Is my resume good?

[yg17]

I'm graduating in May and am attending a career fair this week and put my resume together. I need opinions on it though. Here's the link. Some changes made to the information to prevent any stalkers and crap like that

One of the difficulties I was having was the objective. I really want a job that has to do with networking (hence the CCNA and the Cisco/Network stuff listed in skills) but right now, I'll take just about any job that involves computers. I think specifying networking in the objective might cause me to lose some possible job offers.

Please offer any suggestions you may have. Thanks

 

[macdaddy121]

I personally think it is weaker than most. No offense, but add some "meat". Tell me about you, grab my attention, and prove to me that you deserve a second look. Let me more about your objectives, skills, and goals.

 

[macdaddy121]

Sorry, I just saw that you are were having some issues with the objective and I really home you don't think I'm trying to be rude...

Try finding other resumes online and critique yours accordingly. Use them as a guide.

 

[Lorem Ipsum]

FWIW, I think you've overused the word assisted. No offense, but to some folks it may sound as if you were just along for the ride. Where truly applicable, try using words like "developed", "implemented", "spearheaded", or one of the very best - "led." Also, instead of the short job duties you wrote about, concentrate on value-added accomplishments/achievements you had. For example if you did something that saved time or dollars or found a better way to do something, highlight it. Employers like to see that you can take action and get results

 

[AJ Muni]

hey yg17, shoot me an IM on AIM, my SN is AJ Muni ..I got some questions about what u do...I have the same major as you do..

 

[abijnk]

Just a few points I would like to make:

1) You should redo the formatting to try and make it look more full, that is if you don't actually have more relevant information to put.

2) Skills should go above experience and below education.

3) Work experience should be listed most recent to least recent, not in any other order.

4) About the objective -> You should never ever have one "default" objective. Tailor your objective to the specific company and position you are applying to. The only time when a default objective might be acceptable is if you are at a job fair where you don't know which companies and positions you will be encountering. Even then, you should try to do research about what companies are supposed to be there and carry along custom resumes for those companies.

EDIT:
5)

FWIW, I think you've overused the word assisted. No offense, but to some folks it may sound as if you were just along for the ride. Where truly applicable, try using words like "developed", "implemented", "spearheaded", or one of the very best - "led." Also, instead of the short job duties you wrote about, concentrate on value-added accomplishments/achievements you had. For example if you did something that saved time or dollars or found a better way to do something, highlight it. Employers like to see that you can take action and get results

This is absolutely correct. Also, if you can throw numbers in there at all then do. Don't embelish, but if you can put a $ or a number with a comma that is attention getting. For example, the help desk job, how many user accounts were involved? Slap that in there. While this might sound a little silly, quantifying things on your resume is always a plus.

/EDIT

I would also tend to agree with macdaddy121 about going and looking up some good resumes and trying to form yours around that. Focus on good formatting, and try to find other stuff to add some substance. Do you have any scholarships that are academic based (i.e. you earned in a way other than financial need)? If your GPA is that high, were you in the Dean's list (if your university does that)? Try to find anything else that you have as a skill that can make you stand out.

Are you still in school? Try finding a student organization to get involved in (ACM or IEEE are really great international organizations to get involved with) so that you can put them on there too.

Hope that helps!!! Good Luck!

 

[yg17]

For example if you did something that saved time or dollars or found a better way to do something, highlight it. Employers like to see that you can take action and get results

That's the thing....I don't think I've really done any of that. I was able to modify one of the listings under the internship to say "led" rather than "assist" as I did lead the development of something.

The biggest problem I'm having now is the 1 page requirement, I really don't want to exceed that. And my resume is full. If I add even a single additional line, Word bumps it to 2 pages, so I have to modify what's already there, rather than add to it, and keep everything short. If I'm going to knock off anything, it would have to be the Honors section, but I really want to keep that in there too.

 

[tMac85]

i would include things you have done on your own, like hobbies, and interests. Things you are good at, what you like.

Its filler but overall it just looks like 'more' than less.

It just seems empty.
beef it up a bit and you will be gold.

 

[abijnk]

That's the thing....I don't think I've really done any of that. I was able to modify one of the listings under the internship to say "led" rather than "assist" as I did lead the development of something.

The biggest problem I'm having now is the 1 page requirement, I really don't want to exceed that. And my resume is full. If I add even a single additional line, Word bumps it to 2 pages, so I have to modify what's already there, rather than add to it, and keep everything short. If I'm going to knock off anything, it would have to be the Honors section, but I really want to keep that in there too.

Your resume is not full. Stretch those margins, take out the double spacing, it isn't necessary, you will gain a lot of room there.

 

[yg17]

Just a few points I would like to make:

1) You should redo the formatting to try and make it look more full, that is if you don't actually have more relevant information to put.

2) Skills should go above experience and below education.

3) Work experience should be listed most recent to least recent, not in any other order.

I will keep those in mind

4) About the objective -> You should never ever have one "default" objective. Tailor your objective to the specific company and position you are applying to. The only time when a default objective might be acceptable is if you are at a job fair where you don't know which companies and positions you will be encountering. Even then, you should try to do research about what companies are supposed to be there and carry along custom resumes for those companies.

Yep, it's a job fair. I do have an idea of the companies that will be there, but not what positions they have open. So I don't want to screw myself by being too specific and me not getting a job because my objective didn't match any of their openings.

I would also tend to agree with macdaddy121 about going and looking up some good resumes and trying to form yours around that. Focus on good formatting, and try to find other stuff to add some substance. Do you have any scholarships that are academic based (i.e. you earned in a way other than financial need)? If your GPA is that high, were you in the Dean's list (if your university does that)? Try to find anything else that you have as a skill that can make you stand out.

Nope, no scholarships. My GPA is high, but my uni doesn't have a deans list or anything of that sort. I can assume that based off that GPA and how I'm doing so far this semester, I'll graduate with honors, but I can't put what I assume on there.

Are you still in school? Try finding a student organization to get involved in (ACM or IEEE are really great international organizations to get involved with) so that you can put them on there too.

Hope that helps!!! Good Luck!

I'm still in with 3 months left. It's too late for that, especially with the career fair in a couple days.

 

[abijnk]

I'm still in with 3 months left. It's too late for that, especially with the career fair in a couple days.

Its never too late. ACM and IEEE are both international organizations that lots of professionals in your field are members of (I would be willing to bet a fair amount of you professors are).

I see your location says Saint Louis, MO. That is the section seed for the IEEE Saint Louis section. They meet the last Thursday of every month at SLU. GO!!!! I can't tell you how much going to those boring meetings has helped me. Sign up for the student membership (www.ieee.org, $30, or maybe its $15 by now) and slap that puppy on your resume. PM me if you want more info on the section meetings.

 

[sahnert]

My two cents on the Objective section:
Since you are going to a job fair you can't tailor it to a specific position or company. But you can be specific about your own goals for whatever position you achieve.

Talk about why you want a position in this specific industry. It should be something besides "that's what my degree was in." You might be interested in "developing cutting-edge technology" or "providing a seamless end-user experience." You can be general enough to cover any type of job in your industry, but still be specific about where your interested lie and what you can offer to the employer.


FWIW, here is my Objective statement from a recent Resumé (for an unrelated industry, obviously).


"Seeking a position as music instructor in an institution focused on teaching solid music fundamentals while helping students become enthusiastic and independent learners and musicians."


I used the same resume to secure a position as private music instructor at a community music school as well as an adjunct faculty position at my alma mater.

 

[Lyle]

Previous posters (especially abiyng87) have already given you some great advice. I personally would change the phrase "Assisted in the design and programming of Java-based applications" to "Participated in the design and development of Java-based applications". As Lorem Ipsum pointed out, you're using "assist" a lot in your work experience descriptions, and it's a sort of weak word. "Participated" isn't a lot stronger, but it at least makes it sound like you were actively involved and not just fetching coffee or something.

 

[BoyBach]

At the very top of the page - centred - put your name, the next line is your address and the third line is your telephone number and email address.

Next rename 'Experince' to 'Employment' and move it to the top of the page, since, to any prospective employer, this is the most important information on your resume.

Next it's 'Education' - just list your degree or highest qualification plus anything else that might be relevant to the job you're applying for.

And that's it. Your resume/CV should never exceed more than one page and should never include anything superfluous like 'Skills' (they should be highlighted under the 'Education' section, after all), 'Hobbies' or an 'Objective'.


Something else to remember and it's just as important: I can't tell from the Resume you posted what your email address is, but make sure that it's something like yourname@somewhere.com and not anything 'jokey' or unprofessional. The same goes for the answerphone message on your phone - keep it simple and professional.


P.S. Good luck at the Job Fair!

 

[yg17]

Wirelessly posted (SonyEricssonW580i/R6BC Browser/NetFront/3.3 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1)

At the very top of the page - centred - put your name, the next line is your address and the third line is your telephone number and email address.

Next rename 'Experince' to 'Employment' and move it to the top of the page, since, to any prospective employer, this is the most important information on your resume.

Next it's 'Education' - just list your degree or highest qualification plus anything else that might be relevant to the job you're applying for.

And that's it. Your resume/CV should never exceed more than one page and should never include anything superfluous like 'Skills' (they should be highlighted under the 'Education' section, after all), 'Hobbies' or an 'Objective'.


Something else to remember and it's just as important: I can't tell from the Resume you posted what your email address is, but make sure that it's something like yourname@somewhere.com and not anything 'jokey' or unprofessional. The same goes for the answerphone message on your phone - keep it simple and professional.


P.S. Good luck at the Job Fair!

Thanks. Im using gmail for my email address, its nothing crazy, just my name and a few numbers, is that acceptable? I would use my school email, but I lose that account when I graduate, plus we have some super strict spam filtering that bounces potential spam and doesn't let me retrieve it, and I don't want to miss out on anything.

 

[BoyBach]

Thanks. Im using gmail for my email address, its nothing crazy, just my name and a few numbers, is that acceptable?

That's fine. You don't want it to be something like 'ilikeboobies' or whatever. It might sound silly, but you'd be surprised at some of the things that I've seen on job applications!

 

[mkrishnan]

Beyond echoing some things above, in the section on skills, try to see if you can't be more specific. I'd be happy to be corrected, but I think it helps make it clear that you're not fluffing -- your resume, without intending offense, really looks like you're trying to fill space. That's pretty natural at your career stage, but still, it's better if your list of skills looks real. For instance, you might list versions of the DB and Apps that you know for Oracle, which Unix environments you know, which versions of OS X / OS X Server, which Java technologies / versions, etc. Also I noted that you provided customer service for Vista, but Vista is conspicuously absent on your skill list.

If your GPA is 3.55, did you receive any other honors -- Honors Roll, Dean's List, etc? If so, list them.