formatting my be open office.
I'll load it in MS Word at a friends and see if its different.

DigitalZeroOne

Your best option is to look at sample resumes and copy their format, then input your own data. I found this online:
Sample Information Technology Resumes. You really need to pay attention to how your words flow together. Read your resume out-loud, or have someone else read it out-load to you, listen to how your words flow together.

hackman2007

By the way, Microsoft does offer a free trial of Microsoft Office. I would recommend just downloading the trial and then fixing up your resume. It beats having to wrestle with OpenOffice.

dazl1212

Downloading a free trial now.
Will also look at the link provided.
I have always been bad at writing things down, which is odd as I'm very articulate in person.
Thanks for all the advice

cyberguypr

Wait, you said you just refined it? This is by no means an acceptable resume. Best course of action would be following DigitalZeroOne's advice. After that, redo the resume and come back for further feedback. I understand you are may not be great at writing but remember a resume is a snapshot of who you are.

dazl1212

Good job I posted it up

hackman2007

dazl1212 wrote: »

Downloading a free trial now.
Will also look at the link provided.
I have always been bad at writing things down, which is odd as I'm very articulate in person.
Thanks for all the advice

Haha, I wouldn't worry about it that much. I'm not great at either .

A resume is definitely a snapshot of a person though, so not something you want to mess up.

dazl1212

I have got copy of Resume Builder to get the template and I will be rewriting it from scratch .
I have just added to the CV you have witnessed since 2001.
Will post for you guys to look at.
Thanks for all the constructive criticism

dazl1212

Hi guys,

I have redone my C.V from scratch it seems a little small for me.
Let me know what you guys think and how it can be improved.
Thanks public C.V 2011.doc

lsud00d

dazl1212 wrote: »

Hi guys,

I have redone my C.V from scratch it seems a little small for me.
Let me know what you guys think and how it can be improved.
Thanks public C.V 2011.doc

Looking better, but you should provide a short job summary after each entry, and then bullet the rest of the points.

dazl1212

thank you I will wait and see some other points and then implement that

dazl1212

I lied here it is with the changes.
I dont want to keep posting an annoying people Public C.V 2011 v.2.doc

ptilsen

The bullet points are definitely a good recommendation, and doing some formatting wouldn't hurt. Underlining Employment History, Skills, Education.

Outside of the actual formatting, I have to recommend you get some additional certifications. My understanding of the UKs NVQ system is not sufficient to evaluate your education, but when I see eight year of experience and only a single entry-level certification on a resume, it is a big negative. I am not familiar with the UK job market, but in the US I would want to hire experienced candidates who have acquired technical certifications. If you want to be in a sysadmin type job, MS certifications go a long way.

I am not an HR person -- I am technical professional who hires other technical professionals, and I am not familiar with the UK IT job market. As such, take the following suggestion with a grain of salt: You might consider removing jobs 3 and 4 and expand your skill and experience descriptions. Your Job 4 seems sub-entry-level and job 3 is not an IT job. They don't really help you too much outside of establishing a long work history, but you already have five years of highly relevant experience. Another two years of mostly irrelevant experience doesn't help you much unless you are sticking with helpdesk-type jobs, which do put a big emphasis on customer service (making your Job 3 much more relevant).

Regardless, you might expand your technical skills into a table or bullet point list. It's also good to demonstrate experience with them in your work history bullet points, but if you can't you'll want to list them in your Skills section. Judging from what you have so far from Job 1 and Job 2, you can probably expand these to highlight an impressive list of skills and experience. These are going to be the biggest selling factor of your resume at this point.

I feel the need to say, once more, that I'm not familiar with the UK job market and I'm hardly an expert on any job market. Some of my advice might be misguided for you and your career. These are just my opinions based on my experience in getting jobs and hiring entry- and mid-level techs in US.

Edit: I began this before you posted your latest version, and hadn't seen it. I would probably bullet point the entire description of each job, but I'll defer to what others say on that.

dazl1212

Thank you very much Ptilsen. That is a lot of info that will take me a while to digest, that's very helpful.
I had a go at the 70-680 and really couldn't get into it at all. I started off a while ago doing my CCNA but I struggled with it massively so I got the N+ done but never took the exam as I moved house with my then Girlfriend. I had a go at the 70-680 and really couldn't get into it at all so I thought I'll get the N+ exam taken.
After looking into what I needed to be up to speed on the N+ I worked out I needed to go over half of it. I would not be able top book the exam till march due to financial reasons, so I have downloaded some material for the CCENT and to be honest with you I am doing well and enjoying it. So that hopefully will be my first cert done around April time. Sorry for rambling on just though I would enlighten you as to my poor quals section.

lsud00d

dazl1212 wrote: »

I lied here it is with the changes.
I dont want to keep posting an annoying people Public C.V 2011 v.2.doc

dazl1212--

I quickly added some tables and re-arranged the order to be proper IMHO. There still needs grammatical formatting and some more changes, but I think this table look makes it much more professional.Public C.V 2011 v.2-Tables.doc

dazl1212

lsud00d wrote: »

dazl1212--

I quickly added some tables and re-arranged the order to be proper IMHO. There still needs grammatical formatting and some more changes, but I think this table look makes it much more professional.Public C.V 2011 v.2-Tables.doc

Wow that is awesome. Dont know what to say, so thanks will have to do.
Thank you very much

ptilsen

dazl1212 wrote: »

Thank you very much Ptilsen. That is a lot of info that will take me a while to digest, that's very helpful.
I had a go at the 70-680 and really couldn't get into it at all. I started off a while ago doing my CCNA but I struggled with it massively so I got the N+ done but never took the exam as I moved house with my then Girlfriend. I had a go at the 70-680 and really couldn't get into it at all so I thought I'll get the N+ exam taken.
After looking into what I needed to be up to speed on the N+ I worked out I needed to go over half of it. I would not be able top book the exam till march due to financial reasons, so I have downloaded some material for the CCENT and to be honest with you I am doing well and enjoying it. So that hopefully will be my first cert done around April time. Sorry for rambling on just though I would enlighten you as to my poor quals section.

It sounds like you have a great plan here. If deep MS is not your interest, but Cisco is, that's great. Those are the two most common directions to go, and there's nothing wrong with picking Cisco. Get your CCENT and then your CCNA and you are set for a great resume and some great job options.

ptilsen

lsud00d wrote: »

dazl1212--

I quickly added some tables and re-arranged the order to be proper IMHO. There still needs grammatical formatting and some more changes, but I think this table look makes it much more professional.Public C.V 2011 v.2-Tables.doc

The formatting is a good improvement, but it looks like Network+ is gone. It should definitely be somewhere in the list.

dazl1212

ptilsen wrote: »

The formatting is a good improvement, but it looks like Network+ is gone. It should definitely be somewhere in the list.

I never took the exam as I stated in my long rambling post.I have recently started looking into my CCENT and really enjoying it:D

ptilsen wrote: »

It sounds like you have a great plan here. If deep MS is not your interest, but Cisco is, that's great. Those are the two most common directions to go, and there's nothing wrong with picking Cisco. Get your CCENT and then your CCNA and you are set for a great resume and some great job options.

Thanks, I understand I will need some AD experience and may do the 640 at some point. For now I have the Active directory for dummies book to read To get some knowledge

dazl1212

I have the Cisco IT Essentials is that worth listing?

N2IT

dazl1212 wrote: »

I have the Cisco IT Essentials is that worth listing?

I think you should.

dazl1212

Cheers will get it on there