Resume advice for a technical position

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m testing the waters a bit, and applying for a well-paid admin job at a local megacorporation. I’ve got a friend who works there, and he’s going to put in a word for me.

The posting listed only very general requirements, eg “Xxxx Unix” and “Ability to implement business requirements.”

I’ve got plenty of hands-on experience with the types of systems they’re talking about. However, my professional experience is a little thin.

I’ve got a BA in History, and am currently about 2/3 of the way through an IT/Business BS.

I’ve worked a bit over two years as a network and systems admin at a small IT services company as a network and systems admin. I design, maintain, and implement systems, as well as determining stuff like business the business requirements and budget. Basically every step from conception through implementation and ongoing support.

My previous adult work experience consists of being a Library Lackey and a child support enforcement drone.

For the past eight years or so, I’ve been an amateur Linux geek, and I’ve done some freelance web/DB development and network troubleshooting for local businesses.

I’ve got no certs, but I could probably get a CCNA without more than a couple of nights of cramming.

To de-emphasize my lack of formal experience, I’m contemplating writing up a semi-functional resume, listing my more eye-catching qualifications, projects, etc at the top, followed by a brief list of my education and an even briefer list of my work experience. The cover letter will be a prose version of section 1.

Does this sound reasonable to any of you HR and management types? Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

2

I don’t work in your field but it sounds reasonable to me. My question is, did the ad mention anything about managerial/administrative duties or are they looking for a technical person?

3

What do you mean by “admin job”? That could mean anything from secretary to IT.

4

Since your friend works there and presumably knows the job and what it entails, I have to assume that you know what it entails. So if you’re qualified for that, then yes just put down everything you’ve done to date that made you qualified, regardless of whether that was at a formal job or not.

5

Sorry: systems administrator. It’s IT.

And no, the posting only mentioned general business-and-teamwork skills, not specific managerial experience. They’re looking for a Unix guy/girl. Refreshingly, they didn’t list any certification requirements in the posting

My friend thinks I’m mostly going to be supporting remote Unix boxes on their WAN, and possibly helping design/implement a plan to migrate them to cheaper Linux systems.

It would be a significant pay bump for me; about 60% on the low end and exactly 100% at the high end of the posted range. I realize I’m somewhat used to the lower scale that comes from working for a small company, but still - I’m a bit nervous that I might be reaching a little to high, given my current level of formal education and experience.

Thanks.

6

I always tend to do a traditional resume, with a list of hard technical skills at the top. Example (this is for programming, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work with IT skills):

15 years C/C++ coding, including enterprise/tiered systems
3 years Error: ASP.net | The ASP.NET Site
15 years database development, primarily on SQL Server. Some experience with Oracle and MS Access
10 years full lifecycle commercial software development
etc. etc.

10/1/2005]-Present: Senior Software Engineer, XYZ Inc. Responsible for blah blah blah. Work is primarily in Error: ASP.net | The ASP.NET Site. Product is Enterprise level software solution for the basket-weaving industry.

Specific duties include:

  • Primary design and coding duties for the weaving module. Work is in C# with SQL Server backend.

blah blah blah etc & etc.

Cover letter specifically mentions the skills and duties adverstised for. For example, if the ad is for an ASP.NET developer, I mention the # of years I’ve been developing software in ASP.NET in the cover letter.

I tend to get jobs, so I guess it works.

7

Wow, that sounds just like my job!

8

For a technical position, a CV might work better than a resume proper. You can ask the HR people about CV versus Resume.

9

I ended up submitting something that was about 2/3 functional, with one-sentance job descriptions in the employment history. We’ll see if I get a bite.

Thanks for the pointers, folks.