Please critique my resume......

I am pursuing a BS IT-Security degree, I have A+ certification, and I am scheduled for CCENT February 1, 2012. I have worked in management for many years, and have decided to switch gears into the workforce that I love, IT.

Please take a look at my resume, and tell me what you would change as I am trying to wedge my way into an entry level position. The copy/paste jumbled the header a little and there is a Comptia Logo at the top normally. I also deleted my personal info from the top and the references at the bottom, however they are there when I submit it to potential employers.

Thanks in advance.

123 ABC Ln
email@emailserver.com

OBJECTIVE
To gain meaningful employment that will allow personal and professional growth without limiting the opportunity for enhanced education. I am looking for a challenging IT opportunity.

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

Five years’ experience in retail management
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Proficiency using Microsoft Office
A.A. Florida State University
Proficiency in all computer related tasks
Proficiency in management
Comptia A+ Certified 2011
900/900 perfect score on Comptia 220-701

and 220-702

EXPERIENCE
Parts/Service Manager, Gibson Truck World, Sanford, FL, March 15, 2007 to June 16, 2010

Consistently supported high levels of production and quality assurance to increase vehicle sales
Responsible for Parts, Service, Detail, and Body Shop departments with over 25 employees
Maintained inventory levels for all related departments
Diagnosed incoming vehicles for repair with levels reaching as much as 50 units per week
Customer Service representative for all Service related issues with sold vehicles
Communicated with Sales Manager daily about needs for sales lot
Trained/hired new employees in all departments
Reported directly to the owner

Assistant Store Manager, Sweetbay Supermarkets, Bradenton, FL, September 17, 2006 to March 3, 2007

Responsible for store stock levels
Responsible for open/closing duties (key holder)
Customer Service representative
Made weekly sales projections and adjusted stock levels to suit
Training/hiring of new associates

Service Manager, Pep Boys Automotive, Bradenton, FL, January 27, 2005 to June 21, 2006.

Consistently exceeded parts, labor, and tire weekly projections
Responsible for hiring/training service and parts associates
Maintained inventory levels to meet sales needs
Responsible for opening/closing duties (key holder)
Handled all incoming and outgoing customer service needs
Maintained a relationship with local community/schools to boost profits
Reported directly to District Manager

EDUCATION
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
Associates of Arts 2004
Western Governors University
Pursuing Bachelors of Science Information Technology-Security, Current
Certifications: Comptia A+, 2011
Certifications in progress: Network+, Security+, CCENT, Current
2012 Certification Goals: CCNA, CCNP Security, MCITP:EA, and CISSP

REFERENCES

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Comments

cyberguypr

Good start. Here are my observations.

- Objectives and references are two section that should be eliminated. Old school
- 900/900 score: Not sure about including this. I would like to hear what others here have to say.
- Experience dates: go with month and year, scrap the exact date
- Certs in progress: many people do not like that. Are you 10, 20, 50, 80% ready? Hard to put a concrete number on it, therefore does not add much value.
- 2012 cert goals: they don't add much. You can have the best intentions but what you have right now is what really counts. My personal opinion is that those 4 are way too much to tackle in 1 year if you end up getting a full time job. IT is famous for long hours, on-call etc. Also, your new employer may push for other certs totally different so your current goals most likely would be delayed.
- For the experience section I am a fan of eliminating the bullet fest by writing a short paragraph for duties and then using a few bullet points to present key accomplishments

Do you have any informal IT experience you may be able to somehow leverage?

jamesleecoleman

cyberguypr wrote: »

Good start. Here are my observations.

- Objectives and references are two section that should be eliminated. Old school

Really????!!!!!!!!
Do you think the resume would be thrown out if someone did have these two sections?

cyberguypr

Can't say for sure as no two companies are alike. Since you are changing careers you may get some benefit out of a well written objective. I still prefer a well written Professional Summary since it allows you to present ore information and tie in experience and goals. It also provide more room for creativity than an objective. As it is right now your objective is too generic and focused on your needs, not the potential employer's. Remember your main reason for sending a resume is to get an interview. You have better chances of achieving that by communicating how the employer will benefit by hiring you, not the other way around. Having been responsible for hiring at some point, I always cringed at textbook objectives.

Here are a few threads were we have discussed the Objective vs. Professional Summary issue.

-http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/69525-resume-objective-still-necessary.html
-http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/71326-can-you-please-review-my-resume-provide-advice-improvements.html
-http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/64441-resume-opinion-please.html

andre81

This seems like really good advice, and I, too, thought it fealt a little dated, but then again I wil be 31 on Monday, damn, 31! The score really put me on the fence; i typed it, deleted it, typed it....I was really just trying to leverage my propensity for learning. Yeah, the certs in progress seems to flaunt what I don't have. The page looks like I shot it with my AK; those bullets are annoying me now as well.

As far as informal IT experience; I have been the "go to computer guy" for both sides of the family (mine/wife), took a hardware lab one semester in college, and I would fix minor things at my last job. Mostly, I would teach safe web practices to the older employees because I was tired of the system being down because they, once again, infected the system inadvertantly. People would come to me before they called tech support; if I was busy or couldn't help than they would call. When I was 18 (those were the days), I volunteered 100 hours with Red Cross, and a few times I helped the elderly get online and print...you would be surprised how many of them called it a fancy typewriter lol.

Aside from that my strong suits: people flock to me, and naturally engage in what I say. I really do learn things fast when it is something I want to learn. Nothing is ever good enough for me, and I am always looking to conquer the next challenge.

Here is the thing, I know if I can get the interview I can get the job...put me in a room with 10, 20, 50, or a 100 people and I will have all their eyes. I am a geek at heart, but there is no shyness or introversion that unfortunately seems to plague some of the most brilliant people.

ImTheKing

My only thoughts at first glance are from the education section.

Are you already attending WGU? If you are, I would probably list that first rather than the AA degree. Someone else might have an opinion about that though. I've always been taught to list your highest and most relevant education first, but if it's not completed I'm not sure if that still applies. I would either put a projected graduation date or attendance dates.

The "TIA" in CompTIA needs to be capitalized. I would remove the 2011. If anything, perhaps 2009 would be better to put in there since it is the 2009 objectives.

I don't have a particular opinion about the certifications in progress, but I think I would be tempted to exclude it for the exact reason you mention -- it flaunts what you don't have.

At any rate:

Western Governors University
B.S., Information Technology-Security, 2011-present *

Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
Associates of Arts, 2004

Certifications: CompTIA A+

(or Currently Attending or projected graduation if you're starting in 2012).

Hope that helps.