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New discussions this month on the IT Pro forums:

• CompTIA Network+ 2007 Edition
• Certification Advice
• Is Knoppix part of your toolkit?
• Possible video driver failure
• And more! Meet you on the Forum!

New this Month on Career Development

CareerJet.com – Check out this job search site for the United States. Search jobs from more than ten thousands of Web sites.

Get Linkedin – LinkedIn is an online network of more than 17 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries.

Check out the new articles pertaining to Workforce Trends

How will IT Workforce Trends shape your future? What technologies are HOT for 2008? How will the Aging American Workforce reshape the U.S. labor force? Follow this link to read the articles.

New Job Roles – Research and Info

What are the HOTTEST skills for 2008? Are you in demand? What are the top jobs in the IT industry? Follow this link for more information.

New Personality, Communication, and Working Style Assessments

Self-Assessment Resources - Self-assessment is a process by which you learn more about yourself -- what you like, what you don't like, and how you tend to react to certain situations. Knowing these things can help you determine which occupations and work situations could be a better fit for you. You may recognize some of these tools if you ever worked with a career counselor or consultant. Follow this link for more.

Latest News Section of the IT Pro Web site

Check out the Latest News. Did you know that a Robert Half Technology reports state that IT salaries are to rise twice as fast as inflation? Follow this link to read more.

The purpose of this series is to help CompTIA IT Pro members create stronger and more focused résumés by leading with a professional summary tailored to a job or job role. If you have conducted some current employer and job role/skills research and developed your professional portfolio (details in previous articles), you should be ready for this exercise.

Think of your Résumé Like a Menu

Take a moment to look at three common résumé mistakes from a different and funny perspective. Scenario – Imagine entering an Italian restaurant ready to order some minestrone, veal scaloppini and tiramisu and being presented three different menus from the same chef:

Menu #1: Starts out with “Objective – To use my extensive creative cooking abilities in a challenging and fun environment with potential for growth and recognition.”

Menu #2 : Lists in reverse chronological order, the complete repertoire of dishes from every cuisine that the chef had ever made (either in previous jobs or while in school).

Menu #3 : Lists the current menu items, but in Italian and without any descriptions.

Ridiculous and funny? Not on a résumé, yet individuals make these mistakes over and over.

Lessons Learned and Applied

The reader is not likely to be interested or impressed by your vast knowledge of Linux if they are looking for a Windows administrator.

The top one-third of your résumé should:

1. Tell employers what you have to offer them specifically. Objective statements are rarely well written; use a professional summary statement instead, and for jobs that you really want, write one that picks up key words from the job posting itself.
2. Present a concise overview of the key technical skills and “soft” skills that you know are hot in a job role or for a particular job posting in the order of their importance.
3. Engage the employer to read supporting details provided within the main portion of your résumé.

Review the “before and after” sample résumés given below. These samples give an idea about how to revise the content of a résumé to draw attention to the most relevant information using a strong professional summary. They have been left in a fairly basic text format which is how many résumés appear to employers using job sites such as Monster and Career Builder.

The original résumé information was taken from devBistro, a tech job board. The same résumé information was used to develop both a network administration résumé and a system administration résumé. The information was slightly re-organized to stress different skill sets based on some typical employer requirements. With additional work it would be possible to further refine these résumés to meet the needs of a specific employer.

In closing, remember that you only have 10-30 seconds to convince an employer to keep reading your résumé. The top one-third of your résumé needs to position you as the candidate who knows and has what the employer is looking for.

Résumé 1 - Network Administrator Sample Résumé (Original)

OBJECTIVE

A senior network administrator position responsible for the planning, design, and implementation of network technologies in a challenging environment.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE

Demonstrated record of success troubleshooting computers, increasing efficiency, securing data and optimizing the access and utilization of shared information using a variety of hardware and software. Outstanding customer service skills resolving technical issues and educating end-users. Team player making significant contributions to team and individual success, looking to learn and apply new technologies and business methodologies.

Systems Administration

• Managed and coordinated network operation efforts, IT planning, security, and other technical areas.
• Maintained local area network for engineering group, which included workstations and several servers, both domain and member application, network printers, and associated hardware using Microsoft Windows XP, 2000 Server, and Server 2003.
• Assigned user accounts and granted permissions to shared resources. Assured senior management of data protection by applying established government standards and demonstrating permission settings.
• Augmented onsite contractor desktop administrator and contractor supplied Help Desk to resolve user difficulties and requests for assistance.
  

Hardware and Software Configuration, Integration, and Troubleshooting

• 
  Installed, configured, and updated applications, including AutoCAD 2005, Intranet Connections, Microsoft Office, Project 2002, Adobe Acrobat 7.0, Microsoft Visio, Xerox Docushare, Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS), and Veritas Backup Exec.
• Built, maintained, and repaired desktop computer systems, servers, and RAID storage subsystems to improve speed, reliability, and efficiency of operation.
• Designed and maintained web based intranet using Macromedia Dreamweaver and Microsoft FrontPage.

Security Planning and Enforcement

• Assigned as Computer Security Officer for engineering group. Tasks included maintaining several security-contingency plans, communicating security incident information to management and users, and acting as liaison between users and IT Security Officers in upper management.
• Conducted security analysis of servers and desktops to verify adequate virus protection and compliance with federal government procedures.
  

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity

• Created and implemented organization's first-ever disaster recovery plan to ensure minimal productivity loss.
  
  

Network Backup and restore

• Replaced aging backup system with updated hardware and software, saving the organization $35,000 annually.
  

Long and short range planning, budgeting and procurement

• Conducted surveys of operations to assess needs and identify high priority improvements.
• Delivered technical briefings and project plans to management.
• Monitored and assured compliance with federal regulations and industry standards, instituting changes as they occurred.
• Maintained annual budget of $550,000. Specified and wrote purchase requests to acquire needed services and products

Writing Implementation and Impact Studies

• Preformed total cost of ownership (TCO) study comparing contractor managed desktop services versus government personnel provided computer support, providing management's first understanding of true cost for each solution.
• Provided return on investment (ROI) study of contractor proposal for a document management system, which resulted in a project de-scope and $250,000 savings for government agency.
• Delivered impact studies of proposed government regulations and guidelines on current and future budgets and planning.
  
  

Business Process Re-engineering (BPR)

• Used DesignShop(R) principles and other tools developed by MG Taylor, Inc to perform BPR, and problem resolution for various NASA Langley organizations.
  

Contract monitoring

• Wrote requirements and metrics and evaluated contractor performance for several IT service contracts

EXPERIENCE

Network administrator - August 1998 to April 2005
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia
Windows NT 4.0-Windows 2000-Windows Server 2003 network administrator

Knowledge Worker - May 1997 to August 1998
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia
Business Process Re-engineering Facilitator

Novell Netware Administrator - April 1993 to June 1995
Langley Research Center, Hampton,Virginia
Novell Netware 3.12 Administrator

Engineering Technician Designer - November 1992 to May 1997
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia
Computer Aided Drafting and Design using AutoCAD, and ProEngineer

Engineering Technician - May 1990 to November 1992
Langley Research Center, Hampton,Virginia
Sheetmetal fabrication technician

EDUCATION

Certificate - August 2005
sometrainingcompany.com, Chesapeake, Va
Currently enrolled in Microsoft Networking curriculum in order to obtain
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification.

Certificate, Journeyman Engineering Technician - August 1995
Langley Research Center Apprentice School -
Community College, Hampton, Virginia

Associate, Drafting and Design - May 1991
Community College, Virginia Beach, Virginia

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CERTIFICATIONS

• Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), Microsoft May 2005.
  Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional, 70-270.
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Administration, Brainbench, Inc. May 2004
• Network and Internet Security, Brainbench, Inc. May 2004
  

SPECIALIZED TRAINING

• Disaster Recovery Planning for the Enterprise , Learning Tree International. 2004
• Foundations of Project Management, Academy of Program and Project Leadership,. 2003
• Facilitator's Workshop, Graduate School. 2002
• Planning and Scheduling with Primavera P3, Primavera Systems, Inc. 2001
• PC Troubleshooting, CompUSA Training. 1999
• Project Management for the Office Professional, Graduate School . 2000
• Technical Writing, Community College. 1993
  

AWARDS

• Honor Award, Langley Research Center , Hampton , Va. 1993
• Special Act or Service Award, Langley Research Center , Hampton , Va. 1996 1998, 1999
  
  Certifications
  See above

Résumé 2 – Network Administrator Sample Résumé (Redone)

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

A senior network administrator with 15+ years networking, security administration, and business process development experience in an engineering environment.

Core competencies include:

• Network operations including planning, administration, and maintenance
• Security management including disaster planning and recovery in a classified environment
• Long and short-range project planning, budgeting and procurement
• Business and process analysis, promoted for establishing information sharing best practices and identifying emerging user/business needs
• End-user support, consistently recognized as a problem solver

Technical skills:

• Maintained local area network which included workstations and servers, both domain and member applications, network printers, and associated hardware using Microsoft Windows XP, 2000 Server, and Server 2003
• Hardware built, maintained, and repaired: desktop systems, servers, and RAID storage subsystems
• Software installed, configured, and updated: AutoCAD 2005, Intranet Connections, Microsoft Office, Project 2002, Adobe Acrobat 7.0, Microsoft Visio, Xerox Docushare, Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS), Veritas Backup Exec, Novell Netware 3.12.
• Designed and maintained intranet using Dreamweaver and FrontPage.

EXPERIENCE

1990 to Current - NASA Langley Research Center , Hampton , Virginia   

NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR - August 1998 to Current

• Maintained local area network for engineering group
• Conducted operational needs assessments, prioritized requirements, and delivered technical briefings and project plans to management.
• Created and implemented organization's first-ever disaster-recovery plan to ensure minimal productivity loss, and replaced aging backup system with updated hardware and software, saving $35,000 annually.
• Chosen as Computer Security Officer to maintain contingency plans and communicate security information up, down, and across the organization.
• Maintained annual budget of $550,000. Specified and wrote purchase requests to acquire needed services and products
  Conducted security analysis to verify virus protection and compliance with federal government procedures.

Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) Facilitator - May 1997 to August 1998

• Used DesignShop(R) principles and tools developed by MG Taylor, Inc to perform BPR, and problem resolution for various NASA Langley organizations.
• Performed total cost of ownership (TCO) study comparing contractor managed desktop services versus government personnel provided computer support, providing management's first understanding of true cost for each solution.
• Provided return on investment (ROI) study of contractor proposal for a document management system, which resulted in a project de-scope and $250,000 savings for government agency.
• Delivered impact studies of proposed government regulations and guidelines on current and future budgets and planning.
•  Wrote requirements and metrics and evaluated contractor performance for several IT service contracts

Novell Netware Administrator - April 1993 to June 1995

• Assigned user accounts and granted permissions to shared resources.

Engineering Technician Designer - November 1992 to May 1997

Computer Aided Drafting and Design using AutoCAD, and ProEngineer

Engineering Technician - May 1990 to November 1992

• Sheetmetal fabrication technician
  

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CERTIFICATIONS

• 2007 Microsoft Certified System Engineer, 2007
•  Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), 2005.
• Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional, 70-270.
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Administration, 2004
• Network and Internet Security, 2004
  

SPECIALIZED TRAINING

• Disaster Recovery Planning for the Enterprise , 2004
• Foundations of Project Management, 2003
• Facilitator's Workshop, 2002
• Planning and Scheduling with Primavera P3 2001
• Project Management for the Office Professional 2000
• PC Troubleshooting, CompUSA Training. 1999
• Certificate, Journeyman Engineering Technician - 1995
• Technical Writing, 1993
  

EDUCATION

• Associate, Drafting and Design - 1991
  

AWARDS

• Honor Award, NASA Langley Research Center , 1993
• Special Act or Service Award, Langley Research Center , 1996 1998, 1999

Résumé 3 - System Administrator

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

A systems administrator with 15+ years’ systems, network, and security administration experience with advanced workstation requirements.

Core Technical Skills and Business Competencies:

• Build, maintain, and repair desktop systems, servers, and RAID storage subsystems in support of 50+ users
• Create and implement security, back-up and disaster-recovery plans in a classified environment
• Develop and manage long and short-range project plans, budgets and procurements
• Conduct business and process analysis and identify emerging user/business needs
• Plan, maintain, and administer local area network which include workstations and servers, both domain and member applications, network printers, and associated hardware using Microsoft Windows XP, 2000 Server, and Server 2003
• Establish information sharing best practices and to ensure quality end-user support, recognized as a problem solver

EXPERIENCE

1990 to Current - NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia   

NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR - August 1998 to Current

• Conducted operational needs assessments, prioritized requirements, and delivered technical briefings and project plans to management.
• Chosen as Computer Security Officer to maintain contingency plans and communicate security information up, down, and across the organization.
• Created and implemented organization's first-ever disaster-recovery plan to ensure minimal productivity loss.
• Maintained local area network for engineering group
• Maintain contingency plans and communicate security information up, down, and across the organization.
• Maintained annual budget of $550,000. Specified and wrote purchase requests to acquire needed services and products
• Conducted security analysis to verify virus protection and compliance with federal government procedures.
• Replaced aging backup system with updated hardware and software, saving the organization $35,000 annually.
• Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) Facilitator - May 1997 to August 1998
• Used DesignShop(R) principles and tools developed by MG Taylor, Inc to perform BPR, and problem resolution for various NASA Langley organizations.
• Performed total cost of ownership (TCO) study comparing contractor managed desktop services versus government personnel provided computer support, providing management's first understanding of true cost for each solution.
• Provided return on investment (ROI) study of contractor proposal for a document management system, which resulted in a project de-scope and $250,000 savings for government agency.
• Delivered impact studies of proposed government regulations and guidelines on current and future budgets and planning.
• Wrote requirements and metrics and evaluated contractor performance for several IT service contracts
• Novell Netware Administrator - April 1993 to June 1995
• Assigned user accounts and granted permissions to shared resources.
• Engineering Technician Designer - November 1992 to May 1997
  Computer Aided Drafting and Design using AutoCAD, and ProEngineer
  
  

Engineering Technician - May 1990 to November 1992
Sheetmetal fabrication technician

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CERTIFICATIONS

• 2007 Microsoft Certified System Engineer, 2007
• Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), 2005.
• Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional, 70-270.
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Administration, 2004
• Network and Internet Security, 2004
  

SPECIALIZED TRAINING

• Disaster Recovery Planning for the Enterprise , 2004
  Foundations of Project Management, 2003
• Facilitator's Workshop, 2002
• Planning and Scheduling with Primavera P3 2001
• Project Management for the Office Professional 2000
• PC Troubleshooting, CompUSA Training. 1999
• Certificate, Journeyman Engineering Technician - 1995
• Technical Writing, 1993

EDUCATION
Associate, Drafting and Design - 1991

AWARDS

• Honor Award, NASA Langley Research Center , 1993
• Special Act or Service Award, Langley Research Center , 1996 1998, 1999

IT Job Growth Seen Through 2016: Despite the increase in outsourcing, government figures point toward robust job growth for many technology occupations.

Good news: Demand for many IT skills will increase well into the next decade. In fact, according to the latest figures from the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, many IT occupations will be at the leading edge of job growth - in terms of both demand for specific occupations, as well as sheer job volume - for at least a decade.

Follow this link to read the story from Dice.com.

Ask the IT Doctor: I've been employed as an IT director for several years, but my company is going out of business. Because the firm has been on its last legs for nearly my entire tenure, I haven't received raises that reflect my performance. In fact, I haven't received a raise at all in three years.

How do I present this when prospective employers ask for a salary history? What are they really looking for, and how can I avoid locking myself into a less than satisfactory pay scale?

Follow this link to read the answer from Katherine Lee Spencer, the IT doctor, on Dice.com.  

Salaries Expected to Increase for IT Professionals in 2008: Robert Half Technology, an IT staffing firm, released its annual salary guide for 2008. The guide is based on an analysis of Robert Half’s project and full-time placements as well as research conducted by Robert Half Technology staffing and recruiting specialists.

Follow this link to read the rest of the article on techcareers.com.

CompTIA certifications provide validation of technical knowledge and skills.  On January 7, 2008 CompTIA announced the general availability of our newest certification: CompTIA Printing and Document Imaging (PDI+).

CompTIA PDI+ certifies the knowledge of core technology and the skills needed to install, support and repair multi-function devices, printers, copiers and scanners regardless of the manufacturer.   If you are also involved in servicing these peripherals, earning CompTIA PDI+ will help your IT career.

Never before has there been a certification that validates knowledge of printing and document imaging technology.  The majority of the exam (86%) covers the following: print engine and scan processes and components; basic electromechanical components and tools; troubleshooting; connectivity and color theory.  The other 14% covers the soft skills of professionalism, communication, safety and environment.

CompTIA PDI+ is supported by  Brother, Canon, HP, Konica Minolta, Lexmark, Pitney Bowes, Ricoh, Sharp and Xerox as a certification that any technician (both entry level and seasoned) should earn to validate his knowledge.  So regardless of whether you’re just entering into a career servicing these peripherals or have years of experience, CompTIA PDI+ is for you!

To make it easier for you to be one of the first to receive the CompTIA PDI+ certification, we have announced an introductory pricing offer. Right now CompTIA is offering the exam at the discounted price of $199 and you have until April 30 to take your exam. After Feb. 29, 2008, the exam will be priced at $232. To order your voucher now, click here.

You can also order the CompTIA Press CompTIA PDI+ Student Manual on the CompTIA Store. Click here to buy your book, or follow this link for a complete list of training materials.

For more information about CompTIA PDI+ and how it will benefit your career, visit certification.comptia.org/pdi or e-mail pdiplus@comptia.org.

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