Desperate Need of Resume Help

olaHalo

Im trying to make the jump to a more pure networking role. Im currently a Network Tech looking to jump to a Network Admin or Jr Network Admin, or Systems Admin position etc.

My resume is not very good but I actually get a lot of calls. But most of them are for positions below my level or around the same level.
My resume doesnt even fill up a page. Im considering adding a "skills" section or something similar.

Please be as blunt and harsh as possible. I plan to upload this thing everywhere.
Thanks for any help.

Version 1
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=968C4118EDDE562B%21611
Version 2
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=968C4118EDDE562B!619&authkey=!AEiLGuCuNfRmlYo&ithint=file%2c.docx
-Added more details (hardware, software, amount of users etc)
-Added dates
-Removed lines up top for appeal
-Moved Network+ below the MCSA certs
-I cant think of a clever way to merge the Education and Certs sections so ill wait on that.
Version 3
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=968C4118EDDE562B!624&authkey=!AIIApMDliol7frM&ithint=file%2c.docx
-Changed Font to Ariel from Times
-Formatted paragraphs to justify
-Adjusted spacing across page
-Added bullet points

Version 4
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=968C4118EDDE562B!640&authkey=!ABHzPq_ed6Gm40c&ithint=file%2c.docx
-Cleaned up Lines
-Deleted bulky paragraphs to create more bullet point style
-added Key skills section

Essendon

I love the address! Nice one mate!!

If I were you, I'd:

- Remove the ugly lines that encase your name or atleast make them lighter (to make it aesthetically pleasing)

- Club Education and Certs into one section. Move the N+ to the bottom of the cert pile. You want the important ones first.

- Make the experience section more technical, as in have more tech-speak in there. It looks like it's written for a HR person to read. Include what virtual solution you migrated the physical servers to, vSphere/Hyper-v/Xen. Write about what devices you work(ed) on. Tell them how big the network is/was and how many users you support(ed). How many staff you trained and what software you used for restoring data. Everyone like to see numbers or specific percentages, so chuck that stuff in there.

- Time period of employment at both the current and past gigs.

So yeah, be specific. I just dont see what you've been working on. As a hiring tech, I'd like to see what candidates have skills with, beforehand.

Hope this helps!

olaHalo

Thanks Essendon!
I took some of your suggestions and uploaded the result.
See the OP

mariaCS

Use Justify in the blocks of text

Essendon

Better already!! Here's some more:

- Change the font. I was almost straining my eyes to read that. Try Garamond or Trebuchet MS at size 10
- Write another bullet point in the previous gig, it kind of ends abruptly.
- Too much white space at the bottom, this is probably from the point above.
- What kind of VMware solution did you migrate to?

This is all I can think of.

olaHalo

Updated yet again.
Thanks guys. WOW just comparing version 1 to version 3 shows a huge improvement
Still would like more pointers!

Eston21

Another thing to keep in mind is to always tailor your resume for the exact job that you are applying for.

olaHalo

Updated again.

Essendon

Yep, that latest version makes better use of white space. I like how in the experience section you've trimmed the paragraph bit down to two lines and added a bullet or two instead. How about:

- Decreasing the margins on the left and right?
- Decreasing the indent of the bullet points in the experience section.

In its current format, there still seems to be some real estate you could put to even better use by adjusting the margins. Have you tried Garamond?

olaHalo

Adjusting the margins makes a huge difference!

ande0255

I'd maybe find a different way to incorporate the key words currently at the bottom of the resume (in revision 4) into the upper body of the resume, as parts of your job experience instead of just bullet point skills. The bullet points and header 'Key Skills' immediately draws my eyes to that first, and when I read STP / SMTP / ARP, I immediately thought 'buzz words' instead of actual skills.

I'd take every one of those bullet points, and consider how you'd answer a hiring manager in an interview if asked to elaborate on a skill, like "Could you tell me about your experience with (listed skill), and what makes it a key skill to you?"

The problem with the key skills is that it completely draws attention to it, which may make it better for the top of the resume so you can naturally flow downwards reading, but it appears that 75% of the key skills listed are protocols that may be hard to explain fluently how they tie into your experience.

So my main suggestions is to move Key Skills to the top, and really think about whether you could explain a skill in the form of demonstrated work experience, or if your adding that from your studies how you can explain a lab scenario where you solved an STP / ARP / HTTP issue through troubleshooting.

Good luck on your resume! I need to update mine as well, and it's always such a chore.

olaHalo

^
Very good pointers ande0255
Let me see if I can incorporate what you said.

That key skills section is actually just buzzwords. I went through a bunch of job ads and I took the most common protocols and words and put them in there. (Obviously I understand them all too)
Is this not a good strategy? Perhaps looked down upon?
Thanks!
Ill post what I can come up with

ande0255

One way to add buzzwords in, is in the form tutoring or peer mentoring. For example I did peer tutoring while in college, so I keep that job on there as I did actually do paid tutoring for the school on CCNA. If you don't have a tutoring opportunity through an employer, could maybe join a study group where you are mentoring newbies, and add that as relevant experience rather than work experience.

For my resume, I give a very brief overview of all my responsibilities in very short paragraph, and use 3 bullet points for the three most important / best selling job functions, and cram the acronyms into those bullet points as one smooth flowing sentence.

For example:

- Setting up new users in Active Directory for IPSEC VPN access, configuring Authentication through NPS / RADIUS servers, and adjusting ACL / NAT rules on ASA Firewalls to allow remote access

So that one job function allowed me 9 buzz words (not sure if Authentication counts as an 10th).

I've also found a lot of buzzwords seem to be specific to software like ticketing systems, email clients, and communications (Lync, Jabber, etc).

That section you currectly have though screams look at me, and that content will be the difference between the Yes and No pile within 5 seconds of looking over the bullet points and a quick glance to see how it lines up with the job roles / functions listed.

You want everything to be cohesive throughout the resume, and simple to scan over, as I'd assume if a manager has to really dig into a resume to understand the experience it's probably going in ths No pile.

/rant