Resume for someone with no Job Experience

Orcrist

I have been looking for a helpdesk job for the past few weeks with no luck so far. I have an A+ but all the jobs I've seen so far require some sort of experience which I don't really have.

I know my resume sucks but I just don't know what I should put in it. I was hoping that I could get some help fixing it and making my resume better.

What kind of information should I include to make it attractive?

Link to my Resume so far
_______________________
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B0vcKUarqhLCbW5rUWlINnNyUjQ

Krones

Do you have any lab experience at home? Have you taken on any projects such as helping friends out or terminating a bunch of cables? Do not rule out work at the college either. College is a great place to start for experience.

DoubleNNs

Flesh out your resume more. It doesn't have much info at all as of now.

I think you should move your certs above "Work Related Skills" and for the CCENT write CCENT (Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician) instead. Supposedly a lot of employers don't even know what the CCENT is - and at least this way you'll have the words "Cisco" and "Networking" on your resume, which will both inform them what the cert is and tell them how it adds to your skillset.

Also, it's CompTIA (Note where the caps are). Proofread/edit your resume for little spelling and grammar mishaps like that.

Have you held any kind of job before? Retail? Customer Service? Volunteer work? Intership? Think about including it, even if it doesn't relate to IT. You can esp link Customer Service to entry-level IT jobs, since at the entry level that's mostly what you'll be doing.
If you have no prior work experience at all, maybe try to do volunteer work at your school. Talk to professors who teach IT subjects you're planning on pursuing career-wise. See if there's anything you can do to help them. Talk to the people who manage your school's network/data systems/IT dept. See if you can at least watch them and learn from them - maybe get some lab or volunteer experience. Even if the experience you get from that isn't something you can put on a resume, it'll at least be a point you can bring up during the interviews you get.

I wish I could help more, but I'm actually in the same situation as you - trying to get my foot in the door. I skipped the A+, now I'm going back to complete that in hopes of giving me better chances at landing interviews. But w/ an A+ and a CCENT, plus some on-your-own comp troubleshooting/repair work, I think you'd have a great chance at landing a helpdesk/desktop support/comp store job - it's all about how you market yourself to get the interview, as well as performance during the actual interviews themselves. Even if you don't necessarily have the experience they say in the job ad, if you can prove that you're competent enough to perform the responsibilities, there has to be someone out there who'd give you a chance.

BTW, welcome to TE!

tahjzhuan

A lack of practical experience could be a problem, but is not an insurmountable one. I agree with DoubleNNS and would reemphasize the volunteering and/or shadowing of IT personel whenever feasible. It's basically up to you to get the experience needed. I'd also advise against embellishing a resume. Sometimes a person doesn't seem a fit for a particular position, but my be considered for something else in the future. Some of my IT experience came from the military, some from a home lab I built using and old Dell Optiplex I bought from intechra.com. First level seems to be more forgiving of technical prowess so customer service shouldn't be neglected. Good luck!

Orcrist

Thanks everyone for all the advice. I was kind of nervous about posting here for the first time and that feels kind of ridiculous now

I've had a job for the past 3 months but it's a Work Study at school. I don't really do anything except for sit at the front desk and answer the occasional phone call. Is it worth putting that kind of experience down? How would I go about phrasing it?

lsud00d

Is your work study tied to your degree program and/or a scholarship? If not and you want to get into IT, college is the perfect time to get experience. Check out your college's IT department, often times they have student worker positions for various duties.

sratakhin

+1 to checking the college IT department. When I was looking for a job, I saw many postings about helpdesk and lab positions in a major university in my area. The pay wasn't great (something like $10 to $17/hr), but it's a great way to gain experience. Also, look for internships, even if they don't pay.

Akaricloud

Definitely put that 3 months of experience you have down. Don't lie about what it is but try to highlight tasks/responsibilities that would also relate to an entry level helpdesk job. This can help to show that you're a responsible employee who is not only very capable of holding a job but has also built some customer service skills.

When hiring somebody with no work experience employers are often left in the dark guessing at someone's work ethic and customer service skills. If you can show them that yours are both good and improving then you're ahead of a lot of applicants that they see.

Also, make sure you stick to one tense in your experience section. You jump from "Work with..." to "Diagnosed and resolved..".

someasiandude

I hear you bro, it is hard to find an entry level IT job. At least in my area it is, been searching for over 2 months now. We'll just need to sit tight and get certified some more, Our day will come!

Orcrist

It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one in this kind of situation. Hopefully 2013 is going to be a great year for us

I edited my resume using everyone's advice and I must say that its looks much better already.
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B0vcKUarqhLCM2ZwdDlFR3RjdHc

About7Narwhal

tahjzhuan wrote: »

...Sometimes a person doesn't seem a fit for a particular position, but my be considered for something else in the future.

This is how I got my current position. I applied and interviewed twice and was rejected for the position I applied for but was offered another position (and came out ahead, in my opinion). As for the OP, There is nothing wrong with applying for a position you don't exactly match in terms of experience. My first job was requesting a year of experience and the A+; I went in and told them I may not have the experience, but I have the drive and determination to learn as much as I can and develop my skills as much as possible. I would say most managers expect to train employees when it comes to entry level positions. If that is the case, they might be willing to take you over someone with a little more experience if they like you / your determination.

TLDR; put your resume in for any positions that require a year of experience (A+) and see who is willing to take a chance on you. Eventually the opportunity will come, even if you don't quite meet the requirements.