Resume suggestions

[GeorgeG.]

Question for those in IT or similar professions...

I need to revamp my resume. My current format has always worked for System Admin type roles. But, I'm beginning to look into "network engineering" type positions and I don't think this format will sell me.

Currently it's...

Summary of Qualifications

consists of what I now call fluff. I think this section is out dated and I'd really like to replace it with something

Achievements

consists of certifications

Professional Experience

list of previous positions

Technical Summary

technologies that I have experience with

Education

technical classes and school

What do you use? Someone, I think it was AbecX, mentioned using a paid service but that runs upwards of $300 bucks.

[Strychnine]

Send me your email. I'll send you the some of the high level stuff that they'll charge that $300 for


Here's a good recommended template:

[Chili]

Send me your email. I'll send you the some of the high level stuff that they'll charge that $300 for


Here's a good recommended template:

Haha! That's the format I use. Almost exactly!

[Scott Mc]

Make your first line your DFWmustang stats and you are guaranteed the job.

[bird_dog0347]

A bit of advice now that I'm a hiring manager at my company...

1. keep it simple and as focused on the type of work you WANT or are applying for. For example, if you have sys-admin skills, cisco skills, checkpoint skills, netscaler skills, and F5 skills and you are applying for a role that is only Cisco related be sure to put as much in there about that type of work as possible. Not to say you need to remove all the other stuff, but really bring the focus of your resume into view for the type of roll you are seeking.

2. There's no need for a 5 page resume, keep it to 1-2 if you can.

3. The older jobs you list (if like 8-10 years ago), make the list of what you did there shorter with just highlights.

At my work when we are hiring people typically before we can even interview them we get together a few times a week and go over resumes with our leadership to get their sign off first. If they don't see enough in the resume related to the job the person applied for, we don't even interview them unless we (hiring manager) feel strongly that based solely on the resume we should do a phone screen. Sometimes it's very irritating that we base so much judgement on just 1 document but we see a lot of them so finding the right person is usually an eventuality.

[Strychnine]

A bit of advice now that I'm a hiring manager at my company...

Would you say this is true?

The study used a scientific technique called “eye tracking” on 30 professional recruiters and examined their eye movements during a 10-week period to "record and analyze where and how long someone focuses when digesting a piece of information or completing a task."

In the short time that they spend with your resume, the study showed recruiters will look at your name, current title and company, current position start and end dates, previous title and company, previous position start and end dates, and education.

The two resumes below include a heat map of recruiters' eye movements. The one on the right was looked at more thoroughly than the one of the left because of its clear and concise format:

At my work when we are hiring people typically before we can even interview them we get together a few times a week and go over resumes with our leadership to get their sign off first. If they don't see enough in the resume related to the job the person applied for, we don't even interview them unless we (hiring manager) feel strongly that based solely on the resume we should do a phone screen. Sometimes it's very irritating that we base so much judgement on just 1 document but we see a lot of them so finding the right person is usually an eventuality.

That's basically how we work. Assuming we're talking a professional position, HR receives the resume and gets first pass. If they like it they'll send it to us for review. If the 4 or 5 of us are willing to give them a shot at whatever position we're looking for then it goes back to HR to get run through the process, then we will all get a chance to interview them.

[bird_dog0347]

Would you say this is true?








That's basically how we work. Assuming we're talking a professional position, HR receives the resume and gets first pass. If they like it they'll send it to us for review. If the 4 or 5 of us are willing to give them a shot at whatever position we're looking for then it goes back to HR to get run through the process, then we will all get a chance to interview them.

For my positions I focus on the first paragraph and the "skills" section, then quickly scan through the list of jobs checking to see how long the person has been in a role to see if they stick around or move from job to job every 6-12 months. In IT it's not uncommon for people to take short contracts, but I prefer that my team be more of the long term type as I only hire for full time positions currently. The next thing I typically look for is keywords, usually F5 or DNS/Infoblox (those are the two teams I manage) and then read all about the job when I find those.

I'm not a recruiter though, I get these resumes from the recruiter, I'm the manager of the F5 (lead F5 engineer too) and DNS teams.

[ceyko]

I use the general format posted above - but more in line with what linked in does. My certifications are listed at the end, mainly because I want the hiring person to glance through my experience.

[bird_dog0347]

I use the general format posted above - but more in line with what linked in does. My certifications are listed at the end, mainly because I want the hiring person to glance through my experience.

To me, at least in my field, experience is more valuable than certs but it's not overlooked.

[Mike]

I should probably update mine, I haven't touched it in seven years.

[Silverback]

the format Matt posted is typically the best of both worlds as far as getting past HR/talent acquisition/recruiters, and giving hiring managers enough info to decide whether or not they want to bring you in for an interview.

For IT jobs you want to make sure the bulleted items are relevant and recent. you can include a section at the end for "other technologies" for older stuff that you may know but isn't necessarily relevant for the job you're applying for.

here's a sample of mine, but it's more Leadership/Management oriented, but still technical (3 pages), page 2 is just experience for 2-3 other jobs.

[Ruffdaddy]

Every resume you submit should be tailored to the job title youre applying for. You gotta get through the electronic filters to be seen. This means keywords are a huge deal.


Also, a solid linkedin profile helps.

[GeorgeG.]

Thanks everyone. There's some really great info here. I thought about updating LinkedIn but I'm concerned that a recently updated profile would cause certain individuals to assume you're testing the waters which could lead to some sort of negative reaction, including termination.

I think I'll move the certs to the bottom, closer to the education.