How to find a job?

I suppose there are stylistic differences between the US and the UK. But a few of points strike me straight off.

You seem to have far more content on what you've read than what you've done.

Draw a clear line between your experience in work and previous.

Be a bit more 'business' oriented in describing what you achieved, and then mention then technologies you used to achieve the 'business' requirement. I understand what you are saying, but that level of technical detail is stratospheric as far as HR and recruiters go.
You sound a lot like me in my youth a coder's coder, but in the current business environment that can be hard to sell. Save the technospeak for the interview with people who understand it and couch your experience in what it did for the end users of your code.
Best O' luck.

I agree with the others. Your resume needs help. You have a TON of content that isn't very meaningful.

Keep it simple. Start with an objective and then move into education and experience. If you really must included it, save the fluff for the cover letter.

Ok, I can understand where you are coming from. I am very technical so it is hard to see my resume as fluff but..

Anyway, this is a slightly redone resume please post comments.
Shaun Bedingfield
Software Engineer/Architect/Developer
MCAD for .NET

281-579-3549 (available almost all the time)
832-483-7858 (when not available at home)

shaunbed@swbell.net

Intent
---------

I am interested in all areas of software development and have extensive knowledge of many technologies. I am looking for any potential opportunities in your company and am very open on salary requirements.

Certifications/Degrees
----------------------

B.S. Computer Science (University of Texas at Dallas)
GPA 3.667

MCAD For .NET (Windows and Internet w/ SQL Server focus)

Industry Experience - 4 years
----------

2/05 - Present Designing an Access database for Southwest memorial hospital
- Built a system to store and analyze stroke treatment
- This system is part of an initiative to improve stroke treatment at the hospital

1/05 - Present Ben Taub General Hospital - Volunteer DBA
- Maintained the volunteer database which is used to store volunteer hours and donations
- Provided reporting for the database to allow the volunteer coordinator to track volunteering

7/02 - 11/02 Neovox - Software Engineer
- Worked on a system to deliver access to data over cellular and voice connection
- Helped provide alternative web based access to customer data

1/02 - 3/04 Officemax - Sales
- Assisted customers with technical purchase decisions
- Helped maintain the appearance of the store
- Helped ensure that customers were promptly serviced at check out

5/00 - 7/01 University of Texas at Dallas - Research Assistant
- Helped test a program used to collect telecom metrics
- Mentored Computer Science students

1/98 - 3/00 Texas Instruments - Student Employee
- Provided a user accessible interface to a program for automatic test code generation
- Deployed the test code generation program over Solaris

Knowledge (Not comprehensive)
---------

Over 15 years professional and nonprofessional programming experience

Over 10 years professional and nonprofessional experience of the Windows Platform including in depth knowledge of system internals and security issues

Familiar with object oriented development and common design patterns and principles

Knowledge of Relational Databases especially Sql Server

Knowledge of Component and Service based development technologies

Knowledge of IIS(Microsoft) based web development

Heavily read on industry literature and issues

Experience mentoring programmers and the ability to write self-documenting, maintainable code

Sorry, I am a beginner at resume writing and I have been told a lot of conflicting things about resume writing. I think this is some of the best feedback I have received. One resume writer I went to knocked everything off my resume except my name, contact information, and last job (seriously) and others have told me to include more technical information.

I have constantly struggled between providing too much and too little information.

Many recruiters in this country are also starting to refuse cover letters. The times are interesting.

------------------

Shaun Bedingfield
Software Engineer/Architect/Developer
MCAD for .NET

Home - 281-579-3549
Cell Phone - 832-483-7858

shaunbed@swbell.net

Certifications/Degrees
----------------------

B.S. Computer Science (University of Texas at Dallas)
GPA 3.667

MCAD For .NET (Windows and Internet w/ SQL Server focus)

Skill Summary
-------------

C#, C/C++, VB.NET, UML, Object Oriented Analysis And Design, Design Patterns, SQL,
SQL Server 2000, XML, SOAP, WSDL, Java, HTML, COM, .NET COM Interop, COM+, Access, VBA,
XSLT, Windows Internals, x86 Assembly, Windows Security, ActiveX, Visual Basic

Industry Experience - 4 years
----------

2/05 - Present Designing an Access database for Southwest Memorial Hermann Hospital
Description: Building a system to store and analyze stroke treatment as part of
an initiative to improve stroke treatment at Southwest Memorial Hermann Hospital.

Skills used: SQL, VBA, Access, ActiveX Controls, Staff training, Risk Management,
Incremental Development, Prototyping, User Interface Design

1/05 - Present Ben Taub General Hospital - Volunteer DBA
Description: Provided reporting and maintenance for the volunteer database

Skills used: Access, Data cleaning, SQL, Data analysis, SQL Training

7/02 - 11/02 Neovox - Software Engineer
Description: Helping to deliver data access over cellular and voice connections

Skills used: SQL, SQL Server 2000, MySQL, PHP, Java, .NET, C#, IIS, HTML, ASP.NET, ADO.NET,
Nuance, Telephony Hardware

1/02 - 3/04 Officemax - Sales
Description: Selling products to customer

Skills used: Customer Service, In-depth knowledge of hardware and software products

5/00 - 7/01 University of Texas at Dallas - Research Assistant
Description: Mentoring Computer Science Students and later helping to test a program
for collecting telecomunication metrics.

Skills used: Regular Expressions, Java, VBA, Excel, Student mentoring

1/98 - 3/00 Texas Instruments - Student Employee
Description: Building a UI for a program used for automatic test code generation.

Skills used: Regular Expressions, Incremental Development, Constant User Involvement
and Feedback, C/C++, Solaris, Language Parsing Skills, TCL/TK, Network Deployment

Shaun Bedingfield
Software Engineer/Architect/Developer
Microsft Certified Application Developer for .NET
19606 Cottage Park Circle
Houston, TX 77094

Home - 281-579-3549
Cell Phone - 832-483-7858

shaunbed@swbell.net

Certifications/Degrees
----------------------

B.S. Computer Science (University of Texas at Dallas)
GPA 3.667

MCAD For .NET (Windows and Internet w/ SQL Server focus)

Industry Experience - 4 years
----------

2/05 - Present Designing an Access database for Southwest Memorial Hermann Hospital
Description: Building a system to store and analyze stroke treatment as part of
an initiative to improve stroke treatment at Southwest Memorial Hermann Hospital.

Skills used: SQL, VBA, Access, ActiveX Controls, Staff training, Risk Management,
Incremental Development, Prototyping, User Interface Design, Testing, ADO

1/05 - Present Ben Taub General Hospital - Volunteer DBA
Description: Provided reporting and maintenance for the volunteer database

Skills used: Access, Data cleaning, SQL, Data analysis, SQL Training

7/02 - 11/02 Neovox - Software Engineer
Description: Helping to deliver data access over cellular and voice connections

Skills used: SQL, SQL Server 2000, MySQL, PHP, Java, .NET, C#, IIS, HTML, ASP.NET, ADO.NET,
Nuance, Telephony Hardware, VoiceXML, XML

1/02 - 3/04 Officemax - Sales
Description: Selling products to customer

Skills used: Customer Service, In-depth knowledge of hardware and software products

5/00 - 7/01 University of Texas at Dallas - Research Assistant
Description: Mentoring Computer Science Students and later helping to test a program
for collecting telecomunication metrics.

Skills used: Regular Expressions, Java, VBA, Excel, Student mentoring

1/98 - 3/00 Texas Instruments - Student Employee
Description: Building a UI for a program used for automatic test code generation.

Skills used: Regular Expressions, Incremental Development, Constant User Involvement
and Feedback, C/C++, Solaris, Language Parsing Skills, TCL/TK, Network Deployment,
Prototyping

Additional Skills
-------------

VB.NET, UML, Object Oriented Analysis And Design, Design Patterns, SOAP, WSDL, COM,
.NET COM Interop, COM+, XSLT, Windows Internals, x86 Assembly, Windows Security,
Visual Basic, Requirements Gathering, Active Directory, Penetration Testing,
Common Security Vulnerabilities, Reflection

Regardless of the other messages suggesting a resume make-over, if you are having trouble making inroads because of the lack of experience, when you do get such a rejection, offer a "can't lose" proposition.

Mr. Smith, you might say, I understand your reluctance to hire a person without any industry experience. But I'm confident that I can meet your expectations if just given the chance. How about if you give me a small programming task, something that's relevant to your business, and I'll write the program for free. If you don't like what I can do, or if it doesn't meet your expectations, there's no harm done. But if it does help your company, or if it does show some potential, perhaps you would then reconsider the merits of what I believe I can bring to your firm.

(Of course, the task must be targeted for the position/company.)

One or two firms might shy away from such a proposal, but you should get someone to put you to the test. If no one will, there are other issues that are not clear to us (or to you).

Edited part:

I once interviewed a person who made such a proposal to me. He had no experience, I was reluctant to hire him, and he made the offer that I "couldn't refuse". And I didn't refuse. I took him up on it. It's just too bad he couldn't produce like he thought he could.

So when you put your money where your mouth is, make sure you have the funds to cover your commitment.

I don't tell them about my weaknesses. But if they ask me about something and I don't know it, I will tell them.

I have had to be careful here. I used to say I barely knew a technology only to find out that I knew it better than the majority of people using it.

I think I need more than samples. I sent them an email and will see how they reply.

I am still working with everything. I would like to have a stable resume within the week so I can more seriously work at my job search.

Sorry, couldn't resist a Dr. Smith quote.

Your comment to my second point...nah. Strife, schmife. I don't care how bureaucratic the organization, no hiring manager worth his/her salt who was sold on a candidate ever let HR get in the way of the actual hire. Any manager that does is not someone you want to work for anyway, because that's a sure sign that when the chips are down and you need him/her to watch your back they'll be unable to do so. Besides, it's not your job as a potential candidate to have to deal with corporate red tape...you'll have plenty of time for that once you're hired. Find the hiring manager, get the interview, make the sale, then depending on the situation HR can be brought in after the fact if everyone's all that worried about offending their tender egos.

Your comment to my ninth point...nah. Trite but true...when life hands you lemons make lemonade. In an interview you turn negatives into positives. When asked to describe any weaknesses I always reply "My standards for excellence are higher than average and folks sometimes find they can't keep up with me", or something equally highfalutin' that means absolutely nothing but doesn't admit to any actual weakness. You're required to be honest in an interview, as in all things, but you're not required to turn yourself in.

Knowledge of SOAP, COM, COM+, .NET (w/ COM interop), Java-RMI and many other
specifications used in component based and distributed development

davis
http://www.my-mortgage-loans.com

One thing I've noticed being on both sides of the hiring fence....
Your resume needs to target the specific needs of the company you're applying for. The way to find this out is to look at the ad for the position. Most positions in programming are VERY specific as to the technology they are using, so you must craft your resume so that it highlights all of the experience you have with that technology. I have customized every resume every time I send it to a different company.
For example...if they are looking for a Java/J2EE programmer...your experience in Access and VBA is not relevant, and will be why they skip you. If an employer has to sift through a page of different technologies to find out that YES, you have some Java experience, they will be less likely to give you an interview. Whereas if your entire resume consists of only Java-related experience they will be more likely to think you are exactly what they ae looking for.
So find out exactly what they need... either from the Ad or by contacting the company directly. Craft your Knowledge and Experience sections to only include what is relevant to that job. I would remove the "Character" section entirely...it takes up too much space and that stuff is usually brought up in the interview.

...if you need more experience, get it. Volunteer. Many, many non-profits need you. And they'll give you a referenceable body of work. My second piece of advice is that you need to expand your network, because if you have been looking for a job for so long, you don't know the right people. Try some professional organizations - IEEE or the like and attend their meetings. Get on committees. Get to know people in the industry - even some generic "professional" organizations may help. You never know who has a brother-in-law that needs you - these days it's all about the network.

Information Technology is often times looked upon as an industry in and of itself. However, with the exception of companies that actually create hardware (companies like Intel) and software (companies like Microsoft), that's generally not really the case. I've often pointed out that Information Technology is not the end, but rather a means to an end, at least in the big picture. For example, if I were to ask you to name an industry that does not use Information Technology in some way, I don't think you could. Therefore, if you narrow the focus of your job search by applying your knowledge towards a specific end, you might find some firms that are more receptive.

I noticed that your most recent positions have been in the health care industry, doing work for hospitals. Moreover, if I understand your medical condition accurately, perhaps such an industry might be a little more open to and understanding of your condition. Perhaps you should focus on that industry, and tailor your efforts by showing them how you can help them improve their specific product. Consider the end result that they desire, and show how your knowledge and experience can help them better achieve that result. If you can do that, you'll have more doors open for you.

And as a way of doing that, take this posture. Don't present yourself as asking for a job, per se, but rather having something to offer them. You don't want to ask them to give you anything, but rather consider what you are offering to give them. The bottom line: give them what they want, and you'll get what you want. The challenge is to know what they want.

$ IT'S ALL ABOUT MONEY $
If at all possible, add the cost savings that were realized as a result of each project you've done. If you can't determine a dollar amount, then estimate the man-hours the project saved. You need to include some measure of the positive financial impact your projects have made.

I concur with James. This was my first impression after reading your resume... for each action, ask yourself "So what?"... what benefit did your actions have for the employer.

sed -f spellcheck.txt yourresume.txt

spellcheck.txt:
s/Extensize/Extensive/
s/knowlege/knowledge/
s/interupt/interrupt/
s/archetectures/architectures/

Shaun,
I had similar lack of actual computer experience and was able to overcome the shortfalls, but that was a dozen years ago.
It may not be the lack of experience that is holding you back. First of all, if you are gettng interviews, then you have already done two things: documented all the requirements the potential employer is looking for and you've gotten a chance to talk to a prospective employer face-to-face. So the questions become why are they not hiring you and what can you do about it.
Evaluate your interviewing skills and work on them if needed. Document and work on verbalizing the actual work experience and the real results of those efforts. If you have 15 years programming experience and can mentor programmers, then that is 15 years experience and can be quantified and qualified. If not, then you don't have the experience and your resume is not accurate, e.g., it gets you in the door but then you fail to deliver what it says you have.
The best way to get a job is by networking and personal recommendation. Where are all these people you mentored and worked with over the past 15 years. As professionals they should be in a position to assist you in your quest.

Good Luck in you job hunt,

Jerry A

What you are working against is not your supposed lack of the correct experience, but HB-1s that are being brought here to work at half your salary, plus the company gets tax incentives not to hire you. This may sound like sour grapes, but if you do a little investigative work, you will find this to be true.

Most schools have a placement service or a career center or an alumni association - or all of them! LEVERAGE THAT RESOURCE!!

As someoe who also used to hire & work with programming resources, you, frankly DONT have much job experience. What you should target is your first, entry level position and NOT expect that just because you grew up in an era when many 10 year olds had access to PC's that such "programming experience" would be considered as meaningful in a job sense!

Did you co-op? Why not?
Did you intern? Why not?
Did you do volunteer programming for a local non-profit company? Why not?
Did you target and study a particular job market? Why not?

All this should have been done while you were still in school - tho its not too late. Visit your local library for job hunting resources. Also the local city/state/county employment office for more ideas.

Its time to actually WORK at getting a job!

good hunting,
Mark

is "interoperability". It is in the dictionary, and everything!

Shaun... your resume is way too long... at least for the North American market it is. R?sum??s should be no more than 2 pages long MAX. R?sum??s should be targeted... some tailored for specific jobs applications and others for "cold calling" job searches where the information is more general. Get some professional help on this... Most cities also have job clubs or job search assistance.

Unless the recruiter demands a 5 page CV, which is more popular in the Middle East and Europe; I would trim yours down. When a HR manager gets hundreds, even thousands of applications for a specific job, each resume gets a less than a 10 second glance... unless key words "stand out" near the top it goes into the round filing cabinet.

My advice Shaun is to spend more time on the "hidden job market", where 75%- 80% of all the jobs are .. seek out those unadvertised jobs... do some networking and get to know people; try to arrange some "informational interviews". Forget the Microsoft?s (or their UK equivalent) and start approaching the smaller companies. Many managers and HR people will give informational interviews when there is no pressure to make a decision. DO NOT ask for a job or leave a resume unless they ask for one, but keep one handy just in case you?re asked. ALWAYS send a Thank-You card.

When a suitable job does come up your name might be remembered and the job will never have been advertised. Believe it or not Shaun, many busy managers dread the formal hiring process, so when a opening does come up they remember you, they take the easy way out and make the first phone call... to you.

My initial impression of your resume was, "This guy is a software developer yet it doesn?t look like he can even use a spell checker?!" Bad spelling is a one way ticket to the circular file.

My second impression was that you were a very inexperienced programmer padding your resume with information to look more experienced. When I saw that you had 15 years ?professional / non-professional? experience yet only showed a minimum amount of professional experience, a little warning bell went off in my head. Only count your professional experience, or better yet don?t state the number of years directly, let the experience section of the resume do the talking.

Number three, WAY too much information.

My recommendation is to get some help from a job search agency. Have them rework your resume and help you with your interviewing skills (I?m assuming that they are not so good based on your resume). In my opinion, four years of experience, a BS in Computer Science, and MCAD certification would land you a job inside a month.

Use a spell checker for god's sake! "Extensize x86 knowlege" is spelled "Extensive x86 knowledge" that's 2 mistakes in the first couple words of the resume.

Lose the Knowledge and Character sections. Save it for conversations with programmers after you get the job.

Lead off with the Experience section and forget the college experience; it doesn't really matter, everyone does programming in college when getting a BS in comp sci.

Follow up with the Certifications/Degrees section

In the experience section, include a line for technologies used. All recruiters search for keywords so put the actual technologies in there. Following is a line from my experience section which has worked well for me.

Experienced Consultant: XXXX - Feb 2001 ? Sep 2002 http://www.XXXX.com
Overview: Hands-on development, creation of technical architecture documentation, and unit testing of applications for consumer trade promotions using Java, VBscript, and Oracle. Lead teams of Analysts in various technology implementation and strategy roles.
Technologies used: CAS, COM, DHTML, HTML, JavaScript, MS Project, Oracle, PL/SQL, Rational Rose, SAP, UML, Visio, Visual Studio (Visual Basic, Visual J++,VB Script), XML.
Key Duties and Projects:
? Authored a digital asset management strategy and technical architecture for a XXXX. Responsibilities included requirements gathering, authoring a 50-page document and presenting findings to senior management.
? Designed and implemented CAS CP iSales for XXXX and XXXX. CP iSales is a web-based consumer trade promotions tool that helps sales personnel track and allocate funds for various consumer trade promotions campaigns such as supermarket sales promotions. Responsibilities included requirements gathering, hands-on development and managing consultants.
? Designed and implemented a custom web-based trade promotion system for XXXX. This application is a web-based tool to process trade promotions such as supermarket sales. The application was developed on a Microsoft ASP platform and was designed specifically for XXXXs? proprietary trade promotions process.

When you get the interview, be personable and follow the lead of the interviewer by answering their questions. Pontificate about your programming passions with fellow programmers after getting the job. We love that over lunch because we love programming!

I know what you mean. They hire someone to assist you and before you know it they are selling themselves and networking/sliming all the levels above them. And before you know it, they are too busy with their own agenda instead of the project they were hired to do. It's the consultant-approach: it's no longer important what you know or do but how much wind you make. Just give me a lousy resume of someone who's interested in the job over a clean(ed) cv with lots of hot air. HR should go over these resumes with someone who's technically skilled. The standard tech-geek is still a nerd so they spend more time talking bits and bytes and they are basically not interested in the whole "sell yourself"-process.

Hello Shaun,

I noticed you've revised your resume, so I'm altering my post. "richards_unsubscribe@..."s post makes a lot of sense.

Good luck to you! Don't give up!!

Please give me comments/criticism

Shaun, I agree with the others; your resume should be more concise, while better emphasizing your skills. E-mail me and I'll be happy to send you a sample that might work as a template for you.

Other than that - work on your interview image. You may have been doing this for a long time, but you're still pretty young in the eyes of your interviewers. If you've got the type of knowledge and experience you discussed, you need to be bringing those to the forefront at interviews. Dress conservatively for the interview. If you have a high voice, drop your voice to a lower pitch; don't speak too quickly; listen thoughtfully to your interviewer. Make sure you don't end your sentences on a high pitch; it communicates insecurity and sounds like you're asking a question rather than making a statement. As much as possible, answer questions based on your previous experiences, and work that into your answer - as in, "I encountered a similar situation while working at X...this is how we handled that..."

Utah is booming with programming jobs right now, most of them paying decently. Combine that with the very low cost of living here, and it's worth considering a move. Check out www.utahcareerguide.com to see the classefied ads looking for programmers. If you have C/C++, VB, .NET, ASP, PHP, etc. experience, there's likely an opening here you'd want.

Amcol I think summarizes it all "As a hiring manager I would only read about one quarter of this resume before chucking it. You wouldn't stand a chance of getting an interview with me."

The same is said to job seekers like me, who have upwards of two decades experience in IT.

My advice? Find a good location for a coffee/espresso shop. Use 23? worth of supplies to make a cup of coffee. Sell it for between $1.15 and $1.50. Repeat. You'll meet some great people, be well thought of, and never have to deal with HR types who need assistance turning on their PC in the morning attempting to evaluate your IT skills and whether you'd be a "good fit" before the IT manager, who likely could use your skills, even gets to see your resume. Most CFOs want their programming done for ten rupees an hour anyway, and you can't live on that ... not in the US anyway.

Good Luck!

Shaun Bedingfield MCAD for .NET
19606 Cottage Park Circle, Houston, TX 77094 | 281-579-3549 | 832-483-7858 | shaunbed@swbell.net

Software Engineer

Strong programmer, software analyst and designer possessing a lifelong passion for making software and IT work. Skilled designer and analyst who designs software using an incremental approach which manages risk while ensuring a stable and workable product throughout development. Responsive developer who uses frequent user feedback and requirements gathering skills to ensure that the right software is developed and delivered. Experienced trainer who can work with staff to ensure that the full benefit of the software package can be materialized and mentor other programmers to help improve developer productivity and quality. Technically knowledgeable developer which can help insure that products are secure and utilize current technology to maximize business advantage.

Certifications/Degrees
----------------------

B.S. Computer Science (University of Texas at Dallas)
GPA 3.667

MCAD For .NET
? Developing and Implementing Web Applications with Microsoft Visual C#? .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET
? Developing and Implementing Windows-based Applications with Microsoft Visual C# .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET
? Developing XML Web Services and Server Components with Microsoft Visual C# and the Microsoft .NET Framework
? Designing and Implementing Databases with Microsoft SQL Server? 2000 Enterprise Edition

Industry Experience
----------

2/05 - Present Personal Contract - Designing an Access database for Southwest Memorial Hermann Hospital
? Designed a system to store analyze stroke treatment data
? Implemented the system using Access
? Trained the staff on the use of the system
? Through creation of the program, helped improve stroke treatment

1/05 - Present Ben Taub General Hospital - DBA
? Maintained the Volunteer Database
? Provided reporting services
? Provided SQL training

7/02 - 11/02 Neovox - Software Engineer
? Created a website using .NET
? Developed telephony services for businesses to access back-end data

1/02 - 3/04 Officemax - Sales
? Provided in-depth knowledge of hardware and software products
? Provided customer service expertise

5/00 - 7/01 University of Texas at Dallas - Research Assistant
? Mentored programmers using C++
? Helped test an application for collecting telecommunications metrics

1/98 - 3/00 Texas Instruments - Student Employee
? Created conditional compilation structures for automatic test code generation
? Developed a UI for automatic test code generation using evolutionary development
? The program was used to save money on the creation of test code and was used in the development of examples for one of the first texts on Mixed Signal test code generation

Academic and Previous Projects
? Developed an e-commerce site using .NET and security knowledge
? Developed a routing emulation program using remote components
? Developed a windowing user interface environment under MS-DOS
? Assisted with many noncommercial PC based video game projects
? Helped develop a baseline design for a Metropolitan Transport Authority using Object Oriented Analysis and Design
? Implemented the baseline design of a Metropolitan Transport Authority
? Produced a SQL Server version of the volunteer database
? Currently working on a project to allow centralized register, INI file, and .NET config file editing with XML based support for specific applications
? Currently planning a system to create self-regenerating Windows systems for ease of maintenance and support

Have you tried bidding on contracts for programming pieces of code for folks who can't do it at all?
aka freelancing... it may be worth it. its not always there to put food on the table, but it keeps you from having to interview.....

Try the Texas Dept. of Education, the different school districts and the schools themselves, You may even have to start out at running a school's lan. BUT, it is a place to start, and can lead to other places.

I'm thirty-seven and had a Commodore 64, a Sinclair, won the junior high-school science fair and wrote basic and logo and all that nonsense way back when before you were even born.

But it won't show up on my resume.

Unless you're one of the Olsen twins, you can't claim experience in your field back to age ten. In your case, you would have had to have been at MIT at the time for it to be of any value.

How about focusing on a 3.6 GPA in computer science? Not too bad. Meritorious , ranked accomplishments are very important in staffing decisions. You're knowledgable, but can you solve problems for business? That's what's wanted, that you don't demonstrate.

In your correspondence on this board, you don't sound too comfortable in your skin, either. Mature confidence in your abilities begins when you cease to let everyone know about it before they ask. Your lashing out at "those that can't "see the matrix" if you will allow the cliche, says to me that you can do these things, maybe well, but haven't found how they help you in the real world yet (read: hobbyist). If you can write programs in DOS, great. If you know graphics algorhythms, super: when you're trapped on an island troubleshooting a system from 1990, that might be a great skillset to have (I can tie knots and build a fire). BUt unless this bedrock of knowledge is built upon, unless you can build systems for salesmen, marketers, lawyers, executives and the such that can barely dial their cell phones or set-up a spam filter, you're just a cranky kid with no "practical" experience.

Saying in an interview that you can't believe people call themselves programmers when they can't get down to your granular level is a sure way to end it. Odds are, the guy who you're sitting across the desk from can't either, or hasn't seen the need to since you were, well, ten years old.

My advice to you? TEACH!!!

I love it when folks make my point for me.

First of all, thank you for your military service to our country. Really, I mean it, no sarcasm intended. You put your life on the line to defend the freedoms we all take for granted and you deserve respect and gratitude for that.

However...THAT'S ALL YOU DESERVE. It doesn't buy you a job, or a secure future, or a nice house in the burbs with a white picket fence. Your words: "Thank you sir, for you service to your country, and yes we have a position open for you". Sorry, one thing has nothing to do with the other, and if you went into the Marines thinking that would be your ticket to lifetime employment you either weren't listening, or you had an EXTREMELY unrealistic set of expectations, or someone sold you a bill of goods.

"Respect for an American doing an honest days work by giving an honest days pay has gone out the window". Therein lies the problem. I don't think you meant your statement to be as dismissive of offshore resources as it sounds. People with your skills in New Delhi or Madras give just as honest a day's work as you do. The plain practical fact of the matter is that they live in an area whose standard, and cost, of living is one tenth what it is here. As such, they can afford to take significantly less money for the same work.

You need someone to paint your house. Two guys show up, one speaks pretty good English and says he can get it done in a day for $1,000. The other is hard to understand, says it'll take him three days, but he only wants $200. Who are you going to hire? You may or may not get the same great paint job from the second guy, but it'll at least be good enough and you've just saved 800 bucks. You think American managers think any differently about business decisions, just because there are a few more zeroes in the numbers?

You blame an awful lot of of people for whatever you perceive is wrong. I don't deny the world's about as unfair as it can be, but that's the whole issue. Your attitude comes off you in waves, even in a short essay. You think you're such a good poker player that the people you're interacting with aren't reading you like an open book? That's your fault, my friend, no one else's. Look inward.

I said almost any.. read what I said before sarcastically knocking me.

...in age, military, early experience, etc. However, that's where the similarities end.

Why is it that some people, "have taken the kick in the teeth for the last 30 years.....", while others haven't?

Why is it that some people, "have had to take a back seat to every whiney special interest group that has come down the pike in the past 30 years.....", while others haven't?

And by the way, I can't recall a single time when someone specifically said to me, "Thank you sir, for your service to your country"; but why is it that some people have a need for it while others don't?

Personally speaking, just doing what I believed to be the best thing or the right thing is thanks enough. Thank you, self, for standing on and living based on principle. What more does a person need?

It's often said, and I fully concur, that if you don't like what's going on outside of you, the place to look is inside of you. Perhaps you're looking for gratification in the wrong places.

Those I can still work for and make a profit for.

No conspiracy, just the facts. Sorry you don't like the sound of it. Really. Hate to interrupt your day. I'll just be moving along now.

Two great sources of experience and fulfilling work. And with a bachelors degree, you could join the officer's corps, retire in twenty years witrh a nice pension.

That's how I ended up getting my DBA work, by putting all my non-paid experience in my resume as well as all the additional stuff I did that wasn't part of my clerical job description. A lot of people have good advice: brush up on interview skills, fix your resume, focus on the industry you want to be in, etc.

My advice. Consider getting yourself a JAVA Cert just to have something to present in the interviews. If you know JAVA, that won't be much of a problem. Also, consider looking into the Microsoft Developers path. I know a lot of people have bad things to say about certs, and they won't magically solve all problems, but if you don't have a degree in the industry, and if you study the hard way (not in boot camp or via cheat sites), they will come through for you.

Here are a couple of resume snippets to give you ideas on reformatting your resume.

1st) Resume outline (in this order) is Name/address/contact info, Position Applied For, Objective, Related Certs (if any), Education (not just college or High School. Include any and all classes -official or self-study- you've taken and have a reasonably good handle on. I.E., stuff that, if they call your bluff, you can prove), THEN Employment.

Make sure to stick in a On the Job Experience section with all your programming skills in order of best to worst right before or after Education. Do NOT repeat yourself with a section after every employment snippet.

2) When talking about your retail jobs, try something like (this is a direct quote from one of my old resumes):

 Installed PC software and dumb terminal system peripherals.
 Trained local users in peripheral and software usage.
 Participated in miscellaneous accounting duties including accounts receivable.
 Maintained and created presentation of rental equipment and consumable products.
 Area inventory coordinator for branch stores.
 Customer service and advocate duties.

Sounds much better than: "Description: Selling products to customer" doesn't it? @=)

3) Make all your job experiences relevant to one of several possible things (pick a theme and stick to it): a) How much money you saved someone by automating a job, b) How much time you saved someone with your program, c) What broken thing you fixed or what new, innovative system you created.

4) Include all your volunteer work in order with the other paid stuff. Write down title, name of outfit, time served, and what you did that made you special. If you didn't have a title, call yourself a consultant. If the employer in question asks for a salary range on the resume, simply put in "Volunteer" after the time frame. If they don't, don't mention the work was done for free unless specifically asked the question in the interview.

If you have problems redesiging your resume, check with your local unemployment office. They tend to offer resume & interview classes for free. You probably don't even have to register for unmployement. Check with the local community colleges too.

Hope that helps!

Catadmin

Shaun, I have 30 years experience as a mainframe programmer (COBOL, CICS, DB2, VSAM, JCL, TSO, yada yada) and cannot get anyone to even think about considering me because it has been three years since being laid off without any current experience. The concept here is that after two years (or more) of not programming (because no one was hiring), I have completely cleared memory and don't even know what programming is. Never mind that I did this for 30 years. Never mind that I have consistently scored 90% on currently taken tests for my skills (clearly demonstrating current knowledge & am still fresh with skills).
Shaun, your resume looks great to me. You seem to be doing everything right and I cannot see how you can do anything significantly better. In light of what I have told you about myself, the reasons (if any) that you are given are completely bogus. They are a crock! I personally doubt it has anything to do with you personally. The hiring people are in a strong buyer's market. They can get plenty of cheap labor from overseas. They are also looking only at the dollar figures and not at your true value. In my opinion, their thinking is not in correct perspective. I wish I could tell you what to do, because I would be doing it myself if I knew. (Got any ideas?) Meanwhile, I am working at Staples as a sales associate in the electronics & business machines area and am desparately trying to figure out how to reinvent myself. I do well there, but it does not go far for paying the bills. You clearly like helping people and would therefore be a fantastic asset to any organization, whether programming or not.