resume feedback

pinkydapimp

So i have revamped my resume. Please rip it apart and provide feedback. One of the things i did was to take the oldest 2 positions of mine and remove them. So i could add them if i wanted to make this 2 pages.



Thanks.

Everyone

Ditch the "Technical Experience" section, which is really just a skills list. Doing that should bring you down to a single page. 1.25 pages is not good. You should be able to work those keywords into your experience section. Certifications can stay at the top as their own section.

Seems like a bit of wasted space on the left side too. You've got your dates of employment, and then just a bunch of nothing below it because you indented everything else so much.

Something like this:

Company Name Location
Title Date - Date

Works well, and would fix that weird spacing.

cyberguypr

BlackBerry (second B capitalized)

Also, why is 'Relationship building' not capitalized as the rest of the stuff in that section?

You mention Veritas but did not specify a product.

pinkydapimp

Everyone wrote: »

Ditch the "Technical Experience" section, which is really just a skills list. Doing that should bring you down to a single page. 1.25 pages is not good. You should be able to work those keywords into your experience section. Certifications can stay at the top as their own section.

Seems like a bit of wasted space on the left side too. You've got your dates of employment, and then just a bunch of nothing below it because you indented everything else so much.

Something like this:

Company Name Location
Title Date - Date

Works well, and would fix that weird spacing.

Thanks for the suggestions. i am torn on the technical skills section. Some people say you need it, some don't. Also, what is the big deal about having the resume be 1.25 pages? I could add some older jobs to make it 2 pages.

pinkydapimp

cyberguypr wrote: »

BlackBerry (second B capitalized)

Also, why is 'Relationship building' not capitalized as the rest of the stuff in that section?

You mention Veritas but did not specify a product.

Thanks i will make those changes.

networker050184

pinkydapimp wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions. i am torn on the technical skills section. Some people say you need it, some don't. Also, what is the big deal about having the resume be 1.25 pages? I could add some older jobs to make it 2 pages.

I think what people want the skills section for is to put in a bunch of key words to catch filters. If you have actually worked with this stuff (which you should if you are putting it on a resume) then you can just put it in the experience section and accomplish the same thing.

Everyone

pinkydapimp wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions. i am torn on the technical skills section. Some people say you need it, some don't. Also, what is the big deal about having the resume be 1.25 pages? I could add some older jobs to make it 2 pages.

Basically what networker050184 said about the skills section.

If you have relevant work experience to fill out the 2nd page, then go for it. Having 3/4 of a page empty just looks bad. So either drop it down to 1, or stretch it out to 2. I'd say you're pretty close to having had enough experience to warrant a 2nd page. However you may not need it, because if you go with the suggestions already made, you should easily be at a well rounded 1 full page.

pinkydapimp

networker050184 wrote: »

I think what people want the skills section for is to put in a bunch of key words to catch filters. If you have actually worked with this stuff (which you should if you are putting it on a resume) then you can just put it in the experience section and accomplish the same thing.

That is the reason that i had for having that there, to catch filters. Plus, it takes up less space to list something, then to explain my exposure to each and every one of those items in a sentence. or are you saying i should bullet those out on the experience section?

pinkydapimp

Everyone wrote: »

Basically what networker050184 said about the skills section.

If you have relevant work experience to fill out the 2nd page, then go for it. Having 3/4 of a page empty just looks bad. So either drop it down to 1, or stretch it out to 2. I'd say you're pretty close to having had enough experience to warrant a 2nd page. However you may not need it, because if you go with the suggestions already made, you should easily be at a well rounded 1 full page.

Thanks. Maybe i will make a 1pger and a 2 pager and see which one i like. I will say that i sent that version of the resume for a job just to see the response this weekend and received a call back. So i think i am close.

Thanks again everyone!

networker050184

pinkydapimp wrote: »

That is the reason that i had for having that there, to catch filters. Plus, it takes up less space to list something, then to explain my exposure to each and every one of those items in a sentence. or are you saying i should bullet those out on the experience section?

You don't need to list every single protocol or application that you have worked with. When I see resumes with big lists of stuff at the top I don't look kindly upon it. I don't want to see a useless list of garbage, tell me what you've done! I've been involved in the interviewing process lately and it just looks amateurish to me. Not to mention none of the people that have had resumes like that could speak to half the list in detail. If you put it on your resume you better be ready to speak to it in great detail.

Besides that, do you honestly think TCP/IP is something you need to list as "technical experience" on your resume?

pinkydapimp

networker050184 wrote: »

You don't need to list every single protocol or application that you have worked with. When I see resumes with big lists of stuff at the top I don't look kindly upon it. I don't want to see a useless list of garbage, tell me what you've done! I've been involved in the interviewing process lately and it just looks amateurish to me. Not to mention none of the people that have had resumes like that could speak to half the list in detail. If you put it on your resume you better be ready to speak to it in great detail.

Besides that, do you honestly think TCP/IP is something you need to list as "technical experience" on your resume?

I understand your point, but sadly, if recruiters are using software or other methods to filter resumes, then in some cases yes, that cant hurt to be on there. Let me change my resume up and see what it looks like with out that. So should i add these points as bullet points for each job or in the section that describes the job?

thanks.

pinkydapimp

So i also sent my resume to a friend who works as an HR manager for an IT consulting firm. I just wanted to share the feedback from the perspective of someone who is doing the recruiting. She said the following:

It doesn't have to be one page. Technical resumes are never one page. Typically they are 2 or 3 and there is nothing wrong with that(being 1.25 pages) so don't worry.

Yes, you want to have that technical experience summary because when people are searching resumes on line they build key word searches so that's important. Plus it's easy for people to read and get a quick idea of what you have to offer.

Put a space after the summary before the bullet points.

Even out the bullet points so it's 3 columns of 4 or 3.

For the descriptions of each job, drop the summaries and put everything in bullet points.

Your headers (technical experience and experience etc) should all be left justified not right.

At the end of your resume in the footer put "References furnished upon request".

cyberguypr

pinkydapimp wrote: »

So i also sent my resume to a friend who works as an HR manager for an IT consulting firm. I just wanted to share the feedback from the perspective of someone who is doing the recruiting. She said the following:

Is this a relatively older person? Her tips do not reflect modern tendencies.

pinkydapimp

cyberguypr wrote: »

Is this a relatively older person? Her tips do not reflect modern tendencies.

No, she is 33 with significant HR experience. However, i suppose that different people have different preferences. Nevertheless, that is the perspective straight from the horses mouth so we should definitely take note.

networker050184

pinkydapimp wrote: »

No, she is 33 with significant HR experience. However, i suppose that different people have different preferences. Nevertheless, that is the perspective straight from the horses mouth so we should definitely take note.

There isn't a law of resumes that everyone must follow. Its all based on opinion. If you value hers more than ours, then go with what you got. I'm sure someone will hire you either way. I do however think some of the advice she is giving you is useless. Why would need to put references available upon request? Either you provide references or you don't get a job. I think that ones more of a given than TCP/IP.

pinkydapimp

networker050184 wrote: »

There isn't a law of resumes that everyone must follow. Its all based on opinion. If you value hers more than ours, then go with what you got. I'm sure someone will hire you either way. I do however think some of the advice she is giving you is useless. Why would need to put references available upon request? Either you provide references or you don't get a job. I think that ones more of a given than TCP/IP.

Yea i was a little confused about the references thing as well. Anyway, i do appreciate all the assistance. I plan to incorporate feedback from everyone.