Networking Resumes

BobSutan

BobSutan

[H]F Junkie
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Apr 5, 2000
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I'm just looking for some feedback on my resume's layout, fonts, etc. Thanks for looking. And feel free to post yours as well. If this goes well maybe we'll sticky it.

Resume

Also, the agency part will be filled in when I'm actually given duties and a job title in my gaining workcenter (I don't actually start until July 13th). Aside from that I like what I've got, but then my opinion is what really matters now is it? FWIW, I'm trying to get hired part time with a defense contractor.
 
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Looks pretty good, maybe add a tech skills section or software proficiency. Also do you have any certs?
 
The certs are in the second bullet of Key Qualifications. As for tech skills being a separate section, it ended up being a lot of overlap with the Key Qualifications. It just flowed a lot better with everything in one section. Take a look at the old version of this resume if you dare.
 
Yea the older one isnt as good, I have redone my resume many times in the past six months until I got my current job, finally got a layout I like though.
 
Hey I asked if I could do the same thing a while ago and a mod told me to because everyone would do it :p oh well.


(I'm going to look later I have no time now but chance to see your resume is too good to pass up)
 
I think you res looks squared away.

I do the same thing.
 
Hey, welcome to MD!!

So, you're gonna be working on base huh?? Sounds like a nice gig. Meade is friggin huge. Actually, Meade High is the largest school in the county, so that gives the rest of you an idea of the size of the base.

Anyway, I'm just down the road a bit and wanted to give you a congrats.

And back on topic... resume looks good, but these days it's not as necessary to cram everything onto a single page. Actually, a lot of professional resume writers are straying away from the single page mentality. The point is to really toot your own horn. Also, a cover letter is a good thing to add. Make a genaric one, but if you're applying for a job you want, alter it to really push yourself as what they need.

Just a thought.
 
animeguru said:
Hey, welcome to MD!!

So, you're gonna be working on base huh?? Sounds like a nice gig. Meade is friggin huge. Actually, Meade High is the largest school in the county, so that gives the rest of you an idea of the size of the base.

Anyway, I'm just down the road a bit and wanted to give you a congrats.

And back on topic... resume looks good, but these days it's not as necessary to cram everything onto a single page. Actually, a lot of professional resume writers are straying away from the single page mentality. The point is to really toot your own horn. Also, a cover letter is a good thing to add. Make a genaric one, but if you're applying for a job you want, alter it to really push yourself as what they need.

Just a thought.
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Hrm...I'd be more inclined to say that being only 1 page is more important today than ever. With the 100's of resume's crossing a HR person's desk do you really think they are going to read a 3 or 4 page resume? I don't. Its almost to the point where you need 3 docs to get a job anymore - Summary Resume, Complete Resume, and Cover Letter. Supply the complete one upon the interview.

I really like the way you've blended what you did on the job with actual achievments while there. Saying you are a network admin/sys admin is important, but specific items you worked on/with are even more so.

The other thing I like about the second one is the dropping of "References available upon request." Everyone knows they are so there's no point in wasting vaulable space saying so.
 
IMO, I'd lose the "Objective" and replace it with "Summary". We all know what you're objective is. Making the wording fancy doesn't change the fact that your objective is as follows:

"I want a job at your company. Here's my resume!"

Anything beyond that (like if you're only looking for part-time work or need to specify what position you're applying for) will be in the cover letter.

Here's an example of my old resume and you can see how the "Summary" gets to the point. The way I look at it, the Summary should be one or two sentences long and amply describe yourself if that's all they get the chance to read. Get their attention first, don't bore them with old-time standard writing formats that don't serve a purpose anymore!

I also agree with the thought that keeping to one page may not serve you the best these days. What I like to provide is a single-page formatted resume that has an abbreviated version of my employment history (one line for each position) and then offer a "Detailed Work History" attachment with more information on each position. This way I can have both formats available if needed.

Personally I have learned a lot from the book "Resume's That Knock 'Em Dead". There are ton's of great real-world examples of many different resume formats that give you a better idea of what works and what is useless on a resume.

EDIT:
====================================
Now looking at my online resume (haven't updated it in a couple of years) I see that there's a bit I'd change in the "Summary" statement. To begin with, it's too vague. I'd change that depending on what I'm applying for to something like this:

"14 years professional experience including 12 years CAD, 6 years PC desktop maintenance, and 1 year network security duties..."

Simply put, get straight to the point!
 
IceWind said:
Gawd Damn..I feel like a complete noob when I looked at that resume :(
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Well based on your sig, I'm very very flattered! I don't have half the certs you do!

...or are you talking about being a noob at writing a resume?

--oh wait! you're talking about the original poster's resume. Now I sound like a stupid ass.
 
fibroptikl said:
Critique mine (.doc file)

I know my Professional Objective blows.

/end thread hijack
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Good. I'd not change much in your case since your work experience is brief enough to allow someone to sift through it to find out what your skills are (besides your certs and stuff listed above). I'd probably list your education after your work history since your experience is now your selling point over your education. Always list your most valuable selling points first! Like in my case, I've managed to change jobs every year for the past 8 years now so a work history is not too helpful to a employer as they usually only have a short list of skills they're looking for:

"Can this guy setup Exchange and a tape backup?"

Don't make the employer read your entire professional life history just to find out the answer to that question! I have found that the employment history over time becomes nothing more than proof that you have the skills and/or experience you have already listed or told them about. I think reading your life history in search of your skill set is a waste of their time -especially if you have a lot of work history.

Another example. Say your employment history has something like this:

"supported various enterprise network software platforms including Exchange, MS Server2000, and Norton."

Does this tell an employer anything? Yes. Does this tell them that you have the experience to SETUP exchange or just do little tasks that the REAL network administrator tells you to do? See the problem with only having an employment history list? Don't count on it to tell them all that you're able to do! Hell, some skills you have aren't ever mentioned in an employment history. Say you can program PERL/CGI that you managed to teach yourself...

ok, ok, I know I'm starting to get out of hand. I think you guys get the idea.
 
I've been trying to get a damn networking job for the past couple of months. I guess Florida just sucks for any type of computer work.
 
animeguru said:
...resume looks good, but these days it's not as necessary to cram everything onto a single page. Actually, a lot of professional resume writers are straying away from the single page mentality. The point is to really toot your own horn. Also, a cover letter is a good thing to add. Make a genaric one, but if you're applying for a job you want, alter it to really push yourself as what they need.

Just a thought.
Click to expand...

I've been told several times from headhunters and the folks on base who help with resumes that HR types who review the resumes only spend about 10-15 seconds on each one. So the more you have isn't exactly the best thing going nowadays. The exception to this rule of thumb is if you've got something like 20 years experience.

Also, here's another more updated version of my resume.

Resume, Updated
 
BobSutan said:
I've been told several times from headhunters and the folks on base who help with resumes that HR types who review the resumes only spend about 10-15 seconds on each one. So the more you have isn't exactly the best thing going nowadays. The exception to this rule of thumb is if you've got something like 20 years experience.

Also, here's another more updated version of my resume.

Resume, Updated
Click to expand...

Looks great and straight to the point. My only beef is that the summary is still vague. "Seasoned" doesn't mean squat. I'd gather that you can easily say something more concrete like this:

"Network engineer with 8 years professional experience ranging from Cisco programming to cable running."

...or something like this.
 
BobSutan said:
I'm just looking for some feedback on my resume's layout, fonts, etc. Thanks for looking. And feel free to post yours as well. If this goes well maybe we'll sticky it.

Resume

Also, the NSA part will be filled in when I'm actually given duties and a job title in my gaining workcenter (I don't actually start until July 13th). Aside from that I like what I've got, but then my opinion is what really matters now is it? FWIW, I'm trying to get hired part time with a defense contractor.
Click to expand...

I am getting 404 on the link now..
 
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