help request Trying to land a Entry-Level IT job
I recently started applying for entry-level IT support jobs. It’s been about two weeks with no responses so far. After a few iterations, this is my current resume.
Any advice on what I should improve, or should I just keep applying?
I live in New York currently.
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u/568Byourself 5d ago
Your networking knowledge would be hugely respected by most AV/home automation companies.
You might not know much about audio/lighting control right now but understanding networking puts you on the fast track to the “engineer/programming” roles because all the control systems require solid networking comprehension.
I know it’s not “IT” per se, but we do a lot of networking, I set up VPN tunnels, vlans/subnets, install all the backbone and access points. You just also have to be accept that you’d be working on lighting control, home theater, motorized shades, access control, etc.
Look for some home automation companies in your area and see if they bite
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u/No_Safe6200 4d ago
"it's not IT but we do a lot of names a fuck load of specifically IT things"
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u/568Byourself 4d ago
Well IT and home automation are not inherently the same. Yes we do networks but I don’t manage gigantic enterprise networks on like college campuses or airports.
IT guys generally don’t do lighting control, surveillance, alarm systems, audio/video, motorized tv/projector lifts, access control, etc.
You have to be a jack of all trades within the low voltage spectrum, networking is just one thing we do. A lot of IT guys deal heavily with software or operating system issues, while we do not.
Not sure why you’re coming off so hostile I was just trying to offer an out of the box idea to a guy who is looking for work, and might have a higher probability of getting hired if he casts a wider net
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u/No_Safe6200 4d ago
I didn't mean to be hostile man it was a joke, but I see how it came off that way.
I work with a lot of AV guys and I just find it funny how so many of them refuse to say they do IT work when obviously a lot of their work is the same work we do in IT.
It's definitely cool stuff though i'd love to do some more of the access control/surveillance side of things at some point.
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u/reddit_anonymous_sus 4d ago
It's just looked at differently, they'd be like service technicians or perhaps designers for home automation.
While there is overlap in the soft or hard skills of troubleshooting, networking, it's a different area.
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u/fjord_of_the_rings 4d ago
Absolutely agree with you — and not just in home AV. I’d hire someone with this resume in commercial AV integration as well.
@OP: commercial AV is a huge industry that designs and installs the technology you see in conference rooms, classrooms, auditoriums, hospitals, and corporate offices. Think big video walls, professional audio systems, cameras, microphones, touch panels, and the networks tying it all together. With your current resume and certs, you’d be a strong fit for entry-level integration roles. Titles might look like field technician, junior installer, or support tech. (Some companies (like mine) might replace 'technician' with 'engineer' by your first promotion). In those roles, you’d be learning how to pull and terminate cable, rack-mount and power up gear, configure devices on the network, and eventually assist with system testing, troubleshooting, and customer support. Because you already have hands-on networking, AD, and virtualization knowledge, you’d stand out compared to folks who are brand-new. As the other commenter said, you would most likely be fast-tracked into a role like a Field engineer, systems engineer, or systems programmer.
Most positions revolve around two things: either new system design and deployment (install, programming, and commissioning) or support and service (break-fix, IT help desk, preventative maintenance)
As a side note, my firm is currently hiring an entry-level field service/support technician in the North Jersey/NYC area. So, companies out there are definitely looking for people like you.
Day-to-day in this world is a mix of being onsite at client locations and digging into technology. One day you’re patching a switch and getting endpoints online, the next you’re programming a control system to add a new array of cameras, or troubleshooting why a conference room microphone won’t come online. There’s a lot of variety, and it builds both your IT chops and your hardware/software troubleshooting skills very quickly. If you work hard and do some training, you could program large systems within 1-3 years, and you'd be worth a lot of money.
If you’re open to it, start applying to AV integrators in your area — you’d be surprised how many are looking for exactly the skillset you already have.
Also, if you're interested in the position I just mentioned at my firm, DM me.
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u/OkAngle2353 5d ago
Reformat your resume as boring and with little white space as possible. You are creating your resume for a AI, I don't think any employer actually reads resumes now.
I've graduated back in 2024, still sitting on my dumb ass trying to get employed. I swear.... enlisting in the army is easier.
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u/DragoFNX 5d ago
that last statement 😣, are IT jobs really hard to get now?
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u/OkAngle2353 5d ago edited 5d ago
That is all jobs that require higher education. IT jobs? I don't think so. You can either sign up to a platform where you can go and find vulnerabilities or you can go to a church or something to be their IT. There are a lot of avenues with the field of IT.
I personally graduated with a major of finance. That shit actually requires experience for a employer to even consider hiring. I originally started off with CS/information systems and landed on finance. My current hobby is to build my own server.
Edit: If anything, I would be perfect for a fin-tech position... but; I need to get hired first... and internships are a no for me, because vast majority of them are unpaid; fuck that.
Edit edit: The kicker. Some employers now require 2 or more references. In university, I was a loner and only focused on course work. I have no references to speak of. How many barriers of entry do we have to go over to gain employment?!?!
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u/Soggy_Struggle_963 4d ago
I got hired at a university recently with no real IT experience or education outside of self teaching and hobby projects. I showed them my projects utilizing AI and machine learning, and now I build and maintain custom tools for research labs at the university.
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u/Zoray_tv 5d ago
This is an interesting take. I don’t think AI is looking at a resume as an image so why would reformatting as white do any good?
I disagree to be honest. AI is definitely scanning your resume for key words so certainly be mindful of that but once AI sorts through a 1000 resumes, if you’re lucky enough to be picked, you definitely want your resume to stand out for human eyes. When I was picking through resumes for interviews I found myself instinctively drawn to visually engaging resumes.
With that being said, agreed with most of the comments here. Also write a cover letter. It doesn’t matter, but it does. Shows effort*
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u/smelly_cat69 4d ago
having a plain resume is better for an ats because it improves text parsing accuracy. from working closely with recruitment, i’ve seen thousands of visually appealing (and great/impressive) resumes fail to parse correctly and get filtered out before reaching a recruiter.
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u/Zoray_tv 2d ago
But as long as the resume is uploaded in pdf or doc format the content will be the same. AI doesn’t see it as an image but as text.
I understand your point on visually appealing vs plain format however, it’s important to consider the context of each resume. I bet that the same resume uploaded in plain vs visually appealing will perform better as the latter.
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u/OTMdonutCALLS 5d ago
Over the last 6 months or so I have hired 2 people into our department and I did indeed physically look at the resumes (no AI filter in place at all). However, I see your point as that may be an exception nowadays
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u/OGT242 5d ago
I would reconsider your resume format. ATS will not pick up the formatting. Single column resume is best for ATS. Also, you need to tailor your resume to very job posting and not just fire off a generic CV.
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u/bcarlzson 4d ago
This is 100% correct most ATS systems shit themselves with multiple columns. Keep it totally top down and a good test is go to a job site like LinkedIn/indeed/dice and do the load resume and see if it can parse the different jobs.
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u/AyCalvin 5d ago
Never seen anyone have good luck with these formats. Never put a picture in your resume please. Do a classic format (get a template online) and don’t forget people read in a F shape
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u/B1tfr3ak 5d ago
Move your certificates to the top and centre. Your skills are great!!
I'm convinced Recruitment agencies want to match the buzz words as quickly as possible.
Have you considered creating a video of yourself, pasting the link in the cover letter ??
Have you considered doing the Google cloud tutorials??
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u/AsparagusFirm7764 5d ago
As someone who hires for those roles, I want you to come to me telling me how you're going to solve a problem I have. Anything ___+ is a nice thing to have, but it doesn't get you jobs. It's kinda like saying "I know how to tie my shoes". Sorry, I know you invested a lot of time into them, and don't get me wrong, it's useful stuff for you to know, but it's also filling space on your resume.
You also mention that you're willing to get more education in the subject. My first thought is "why aren't you then?". Tell me how you're improving yourself, not that you intend to.
Your skills of communication and documentation, for example, are a given. Everyone can communicate and document. Not everyone does it properly, so maybe provide an example of how you're doing these. If you're a scripter, give me examples of how you write your code (do you indent?)
When I read a resume, I want to know how you're going to solve my headaches, not give me more. And anything that doesn't stand out just goes into the "maybe" pile. But if you give me enough detail, but yet not enough, that I think I know what you can bring to the table, I'll ask for you to come back. And THEN you give me your elevator pitch.
Obviously, this is just my ten cents, take it as you will, but I hope it helps you get a job. It's a VERY difficult world to get your foot in the door. Oh, and I don't know how it goes in your neck of the woods, but a comment about how you've proactively completed a criminal record check and will be happy to provide it on request..... That will give you brownie points. You don't know how many times it looks like a candidate will be perfect, but then they neglect to tell me that they robbed a bank or something stupid like that.
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u/GigabitISDN Community Contributor 4d ago
Are there any civil service jobs in your area? I wouldn't get into federal right now but state and county and even city/town civil service jobs are a great place to get started.
Here's the state listing:
https://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/
NY's civil service looks like it uses the old examination model. Nothing wrong with that, but it basically means that you take some sort of test before applying. These are usually very simple (I swear one of mine was like "which of the following is not a form of networking: ethernet, token ring, wireless, printer") to get through.
For county / city jobs, search for "(your county / city name) civil service".
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u/angry_joe17 4d ago
Also https:\usajobs.com. Great entry-level opportunities and they’re always looking for people bc the pay is behind private sector
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u/No_Start1361 5d ago
Your quals are totally good for entry level, it is format that is the problem. Like others have said. You will land a job once you reformat.
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u/Techatronix 5d ago
Format is a little off for sure. Grab one of those stale templates and fit your info onto it.
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u/huskyhunter24 5d ago
Can homelabbing count as experience i wanna get into homelabbing its really fun playing with proxmox deploying services and doing some automation with ansible or something. Sorry to hijack op post
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u/angry_joe17 4d ago
Yes. It shows interest in the craft. Working in IT sucks sometimes, and I look for people that will still love what we do even when it sucks.
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u/huskyhunter24 3d ago
Thanks i am really looking forward to building one hopefully, i also know basic of networking like vlans, firewall i have used openwrt, i havent used mikrotik and unify, my isp used unify and mikrotik hardware i played around with its long distance APs when i had wireless connection from my isp
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u/AlanCarteg 5d ago
My 2 cents as someone who has reviewed resumes and conducted interviews for my helpdesk department, Im currently a Network Administrator.
-The column on the left side is what I call soft skills, team collaboration, etc. Incorporate these skills into your work experience e.g. dont just tell me you have team collaboration skill but how did you do it in your last job.
-Same goes for OS tell me about your experince troubelshooting win 10/11 environments -- also if you cant answer any macOS hard wuestions regarding the OS dont include it. No shame in not knowing =).
I truly hope the best for you in this field -- p.s. word of advice to you and anyone else reading. If you get a technical question in an interview please say I wpuld google that or cant answer it truthfully -- I have had many interviwees give me BS answers for DHCP, DNS, etc. and that kills any chnaces of hiring them.
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u/Particular_Can_7726 5d ago
I would get rid of the two column format. I didn't even read the grey bar on the left at first. I would also list your Skills, education, and certs are the top before you list your employment history because your employment history is less relevant to IT roles.
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u/bouncypinecone 5d ago
Something that has made me get more attention is having my certs in a table format on the bottom. I think it makes whatever person is looking at it look at the whole resume before getting to the base qualifications for the job. Also, I think experience should come before certs and education. So put your "Homelab" section towards the middle.
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u/storm80error 4d ago
Ngl you’ve got more than enough on paper to land an entry level job, maybe the market is slow atm but once you get interviews - face to face skills is where you’ll really lock in a position
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u/tin-naga 1d ago
I would change the left to say Technology Skills. Standardize how you list your skills. Windows then MacOS basics? Maybe define traditional server Linux distributions instead of just Linux. I would add more detail on your Proxmox environment and remove your raid config for Truenas as it just seems out of place. Try to add Group Policy experience and start looking at CIS/STIGS. DHCP and DNS should be on there.
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u/NetworkingWolf 1d ago
If you are applying for a job then this resume will not work at all. The issue is most companies are passing your resume through AI to review it and having it setup in this fashion will not work. Look up https://careerservices.fas.harvard.edu/resources/bullet-point-resume-template and move to that style. I added a section for hardware, software, and a few more notable things. Also make sure to keep the resume under 2 pages.
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u/Weird_Kaleidoscope47 18h ago
Active Directory 🤢
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u/IBIB23 18h ago
It's that bad😭
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u/Weird_Kaleidoscope47 18h ago
It's just ancient technology. The cloud is simpler imo and much better.
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u/IBIB23 18h ago
Yeah, that’s true. I’m just trying to learn a little bit about it. That way you have a job requires it I at least know enough to talk about it. But yeah, I need to start learning AZURE
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u/Weird_Kaleidoscope47 18h ago
That's good. A lot of modern pentesting focuses Active Directory vulnerabilities and it's targeted by cybercriminals a lot.
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u/Some_Finger_6516 5d ago edited 5d ago
How come? Certified in the CompTIA trifecta are not for entry level.
Where I live that is basically Jr. level expertise o better for IT/network/cybersec, overqualified for ''entry level'' jobs.
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u/Gr0wing_LoL 5d ago
Classical CV was working 5/10 years ago, nowadays you need to be more creative.
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u/angry_joe17 4d ago
Put your certs at the very top. As an IT manager who actually reads resumes, certs are 10x more important than a degree. They’re required to work in certain areas or on certain contracts. Certs up top will make people look at the rest. I’ve seen some really meh resumes that I was about to toss until I saw a Sec+ or CCNA at the bottom. Most of the time I hired them. Also I can’t say enough about human networking. 90% of the resumes that got into my hands came from one of my people and they got a look. If they had certs they got an interview. Try to make friends with people in the racket and see if they’ll put your resume in for you.
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u/WholeBet2788 5d ago edited 5d ago
Just something i dont like is this format:
Networking: (dhcp, ....) & networking troubleshooting
Maybe do:
Network(DHCP, IP ...)
Network trobleshooting
Or
Network: DHCP, VPN, iP
Network troubleshooting
Or
Network: DHCP, IP & Troubleshooting
Goodluck its tough market out there.