My CV, needs harsh criticism

[FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot]This is a copy n paste from the pdf of my CV. Difference from last time I posted this was a bit more info, more sexy bullet points and also volunteering experience.

Bring on the pain![/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot]

Certifications and skills[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

· [FONT=&quot]CompTIA A+[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]CompTIA N[/FONT][FONT=&quot]etwork[/FONT][FONT=&quot]+ [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]Strong interpersonal communication skills[/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]Work well independently or as part of a larger team[/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]Highly motivated and a quick learner regarding IT[/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]Being efficient with time and organisation, doing more with less[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Skills include self-employed desktop technician for clients with Windows XP and 7, while providing the service to some clients via remote desktop. Maintenance and support was carried out in a professional, friendly face-to-face manner. The work included for clients were virus removal, backing up of critical data, configuring Windows settings and applications, installing printers for PC's and for small networks, building complete systems, troubleshooting and replacing PC components such as the CPU, RAM, motherboard, hard drives and NIC's. Work also included troubleshooting extensively using Windows tools such as event viewer, command prompt, msconfig, device manager and various software programs.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I am currently studying for the MCITP and CompTIA Linux+.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Experience[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Camara (charity organization) Chapelizod [/FONT][FONT=&quot]–[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Technical Volunteer[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]Processing computers for educational use for schools in Africa[/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]Erasing hard drive data (DBAN) and loading an Image of Ubuntu from the network server[/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]Troubleshooting hardware/software and connectivity issues as they arise[/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]Helping the system admin when needed[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Education[/FONT][FONT=&quot] - [/FONT][FONT=&quot]school school school[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Employment[/FONT][FONT=&quot] - my employer[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]Strong focus on customer service and communication[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]Responsible for ordering goods from suppliers[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]

· [FONT=&quot]Working as a part of a team where motivation and conflict management are important[/FONT]

· [FONT=&quot]Providing detailed training to new employees[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]Working under pressure to meet deadlines[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Thank you for reviewing my application[/FONT]

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Comments

Asif Dasl

There are quite a few CV/Resume posts so people can get a bit tired of going through them so don't take the time it took for someone to post negatively - they take a bit of time to go through.

It's much better to post the Word or PDF document as we can comment about how it looks, spacing, font, etc... just take out the personal info, we can change the word doc

I would change the order - change it to... Certifications, IT Volunteering, Work Skills, Employment, Education... any completed college bump Education in to 2nd position... I would do this order only because you said you were a baker with little experience... as you get more experience you will need to change the order again. Highlight your other skills, like HTML you mention in another post...

Most places here and I'm sure elsewhere have so many CVs/Resumes to look at, you need to give them a clear indication what they are dealing with in the first half page to the first page... anything on the second page you are not guaranteed that they will read it... anything over 2 pages they will not read it... Employers are not going to read 50 overviews/goals at the top of each CV/Resume so if you do that keep it real short it practically makes no difference, it's all BS anyway.

Bullet point achievements & skills, try and phrase things positively (change "Responsible for ordering goods from suppliers" to "Responsible for tracking down the best price for components" one sounds like you are just doing orders, the other sounds like you are improving & saving the business/charity money) Similarly "erasing hard drive" should be "securely wiping hard drives".

Change that wodge of text in certifications in to bullet points, or at least in to 2 paragraphs.

Do a search for resumes it will give you plenty of examples and ideas.

HTH

SteveLord

Kai123 wrote: »

[FONT=&amp][/FONT]

· [FONT=&amp]Being efficient with time and organisation, doing more with less[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp][/FONT]
[FONT=&amp][/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]Camara (charity organization) Chapelizod [/FONT][FONT=&amp]–[/FONT][FONT=&amp] Technical Volunteer[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp][/FONT]

· [FONT=&amp][/FONT]

You spelled organization both correctly and incorrectly there.

Asif Dasl

SteveLord wrote: »

You spelled organization both correctly and incorrectly there.

Depends on what side of the pond you live on!

But you are correct...

SteveLord

Asif Dasl wrote: »

Depends on what side of the pond you live on! But you are correct...

Figured either you or he would say that. Primarily noting that both ways were used though.

Asif Dasl

SteveLord wrote: »

Figured either you or he would say that. Primarily noting that both ways were used though.

I know I know.. I was just nudging ya!

Kai123

Its a first draft, spelling and everything else will be fixed.

My word 2010 has expired so we will see what I can use to change it. I will definately move the ordering around, I have been focusing on adding the charity experience and forgot about putting it in a better order.

Thanks for the input though! I am making good progress on the 70-680, I feel the MCITP is the last piece of the puzzle.

Kai.

Asif Dasl

You could use the free OpenOffice, but MS Office Home & Student is better IMO. But if you were going on to do MS Server stuff then you would be better getting a TechNet Subscription - I think you wanted to go down the Cisco route so Office H+S would probably do.

You can use PDFCreator to create PDFs if you want to upload your CV/Resume.

Novalith478

Asif Dasl wrote: »

Depends on what side of the pond you live on! But you are correct...

Hey hey hey...we here in Canada use organisation

and colour, labour and neighbour! :P

SteveLord

Novalith478 wrote: »

Hey hey hey...we here in Canada use organisation

and colour, labour and neighbour! :P

Oh don't get me started. Our database app is from a Canadian company and has many of their spellings.

ptilsen

Get Word. I don't care how, but get actual MS Word. Do not use anything but Word. Have a Word-created PDF of your resume and a Word-created DOC of your resume. Post one or the other here for review of the formatting and content.

This is not trivial; sending resumes out in anything but a Word-created PDF or DOC is not preferred and can significantly impact your chances of being considered for positions. Particularly in IT you look totally incompetent if you can't send a properly formatted PDF or DOC.

Kai123

Attachment not found.

Moved it around and I dont like it, might make the certs one line and try and make it less bulletpointy.

ITCVfinaldraftforinterwebs.pdf

Asif Dasl

You need to explain your experience with Camara and what they do in a short paragraph, break down what you did better than "processing computers" did you do order tracking? List the OSs that you used, Office skills? Photoshop/Dreamweaver? you did cloning? what did you use?

Explain what you did with the System Admin. You list a paragraph about what you do with computers at the bottom, bump that up near the top somehow (it's part of Camara no?) - I need to be reading that before your retail work. Change "some clients" to SME (Small to Medium Enterprises) if that's who you were dealing with.

Maybe be even listing a part-time job fixing computers or developing websites to fill it out a bit. I would be trying to get a 70-680 or CCNA on there too.

Kai123

Sorry Asif, you misread my cv all wrong and overestimating my experience. Clients were local people with computer issues.

I am gunning for the 70-680 though, I think thats the last piece now. A few recruiters have e-mailed me about a rollout engineer but sadly no full driving licence.

Attachment not found.

cvforinternet.pdf

NetworkVeteran

Kai123 wrote: »

Sorry Asif, you misread my cv all wrong

If someone can read your CV "all wrong", that suggests changes are needed to make it clearer.

CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+

These look like your primary selling points? I'd put them on their own lines to emphasize them.

Camara Chapalizod – Technical Volunteer

+ Processing computers for educational for schools in Africa
+ Securely wiping hard drives using DBAN and loading an Image of Ubuntu from the network server
+ Troubleshooting hardware/software and connectivity issues as they arise

Post the dates you were employed. It's standard practice on resumes. I assume when someone hides information it means they don't want it known--perhaps this was a one-weekend charity event you participated in.

"Processing computers for educational for schools in Africa" -- "Processing" is vague. Explain what you did, specifically. Also use the past tense, since nobody cares about the general job description, only about your experience.

Work was... be discarded.

Blah blah blah blah. This is the stuff people skip. Put anything crucial in those three bullet points about the position. Even use five, if needed. If someone wants to know all the details they'll ask during a phone screen or interview.I

 Strong interpersonal communication skills

 Work well independently or as part of a larger team

 Highly motivated and a quick learner regarding IT

 Being efficient with time and organisation, doing more with less

If there exists any evidence of you having these skills, by all means, explain them briefly here. Remember that your resume is already a vehicle to demonstrate your communication and organization skills. If you could zap your grammar issues and cut this down to a page, that would help.

Hands-on skills include ...

software programs.

More talkie-talkie to skip over.

Employment – 445533 baker

 Strong focus on customer service and communication
 Responsible for ordering goods from suppliers
 Working as a part of a team where motivation and conflict management are vital
 Providing detailed training to new employees
 Working under pressure to meet deadlines
 Being dynamic, creative and efficient with workload and making efficient use of time

That's all great, but, umm, did you actually do any work? I don't see a single line telling me something you did. If you actually explain what you did, this would be the strongest thing on your resume after your certifications and volunteer work. Again, provide dates.

Kai123

Sorry for the delayed reply NetworkVeteran.

Asif read a few things wrong, and assumed a few things about the CV but that was all. Dates are on the real CV as well.

I was advised to write what I do at Camara. Also, what would making a brief description about Camara being differently to my current full time job that you want me to explain what I do? The Camara description would be much better then telling the recruiter that I bake bread and make cakes.

Thanks for the advice, I do appreciate it and will change a few things on your recommendation

Kai.