Critique my resume

[mick.wheelz]

would it be possible for some of you (ie, those who look at resumes frequeltly) to take a look at mine and tell me what you think

I have obviosly changed personal details, but that dosent change the main content

here it is.

http://www.mickwheelz.com/resume2.doc

thanks.

[Dave_au]

Beef up your work experience - you were not a just nursery hand, you were an administration and sales staff member assisting in dispatch, logistics and customer enquiries.

Just got to make sure you sell yourself!

At the end of the day, the best work experience you've had is the work experience that you can take to your new job - and I imagine IT would have a bit of customer interaction - even if your "customers" are the staff above you, so use your time at the nursery to try and prove that, try and link in responsibility as well.

Obviously, don't lie to the extent that they check your reference and the bloke says something against what you've presented.

[pandaman]

Seems pretty much ok, only thing ya might wanna do is remove the stuff about primary school, as a rule I only include information about year 10 and above. Some others I know of only include their most recent education. Good luck with the job hunting :-)

[bindi]

Advice: you need to set it out better than that. Most newer versions of MS office have a Resume Wizard. Using this will mean your resume is easier to read, with effective headings and bullet-style points.

And yes, primary school doesn't matter to an employer

[mick.wheelz]

i removed the primary school bit, and i will make it easer to read.

[mick.wheelz]

ok, updated

http://www.mickwheelz.com/resume2.doc

i have been told by many people not to use word's resume wizzard, anyway, i use open office, not word.

[phoon]

Mick,
the advice everyone has given you is good advice, just one other thing I look for in resumes and I see them all the time, add in a heading of your Key Achievements, in bullet form. Obviously with limited work experience, you wont have much to write there, but you may have Key Achievements at school ie. Achievement awards for certain subjects or projects, sporting achievements etc. It may not mean much to you, but it shows the potential employer that you can set goals and achieve them. Hope this helps Mick.
Best of luck.

[Perana]

Looks alright mick... just clean up the formatting and use a different but still plainish easy to read font... also do NOT use resume wizard...

[380]

I think it needs quite a bit of work, mainly in the language you used and the setting-out of your resume.

Your first sentence states:

I am currently a senior student in at Shalom College, Bundaberg. I am looking for full time work in IT industry to start after i finish year 12. I would like to further my knowledge of IT and associated industries (for example, automotive or electronic).

This doesn't really make sense. I was recently succesful in a job application with over 550 applicants. Whilst, I am definitely no expert, I know I would be writing someone to the effect of the following:

As a student in my final year at Shalom College, Bundaberg, I am seeking full time employment in the IT industry, to be commenced upon completion of my studies. I am committed to further developing my knowledge of IT, and am also interested in other associated industries including the automotive and electronic industries.

[Captain Stubing]

Overall I don't think it's too bad, after considering the prior suggestions, and now my 1 cent's worth!

When you describe your responsibilities at Bundaberg Seedlings, you might consider rewording a few.

Maintenance - does that include trouble-shooting and solving problems?
Movement of trays and orders - can you mention either 'co-ordination' or 'management' of orders for customers?

It's better to relate your experience using the main 'buzz' words, which will stick out to someone considering your resume.

I don't think you need to go as far as changing 'planting seedlings' to 'successful germination of saleable products'.

[DOC]

Originally Posted by mick.wheelz

would it be possible for some of you (ie, those who look at resumes frequeltly) to take a look at mine and tell me what you think
I have obviosly changed personal details, but that dosent change the main content
here it is.
http://www.mickwheelz.com/resume2.doc
thanks.

Hi Mick.wheelz, looks like any standard resume to me ( and that is not putting it down in anyway ), I have read 100's of resume's and employed countless people from general duties to state managers and truthfully after a while they did not mean much to me.

When interveiwing i tend to read the person more than thier resume, how they approached me the first time, did they look me in the eye ?, did they have a firm handshake ( man or woman ), what was thier posture like in the chair, could they answer general Q's about why they wanted to work for XYZ company ( had they done any research ), how did they answer the question in general i.e did they ramble on or did they answer in a fashion that showed they knew what they were talking about, what interests did they have outside of work ( this didnt matter what it was so long as they had an out, all work and no play was not good ), did they dress for the job / interview, could the person bring something of value or at least show scope to be an asset to the position and the company as whole ( would they fit with the current team ), did the person have a sense of humour and could they handle a little pressure under the pump.

In general these are just some of the other questions to ask yourself when applying for a position yes the resume is important but do not forget there is much more to it.

Best of luck in your endevours and i am sure you will be successful.

Cheers
Pete

[chippa6]

Some handy information for everyone really. try to have a few different resume's for different jobs for which you want to apply for and for the different audiences who will be reading your resume. ie-

Recruitment agency/ Large Company HR Department 1-3 pages, I used to skip everything and just go to the previous employment section and see if it was applicable to the position.
(so make sure that your resume is short and sweet and make sure that you bold all of your previosu positions and companies you have worked for. don't add cover letters <unless specified> or info on your hobbies, goals etc. the person recruiting/screening will not necessarily make the final decision so you cannot make a connection through the resume.)

Small/Medium Business (3-5 pages), normally the people reading the resume have a little more time to go over the "fluffy" aspects of your resume.
(so have one that includes things like interestes, goals, hobbies, etc. a lot of people from these companies will try to indentify if you are a good fit just from reading your resume and trying to determine if your interests will fit those of others in the workplace. Also you can tune your resume towards the visions/goals of the company you are applying to)

Don't discount volunteer experience please expand on these aspects.

Under each position list your responsibilities and underneath list some TRANSFERRABLE SKILLS. this is a useful tool if you have not had much direct industry experience ie- POS experience, Customer service, staff management/supervision etc (make sure they are applicable to the position you are applying for.) makes it obvious to the reader that you have skills even if they are not directly obvious and the reader also see's the word transferrable and thinks that you are a quick learner and adapt easily

try to add a small thumbnail image of the company logo etc beside your previous positions, it makes the reader interested and wanting to read more.

last of all modify the resume for each position you apply for.

Hope this helps.
Chippa

[mick.wheelz]

I have taken all those suggestions to heart and tried to impliment them in to my resume

here is an updated version
http://www.mickwheelz.com/resume2.doc

[GenesiS]

Hey Mick!

In a previous life I was a manager of several small electronics stores (Intertan, who control radio shack in the states, andused to control tandy in australia), not all at once of course, but I was fortunate to be a manager at the age of 17, which in this day and age is quite an achievment, or so I'm told.

Anyway long of the short is when I used to get resumes in at work I had three piles, and a lot of people may feel that this is harsh, but I had a pile of considerables, those who I wanted to speak to and interview, I had the shredder pile, as in why waste mine and your own time this is in the shredder, and I had the fun pile, that was the pile in which I kept the resumes that cracked me up, they were great for slow days and bored lunch hours when I needed something that was so bad it was funny... some of them were real crack ups, like the one I recieved entierly in upper case and double spaces from a twenty nine year old women.

Anyway, while I'm not a fan of your formatting, i wouldn't hold it against you, and your final would certainly make it in a pile of considerables, almost all of the comments here are very good, sell yourself, when reading abou it as an interviewer it impresses me, not that you've done it, bu that you could handle that resposnibility.

But don't forget to include a cover letter unless you're specifically told not to. Cover letters are what always got me, and in most times got me to hire someone, and I know my cover letter got me my current job when I left managing my old store.

A cover letter should really smack the reader between the eyes and say "don't put me down, you know you want to call me now", all ways be assertive, you don't think you will make a good team member, you know you will be a productive nd efficent team member. You don't attempt to reach goals set for you, you strive to complete and exceed every goal set before you. Stuff like that used to make me relly excited.

It may sound odd coming from a 22year old who has managed two electronic stores (well they were electronics prior to woolies coming in anyway), but that was the stuff I looked for. And remember, make sure you know your resume back to front, nothing worse than asknig someone about an aspect on their resume and finding they didn't actually "realis it was there".

Good luck mate, and happy job hunting!

(Sorry for the crap spelling, i'm writing an esay as I type this and my concentration is else where)

[svo347]

Too long bud.
Try to shorten it to 2-3 pages.
i always modify my resume to suit the job im going for. Look at it this way... 500 odd people apply for the same job you do, the last thing the want to read is 4 pages of paperwork... Get to the nitty gritty & if they are interested take a longer copy for them to read.
Ive seen resumes thrown over their shoulder cause it was just too long