Resume Suggestions

[saratoga172]

I'm looking for some resume suggestions and tips for the IT field. I'm still at the first company I was given an opportunity at and I'm approaching 3 years in November. I've had two promotions and am now the Systems Administrator.

Outside of having to update my resume straight from college 3 years ago I haven't really done much with resume writing. I've kept it semi up to date over the past couple years, but am looking for some insight as to what the best way to go about presenting myself is. I imagine the job I had prior to this one is no longer relevant (retail as a key holder).

Is it best practice to list each position as a job so to speak. So each position holds its own position on the resume and the responsibility of each job?

I'm currently updating the resume to reflect my role and experience. I'll post it up once I finish. I'm also looking for suggestions on placement of items on the resume. Right now I've got:

Personal information
Qualifications/Skills
Work experience
Education


Thoughts? I'm looking at a position that deals a lot with VMware. So I'll be tailoring it more for that. I've got about a year and a half experience with VMware Horizon View (VDI) and a little over 2 years of ESXi and virtualization support for servers using EqualLogic arrays and Dell hardware.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ruptga]

Keep the resume to one page, they're barely going to look at it anyway. Attach a cover letter that shows them why you're going to do a great job at their company, and do whatever networking you can. The resume doesn't count for much, the last two count for a ton.

 

[sourceninja]

I've started just listing the last 2 or 3 jobs on my resume. Then I have a link to my linkedin profile for a complete history.

 

[cbrunny]

Two promotions in three years & looking for more. I know nothing of the IT world so I dont know if that's normal... is it?

In my opinion, Qualifications and Education are usually the same thing unless by qualifications you mean x number of years doing y.

My preference is always for a functional resume rather than a traditional. That is:

-Personal Info
-Skills/Competencies
-Specific Experiences that relate to the job; in your case have an entire section dedicated to describing ways that you have used/interacted/managed/whatever you do with VMware Horizion View, and another section specifically for the other thing.
List work experience with little detail - anything relevant should be in the above category
-List education with little detail - anything relevant should be in the Specific Experiences category.
-Achievements/Awards/Other neat stuff about you that's unique as a simple list.

Two pages plus cover, no more no less. White space is bad except around lists and only as needed.

I've used this format for several job applications. Since I switched to this format, I've never not got the job. That was four jobs ago.

Something similar to this, but done well instead: http://www.theworkingcentre.org/sites/default/files/Learner,_Adam_(Office_Administration).pdf

 

[sourceninja]

I have a few resumes I keep.

1 for programming jobs
1 for sys admin jobs
1 for a more linux focused position

All of them follow the formula of

Personal Info
Job experience
- Brief description of job duties
- Any major accomplishments
Education
- College
- Certifications
For more info see linkedin
References on request.

The difference is really in how I word the accomplishments.


Also, in addition to your current vmware experience, consider getting a VMware Certified Associate cert. Unlike the VCP it doesn't require you to take a class and it's pretty easy to pass with some intermediate vmware experience. It shows drive and direction.

 

[saratoga172]

Thanks for the suggestions! I am looking to integrate them and I like the LinkedIn suggestions as well.

@cbrunny:
We have a small IT team where I work and I've had some opportunities to move up. Some luck as positions have come open and some from drive and learning. A friend just forwarded me a position he was contacted about and thought I would be a good fit for it. It deals much more with VMware, which I've got a few years of decent experience with. Would be a pay bump and a little more what I'm interested in...plus some other factors where I'm at now, so figured I'd apply and see what happens.

As far as normal I don't know necessarily. I see people jump from company to company and if you're good your skills are sought after. I've been at the same company for 3 years now so even though I've gotten promotions I've got stable work and I don't tend to jump around.

Kicker is that where I'm at if I continue to perform and am patient I may be in line for an IT Manager position and eventually running the department. Ways off, but the possibility.

@sourceninja:
I wasn't aware of the VCA not requiring a class for testing. I'll definitely look into it as it'll help and I probably know a decent bit of it to help in studying.