Technical Hiring Managers - resume advice

[chrisser]

Hoping to get some advice from FReepers who are hiring managers for tech positions - specifically system/network admins.

I've been in the field for almost 25 years. Been consistently employed with a consistently rising salary. Now mid 40s and currently employed.

But I would like to relocate to another city where we own property. I don't know anyone there other than our neighbors who are either retired, farmers, or both.

The area I'm looking at is Parkersburg WV. Not exactly a mecca of tech positions, but a few pop up occasionally on the job boards. I've been sending out resumes for about 3 years and haven't received a single response. There are two positions currently open - one's been open for almost a year and the other for more than a month. I've sent resumes to both (one to the latter, and resubmitted ever two months on the former's online portal). Not a peep. The latter is a small bank and I actually have banking experience. From their description, I'm a near perfect fit. Still nothing.

I send out a pretty detailed resume because these are technical positions. They run 3-4 pages because I've been at my current employer over a decade and, frankly, I've done a lot in a lot of different areas. Job descriptions these days are pretty vague so I feel I have to throw out as many different skills and areas of expertise as I can in order to catch the HR screeners with the right keywords.

Wondering if maybe I should condense my resume into a single page or maybe two. Or looking for any other advice on writing a resume to get through to an interview. What I'm doing now obviously isn't working.

BTW, after these last two jobs didn't even get me a nibble, I've started using the address of our local property rather than my current local address out of state. Even though I'm ready, willing and able to relocate at my expense, and I've put that on resumes and cover letters, I'm wondering if the non-local address is getting my resumes tossed. Would a potential employer consider that to be dishonest? It is a valid address for property I own and it is where I would live if they gave me the job, but it's not where I'm living now.

Any other advice more than welcome...

[Focault's Pendulum]

Sometimes age discrimination can work in your favor.

Not often.

[Woodman]

Best advice I can give you is cut the resume down to TW pages. Drop all the antiquated or small stuff you’ve done. Stress more recent experience (from the last 10 years) and any specialized training, certificates and such.

[AppyPappy]

“The area I’m looking at is Parkersburg WV”

I have a friend who pastors a church there. Very conservative

[Safetgiver]

I hope your reply to me needed a /sarc tag....Oh, it did.

[flamberge]

You only need to be able to identify the conditions where you have (or do not have) an advantage and act accordingly.

Granted, the odds are poor for older workers. Guess what! The odds are pretty bad for the 20-somethings and 30-somethings too. But there are always exceptions. Recognizing those exceptions is the key to making money.

Or as Kenny Rodgers says:

You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em.
Know when to fold ‘em.
Know when to walk away.
Know when to run.

Best of luck in your next gig.

[Oatka]

As a peon contract programmer, I had a two-part resume. The first was the usual fluff, the second I labeled “Technical Addendum”. I got a brainstorm to write down some of the challenges I faced and how I solved them. I got half way down the page and thought, “Damn, I’d hire me!” One tends to solves a problem, move on, and never think twice about it.

This second page crystallizes that. I put a note on the first page saying that resumes contain an element of blue smoke and mirrors, but if the HR shows this to the guy I’d be working for (think positive), he could tell in a heartbeat if I was material to be hired.

Two different employers mentioned that the second page got me the job.

It’s worth a shot.

[chrisser]

Many thanks to everyone for their comments and advice. I do appreciate it.

[Engedi]

I would go to a professional resume service and have them condense your resume. It would be worth spending the dollars.

Put together a portfolio of your work (examples of reports, queries, etc). See below why.

I would come down to the area you own property for a few days and perhaps visit some businesses in person.

I got my current position by emailing for 6mos the person I interviewed with letting her know I was still interested in the position. I got the call in the 7 month to come in and talk to her. She offered me the job because she said “ I loved your persistence in letting me know you still wanted the job and were patient”. The second reason I got it was because I took the time and effort to put together a portfolio of my work, background, letters of reference, etc. She was impressed- no one had done that before. They were in the middle of their busy season when they posted the job- but got too busy to pursue it.

You have to make yourself stand out from the others:)

[chrisser]

Sunday bump.

[ClayinVA]

apply for it anyway, you can meet the requirement with a degree and work experience. You might be the only candidate that can do the job and get a waiver. Also, I have seen postings that say something like “or have 1 year of experience at a GS-9 position”, you could hire in at the
GS-9 level and then get promoted in a year.

[chrisser]

Little twist on my situation...

A federal job popped up today in the area. I appear to be qualified for it. From what I’ve read, fed resumes should be a lot more detailed - probably something close to what I’ve already been sending.

I’ve submitted apps for the occasional fed job before, but never got passed there. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Hoosier Catholic Momma]

Eh, can you type louder? My hearing aid’s not working very well today ;)

My husband (41, pushing 42 in a couple of months) recently landed a job as a manufacturing engineer at a 20%+ increase in salary and benefits. He barely made it out of the parking lot after the face-to-face interview when the company called the headhunter and told him they would be making my husband an offer in the next 24-48 hours. He started three weeks ago and the kids and I are following in a few weeks.

Here are a few perks of being an older married job-seeker with kids:

1) He doesn’t need a job in a big city with an active social scene. He needs a stable job in a safe place to raise his family. Therefore, people like us are more willing to take that job in a small town if it means a good life for the family.

2) Usually more established...my husband to this day doesn’t have his bachelor’s, but he has worked his tail off and learned by getting his hands dirty—literally and figuratively. He is not entitled like a lot of younger people think they are because he has earned his good reputation in the 14 years since he left the Navy. He managed to earn a near 4.0 GPA in his Engineering studies while working full-time and with a growing family (he does have his Associate degree).

3) As for our house, the fact that we have a family doesn’t make him unavailable to work hard and work overtime. He has a supportive wife at home who is there when he can’t be to go to the track and cross country meets and to oversee the homework of four kids. He has said part of the reason he has had such a good career is that I am here to back him up.

[Delta Dawn]

I have used that strategy with a fair amount of success.

The key thing for any resume is to convince the person who is scanning it(nobody reads a resume for plot), that you have the skills needed to do the job that they are looking to fill. If you don’t list the two or three skills that the hiring manager is looking for in the top portion of the first page of the resume, the hiring manager will never look at the second page. More than two pages and you might as well be submitting a manuscript for publication...

One thing to keep in mind is that some ads are posted by staffing agencies looking to build up a resume database, so sometimes there isn’t an actual job behind the ad that you are replying to, hence no contact or follow up by the recipient.

My strategy was to list my skills and show how I used them to accomplish a goal at my present or previous employer.

Being at one employer for ten years conveys a bit of information about you to the hiring manager. One thing hiring managers try to discern is are you a quick learner who will be up and running in no time in the position that he is advertising.

Were you at one job for 10 years because you were a solid dependable employee who had loyalty to your employer, or were you comfortable doing the job for your employer and was afraid of leaving the comfort and security of that position for a more rewarding position but one fraught with new pitfalls?

Darned if you do, damned if you don’t.

So, what I am saying, is that if you were very good in your current job and led the way to finding solutions, convey that in your resume. Chances are, any possible employer will care less what you were doing 10 years ago and instead will want you to focus on the last 2 or 3 years and show how what you were doing in that time can be parlayed into a win-win for the hiring manager...

best of luck...