[integra00]

So I'm getting little frustrated job searching. Wondering if you guys could give me a little help. (yes I'm still pursuing the state police but thats not a sure thing so i need a backup)


A little about me:
Bachelors in business admin
Major: in Management Information systems
Minor: Computer Science

Experience
Customer service: 6+ years
Sales: 1.5 years
Management: 1 year

I'm very competitive and outgoing. I like to earn praise.


I'd like to try my hand at some form of retail management but I've gotten no response at all from the places I've applied. I get calls for sales about twice a day, but i really don't like cold calling and that type of thing. When i was looking at getting a job in IT i didn't have any experience in it so i couldn't even get my foot in the door. Another option i've been contemplating is maybe going back to school and getting a masters degree, but that would cost money and i don't know how useful it would be in getting me a job.


where I've looked:
Monster.com
Career builder.com
CTjobs.com

what would you guys and girls do if you were me ?

[MSP]

First, let me suggest you NOT go back to school. I know lots of people who just keep getting degrees and get more and more overeducated / unemployable as they go.

Those sites you listed are a good start, but almost every good job I've ever gotten was through social networking and / or boots on the ground. Showing up in person and shaking hands is ALWAYS going to make more of an impression than just firing off a resume. And your resume might need some work as well. If it's longer than 2 pages you're probably giving them too much info. And really I prefer to keep mine to a single page.

[integra00]

heres a cut and paste of the resume I'm currently using. Generally people seem to like it but idk maybe it does need some work.


Objective To work in a friendly environment where I can put to use the diversified qualities I have to improve the business. I’m looking for a full time position, preferably where I can continuously learn.


Education Southern Connecticut State University New Haven, CT
Bachelor of Business: Management Information Systems. December 2005
Minor: Computer Science.
Awards: Deans List
Relevant course of Study :
 Management
 Information Systems
 Computer Science
 Web Design
 Accounting
 Finance
 Marketing
 Human Resources
 Telecommunications

Notre Dame Catholic High School Fairfield, CT
Class of 2001
Achievements: Graduated in top 20% of class with a 3.4 GPA

Languages
Bilingual: English and Portuguese. Conversant in: Spanish.
Work experience
Enterprise Rent A Car Bridgeport/Fairfield, CT February 06-June 2007
Management Trainee
 Manage staff to accomplish varying daily tasks.
 Manage fleet arrangements to reservations and best profitability.
 Provide incomparable customer service.
 Maintain a fleet of vehicles ranging from 100-230 vehicles.
 Market to accounts to generate business growth and continued loyalty.
 Management of accounts receivables list as well as any incoming revenue.
 Interpret corporate data to analyze and improve on key core values, i.e.: Profitability, Fleet growth, Customer service, Cost Management, etc.
 Mentor and train a successful and happy sales/customer service team.
 Managing a business with yearly profits exceeding $500,000

Awards: 4 times Club Elite Member, est. 27 time offices MVP winner, est. 34 time Sales culture winner. Car Sales MVP for May 06, Aug 06. Car sales captain MVP Nov 06. Customer Service Vote winner Nov 06. Exceptional Achievement Award as a Region for fiscal year 06. Top 20 regional Employees 5 times. Top 50 regional Employees 8 times.

Home Depot Bridgeport, CT March 2003-September 2005
Sales Associate/Machine Operator
 Provide excellent customer service.
 Manage Inventories/displays.
 Train Employees.
 Awards: 2 time customer service Award, 2 year Excellence Award.

A&P Super Food mart Bridgeport, CT June 2000- 2003
Head Cashier
 Monitor cashier activity.
 Administer and train cashiers.
 Solve any front end problems.
 Achievements: Promoted to head cashier after 3 months as a cashier.


Other Abilities

 Excellent Oral and written Communication skills.
 Excellent Organization skills.
 Analytical and logical thinker.
 Very quick study, able to pick up training easily.
 Highly motivated and hard working.

[couturedharlot]

try spacing out your resume a bit. 2 pages is actually perfectly acceptable these days.

as for looking for jobs, try craigslist as well. i've gotten some good things from there. i never really liked monster but it may be different for your line of work.

[Electric_Head]

Originally Posted by MSP

If it's longer than 2 pages you're probably giving them too much info. And really I prefer to keep mine to a single page.

QFT. You want your resume to be short and sweet. Give them enough information to get them interested, but not so much that they know your life story without even talking to you.

You also want to cater your resume to the position you are applying. I'm not bashing or anything(I worked in a supermarket for 3.5 years), but if you are applying for an IT position, having a supermarket on your resume doesn't do any good.

Goto some local business websites and check out any "employment opportunities" sections. Any big businesses you may be interested with local offices, check out the business website for any "employment opportunities" sections. From my experiences, monster.com is just full of recruiters. You have to reach out to the companies yourself if you want to move anywhere in this world.

[MSP]

Damn, nice credentials. And the resume is pretty short and to the point. Your language skills in particular should make you a slam dunk. A company (such as mine) who has network infrastructure all over Latin America would probably gobble you up. You might want to tailor the resume to the actual type of job you're seeking - maybe keep two or three versions ready. And if you want to break into IT you would need some certifications and / or experience. I cut my teeth working in a data center 3rd shift doing grunt work. It sucked, but it got me in the door.

[Drakkon]

maybe I'm going to be the only one saying this but your resume doesn't really stand out. Its got the same formatting and reuses the same words too many times. Objective is too many sentences and really you don't need one.
Heres a couple examples of interesting formats:
Jose Sandoval - Software Developer - Resume and Professional Experience
Drakkon.NET (yes mine)

Also i cannot say enough about finding a pro resume writer. Luckily one of my friends did mine for me and i cannot tell you the world of difference it made. It does require some more professional world experience to tailor for specific jobs.

If your trying to get a job in IT/IS maybe look to craigslist for some freelance work. Goto local colleges/universities/elem schools and see if they are looking for anyone as they don't usually list publicly except maybe in local paper.

good luck!

[namelessentity]

Is it just me or all those awards mostly just things that someone who worked there would know about? It's like me putting "Purple Promise Award" (it's a FedEx award) on a resume and expecting people to know what the hell it means. You might want to clarify so people truly know what that award meant, and how an employee like you can benefit them.

Oh, and if you graduated from college I'm pretty sure you can leave out your high school. If you want more advice the guys at Anandtech are extremely helpful. Someone posts a "critique my resume" thread once every 2 days there.

[integra00]

I've pretty much voted IT work out of the picture. Its been a couple years since I've even been into computing I'm so far behind its not worth it to start from ground 0 again.

[Chainblade]

you've got some good credentials there so I don't think you should have a problem. Although, the job market does suck it seems so who knows.

I would keep your resume only 1 page. Take out the objective completely. They are a waste of time and space. Take out your high school. There is no point of it there if you have the college degree.

Definitely gear your resume towards what job you are applying for.

As for the earlier suggestion of taking out your grocery job if, say, you are applying for an IT job. It is really hit or miss with that. Sure, it has nothing to do with the job you are applying for but it shows experience in a job and not a big hole. My g/f recently was applying for jobs and left out jobs that didn't have anything to do with the job she was applying for and SEVERAL of them said that who job history was very spotty. But in reality it wasn't. So I would leave all jobs in there.

[mistawiskas]

Believe it or not, expounding on so much customer relation/customer service
can be a detriment. Make the service to customers statement once and get on with the rest. What the person that hires you wants to know, is that by putting you to work, money will be made. Pure and simple. When a person spends too much time and recourses on customer service, it cost dollars that come strait out of the proffit margin. While being good with people/ customers is a good thing, there's such a thing as over emphasizing it. i'd suggest reducing the amount of text devoted to people pleasing the customer and more on those great qualifications you have. One page is all that gets noticed. if an employer has to turn the page, there'd better be something extreemly interesting jump out of the second page or it'll just get a glance and nothing more.