Need advice and resume critique

Hi everyone,

I graduated from UIC in May '09 with a B.S. in Information and Decision Science and I've picked up a couple of internships but can't really find any permanent job opportunities. As of right now, I'm doing data entry work for about a year now and I really hate it, so it's about time I get back on track and find another job.

I've been applying to different companies for positions, such as business analyst, help desk, IT support, but no luck. Now I'm starting to question if it could be my resume that is holding me back. I was wondering if you guys can help me critique my resume.

Also, I've been thinking about going for the A+ certificate and was wondering if it could increase my chances of getting a job in desktop support position or something that deals with hardware. I would like to stay away from helping customers through the phone.

[FONT=&quot]OBJECTIVE [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Seeking a position that allows me to utilize my technical knowledge to create a bridge between business and IT end-users[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]EDUCATION[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]University of Illinois at Chicago[/FONT][FONT=&quot], College of Business [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Bachelor of Science in Information and Decision Science (IT)[/FONT][FONT=&quot], May 2009[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]CAREER HISTORY[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]xxxxxxxxx, [/FONT][FONT=&quot]January 2010 – Present[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Data Entry Specialist[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Efficiently and accurately recorded sensitive data into database[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Reviewed documents for accuracy as well as correcting errors[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Informing team leaders about unusual situations affecting quality, productivity, accuracy and efficiency of data flow[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Exceeding the team production average[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]xxxxxxxxx, [/FONT][FONT=&quot]November 2009 – December 2009[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Webmaster[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Translate business needs into technology essentials[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Collaborated with business owner to ensure quality of the website[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Implemented Search Engine Optimization strategies[/FONT]
- [FONT=&quot]Optimized the site with SEOmoz and GoDaddy’s resources[/FONT]
- [FONT=&quot]Analyzed traffic with Google Analytics[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]xxxxxxxxx, [/FONT][FONT=&quot]October 2009 – November 2009[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]IT/Analytics Intern[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Managed an e-commerce website with Joomla[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Troubleshoot bugs that may occur within different browser platforms (i.e. IE5, IE6, IE7, IE8, Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Developed an application with Visual Basic to pull and format data from any CSV files[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Configured and set-up the company’s existing shared network[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Analyzed product pricing with Google Analytic tools, such as: Adwords and Insight[/FONT]
- [FONT=&quot]Developed a report based on the result of each product analysis[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx[/FONT][FONT=&quot], January 2009 – May 2009[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]IT Intern [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Increased efficiency by implementing a content management system called Plone[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Designed workflow structure with ArgoUML[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Cooperated with team members to meet project deadlines[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Produced and maintained technical and end user documentation[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Prepared PowerPoint presentations to be presented to clients[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ACTIVITIES[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Information and Decision Science Organization (IDSO) – Director of Events, Webmaster[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Supply Chain and Logistics Management (SCLMO) – Vice President, Webmaster[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2005 CCUC Basketball Tournament (Champion), 2007 CCUC Basketball Tournament, 2009 CCUC Basketball Tournament (4th place)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]TECHNICAL SKILLS[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Programming – SAS, Visual Basic, ASP.NET, HTML/CSS[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Database – SQL, MS Access[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Design – Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Photoshop, ArgoUML, Plone, Joomla[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Operating Systems – MS Windows, Mac OS X[/FONT]

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Comments

Essendon

First off, welcome to TE!

You need to tailor your resume to the job you are applying for. I doubt if your current resume would get any hits on the HR keyword filter for a Business Analyst, HelpDesk or IT Support jobs. When you submit your resume, the HR department runs a keyword filter on it first. Say you applied for an IT Support job, the keywords would be users, Active Directory, Operating Systems, tickets, Remedy, you know such stuff. Your resume lacks such keywords. I am not surprised you havent gotten any hits. Have you got an certs/diploma/degree? If yes, put that in. I'd even put in a Degree in progress. Put a couple of sentences per bullet point, currently it looks weak as. Managed e-commerce with Joomla > doesnt tell me much. What did you exactly do with this Joomla? Elaborate a little, like I said a couple of sentences per bullet point. Most importantly, tailor the resume to the job description. HTH!

Priston

Alot of people don't like objectives.
I'd also bring technicial skills up towards the top of the resume

I think the A+ will help, It would add another keyword on your resume to get it viewed.

Not 100% sure but B.S. instead of Bachelor of Science might give you more keyword hits also

Hypntick

Essendon wrote: »

First off, welcome to TE!

You need to tailor your resume to the job you are applying for. I doubt if your current resume would get any hits on the HR keyword filter for a Business Analyst, HelpDesk or IT Support jobs. When you submit your resume, the HR department runs a keyword filter on it first. Say you applied for an IT Support job, the keywords would be users, Active Directory, Operating Systems, tickets, Remedy, you know such stuff. Your resume lacks such keywords. I am not surprised you havent gotten any hits. Have you got an certs/diploma/degree? If yes, put that in. I'd even put in a Degree in progress. Put a couple of sentences per bullet point, currently it looks weak as. Managed e-commerce with Joomla > doesnt tell me much. What did you exactly do with this Joomla? Elaborate a little, like I said a couple of sentences per bullet point. Most importantly, tailor the resume to the job description. HTH!

Totally agree here. Keywords are a must if you're posting this online. Obviously you don't want to pad the resume with stuff you don't know how to use or didn't use, doesn't look good in an interview. I would say go a bit more in depth on what you did in previous positions, page count doesn't really matter much any more.

ehnde

You have one degree, it looks like it has value. Could you elaborate on what you learned in school? An HR person might not know what your degree means, exactly. Because you have one degree you could possibly add a brief description of the purpose of your degree.

Maybe change the word "Objective" to "Summary".

Essendon hit the nail on the head. You need to translate your skills into words that HR people are looking for, but you ALSO need your resume to use verbage that they understand.

You do seem well suited - based on your experience - to do web design and content management.

SteveLord

I'm one that doesn't like objectives. He/she/we/they all know your objective is to get a freakin job!

dyung2

Thanks everyone for critiquing my resume!

Essendon - Thanks for your insight, I reread my resume and I definitely don't have any keywords that pops out and plus my sentences are too vague. I will have to go back and re-edit my resume.

ehnde - I'm not sure if I should put a description of what my degree means because wouldn't an HR person look over my experience first to determine if I was a right fit? I believe that might be more important than trying to explain what I learned in school.

It does look like I'm trying to do web design and content management, but I feel like I lack the creativity to design a web page. I mean, I know how to create a web page from scratch, but it is not really attractive. I just know how to edit and manipulate the codes.
That's why I'm debating if I should get certified in A+

Hypntick

dyung2 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for critiquing my resume!

Essendon - Thanks for your insight, I reread my resume and I definitely don't have any keywords that pops out and plus my sentences are too vague. I will have to go back and re-edit my resume.

ehnde - I'm not sure if I should put a description of what my degree means because wouldn't an HR person look over my experience first to determine if I was a right fit? I believe that might be more important than trying to explain what I learned in school.

It does look like I'm trying to do web design and content management, but I feel like I lack the creativity to design a web page. I mean, I know how to create a web page from scratch, but it is not really attractive. I just know how to edit and manipulate the codes.
That's why I'm debating if I should get certified in A+

If you looking for a desktop support role then yes A+ is what you'll want to go for. That should nab you entry level desktop support. Now I do know that the various hardware vendors, dell, HP, Apple etc. have certifications that you can obtain for their hardware. After A+ if you still want to do desktop support for hardware, it might not be a bad idea to look into those.