Resume Critique - Tear It Apart

I'm a college student taking the year off of school. I plan on going back this summer and finishing Fall 2013 or Spring 2014. Want to get my 1st IT job now and gain experience (+ make money) until I go back May/June. Got my Net+ late October, Sec+ Yesterday, and plan on getting my A+ on one of the days between Christmas and New Years.I know holding my A+ will be my best bet in getting my 1st job but I want to start firing out resumes. I also want advice now so that as soon as I DO get my A+, I'll already have my resume down pat and a direction to go in.Attached is my resume. I'm open to any kinds of entry level IT jobs as long as it's decent work experience. If possible, maybe steer me towards anything I might be able to land w/ this resume.

My Resume.doc

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Comments

klhatchett

I am also a college student (looking for internships) cannot really critique your resume right now lol. I wanted ask though, how was the Net+ and Sec+ exams, I plan on getting my Net+ in the Spring (hopefully) and Sec+ shortly after. Right now I am an ITS Student Assistant and it is giving me a basic understanding but I would like more hands on experience, especially something security related, any advice on pursuing these certifications?

DoubleNNs

Security+ seemed extremely easy. But the Net+ helped me w/ a lot of the Sec+ material.
Net+ was a little difficult to me, but a lot of the material was brand new to me. I've at least been exposed to some of the A+ and Sec+ objectives from my IT degree and personal experience. I haven't taken the Network class my degree offers (yet).

Michael Meyers' Book = Net+
Darril Gibson's Book = Sec+

Read the Sybex books if you want to go over and beyond the requirements of the exam. Exam Cram books if you want some extra supplimental resources. Good to use for the last 15-25% of your studying.
Check out Professor Messor's Website for info/free vids on all 3 CompTIA certs.

If you have any more specific questions feel free to PM me.

DoubleNNs

I got contacted by a recruiter about an open job a few weeks ago. She asked me to write a few sentences about my experience so she could forward over to the potential employer. It seems someone else filled the position, but if it helps at all, this is what I sent her. I'm sure I could have sold myself better and in less space.

Recruiter's Name,

Going through the details of the CompanyName Helpdesk Support job, I believe I am a great candidate for the position and am eager to fill it.

I have customer service experience, including working at the Rutgers Telefund call center. Throughout the years I have built a few custom desktops for personal use, developing my knowledge of computer hardware. I also handled all the IT issues at MyOld StartUp. I alone was expected to troubleshoot and repair computer problems. Fortunately, most of the hiccups and configuration difficulties we experienced seemed easy compared to some of the problems I've been asked to solve as the proclaimed "computer guy" of my circle.

In addition to majoring in Information Technology at Rutgers University, I have recently started to get certifications for my IT skills. After receiving my CompTIA Network+ last month, I'm sitting for my Security+ in a few weeks and plan to receive my A+ next month. I have knowledge and experience in a vast amount of IT subjects and am not only comfortable with continual training, but it's something I expect and already am actively commited to.

Attached is my résumé, as a .doc file. You can be reach me at (555) 555-5569 or this e-mail address, myemail@eden.rutgers.edu.
I'm currently taking time off from school, set to return during the summer so my schedule is very flexible.

Look forward to hearing from you,
-MyReal Name

zrockstar

I would not list A+ until you get it. Clearly define your proficiency in the languages...remember, you should be able to speak in depth about anything on your resume. The formatting of your education section should match the rest of the resume, and add a list of relevant course work. The additional section is really bad, sorry man, but what does Governor's School of New Jersey tell me? I get where you are trying to go with it, but it has to be much more defined. Not a bad start though, just needs a little polishing.

DoubleNNs

Don't be sorry. I'd rather know how horrible something is now so I could fix it.

For the Additional section should I give a line or 2 describing each of the larger org's I've participated in, such as EIL, Prep for Prep, and Governor's School? A couple of those are big in the Tri-State (NY, NJ, CT) area, so I kinda just wanted to list them in case a recruiter/hiring manager either intimately knew about any of them or was a part of them in the past - kinda like as if a recruiter realized he was part of the same frat, you know?

Relevant Coursework should go under the education section, correct? And to make formatting more similar to the rest of the resume, move the date to the left? Make each major a different bullet point? (I don't want to list GPA, since although my GPA is very decent for each major, my cum is horribly low, which is part of the reason why I'm taking the year off.)

Adding the above information would def push my resume over a page. Would that look bad for an entry level position?
At that point should I get rid of 10 Spot off my application and just list CVS only?

zrockstar

Granted I have work experience, but not in IT, my entry level IT resume is a full 2 pages and I get a lot of good feedback on it. Mine would look something like this:

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
2009-Present
Major: Information Technology, Psychology
Relevant Coursework: Computer Science Orientation, Programming in C++, Introduction to Programming, etc., etc.

For the additional section you can try to break that up into subsections with bullets. Are any of these awards or honors? Calling something an award or honor -- even an interest -- looks waaaaaay more impressive than "additional." If you just barely go over a page, crank your font up to 12 and try to add some more info. I wouldn't remove 10 Spot, you were there for two years in a responsible position. I don't know if getting recognized 3/104 weeks is that impressive on a resume, but as a manager, you should be able to add some bulk to that job. You can always say something like "Demonstrated advanced customer service and sales skills, resulting in numerous sales awards and recognition." It reads more impressive, it adds bulk, and it isn't stretching the truth by any means. If you are asked about it, you can recount some of the instances that got you the award instead of just the fact that you got it.

DoubleNNs

Yeah, I have more work experience other than on my resume. But 1 is my start up, another is my current position, and the last is the longest position I've had. The other jobs I've worked were usually just 1-3 months - something for a bit of money during school.

None of my additional section is awards.
3 large org's I've been accepted into based on merit, 1 large org my parents signed me up to for a summer, an intramural basketball league I participated in. I was on the varsity track & field team during high school, I frequently volunteered at soup kitchens a few years ago, and I was a part of a youth group that's pretty large in my area, although primarily Asian. They're almost all affiliations. Or extracurricular activities.

I will edit the 10 Spot description. I just wanted to be able to put a quantitative accomplishment on my resume. The thing is, I rarely actually did customer sales. So for someone who worked w/ me, that would be a huge accomplishment - excelling in something outside of my position the few times I performed it. But I do agree, on paper it doesn't read too well.

DoubleNNs

Gonna start my resume revisions. Anyone else have any suggestions?