CV and general advice

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Hi Guys

a request for help here. I have been in my job too long, and I don't think I'm getting what I am worth. the problem is that I have worked for the same company for 6 years and have never worked for another in an IT position.

I'm getting married soon and its a big milestone in my life. its really prompted me to look at my career and start to get a move on in life. it was all too easy for me to stay and do the same simple thing day in and out without rocking the boat. this year that changed.

already I have done my MCDST and Network +. before the year is out I will have done 70-682 as well. and I am now working at the head office of my company doing support for VIP users under pretty high pressure.

please don't think this is a rant about my current work place. they are a good company to work for and there is opportunity there. but I think now I want to work or a smaller company where I can experience more in my role.

but the question for me is this. what path do I follow? doing only deskside has left me weak in server based support and also networking. because of the scale of the company there isn't much exposure, its too compartmentalised.

please have a look at my CV and give me some advice on what to pursue. I'm lacking a direction, but not the abition and drive to get there.

 

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That's a pretty good CV - to be honest I can't really think of anything meaningful to say about it.
I have no doubt that you are skilled and employable - but it's a tough market out there.

Get married and enjoy that for a while without having to worry about job hunting or possibly being out of work. You don't need to add to the pressure!

Normally I'd say 'go for it, there are always opportunities' but at the moment it isn't necessarily the case. Being in a secure job is more than most of us can hope for right now.

 

What I usually do (here on forums, not at work), is give myself 2-3 minutes to look through a CV.
Time's up now and I still don't know what you can and what you can't do.

Consider bullet points more and less of an essay. I would like to see the list of technologies you've worked with a lot shorter description of job roles. The point of the CV is to show them you have what they're looking for and if they're interested that's what the interview is for.

If you were not looking for advice on the CV, please accept my apologies.

A friend of mine is looking for a job as an english teacher and his CV looks similar to yours. He does that to show his proficiency in English language, your's should be more technical and on point. (mine's here if you want to take a look)

That's my personal view though.

Good luck.

 

thanks for the replies so far

-LukeP - thanks for that advice. I'll be thinking on that. I see the value in changing to present more technologies that I proficient in.

-JohnnyMX - I very much understand that the market is tough right now, but I am very undervalued for my role, and I'm starting to get fed up with it. What kind of positions would you suggest I look at to move forward if you have an idea?

 

I admire your writing skills by the way. You're also one of the few that pulled of hobbies section to make it relevant and actually give you additional points.

 

You've stated in your post that your 'weak' in server based support and networkng and then you state in your CV "Maintaining network and server infrastructure to ensure that uptime meets SLA targets" which doesn't suggest this as a weak area? You've mentioned infrastructure, server and networking projects in your personal profile as well so I'm a little confused....

Isn't, ditch it. Really have to disagree with Luke here, it just doesn't add anything that I'd care about if I was looking to hire. But then I'm firmly of the belief that if your team needs specific team building events you've got bigger problems anyway.

Again, not needed. Employers can't use your age as a factor in the hiring process so they'd rather not know it.

 

Thanks for the reply josaihb. Just clear up my personal fellin that it is one of my weaker areas does not mean that I have no skill in it at all, just that the greater part of my knowledge and working day is deskside and desktop os.

The other things I will look into, but I guess the overall question I want to put to you is where would you put a similarly skilled person in your company? How would you like to see them develop?

P.s. Team building is fun when you get to shoot each other , plus it was a good chance to show organisational skills to my boss

 

Ahh you see but your original post suggested different, have confidence in your abilities, your CV shows a good wide range of skills which you need to put your trust in moving forward so no more of this 'only deskside' balls cos your lying

Your skill set certainly suggests (to me anyway) that you should be looking at the very least at junior server/networks roles. It might do you some good to look at smaller outfits where you can escape the compartmentalised structure a bit and get some wider exposure. You've worked on server and networking projects so think hard about what you enjoyed when you were doing them, your path is entirely your own so make sure you go for what you enjoy!

Each to their own, I've slowly grown to hate hobby sections on CVs because even the best tend to lack a certain amount of relevance and the rest are totally without merit.

 

thanks for the well thought out response Josiahb, more food for thought

 

Ta

 

They can roughly work it out easily though, given that most people I assume write their dates for their education. Do any of you omit this information? Then again, the employer will obviously wonder why you have taken the dates out?

True...I personally would put something that's brief down if you have the space (2 bullet points perhaps) as I've found it helps to break the ice sometimes.

 

Theres a difference between roughly working it out based on past history and having it stated clearly and in either circumstance it can't be used as a reason to drop you from the candidate list. Neither recruiters or hiring managers are likely to be fans of a CV with age or DOB stated because it opens them up to possible legal shenanigans.