Getting frustrated over job hunting

Technoracer

Not sure what the recruiters or hiring managers expect from job applicants. This is definitely last time I'm paying for priority mail to send out my resume and cover letter for a job I think I will, at least, get a call for interview... Just something I needed to vent out. I guess I will continue going to school, and get more certifications. I need some advice of how and where to apply. Thanks guys.

crypticgeek

Hang in there. Most of us were in this boat as well. I'm not sure what the job market is like in Chicago so I can't really speak to that, but it sounds like you're doing a lot of good things to help improve your chances.

What kind of jobs are you seeing? What are you applying to or not applying to?

If you don't have a link to the hiring manager, a lot of it will come down to getting through the HR filter (certs and degrees) and then the strength of your resume and your cover letter once it does make it to a hiring manager. Have you had your resume and cover letter writing style looked at by someone who can give you good advice? Are you tailoring both to each job in particular instead of using a simple template?

Also, I know it sounds kind of corny, but have you read What Color Is Your Parachute? Some of the stuff in there seems pretty obvious. However, I found it helpful to read when I was job hunting. It kept me focused on doing the various things and kept me motivated because I knew I was job hunting in an effective manner.

Technoracer

crypticgeek wrote: »

Hang in there. Most of us were in this boat as well. I'm not sure what the job market is like in Chicago so I can't really speak to that, but it sounds like you're doing a lot of good things to help improve your chances.

What kind of jobs are you seeing? What are you applying to or not applying to?

If you don't have a link to the hiring manager, a lot of it will come down to getting through the HR filter (certs and degrees) and then the strength of your resume and your cover letter once it does make it to a hiring manager. Have you had your resume and cover letter writing style looked at by someone who can give you good advice? Are you tailoring both to each job in particular instead of using a simple template?

Also, I know it sounds kind of corny, but have you read What Color Is Your Parachute? Some of the stuff in there seems pretty obvious. However, I found it helpful to read when I was job hunting. It kept me focused on doing the various things and kept me motivated because I knew I was job hunting in an effective manner.

I have some gaps in employment, mostly because I was working in a different industry for about a year, and for the last year I did not work, because I was in school. I have over 14 years in the military and some of that experience is in IT, so I think companies should be eager to hire me, but the market in my area might not be too good for IT.

I would like to get into Network Administration or Network Engineering. I wouldn't mind starting with basic Desktop Support Technician positions, though. My cover letter and resume is tailored to the specific job I apply to. Recently I decided to use the LinkedIn Labs Resume builder to build my resume from my LinkedIn Profile, and is looks nice, and easy to read.

I will consider reading "What Color Is Your Parachute". Thanks for the advice.

Here is what my resume looks like:

Sebastian Zwoli

ande0255

After graduating an AAS in Advanced networking and getting my CCNA, I spent 4 years working shitty contract jobs and help desks, and I was actively job seeking (and not getting hired) most of that time.

Even though it took year of jobs I hated, I'm right at where I want to be, and keep working you butt off amd you will be too. Just never give up looking for that next career game changer of a position, cause it's out there for anyone willing to earn it.

crypticgeek

Looking at your resume I'd agree that the LinkedIn resume has acceptable formatting. It is quite easy to read and scan. The cert section looks like padding to me with all the dates as they are kind of unnecessary in my opinion. It's a minor quibble though and if you have a gap in your work history I understand that it can help show what you've been working on when.

However, and please take my criticism below constructively, I think the content can use a lot of work. If I were a hiring manager I would not feel very motivated to pick up the phone after looking at your resume. It's not that you don't have the experience or education I would be looking for in an entry level hire. I think you're qualified from that perspective. Your gaps in employment also don't really raise too much of a red flag with me either as it's obvious you've been working on your education. However, the job market in IT is pretty competitive, especially at the entry level. You need to do more than just spit vague facts and experience at me. You need something to motivate me as to why you're the candidate I should call.

Summary. You need to grab my attention starting with the summary. It should be 3 or so sentences that make me wanna keep reading. You need to pull out specific things they are asking for in the job posting and cater to that. Don't just say what experience you have here. Instead, relate that experience directly to the position you're applying for and tell them what you can do for them in regards to that. I cannot stress this enough. It's all about what value you can bring to the position and to the company.

Skills section. Most of these are too vague. Be specific, especially when it comes to the skills section. What operating systems? Do you know Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, BSD, what? What version(s)? Windows XP experience is soon to be irrelevant. Network security and network administration are vast areas of skill. Microsoft office...what version? Office 2007 skills are not going to be as relevant if I need you to support my Office 365 users. Ditch customer satisfaction in this section. That's all well and good but 1) everyone says that on their resume for customer facing positions and unless you have some sort of relevant specific measurement to back that up it's pretty meaningless filler and 2) this section should really be limited to technical skills, not soft skills. If you have a specific way to demonstrate your skill at providing customer service do so in the experience section.

Experience. You worked in a position for 4 years and all you can muster is a single sentence to describe your experience? Come on, I think you can do a lot better than that. You need to be ALOT more descriptive with your experience here. You need to tell not just what you did in a position. Tell me what you accomplished! There must have been some accomplishment, goal achieved, project you worked on, etc. Again it's about what value you brought the company. Use action words. Be specific. This is important. For instance if there were satisfaction surveys done you could talk about how you increased satisfaction by X%. Completed project doing X, Y ahead of schedule and Z under budget. Increased sales for X period by $Y. Specific numbers that you can back up somehow if asked are a huge help here.

I hope you've found some of this helpful advice. Feel free to ask me any other questions. Good luck out there!

Technoracer

Thank you crypticgeek. The reason I didn't write much is because I tried everything I could to make everything fit on one page. I will definitely take your tips, and work on improving my resume.

devils_haircut

Technoracer wrote: »

I tried everything I could to make everything fit on one page

I've been told by several of the IT recruiters that I have worked with that a one page resume isn't necessary. When I was in college ('04), I remember having that conversation with a roommate at the time about how a one page resume was the current trend. However, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

jibbajabba

Re 1-Page resume. Surely it depends on how long you have been on the market. A 3-Page resume for someone who just finished uni and worked for two years sounds as implausible as a 1-Page resume for someone who had 10 jobs over the last 20 years. I tried to keep the page count down, but still have 3-Pages. My job history section has only the last few jobs detailed what I have done but all the ones before that have just the duration, name and job title (under "Further Job History"). If they are interested to go that far back I let them ask me

wgroom

I can feel for you Techno, I educated myself out of a job in 2005 and was unemployed for 14 months. At that time I refused to do short contract work, and held out for a well paying job, although the commute was a killer. In your military experience, detail how you applied what your were trained to do in such a manner that it will translate easily into the civilian market. Many employers do not understand the military lingo. You have some good skills, but you need to show the prospective employer, on paper, how you will be able to use those skills to make a difference for them. They are looking for someone who can and will improve their organization. Highlight any special skills and how you have used those skills. List any committees, groups, and activities you have participated in. Highlight your strengths, that is the key.

N2IT

Just my two cents. Less white space which I like just not as much. More summary that really tells me nothing about you. You have to say very little but mean a lot, take your time with that piece of the resume. It is critical - in fact as an IT manager when I didn't schedule properly or when applicants would show up late not due to their own fault but to the recruiter I would be in a bind and usually stop at the first job listed and of course make my way through the summary. I can't stress enough how important the top portion of the resume is. In fact it's so important I would say you should spend 90% of your time designing your resume on the summary and the first job position.