Please critique my resume, IT newbie, trying to break into the field

Hi all,

I am a newbie in the IT field and just recently signed up to these forums and enrolled in WGU. I'd like to ask the community to critique my resume as I am getting no calls or interviews. I only have my A+ right now and will continue on the cert path with WGU BSIT Software in June. Thanks everyone!..Hmm it seems I get an error every time I try to attach a pdf or word file..well I'll paste it here..

Entry level IT Professional with one year of technical experience and two years of excellent customer service.
Technology Summary:
Software -- MS Office 2010 / 2007 / 2003 /
Hardware -- Personal Computer Peripheral Support -- Mouse / Keyboard / Webcam / Monitor / Servers / Network Cabling
Desktop Installation Support -- Dell / Apple / HP / Computer Imaging
Operating Systems -- Windows 7 / Windows XP / Vista / MAC OSX / Ubuntu / CentOS
Mobile Device Support -- Android / Apple / Blackberry
Remote Assistance Tools -- LogMeIn / Teamviewer / VNC
Computer languages -- C++
Certifications - CompTIA A+

Experience
Nvidia (Contractor): Systems Level Test Operator
Sept 2012 - Jan 2013
● Inspect, test, and install graphics chips into a graphics board.
● Run in-house graphic program and analyze test results to determine graphic chip quality.
● Mark graphic chips as acceptance or rejection status.
● Follow procedures and fill out quality assurance reports.
Self Employed: PC Technician
Jan 2011 - Aug 2012
● Communicated with clients to perform PC hardware and software installation, configuration, and troubleshooting.
● Collaborated with clients using methods such as email, chat, and phone to advise and implement technological solutions.
● Guided clients to perform migrations of user files from Windows XP to Windows 7 using Windows Easy Transfer.
● Instructed clients in the process of malware removal using software such as Malwarebytes.
K.F.C: Crew Member
Jan 2008 - Dec 2010
● Face-to-face interaction with at least 100 customers daily
● Answered 3 to 5 phone calls per day and resolved issues in a timely manner

Education
B.S. in Information Technology: Software at Western Governors University Fall 2014

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Comments

Polynomial

Remove KFC to start. I'd help more if I wasn't on the way out the door.

bhamz

I thought that was ok to leave in because it represented my customer interaction..but I can remove it.. anymore suggestions?

SlayerX

This is what I did and it helped me finally get interviews rolling in. Move your Education up above your "Technology summary" so they can see your B.S. degree first and also put a CompTIA A+ logo in the header in the top left corner. Human resources and recruiters love seeing pretty pictures and It will make your resume stand out and the logo wont be overbearing because the header gives it a light color fade. Next, Move your sentence "Certifications - CompTIA A+" to the top of your Technology summary. Everyone reads top to bottom and you want the important skills you have to be the first thing they read. Then you just need to make a summary about yourself and put it at the very top your Resume. I promise you will get calls for interviews very quickly.

bhamz

thanks for the detailed response, how would one write a summary if experience is very limited like not having much professional experience

SlayerX

Here is how I wrote my summary and I am in the same boat as you.

A professional individual looking for the opportunity to obtain IT2 SPECIAL TECH position for a 5 star hotel with passion, leadership and over 20 years of hospitality service that needs a well-rounded computer technician ready to utilize all of his computer skills to support Trump hotel, while expanding upon his technical abilities.

Michael2

Removing KFC is definitely priority one. I also don't think you can use self-employment as work experience unless you did consulting for F-500's. I would just put something about it under qualifications.

cruwl

Definitely use a summary directed at the company/position you are applying for. If you apply for 5 different jobs, you should have 5 different summaries. They don't need to be completely different but they need to be directed at each employer. State your goals like to gain direct experience while you worrk through you BS degree ect.

Also are you sending a cover letter with your resume? if not you may think about doing that as well, it gives you a longer format to really sell your self to the HR person.

Xyro

I would change the way you have the B.S listed. As I was reading it, it read as if it was already attained, then once I got to the end of the line I was quite disappointed to see that it was still in progress.

Try listing it as you listed the jobs, title above & date immediately below.
Such as:
B.S in Information Technology - Software
Summer 2013 - Fall 2014 (expected)

Also, as another member stated, move the education & certification up to the top.

Here is the rudimentary beginning of your summary:

Entry level IT Professional with one year of technical experience and two years of excellent customer service.

I would advise you to begin editing that by removing the word "excellent" & also changing the words "one" & "two" to the numerical versions of "1" & "2". You can then continue to add to that by stating what you are seeking & highlighting your good points. Keep it brief & simple to read. Remember, this is essentially getting a quick skim at first glance. You want items that attract attention so the reader keeps reading.

I see both positives & negatives to removing K.F.C ; however, if you do decide to keep it, please edit it to make it "look better".
Examples:
Remove the exact # of phone calls (3-5 = too low).
Make the role sound of more importance.
Use "100+ customers" daily instead of "at least 100 customers daily".
Add another 1 or 2 bullets to it -1 if after you fix your summaries they fall on the longer side, 2 if they then fall on the shorter side.

I would also work on the job responsibilities. They read too simplistically & seem more like job descriptions. I would work on melding your technology summary attributes & qualities into your job descriptions.

Also, please also add some spacing! Remember, you want to make this as easy for a person to read as you can.

Hope this helps.

SlayerX

Cruwl and Xyro are correct with what you need to do. Also don't take anything personal about how much we are hacking your original resume to pieces. We are all here to help you and most of us know what to look for on resumes as we all started where you are

After you update your resume re-post it up here again and we can see how your coming along with it.

ptilsen

Xyro wrote: »

changing the words "one" & "two" to the numerical versions of "1" & "2".

Disagree with this. It is improper to use numerals for values less than 10. The correct usage is to write out 1-9 in formal writing.

It's not clear to me what you did at KFC. If it was just a food service job, remove it. If you did something more that I'm missing, elaborate.

Michael2 wrote: »

Removing KFC is definitely priority one. I also don't think you can use self-employment as work experience unless you did consulting for F-500's. I would just put something about it under qualifications.

Disagree here as well. If someone paid you to do technical work, it belongs under experience. I've had a similar item on my resume since I created it in, IIRC, 2005, when I had no more work experience other than self-employed stuff. My next job hunt, which hopefully won't be for years, will be the first without this experience. Since you are so entry-level, it would be advisable to keep it on.

On the resume side, I would prefer to see a summary than a laundry list of technical skills. The summary should be 2-4 concise sentences describing yourself. You technical skills should go in your experience descriptions as much as possible. You should seek to show how you provided value, though, not just a bullet list of your responsibilities. I recommend a short description of responsibilities, followed by a bullet list of major accomplishments, projects, or otherwise noteworthy achievements.

If you do keep a skills section, which I don't recommend, generally speaking, you had better be sure everything you list is something you're capable of actually doing. I don't look at this resume and come away with the impression that you can write non-trivial C++ programs. Perhaps I'm wrong, but if I'm not, it absolutely has no place on your resume. It probably doesn't belong there regardless if you're applying for entry level infrastructure jobs. If you are trying to actually break into more software-oriented jobs at this time, I would expect too see a very different resume.

As far as ordering, it can be adjusted based on position. I might make a version with A+ at the top just for applying to jobs specifically requiring it, since you have relatively little experience. For jobs not, I would put your experience above your education and A+. I would honestly put your education at the bottom for most jobs. When you finish, I would put it at the top for most jobs, but while it's still in progress it should generally be at the bottom. Not that you should really obsess over order -- the chances of someone missing something based on order are actually pretty slim, IMO.

Xyro

ptilsen wrote: »

It is improper to use numerals for values less than 10. The correct usage is to write out 1-9 in formal writing.

Egads!

I wasn't thinking of formal heading at all. I was concentrating so much on efficiency & reading ease that I missed that!

Thanks ptilsen

bhamz

thanks for all the detailed responses. Greatly appreciated!

bhamz

I will re-post a new resume when I get the chance hopefully by tonight. Thanks again everyone.

bhamz

Here is my updated resume.. please critique again, thank you!

Entry-level IT Professional with solid technical skills and a customer focused approach. Ability to adapt to changing technologies, multitasks, and works with a can-do attitude. Hungry individual

Experience
Nvidia (contractor): Systems Level Test Operator
Sept 2012 – Jan 2013
Inspect, test, and install graphics chips according to company standards. Run in-house program to analyze graphic quality.

Achievements
· Tested 500+ graphics chips daily

Self Employed: PC Technician
Jan 2012 – Aug 2012
Communicated with clients to perform PC hardware and software installation, configuration, and troubleshooting. Collaborated with clients using methods such as email, chat, and phone to advise and implement technological solutions.

Achievements
· Successfully assembled 15+ customized desktop computer systems per client’s specifications
· Effectively cleaned malware from 15+ desktop/laptop computers
· Correctly replaced 10+ damaged hardware components such as hard drives, memory, processors, video cards, and motherboards
· Improved 10+ windows XP/7 environments with configured updates
· Diagnosed and implemented solutions to various computer related errors such as Blue Screen of Deaths, boot-up issues, and network connectivity for 20+ cases

Education
Pursuing a B.S in Information Technology: Software Western Governor’s University
Expected graduation: Fall 2014

foxxa

Don't remove the KFC bit. Redo it... you spent 2 years there. You learnt to handle customers, focus on the learning experience you got from it, in the order, the team oriented work, participating on a nice product and delivering it on time. Suppose you find a manager who worked in MacDonald's in his beginning. NEVER be ashamed of any work you did. Be proud of it. The worst that can happen is that some picky Resource people don't like KFC, or disregard "your kind of people". In that case, it will work in your benefit, not working for THAT kind of managers. On the other hand, if you find that Pizzahut's or Wendy's guy, you will be half there...

Spaced

Great advice from everyone! The new resume looks good. The only thing I would change is the line about being hungry. I would rephrase it to something along the lines of ...eager to take on new challenges and expand skill set. I'm sure you could word Smith it better than I did, but something along those lines. The original seemed a bit too informal. Let us know when you get some nibbles with that!

lsud00d

I'm not a fan of separating work experience into a summary and then 'Achievements'. I contend it should be similar to your original format.

And again in this respect I disagree with @Xyro...including stats should be for BIG numbers IMHO. Like if for example you designed a project that resulted in $20k cost savings...since you are in a relatively low number range it vary succinctly points out that there was not very much done at all, no offense. If you remove the numbers then it becomes less ambiguous about the few amount of times you did something and more about the fact that you did it, and can do it again.

About7Narwhal

Position 1
Company A
Date A - Date B
Summary of job duties. ( One - three sentences, gist of the job.)

Achievement 1 (Key growth, projects, successes - short, possibly metrics if needed)
Achievement 2
Achievement 3

That is how I did my resume if I wanted to list achievements per job. Else, list it in one heading. At least this way you avoid the wall of text and can fill extra space if you need to.