Internet sources on resume?

I have some strange skills for entry level positions like ESX, XenServer and RHEL listed on my resume and regularly get asked where the experience came from. I received this knowledge getting to know people online that were mostly in the IT industry and had projects they were looking for help on. I see it's pretty common for software developers to put links to their code on resumes. While I don't currently have a place to gain this type of experience, is it reasonable to put a superuser/stackexchange username on a resume to show what you've helped others with?

I'm thinking I should take them off to avoid the question and they probably aren't doing me any good at this point but maybe I can show some more relevant online support.

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TomkoTech

I would say no to adding forum accounts and such to show anything. But you gained your skills/experience with ESX and all that by Im assuming labbing. You just tell them the truth when asked about it. Explain scenarios you set up and what you did.

broli720

So your resume is pretty much like your brand. Keep it as professional as possible. Adding tidbits like that diminish your brand value so just speak to it during the interview.

techfiend

Thing is I didn't learn esx and xenserver through labbing but helping people in other parts of the world with their projects. This explanation has received some strange looks.

I was thinking links to certain places would show their level of support knowledge and how they communicate which would help on a resume but I've never put it on. Links for software developers has definitely helped a few I know.

TomkoTech

How exactly did you help people with their projects without actually using the stuff? Pseudo code isn't likely to land someone a job writing code in Java or RUBY when he has never tried it. If you are saying you have never done anything with ESX personally and only helped someone walk through a problem on a forum then you do not have any esx or xenserver skills.

iBrokeIT

Did you gain actual hands on experience though these projects or did you just google the answer for them?

Don't over sell your experience because this one time you logged into a companies VMware environment and created a VM once. Now if you did a migration from 5.0 to 5.5 then that is something worth listing.

If it was a project that lasted more than 8 hours I would probably list it as:

Independent IT Consultant
Firstname LastName
* ESXi project with Company XYZ, project description and dates
* XenApp project with Company ABC, project description and dates
* RHEL project with Company DEF, project description and dates
ect

techfiend

For xenserver after initial install I remoted in, configured and managed it for a few years at a guys home who required remote access to 3 os's, had him setup the same day. While managing xenserver, I was approached by another who ran esx that had intermittent license server issues and needed some help with storage. I remoted in and dealt with the storage issue within a few hours, the license server issue took a few days because it was intermittent. Going in I had zero knowledge of either, google helped a lot.

For RHEL, it was general linux troubleshooting over ssh where my experience with other distros helped a lot.

These were all personal projects for IT professionals that had helped me with things, no monetary transaction.

I have done a little at home but didn't spend much time with it, last time I checked they had relatively strict hardware restrictions and I've never built a box that fit them exactly. XenServer I could never get running, ESX doesn't fit my budget but ESXi I had running after installing a bunch of patches. This was when I had 1 suitable box and quickly removed it missing my desktop. I recently received a spare that's suitable, currently running server 2012 eval for labbing but soon I will try to get esxi on it since I don't think sys admin is for me, not exciting. Although at this point server 2012 probably has a lot more relevance then virtualization. I could always run 2012 on esxi though to have the chance to use both.

Would an entry level position really care about esx or xenserver though? Every position I've seen mentioning it is at least mid-level.

iBrokeIT

Were you paid for the work? How did they pay you and how did you report it tax time? If you received a 1099 from them then you are considered a consultant/contractor

techfiend

iBrokeIT: I added that info in an edit, I didn't receive pay from them. No company was involved, the xenserver guy was a software developer and the esx guy was a datacenter tech. Thinking more about it, my little experience with esx(i) and rhel probably isn't resume worthy. I have removed them along with xenserver.

Danielm7

I'm confused how someone had a problem, asked for help on a forum then let a stranger remote in to their house who had no experience in the software for no pay? If it's hard to explain here it'll likely come off as even more strange on a resume.

iBrokeIT

If you weren't paid for the work and the potential employer can't contact the company about the work you performed then it isn't professional experience and shouldn't be put on a resume in my opinion.

"Would an entry level position really care about esx or xenserver though?"

I would be very uncomfortable in your shoes if I was in the an interview and asked to explain my professional experience with ESXi or be grilled on ESXi questions I couldn't answer without google. If you put it on your resume then you are fair game to be questioned on the topic and your level of experience with that technology.

techfiend

Ya I know it's an unusual experience. It wasn't actually on a forum but on irc. The guy who I managed xenserver for years I knew for years, he was a good friend of the guy running esx. We trusted each other and there wasn't a bunch of private information on their vm's. I can understand why they had me do it but I can also understand why I get strange looks about my answer.

If only paid backed up experience should be on a resume I should remove all my technical skills. I've never been paid for anything and never asked to be paid. I could take some basic esx questions and wouldn't expect them to be very technical on an entry level position. I've never been asked technical esx questions, just how I got the experience. The reason I have it on there is it's a passion of mine and would like to expand on it. I was thinking a place that uses esx or xenserver may be more willing to take on a guy that has some exposure to them for future roles.

networker050184

iBrokeIT wrote: »

If you weren't paid for the work and the potential employer can't contact the company about the work you performed then it isn't professional experience and shouldn't be put on a resume in my opinion.

My thoughts exactly.

techfiend

Would you guys recommend me removing all technical skills then? The esx and xenserver was never listed as experience but as a skill, interviewers still ask where the experience came from.

Windows, Linux, VPN, RDP, Server 2008, DHCP, DNS, etc. I have never been paid to do any of these. My resume would be customer service only and appear to have no knowledge of computers except for an old AAS degree and a certificate.

networker050184

In my opinion a resume is a document for your professional experience and credentials. So if you don't have professional experience don't put it on there.

There are some exceptions to this though like a fresh grad or student resume that is geared more towards highlighting education.

Danielm7

I'd be more comfortable saying it was a home lab or you did it for family/friends or a friend's small business or something. Telling an interviewer that you met someone over IRC and then just googled the answer to everything would raise more eyebrows than it would help you.

techfiend

So experience = skills? I would have basically a bare, half page resume then. Especially considering it's a functional resume and skills are the focus and what interviewers pay most attention to, I think I will keep the skills section. Maybe when I get enough experience to change to a chronological resume I will only list skills I have been paid to do, that could be a few positions down the road if I go the help desk route.

That would be lying though Danielm7, I'm just going to remove it to avoid the question entirely. I've never told them I googled to find the answer but with zero experience it's impossible to learn the cli of esx and xenserver without some reference. Setting up xenserver in gui was pretty straightforward and didn't require any googling for the most part.

fredrikjj

The problem is that your story about meeting people on irc and administrating their stuff, while true, sounds too strange*. Consider saying that you've done some basic freelance work on these systems in noncritical environments (which is true). Don't exaggerate the scope of your work, but you don't have to disclose that you weren't compensated with money.

*I personally think that it sounds great. You wouldn't be in a position to do those things if you weren't interested in the tech.

Danielm7

techfiend wrote: »

That would be lying though Danielm7, I'm just going to remove it to avoid the question entirely.

I wasn't suggesting that you should say it was a home lab. I meant that if I only had experience where I was self taught and nothing professional, like a home lab, then I'd be more comfortable explaining that, than explaining it was a guy I met on IRC where I went in blind and experimented on his network.

techfiend

Going in blind and working on someone's system is basically help desk isn't it? The only difference is I'm more than likely doing something I've done before and getting paid for it. I would think the learning would be more appropriate and what I'm looking for in a job.

broli720

techfiend wrote: »

Going in blind and working on someone's system is basically help desk isn't it? The only difference is I'm more than likely doing something I've done before and getting paid for it. I would think the learning would be more appropriate and what I'm looking for in a job.

I don't think you're getting it at all

techfiend

broli720 wrote: »

I don't think you're getting it at all

Could you elaborate?

TomkoTech

You can list the skills if you actually have them. All this crap about only listing skills you were paid for is ludicrous. So someone shouldn't list the 7 server farm the set up and managed for a year freelance and completely volunteer basis for their local church? Experience is experience whether you are paid for it or not.

As for the ESX you shouldn't list it. Remoting in 1 time and googling an answer doesnt make you able to claim that as a skill. However if you did actually manage a Xenserver for your friend you can and should claim that. What you need to do though is present it in a way that doesn't make you look like an idiot. For example what was the purpose of the server? Was it for him to host video games for a guild? Host your IRC chat room? If it is something that you can explain then do so. Just make sure you present it as a self-project such as a lab and not something that was a professional job you got paid for.

Having managed it for several years one should be able to answer questions about it.

techfiend

I could say something like "I setup and managed a xenserver for 2 years for a friend to use for software testing." The only IRC publicity I've seen has been bad like unethical hacking and maybe for the unfamiliar it's part of the bad side of technology.