Will "independent consultant" count as expierence?

HLRS

I am tryin to boost my resume expierence basically under "independent consultant" I can put I did work for my friends, fixing pcs etc.
2009-present . is that reasonable? so I have 3 years exp in IT.

Iristheangel

I wouldn't put down fixing your buddy's computers as professional work experience unless you were putting in 20-40 hours a week and paying taxes on the money you were getting from it. There's a difference between fixing a computer here and there for friends and professional consulting that you spend the equivalent hours of a FT job working with customers and having to present yourself in a professional manner.

If fixing PCs for friends and family members counted as experience, I'd have 15 years of experience based on that alone!

antielvis

The answer is probably not. Could you list it as a hobby or accomplishment? I'd say yes, but I wouldn't label yourself as an independent consultant. HR departments are going to see right through this.

Personally, one thing that I don't like is when a junior IT support person tries to over emphasize their experience. It really helps undermine who you are. For example, I see guys who list "2 years CITRIX experience in the Enterprise" yet when you ask them a simple question about Netscaler they're lost. What they mean is they spent 2 years with the CITRIX ICA client.

If you do lack technical experience be honest about it. But point out your impeccable customer service skills or that you're passionate about IT and about learning. I'd sooner work with a dude fresh out of school that is good with people & humble than someone that's a IT cowboy who thinks they have all the answers.

bdub

If you charged money for it, I'd put it on there. I would probably list it as "Self Employed" or something like though, not Independent Consultant. I don't think the amount of hours really matters, what matters is that you provided a service and you were reputable enough that people paid you for that service.

gadav478

Maybe your situation will be different, but when I interviewed for positions, my past consultant experience didn't mean anything. After getting turned down multiple times banking on that, I revised the resume and certified myself. Sometimes they want to you prove what you know with PAPER. I do suggest getting some good references to your work though. They can really help round you out.

ptilsen

I'm going to dissent a bit here and say, unequivocally, yes, it counts. Now, if you fix a buddy's computer once in a great while, no, it doesn't count. If you periodically do contract work and frequently (at least a few times a month) do independent work -- even if for friends, family, and their contacts-- but charge money, it counts, plain and simple. Be ready to have someone available for reference, but go ahead and list it.

I've been employed full time for about six years now, but I still included my independent/contracting experience prior on my resume. I'll take it off if and when I seek another position, but I've not had any problems with it on my resume. It helped me get my first couple jobs quite a bit, as my resume would have been pretty empty without it. Now you have to communicate it right on the resume and during interviews, but if you do that, it should be fine. Don't exaggerate; be honest about what it was. Again, I would not list it in the place of extensive part-time or full-time work experience, but if it's legitimate, valid experience, it belongs on your resume. It's certainly better than no work experience.

m3zilla

It sounds like you're reaching, and that may not come across very well. How would you even list this?

independent consultant 2009-Present

• diagnose and fix hardware/software related issues for family and friends

?? I would probably throw the resume away if I saw something like that

sratakhin

If you were able to live on the money you made, than I'd definitely put it on the resume.

ptilsen

My format is:
Job Title
Employer [spaces] Start Date - End Date
Paragraph describing job responsibilities
 1-7 bullet points enumerating noteworthy projects and major accomplishments

Here's how I've listed it:

IT Consultant
Freelance & Subcontracted [spaces] Date through Date

Fixed a wide variety of hardware, software, and networking problems. Removed viruses and spyware and secured computer systems. Setup computers, servers, switches, wireless access points, printers.
 Resolved complex customer problems within agreement limitations

Actually I have to give some credit to N2IT, who game me some of the diction on the bullet. However, I've used more or less this type of diction in paragraph and/or bullets, and it has never been a problem. Keep in mind, I actually did a significant amount of short-term (a few days or a couple of weeks) contracts during this period, and found clients on Craigslist or through the small network I built. Again, I wouldn't use this for just unpaid support to friends and family. I would use it for a significant amount of semi-regular work done for someone paying you. That's not to say volunteer work isn't worth listing, but that should be for an organization, not for a person.

Iristheangel

@ptilsen - I wouldn't put down servers, switching, etc if he didn't actually work on them and he was just fixing his friends computers. He might be misrepresenting himself if the employer reads that and thinks that he was working on business systems and network equipment. If a company hires him thinking that he can do XYZ with a switch and all he really knows how to do is plug it in, then there are going to be problems.

ptilsen

Iris, no disagreement here. That is an actual copy/paste from my resume. Obviously it will need to be tailored. Even if it is just basic PC break/fix, it can be tailored that way. I'm very much in favor of people including this type of experience, but I'm not in favor of exaggerating or padding. For anything on your resume, you should be able to explain it and justify its presence.

Iristheangel

@ptilsen - My bad then.

HLRS

yea i mean mostly saying ''self employed'' *

NetworkVeteran

I would probably throw the resume away if I saw something like that

Again, I wouldn't use this for just unpaid support to friends and family.

wouldn't put down fixing your buddy's computers as professional work experience unless you were putting in 20-40 hours a week and paying taxes on the money you were getting from it.

If you were able to live on the money you made, than I'd definitely put it on the resume.

HLRS, you've already been given good advice on what criteria you need to meet to include that as professional work experience on your resume, and not get called out and lose opportunities. Be the best you that you can be, and then convey that accurately on your resume.

hiddenknight821

From the responses in this thread, it looks like I would have to remove the title, Freelance PC Support Technician, from my resume. I thought it would be harmless to list it on my resume if I do not have a lot of experience. I try not to exaggerate the experience as if I was a Geek Squad rockstar. I can see how the Independent Consultant title can easily become misunderstood since it has a "1099" tone to it. I was under the impression that the title I had did not give the same tone. If the employers who are looking for mediocre entry-level candidates are discarding resumes, because they see similar titles, then I think they are getting themselves duped. Would you rather hire someone who had successful experience helping their friends and family members with their computers problems or someone with no experience at all?

sratakhin

How many hours a week did you spend doing computer repairs? In my case, it was well over 60 (sometimes even more) hours a week, so I put it on my resume.

m3zilla

hiddenknight821 wrote: »

Would you rather hire someone who had successful experience helping their friends and family members with their computers problems or someone with no experience at all?

Most would prefer option 3, someone with work experience!

hiddenknight821

Ha, funny. Again, that takes us back to oxymoron as we're talking about a mediocre entry-level position that only requires someone to fix broken PCs at a warehouse. How do you suppose they will find someone with experience that would be interested in the position since chances are that the prospective candidates would likely to pursue better opportunities elsewhere where their work experience are worthy. I'm sick of hearing about this chicken and egg nonsense. I do not mean to target you at all but I hope you can understand how frustrating that can be for someone who just starting out.

bdub

Well, honestly its how I started out. I built custom PC's for people, family, friends, businesses etc... and also did break/fix. It wasn't some successful self owned business, and in fact I really didn't even much money doing it, but it was fun and I learned a lot and helped a lot of people out. And yes, I had it on my resume and I really dont think it was ever a detriment.

For an entry level position I might actually be more willing to hire someone with something like that on their resume if they seemed really ambitious and displayed knowledge of good troubleshooting skills. I've worked with plenty of "experienced" people who are often times clueless about even the most basic things. Experience in and of itself does not mean anything really unless that experience actually had substance. Unfortunately a lot of people hide behind experience, but honestly for entry level positions "experienced" people should not even be applying for them and if they are what does that say about their "experience".

m3zilla

@hiddenknight, I guess our views on what "entry-level" is different. I consider an entry level position to be something like a help desk position in a small/medium size company, not working in an assembly line at Dell, putting together computers. I've worked at small MSP in the past, and you'd be surprised at the type of people applying for entry level positions.

Having said all that, I've beat out candidates with much more experience than myself for most of my positions simply because I "fit in with the team", and that I show the hunger to learn, so I don't doubt that someone without experience could land an entry level position.

What I'm saying is that for this particular situation, I would not list something like the OP had suggested on my resume, even if I don't have any experience. To me, it looks like he's trying to make himself sound like something he's not, an IT tech with 3 years of experience. For example, I code as a hobby, and write small applications for friends and family to help them out with their jobs. But I wouldn't put that on my resume if I was applying for a dev position just so it looks like I have experience coding.

hiddenknight821

@m3zilla: I just reread what I posted, and I had to think about what I would do if I was the hiring manager. For the position I mentioned, I would hire someone who did tech supports for friends, families, and private contacts. However, if it is for the Dell assembly line, I wouldn't put my buttock on the line hiring someone with that experience. The "entry-level" experience today isn't the same as the "entry-level" experience yesterday since the market is probably saturated with young good IT associates (they are not professional yet ). That is why I am learning all the basics in most areas as much as I can then specialize in one area. If I were applying for the position that has nothing to do with trivial freelance experience I claimed to have, I would just leave it off. So most of you may not be so wrong about rolling your eyes at someone with that title on their resumes.