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On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:54:25 +0000, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>>> The first task, then, is to adjust my CV.
>>
>> It's a good start - and good to hear you're starting this in earnest.
>
> Heh. I've wasted enough of my life here already. (Not that there's
> realistically much hope of getting anything better, mind you...)
Well, start with a positive attitude - that will help you approach the
task. :-)
>> Being able to program is a very useful skill when doing system
>> administration. I would still include your programming skills, even if
>> they're not as prominent.
>>
>> Programming (and more importantly, the type of problem solving that
>> programming requires) is very useful when looking to build automation
>> solutions.
>
> Point taken. I can still mention it. But I do need to find something to
> fill up the rest of my CV now.
Yes, definitely mention it. Don't worry about your CV looking "full" -
many prospective employers will recognise a CV that has additional
'fluff' or 'padding' in it. Some embellishment (for the purposes of
marketing yourself) is expected, of course; just don't make that all
that's there.
>> Which you can do, because you've been doing it. Chances are you'll be
>> asked to do some sort of test (or at least answer some questions) to
>> show that your skills are more than just words on paper. :-)
>
> Chances are, they'll see a page full of buzzwords and conclude that I
> don't know what the hell I'm talking about and I just copy & pasted as
> many technical-sounding words as I could find.
>
> And if they conclude this, I'll never even get as far as an interview.
> :-(
It's all about the presentation. When I was in my early 20's and doing
my CV, I felt it was too long, but I had a fair bit of relevant
experience and knowledge at the time - but it did look like so many
buzzwords. It still got looked at; so will yours. Like I said above,
presentation matters.
Jim
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Damnit, every time I edit this more, it gets shorter! o_O
A few of you who saw my previous CV may remember that it used to be 2
full pages of stuff.
Currently I think almost the entirity of page #2 could be completely
removed and it would make almost no difference to the quality of this CV.
Any hints, people?
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
Post a reply to this message
Attachments:
Download 'cv-v08-sysadmin-partial.pdf' (40 KB)
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Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Damnit, every time I edit this more, it gets shorter! o_O
>
> A few of you who saw my previous CV may remember that it used to be 2
> full pages of stuff.
>
> Currently I think almost the entirity of page #2 could be completely
> removed and it would make almost no difference to the quality of this CV.
>
> Any hints, people?
>
That looks good. :)
Page #2 is important and if I were you. This is where I would add your
knowledge of programming languages. Including PovRay SDL, you never know ;)
--
Best Regards,
Stephen
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On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:36:09 +0000, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Damnit, every time I edit this more, it gets shorter! o_O
>
> A few of you who saw my previous CV may remember that it used to be 2
> full pages of stuff.
>
> Currently I think almost the entirity of page #2 could be completely
> removed and it would make almost no difference to the quality of this
> CV.
Page 2 contains important information; it shows that you have interests
and hobbies, and for many employers, this is something that matters (it
says to them that you aren't a workaholic and thus are less likely to
burn out)
> Any hints, people?
Under "Main experience", I would word as follows:
● Desktop and server hardware assembly / troubleshooting.
● Installation and configuration of Microsoft Windows operating systems,
with a focus on Windows XP and Server 2003
● Active Directory user account management, NTFS file security, TCP/IP
network configuration.
● Symantec BackupExec software. DDS and LTO tape backup hardware.
(For the above item, I would specify what you did - I know it's obvious
to you and me that you managed backups; but you want actions to be what
you document. "Utilised Symantec BackupExec to maintain verified backups
of critical system data" or something along those lines. "Have
configured and worked with DDS and LTO tape backup hardware")
● Oracle database creation, configuration, backup and recovery, and other
maintenance.
(Define "other maintenance" more precisely; user administration? Access
management?)
● Long track record of very strong grades in technical subjects,
particularly computer programming.
● Proven ability to readily learn new techniques and technologies.
(These are good to have as well. Details can come up in the interview)
Under your employment history, the changes I'd make are mostly to get rid
of parenthetical phrases:
* Responsible for keeping the UK computer systems operational. This
consists of approximately 30 staff, 50 workstations, 5 servers, and the
necessary networking infrastructure.
* Responsible for ensuring IT systems are operated in compliance with
all applicable regulations, including the Good Laboratory Practice. This
includes routine record keeping of all configuration changes for audit
purposes as well as developing various documentation. Confirmation of
regulatory compliance was achieved through periodic interviews with
external auditors.
* Responsible for creating and updating computer policy and procedure
documents, which were reviewed by external government and client
auditors. Several external auditors have complimented me on the high
quality of the documentation.
* Designed, documented, and formally tested the UK site computer
disaster recovery plan. This plan included documentation of all
plausible failures, the operational impact of those potential failures,
and the remediation options. Where feasible, a test plan was produced
and executed and a record kept of all test results confirming that
redundant hardware performed as expected, the identified impacts matched
what was documented, and the remediation steps performed as intended and
expected.
* Technical support and general troubleshooting for all computer-related
problems. This involved liaising with various staff to resolve problems,
advise on technical matters, plan future upgrades, and other related
tasks. Responsible for coordinating with IT departments from the
company's other sites.
* Became the system administrator of the UK site's Oracle database.
Responsibilities included regularly backing up data and restoring it as
needed.
(You might also expand this to cover other things - user administration,
for example, might be something you did for the Oracle setup. You might
also specify the version of Oracle being used if it's current).
Jim
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On Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:57:03 +0000, Stephen wrote:
> Page #2 is important and if I were you. This is where I would add your
> knowledge of programming languages. Including PovRay SDL, you never know
> ;)
I agree, that's a great place to add more detail on programming languages
and other hobbies (like maths, crypto, compression, etc).
Jim
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>> Currently I think almost the entirity of page #2 could be completely
>> removed and it would make almost no difference to the quality of this
>> CV.
>
> Page 2 contains important information; it shows that you have interests
> and hobbies, and for many employers, this is something that matters (it
> says to them that you aren't a workaholic and thus are less likely to
> burn out)
Heh. Like employers are going to care whether I prefer ballroom to
hip-hop. :-P
> ● Active Directory user account management, NTFS file security, TCP/IP
> network configuration.
Woah. That one really is a random grab-bag, eh?
> ● Oracle database creation, configuration, backup and recovery, and other
> maintenance.
>
> (Define "other maintenance" more precisely; user administration? Access
> management?)
Neither of those.
Actually *all* I've done is install Oracle, create a blank database,
recover a destroyed database from backup, and regularly backup a running
database. That's basically *it*. But by mumbling something about "other
maintenance" I can make it sound like I did something significant.
> * Became the system administrator of the UK site's Oracle database.
> Responsibilities included regularly backing up data and restoring it as
> needed.
>
> (You might also expand this to cover other things - user administration,
> for example, might be something you did for the Oracle setup. You might
> also specify the version of Oracle being used if it's current).
I specifically didn't mention the version of Oracle I worked with, since
it was after all released over 10 years ago.
That said, I doubt things have changed *drastically* from the
administrator's point of view. (I'm sure they still have tablespaces and
redologs and rollback segments and parameter files...) But it doesn't
look cool when you say the equivilent of "hey, I have lots of experience
with Word 3.0!"
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On Thu, 14 Jan 2010 12:58:46 +0000, Invisible wrote:
>>> Currently I think almost the entirity of page #2 could be completely
>>> removed and it would make almost no difference to the quality of this
>>> CV.
>>
>> Page 2 contains important information; it shows that you have interests
>> and hobbies, and for many employers, this is something that matters (it
>> says to them that you aren't a workaholic and thus are less likely to
>> burn out)
>
> Heh. Like employers are going to care whether I prefer ballroom to
> hip-hop. :-P
They may not, but if you're being interviewed by someone who is also into
dancing, that common interest can be useful for the interview. Never
underestimate the value of having something in common with the
interviewer.
>> ● Active Directory user account management, NTFS file security, TCP/IP
>> network configuration.
>
> Woah. That one really is a random grab-bag, eh?
Not really, they're all related to administration of a Windows
infrastructure.
>> ● Oracle database creation, configuration, backup and recovery, and
>> other maintenance.
>>
>> (Define "other maintenance" more precisely; user administration?
>> Access management?)
>
> Neither of those.
>
> Actually *all* I've done is install Oracle, create a blank database,
> recover a destroyed database from backup, and regularly backup a running
> database. That's basically *it*. But by mumbling something about "other
> maintenance" I can make it sound like I did something significant.
So someone else does the DBA tasks? In that case, just be prepared to
define what "other maintenance" is in case they ask.
>> * Became the system administrator of the UK site's Oracle database.
>> Responsibilities included regularly backing up data and restoring it as
>> needed.
>>
>> (You might also expand this to cover other things - user
>> administration, for example, might be something you did for the Oracle
>> setup. You might also specify the version of Oracle being used if it's
>> current).
>
> I specifically didn't mention the version of Oracle I worked with, since
> it was after all released over 10 years ago.
That's fair enough. :-)
> That said, I doubt things have changed *drastically* from the
> administrator's point of view. (I'm sure they still have tablespaces and
> redologs and rollback segments and parameter files...) But it doesn't
> look cool when you say the equivilent of "hey, I have lots of experience
> with Word 3.0!"
Agreed.
Jim
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>>> ● Active Directory user account management, NTFS file security, TCP/IP
>>> network configuration.
>> Woah. That one really is a random grab-bag, eh?
>
> Not really, they're all related to administration of a Windows
> infrastructure.
Well, that was the general intention. It looks kind of random on the
page though. (I guess to somebody who knows what they're talking about,
it suggests that I have a clue too.)
>> Actually *all* I've done is install Oracle, create a blank database,
>> recover a destroyed database from backup, and regularly backup a running
>> database. That's basically *it*. But by mumbling something about "other
>> maintenance" I can make it sound like I did something significant.
>
> So someone else does the DBA tasks? In that case, just be prepared to
> define what "other maintenance" is in case they ask.
Define "DBA tasks".
Seriously, the database runs itself. I need to set it up initially,
recover it if it breaks, and back it up periodically. What else is there?
>> I specifically didn't mention the version of Oracle I worked with, since
>> it was after all released over 10 years ago.
>
> That's fair enough. :-)
>
>> That said, I doubt things have changed *drastically* from the
>> administrator's point of view. (I'm sure they still have tablespaces and
>> redologs and rollback segments and parameter files...) But it doesn't
>> look cool when you say the equivilent of "hey, I have lots of experience
>> with Word 3.0!"
>
> Agreed.
Glad we're getting somewhere. ;-)
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Seriously, the database runs itself. I need to set it up initially,
> recover it if it breaks, and back it up periodically. What else is there?
Performance tuning. Making changes to the schema. Things like that.
If it doesn't get heavy use and you're not often changing your applications,
then there isn't much else.
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
Forget "focus follows mouse." When do
I get "focus follows gaze"?
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>> Seriously, the database runs itself. I need to set it up initially,
>> recover it if it breaks, and back it up periodically. What else is there?
>
> Performance tuning. Making changes to the schema. Things like that.
>
> If it doesn't get heavy use and you're not often changing your
> applications, then there isn't much else.
We had 1 application with about 30 users, and at any one time roughly 6
people actually hitting the DB simultaneously. The crappy little VB app
at the front was far, far slower than the Oracle database engine itself.
Not much scope for performance tuning. ;-) Although, having said that, I
did fiddle around with the log file size to solve a minor performance
issue. What happens is that as you work on a project, you gradually add
data to the database. When the project is done, you archive it into an
Access DB file (!!). So the whole project gets deleted in one go - which
generates a big chunk of DB activity all at once, overflowing the
logfiles. So I could argue that I "tuned" to fix that.
If we had ever had to upgrade it, the process would probably be to run
some vendor-provided SQL scripts. That's how you set it up initially;
create an empty DB, then run their scripts to generate all the tables
and stuff. So no, no real schema changes. (Just as well really. Have you
SEEN their schema?!)
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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