Kindly help critic my 1st line help desk CV/Resume

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I have decided to shift from customer service/intruder alarm/CCTV help desk operative to full IT support.

I have just recreated my CV, can the experienced people on this forum kindly critic my CV please....

I'll really appreciate it

 

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I'm sure you'll get advice from different people here, but I hope the personal details you have in there are fake, if not you might want to re-consider posting your address, e-mail and phone number on a public forum.

I'm a fan of the personal statement/summary some are not, however, I think it needs work and a size reduction. I also note that I have to scan halfway down the page before I hit my key words of 'Windows XP' and nearly the bottom before hitting N+. I would considfer re-ordering with education near the top with key skills and the summary at the end. I would also consider simplifying the skills down to actual skills only rather than adding un-needed information such as:

• Good understanding and experience of dealing with high volume inbound calls, logging calls and identifying caller requirements through the use of help desk call logging tool

Becomes

• Experience of high call volume, logging and identifying requirements with <name of software> helpdesk software.

I would also shrink the education section, I have no idea what a 'Karox Networking Associate' is and a google doesn't help either, I would consider omiting it, it's probably superceded by N+ anyway.

There are some issues with the layout, some spaces missed and the line spacing is not consistant and worst of all spelling mistakes.

Keep is as short as possible with as much information as possible with the most relevant and current near the top and easily scanned.

Oh and one more thing, I hate shortening the GCSE subjects in the manor you have, it feels lazy, put the names down in a readable manor if you include them.

Hope this helps a little at least, it's not the worst CV I've seen by a mile but each tweak is an improvement and a better chance of getting past the HR bods.

 

Thanks cunningfox for your detailed response. I really do appreciate it.

The contact details (name, tel no, address) are just dummies and put there to give an idea. they are not my real names.

you have a point with all what you've stated. I'll make some more changes....


I am hoping to get more feedback from others on the forum as well.


Thanks

 

I have just edited the CV and make it better based on your recommendations cunningfox.

Please find attached the new updated CV. kindly let me know what other changes i should make to make it better.

 

Anyone downloaded the newly updated CV at all?

Kindly help comment/critic my new updated CV please

 

Hi Cutefinger,

I'm busy moving apartments at the moment so haven't had a chance, if you can wait until next week I'll take a look.

 

There are a number of grammatical mistakes and spelling mistakes in there. Mostly things like "telephone based" should be "telephone-based", but "privileges" is spelt incorrectly. There are a few like that. Spell check should win a few over.

Because you are looking at a 1st line, it is more likely you would be dealing with OS/end-users rather than networking, so what I would do is juggle the skills around so that the OS and end-user support come at the top and the networking comes further down.

Play on the fact that you are eager to learn new things, and that you have a curiosity, but don't say that it's self-financed and that you are looking to bring value-for-money. Value for money could mean the employer pays someone else to do some training, and gets a better return. The sentence about changing direction isn't accurate, as you already support computers and networks. What you could say is that you want to develop your skills and focus on supporting more aspects within an IT department.

I might drop in a few "practical experience of supporting xx" also, to break up the thing. Say how many users you have supported. It will give an idea of what sort of pressure you work under.

I don't like it when people bung Windows 2003 and XP together either. They require vastly different amounts of skill.

I hope this helps, and you find it constructive.

 

ade1982 has made several excellent suggestions which I won't bother to reiterate.

I would lose the Personal Summary, this kind of info would go into your cover letter. Also, remove the References section at the end. The fact that references will be provided on request is standard practice. Training is singular, and as previously mentioned there are a few grammatical errors but nothing which a spell-check shouldn't pick up. Errors like that could likely see your CV straight in the bin.

Going for 1st line roles, I would emphasise the "soft", customer-facing skills as much as the tech stuff as you are likely to be spending all day on the phone. If you sound like you have a smile on your face and the user calling is the best thing that has happened to you all day, all the better. Which is why I never did 1st line.

If you haven't passed it yet, take the N+ off but be sure to mention that you are currently self-studying for it in your cover letter.

SR

 

I think it's worth you doing another revision before we look at it again. One thing the checker won't pick up is you have highlighted some of the information comm tech, but not all of the words. Might be splitting hairs there.

I just have to disagree with shadowrunner on leaving off the references at the end, because you have a bit of space, and it is a less abrupt finishing point.

The best point out of all anyone has written in this thread is about getting across your soft skills.

 

Hey Cutefinger, just got the net connection sorted again after a week of moving.

Have you got a new version for us to look at ?

 

Thanks guys for your response and contribution. I have been down for weeks, only got back stronger. I will update my CV after work tomorrow and upload it for more editing.

@ade1982, I do work with computers and do a bit of troubleshooting with remote desktop connections (for alarm systems) etc.


Would you all recommend that a certification would help me increase my chance of getting a job?

From the different advice i read on this forum, I am looking at a progression of:

ITIL foundation ==> Comptia Network+ ==> MCDST

I found that a lot of jobs I was applying for are looking for people who have ITIL background as well as an A+, N+ or microsoft certification.

Would a ITIL Foundation plus N+ help validate that I am really serious about career shift into IT (coupled with my customer service + alarms remote technician experience)

i do apologise if my questions are a bit naive. Its just that I am not getting younger and would want to do things right and not waste time.

Thanks very much

 

My 2 pence:

Don't drop the summary. I think it's very good for a 1st line job. I agree ade1982's point about Windows 2003 and XP being listed together.

But I have to say that if I was looking for a 1st line person this CV wouldn't look too bad. I've not checked the spelling and grammar mind you - very important.

Few things you can do to improve your career prospects:
- complete N+
- get one of MS desktop certs (70-680?)
- if you can, install a Windows 2008 R2 server on a virtual machine, promote it to a domain controller and get familiar with Active Directory Users and Computers console. This is probably the closest to the server you'll get in a 1st line role (1st line role != 1st IT job).