Help me with this resume

Michael2

The story is this. Several years ago I got fired from the call center I was working at. I needed something and decided to change my skillset to something I figured would be more useful. I enrolled in online school and got a degree. Since that time, the economy has not been kind. I had gone unemployed for a long while. I am now working at a restaraunt but not making the money I need to repay my loans. Anyway, here's my resume with certain identifying details omitted. I want to know if I even have a prayer of getting a good job in IT. SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS CompTIA A+ Certification-April 9, 2013 Knowledgeable in: Hardware and Software Upgrades Computer Maintenance and Security Troubleshooting Computers, Printers, and ScannersAbility to work with a variety of Windows operating systemsAssociate of Arts degree in Information TechnologyOPERATING SYSTEMS Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista, Windows 7SOFTWARE Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)EDUCATION Jan. 2010-April 2011 University of PhoenixAssociate of Arts –Information Technology Graduated with a 3.54 GPA Learned techniques for risk management, disaster recovery, and business continuity Learned to communicate professionally through memos, letters, and proposals WORK EXPERIENCE Convergys Nov 16, 2007-July 28, 2009 Pharr, TXCustomer Problems and Resolution Representative Proactively sold viewing equipment for DirecTV and processed orders Assisted technicians in the remote activation and programming of equipment Analyzed customer invoices to resolve billing complaints Used a web-based application to troubleshoot equipment issues for customersTicketmaster June 6,2006-Nov. 1, 2007 Pharr, TXSales Agent  Used an electronic database to search for and recommend hotels to customers Booked reservations for customersPenncro May 3, 2004-May 26, 2006 McAllen, TX Collections Agent Contacted delinquent account holders to collect payment

Michael2

Won't display correctly. Not sure how to post it as an attachment.

spiderjericho

You should be able to upload an attachment or use Google Docs or Dropbox/online File storage service.

It really is hard to decipher that big gob of text. Trying to sift through there, you probably qualify for a help desk job.

Michael2

Here it goes.

spiderjericho

Obviously, the header information is missing, but you could probably cut down on space between Education and Work Experience.

You say you obtained an AA in IT from Univ. of Phoenix. If you were to use the bulleted format you currently have, were there any IT-related skills you picked up from classes? Or was it all just Gen Ed? I think the experience you listed does demonstrate you have customer service experience, which is a plus if you're going for a help desk role (which is probably what you currently qualify for).

I see in your profile, you have A+ and Security+, include those under certifications not summary of qualifications. No need to list what skills are associated with them I think there is a lot of white space in what you have right now.

I'd recommend you revise it to be Summary/Mission statement (whatever), Skills (hardware, operating system and software), Education, Certifications then Work Experience. Again, there is a lot of white space. You can cut the last two education bullets, ditch the summary of qualifications (and instead put certifications and simply list the two and nothing else) and try to get your resume down to 1 page.

Hopefully, others can chime in, since I'm in the military and not a recruiter or hopping around jobs in the civilian work force.

DigitalZeroOne

I'm going to first list off areas that don't look right, then I'm going to give you an overall judgement.

1. The first thing that stuck out for me was the font, it just looks odd on the Resume.
2. The alignment under "SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS" is off.
3. Is Office the only software that you know? I'm sure you had to work with something else while at college.
4. There is a huge space between "EDUCATION", and "WORK EXPERIENCE".
5. Since you don't have much experience, you should really go into detail about past job duties to give your resume some substance.

In your post you say that you are working, but on your resume, it looks as if you have been unemployed since 2009, even though you aren't working in your desired field, at least put down your current job. Also, others may disagree, but the University of Phoenix is not looked on favorably by some employers, and they have had a lot of negative press. Obviously, there isn't anything you can do about that now, but I would mitigate some of the damage. I would leave off the GPA; unless it's some top tier school, I don't think an employer will care. The information that you included under your degree makes you sound (to me at least) like you went to school, graduated, and now you can write a letter. I would just list your degree, where it's from, and that is it.

I'm not a fan of the 1 page resume, but that's dependent upon work history, if someone has been in the industry for years, a 1 page resume makes it look like they don't have much experience. On the contrary, if someone is just starting out, I would expect a 1 page resume. Yours could go either way, but right now, it seems to be 2 pages simply because you could not format it correctly. Either make it 2 pages with detailed information that warrants 2 pages, or make it a concise 1 page resume.

As for the positives, it appears that everything is spelled correctly, and you do appear to have plenty of motivation since you achieved an A+ certification this year. I would recommend looking online, or just taking some pictures of some resumes in a resume book, and reformatting your resume to match accordingly.

I hope you do well.

Michael2

Thanks for the feedback. I'm not sure why it has so much white space. I guess that's what happens when you cut and paste with Office.

I don't want to sound argumentative but I didn't list my current job because it has nothing to do with my career goals. It's a restaurant, and I will list it on an application. It's just not something I would want to discuss in an interview. I also tried to limit my descriptions of those call center jobs to what I considered relevant, although I suppose selling hotel reservations and collecting on debts aren't really relevant.

Office is the only software I've used. I used it to write my papers. I don't think that's really relevant either, but a tech should have familiarity with some type of software, I would think.

I listed my GPA because I figured I should list some of my educational acheivements. I suppose I could revise that area as well. I learned how to use networking equipment like layer 2 and 3 switches and some protocols like TCP/IP and Mobile IP, but I'm looking to start more on the end-user side of things.

DigitalZeroOne

I can understand not wanting to list a job that isn't relevant to your experience or goals, but a lot of places are going to want a resume submitted, and if you don't include that job it will look like you're currently unemployed. If you don't feel comfortable listing technologies that you don't have a mastery off, just put that you have exposure to them. "Exposure to Cisco IOS", or something like that. Just stack up as much technology as you've worked with.

Again, I hope you do well.