Anyone here good with Resumes? I've got some worthy knowledge, no professional experience, a total of 9 crap jobs (relatively), and my education isn't really spectacular on paper. I'm curious what I should put down and what I should omit.

Education: GED, but I've attended 3 different High Schools.

Jobs: Best Buy (4 months), Bed Bath & Beyond (2 weeks), PC Club Computers (3 months), nameless Jewish bakery (2hrs 45min), Albertsons Grocery (6 months), Kroger's Grocery (11 months), McDonald's (8 months), VG's Grocery (1yr 9months), and currently work Wendy's as a shift manager.

Skills: hands on experience with TCP/IP networking, Windows XP and 7, VMWare Server and VirtualBox, Debian/Ubuntu Linux, Apache, OpenLDAP, Postfix, Dovecot, BIND9, BASH scripting, as well as several years of building/fixing. I also have a knowledge of Windows Server 2003 and Active Directory.

Technical Certifications: CompTIA Network+

My girlfriend and I are moving out of Michigan and probably headed to the Bay Area in hopes of more opprotunities. I'm really trying to get my resume done good because I don't want to add another crap job to my list. I'm looking to break into the IT sector. I've been eyeing a couple Technician and Helpdesk jobs, but there's a Jr Linux Admin position open at a small ISP near where we'll be moving to. That job is my goal.

I've talked with some friends on another forum, as well as friends/family and I've heard some say that I should put everything down, other say just the relevant info, others say pick and choose and put the best down. I really just don't know how to go about this in regards to what and what not to include, as well as how to lay it out. My education and job history are my weak points, but I have good knowledge and self-taught experience, as well as a certificiation (I know certs don't get the job, but every bit helps). I was thinking of laying my info out from my best (knowledge/experience), cert, education, and job history.

What do you guys think?

Hi,

I don't know your age but by the experience trail along with the writing skill. I would place you in your late teens or early twenties. That said, you should look to getting a little more education. Don't get me wrong. Your 'GED' shows that you completed a portion of your education. Not having your transcript or skills nor the level of experience with IT then maybe your goals are set higher than they should be. It's great to set goals but you need to tier them or step to that final goal. Remember in these economic times there are going to be people that have skills, education along with experience competing for that same job.

If possible you should look at extending your education within the career field of choice. Nothing says that you can't find a job in IT that will allow you to work while continuing the education. Some educational institutions have work study programs but the pay scale is meager.

For your resume, you should present honest representation without holes. If you do have holes for your work periods then you had better have good reasoning for the lapse. Your early job experiences will aid you some but these times are normal for most early jobs for entry level people. If you worked at a fast food joint while continuing your education in IT to support yourself. It will justify the period as responsible but will not afford any experience with IT other than reliability or people relations. Relevant experience will aid you with the area of interest but you do need a means to get yourself into that arena.

You could look at resume examples on the net. Or even at the library. You don't want to just copy the examples but utilize the examples to form and polish a unique one for your endeavors.

1. FOCUS...
Always have a clear summary statement of what you are looking for and why you are qualified for it. The details should support that statement.

e.g. if you are looking for a job in computer programming, don't have 3 pages on your gardening experience.

2. COMPLETE
Don't have any gaps or anything that makes the reader wonder where you were or what you were doing. You don't have to give lots of detail, but don't have any hint that you are hiding something. If you spent 3 months in the desert searching for the meaning of life, then say so---but don't dwell on it.

3. CONCISE
I used to tell my kids that--if I could not get a clear picture of someone in about 45 seconds---the resume went in the reject pile. (I wasn't kidding.)
Most resumes do not need to be more than one page---if they are longer, the first page should always give a complete synoptic view.

Thank you both for the replies.

I'm 21 but will be 22 at the end of July.

As far as my education goes, I understand that a GED isn't enough and I do have plans of attending college for a degree. However, the reason I'm not in school now is because I can't afford it. Of the three times I've applied for financial aid, I've gotten letters saying that I wouldn't recieve any. According to FAFSA, my parent's make too much and I'm a dependent, even though I've been self supporting for almost 4 years. Unless I become a military member, a parent, married, a home owner, or turn 23, I can't afford to go to school. I definitely plan on going to school next year and I can't wait.

Since college isn't an option right now, I've been learning everything I can in my field of choice instead of sitting around waiting. I'm far too goal-oriented to let that happen.

I know my work history might seem spotty, but I have good reason for leaving each of them. The only time I've ever left a job was because I was moving, or I recieved a better offer elsewhere. Some of my listed jobs were actually second jobs to make ends meet.

Does this chane anything?

What counts is presenting yourself as motivated, focussed, and able to account for your past. If your past includes mistakes, acknowledge them and move on. Trying to hide something or even make excuses can be fatal---always be honest and direct, but don't go out of your way to bring attention to the negatives.

Seems like you are a smart guy with a lot of potential but you don't have that stupid paper to demonstrate it. Been there done that.

Forget about all those who try to put you down or who insist that you have a higher education. Most higher education "education" does little in showing you what actually do at work. It's mostly theory education. What higher education does is teach you how to use your head. Which is the most important thing. You need to show your in your interview that you can use your head.

Be honest but don't belittle your self. Only talk about your strenghts. They will try to attack your weaknesses with questions but be ready to respond quickly and be honest and most important, be optimistic. For example, "Yes I don't have a lot of experience with Cisco Switches but I am confident that I can learn very quicly and be able to handle any difficulty that I may experience. I've been confronted with situations in which I've had to brainstorm a new technology and I was able to learn quickly and fix complete the task in a timely manner.". See what I mean. You have to put yourself in their shoes. Nobody wants to hire a bozo unless they themselves are bozos.

Your vocabulary is very important. Don't street talk. Talk like you are a professional and like you can adapt to their needs quicly and with quality work. Dress to impress. Wear a suit or rent one. It makes a very big difference. Be relaxed and smile. All those little things help a lot. Have your resume ready. Include little things like volunteer work. An important trophy you won in a sport event in highschool.

You have pretty good source with your certs. Keep studying and working hard and you'll have a career. Job hop for a while till you can find something your dream job (whatever that is).

Don't worry about the economy. Overqualified workers a turn off. People that have Masters degress in IT applying for Helpdesk positions makes me want to vomit. I'd rather hire a guy like you for an entry level IT job than some old guy with a high degree that looks desperate for a job because he's drowning in debt from the past Life of Excess.

So what's the story with the Jewish bakery? (That would be my first question if I saw what you have so far.)If this isn't a story you would like to share leave it off the resume.

What kind of job are you looking for?

For the job section it would help to include some more details. Were you the janitor, cashier, or CEO? Place of employment by itself doesn't provide many details. Also any skills used (example shift manager for a team of 6). With the job section kind of sparse it may help to include any volunteer items (volunteer somewhere that interests you for 6 months if you need to if you are looking for computer experience check somewhere like the library, school, or non-profit and do tech support for them, in reality it probably won't be more than a few hours a week but would look great on a resume.)

The Jewish bakery thing was actually the most interesting of my ventures. It partially involves my mother's inheritance to me, it being stolen by her dad and sister, a failed lawsuit, and numerous other things. Long story short, I was staying with some family friends in Berkley, CA. I was living with them for free so long as I helped out around the house, and rebuilt their fence, as well as other light-construction and landscaping duties. I casually was looking for work, at a couple near-by markets and this bakery/deli/catering business was hiring part-time. I asked for an application and the owner handed me a piece of paper (the same they used to wrap sandwiches) and instructed me to write my name and phone number down.

About 3 weeks later, he called me and asked if I could be there in 15 minutes (it's a 20 minute walk and I hadn't a car at the time). I got dressed and got there as fast as I could. He handed me a knife, pointed to a large bowl of green beans, and cut a few beans just to show me. I hadn't noticed it before, but the place was mostly Jewish foods, hence my reference and the fact that I never did know the name of the place.

After about 30 minutes of cutting these beans, the smell of the food was really getting to me. It was strong from the second I walked in, but my stomach really couldn't handle it. I told the owner of my condition and he let me take a seat while I worked, but this didn't really help matters any. After almost 3 hours, I ended up throwing up in a near-by sink. The owner said I could go home, and that he'd call me. I never did hear back from him, and assumed that after 2 months, he didn't want me working there. The interesting thing was that I was fine when outside, but the inside of the store and my nose just didn't agree. Sorry for the long story, but I thought you might get a kick out of it.

Back on topic, I'm really looking for any IT job, but preferably not retail. Helpdesk, DST, Field technician... etc. I'm not terribly picky, as long as it's somewhat in-line with my goal of becoming a Systems/Network Administrator. I know I'm not quite SysAdmin material yet, but I think I'd make a good Jr Admin.

I have done volunteer work in fact, so I'm glad this is a really good thing to have on my resume. I did volunteer IT work for a county health-clinic, as well as some of it's patients. I still fix computers for friends, family, and co-workers, but not as much as back then, and not for money. Often times, the solutions are so easy (from uninstalling a program to hitting caps-lock), few issues have taken up so much time that I feel I should be paid. Back when I was really into it and did it often, I got numerous requests to set up home and SOHO networks, but at that time I knew nothing about networking. Now I wish I could go back and learn networking earlier.

I know about mentioning a bit about my previous jobs. Almost all of them were heavy on customer service (I've got people skills down), and just as many involve "inventory management", as well as various cleaning.