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Thread: what am I missing?

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    what am I missing?

    As my job search enters it's 2nd year, I've concluded I'm missing something. Just can't seem to buy an interview....

    If your interested please review and let me know:. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...?usp=drive_web

    Thanks

  2. #2
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    I am no expert in resumes but reading this makes me think you threw in the towel in 2014 and started regretting it and you are begging your way back in.

    Try to put a more positive spin on it or at least get rid of the negative impression it leaves.

    If you did any side work or volunteer work, make sure you capture that so it looks like you were working and not just haniging out.

    I don't know that I would put "Took time for introspection and career evaluation after a very challenging time in the IT industry" as part of my resume. That is me...maybe someone else will chime in.
    "But I got it because I'm an iSheep who needs to have all my stuff have an Apple logo on it."

  3. #3
    Senior Member CeeBee's Avatar
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    If I were to read the resume as a hiring manager I would throw it away after the first line and not bother with the rest. Nobody wants a quitter.

    For the rest... be consistent with the usage of tenses and capitalization. Skip the retail history. If they happen to ask you can mention it.

    On another thought.. do you have headhunters there? Around here the vast majority of the good jobs aren't published, only agents get to know about them and they screen potential applicants and only send the ones they consider fit. Direct applicants seem to be redirected to the recycle bin.
    Try to work with one or more of these agents, they work for you and they get their money from the hiring firm as a percentage of the salary they negotiate (in the 20% range) so they will work to get you the best salary that can seal the deal.

    Objective: Highly skilled and motivated IT professional looking for a position in a strong team
    Employment
    Independent IT consultant
    June 2014 - October 2016
    Provided IT consulting services
    Completed personal pursuits and interests, obtained certifications in emergency services, trained in industrial safety
    Retrained and certified in various IT vendor programs

    Distance Learning Center - Lead Network Administrator
    May 2009 - May 2014, Barrhead
    Coordinated vendor agreements, purchasing, budget, and source of supply for a $250,000-$500,000 annual infrastructure budget
    Coordinated joint service delivery and systems integration with Pembina Hills Regional Division #7 IT Team.
    Performed High Bandwidth iSCSI SAN specification (EMC/Brocade), and forklift upgrade, including subsequent upgrade to VMWare 5.1 with over 60 virtual machines, while under Emergency/Disaster Recovery conditions
    Explored and implemented QEMU/KVM virtualization on CentOS for remote sites
    Designed, implemented and maintained Microsoft Exchange 2010 Enterprise Cluster environment with Data Protection Manager and SharePoint integration for public folders
    Performed implementation and maintenance of Polycom Video Conference Equipment and Cisco Capture-Transform-Exchange Integration for over 40 endpoint devices, including Video Border Proxy, Multipoint Control Units and other backend supporting devices
    Implemented and maintained FortiNet Enterprise/Service provider Security Appliances including Firewall Cluster, Load Balancer and AntiSpam appliances
    Created a pilot program for a Single Sign On Federation for K-12 Schools enabling cross school/organization SSO on platforms that leverage SAML
    Implemented Web SSO using Shibboleth Identity Provider, Service Provider and Discovery Service connection to a DS-389 LDAP backend
    Worked with Axia Supernet, Shaw Big Pipe and Axia WebConnect to implement high bandwidth Wide Area Networks (WAN) transport and Internet delivery to 20 schools and regional offices
    Performed Traffic Shaping, optimization, and analysis

    Millar Western Forest Products
    November 2006 -February 2009, Whitecourt Pulp; June 2004 - August 2005, Edmonton
    Provided process control support for ABB Interfaces, Process Control View stations, GE Fanuc PLC applications Proficy & Cimplicity, and Matrikon OPC Infrastructure (OPC Level 2)
    Developed Disaster Recovery Plans and participated in testing and recovery procedures, including systems documentation and restore for bare metal
    Planned and budgeted server, desktop and infrastructure upgrades as well as operational expenses
    Last edited by CeeBee; 10-15-2016 at 01:56 AM.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Pinnacle-Project's Avatar
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    Okay, I am on my way to our annual HOA meeting so I will make this quick.

    First, "I recently took a 2 year hiatus from IT and am now looking to re-enter the industry." I already know this by looking at your resume. The purpose of the cover letter is to fill in some detail not on the resume. If you are going to bring this up, help me accept the fact that you have been out of IT for two years. Maybe you were out for two years while caring for your elderly parents who have since passed on. On the other hand, maybe you were in jail for two years. Don't let people's imaginations fill in the gaps.

    Second,
    Exploring other opportunities
    June 2014 - October 2016
    Took time for introspection and career evaluation after a very challenging time in the IT industry
    Completed personal pursuits and interests, certifying in emergency services, and industrial safety training
    Retrain and certify in various IT vendor programs

    Okay, this suggests you were probably not in jail but I am still wondering what was happening during this period of time. I am left to assume you got fired from your previous position but what were the circumstances? Perhaps the program you were in was simply eliminated. Perhaps you were caught with the new admin assistant on the board room table on a Friday evening. Again, there is an elephant in the room that needs to be addressed. You cannot ignore it but an adverse impression it gives can be countered by listing volunteer work and such that you have been doing. The certifications you mentioned are a good start.

    I have to go. Maybe I will look at this more later. Good luck.

  5. #5
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    I agree. I wouldn't make it past the first part, your resume would go right in the trash. I'm not going to interview someone that had to take a sabbatical because their last job was too hard. Virtually every job is challenging in one way or another. Heck, life is challenging most of the time even without the stresses of a job.

    With how costly it is to not only hire someone and train them, but how costly it can be to fire someone, companies are more selective than ever. We only hire people that come across as self motivated and responsible people. Any sign of victim mentality, bad mouthing former employers or coworkers, anything along those lines and it's an instant no hire.

    I would advise finding some literature that is geared towards an HR person, what to look for in potential hires. If you can better understand what hiring managers are looking for on resumes and interviews, you will get a better feel for the red flags that will prevent you from getting interviews. There are usually some decent things on Forbes' website, lists of things you should never ask in an interview, most popular interview questions and how not to answer them, stuff like that.

    If you know what they are looking for, it will be easier to tailor your resume and cover letter to avoid those red flags and get your foot in the door for an interview.

  6. #6
    forum fool 3fingersalute's Avatar
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    Besides the great suggestions already made, it definitely needs cleaning up some, simple things like "Please feel free to contact myself or the references in my resume" and then your resume saying "References available on request" and the bullets used don't add to the professionalism.
    "Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free." - Jim Morrison

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    Your all right, that is a little mangled as it's in transition from submission to public comments. To answer a few questions.

    Corrected references part. Missed it while editing from my phone.

    Reviewing formatting for consistency, tense, punctuation, and bullets.


    2 year back story: crashed and burned.

    I did throw in the towel, after taking stress leave from a SAN melt down that lead to 45 days of system down time...I took 6 weeks, and came back to work for another year. I was too committed and could not let go, and should have quit instead of taking leave.

    When I came back I found myself frozen out of everything and completely immobilized by policy, beurocracy and red tape for my own protection. Which had the opposite effect, imagine having to do change control meetings to add a user account and then being limited to 1 change per week. It would have been kinder to terminate, but you can't do that to someone on stress leave so I understand that.

    So I quit at that point, as I was not getting better the situation was made worse and in my opinion the company suffered for it, and I was the problem not part of the solution. People who are still there are still angry about how it all shook out, as a result I have no references from that 5 years of experience.

    I've been working in the oil patch for the last 2 years in a non it roll. I used to put what I was doing there but I've been getting hung for it. (Some comments have been pretty mean) Oil patch workers need not apply, and what's to keep you from leaving us to go back to the 'patch. Are the tame ones.

    So how does one explain in an acceptable way burn out, stress, and feeling like a complete failure in IT without coming across as a complete failure in IT? It's been a long road back....

    I would have loved to volunteer, consult or worked on self improvement but the reality is working 16 hour days leave no room for me. At present I'm no longer applying to any positions as I'll be taking parental leave in 4 weeks.
    Last edited by disgruntled; 10-18-2016 at 05:32 PM.

  8. #8
    Senior Member CeeBee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by disgruntled View Post
    So how does one explain in an acceptable way burn out, stress, and feeling like a complete failure in IT without coming across as a complete failure in IT? It's been a long road back....
    You *DON'T*.
    You voluntarily left your previous IT employer to pursue other opportunities. You tried to build your own future as an independent consultant. It's been a great learning experience but now you're ready to return to the corporate world.

    The only thing in your way is... you.
    You are not a failure

    I am strong. I am determined to succeed and I will not allow a small obstacle stop me. I am ready to learn and work hard to achieve my dreams.
    ^--- if needed get the bolded part, rephrase it, and say it in the mirror for few minutes morning and evening. Until you believe it.
    Last edited by CeeBee; 10-18-2016 at 05:48 PM.

  9. #9
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    Thanks ceebee. I really really needed that. Just posting about what happened put me into a meltdown....it's been a year since this last happened. Just got to pull myself together and finish this shift.....FML.

    Clearly I need more help, and this current gig to pay the bills is standing in the way of that. Thank God for parental leave!

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    Quote Originally Posted by CeeBee View Post
    You *DON'T*.
    You voluntarily left your previous IT employer to pursue other opportunities. You tried to build your own future as an independent consultant. It's been a great learning experience but now you're ready to return to the corporate world.

    The only thing in your way is... you.
    You are not a failure

    I am strong. I am determined to succeed and I will not allow a small obstacle stop me. I am ready to learn and work hard to achieve my dreams.
    ^--- if needed get the bolded part, rephrase it, and say it in the mirror for few minutes morning and evening. Until you believe it.
    great advice

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