The MicroTrain Blog

I wanted to share this with you all.  Here is a student testimonial from Jason Ray.  He was part of my 1^st round with the NEG Program and he is also interning here at MicroTrain in Chicago.  He has been doing an amazing job and helping all students when needed as well as the front desk staff.

My career started as a Service Technician with Comcast, in which I worked for six years. I left there and became a cable splicer for AT&T where I was employed for only six months before they laid off me and 700 other workers in 2008. I was unemployed for 2 ½ years before they rehired me as a Premise Tech only to be laid off 3 months after I started. I ended up working for a Medical Transportation company for 1 ½ years, there I felt as if my career had come to a standstill and I was going nowhere fast.

Being laid off from AT&T and starting a new job as a Para Transit Driver definitely was not easy.  I felt as if the skills I had developed as a Technician were being wasted and that I was falling further behind in accomplishing any goals I had set financially and career wise. I was somewhere I didn’t want to be and I knew I had to find my way out fast!!  I was on unemployment after leaving my previous job as a Para Transit Driver, and one day I came across an email from IDES.

Generally I am very cautious before I sign up for anything because usually for training you have to either be in a certain type of situation or you will be paying directly out of pocket which can become very expensive.  I attended the orientation with Dawn Mondo and she explained in great detail that the training that I would received was fully covered and I wouldn’t have to worry about anything but showing up to class and passing my exams.  Before my training with MicroTrain, I felt that I had good technical skills but lacked the knowledge and expertise in certain areas that a lot of IT employers where looking for.  Also I didn’t have any type of certifications to back up anything I knew.  Now I feel that I can show my true worth to a company not only with my experience but also with my certification to prove it.

I’ve had the most pleasant and professional experience with my Career Services Manager.  From Day 1 Dawn has worked and provided me with any information or guidance that she had to give.  She was always available day or night and willing to help me with any problem or situation I may have had.  I compare her to a flashlight in an otherwise dark tunnel.  A true guardian and helper she has a friend in me for life.  With the additional training that I received from the Resume and Interview Workshop and also the LinkedIn Workshop, I know have more confidence that my resume displays the key information that employers and recruiters look for and that I am also building a vast career network.

My advice would be that you may have a few down and out periods but that there are people like Dawn Mondo and programs like NEG that are available and will help you to get back on track with finding the right career.  You may have to make sacrifices, but at the end of the day you will find yourself feeling better about your outlook at life.  Any goals you set in life can be accomplished with hard work and dedication.  The WIA Program and NEG program is by far one of, if not the best program to get displaced IT workers trained and back to work.  From the orientation, to the classroom settings, to the teachers involved nothing but positive effort and work into making sure that you have the information and tools to pass your exam.  Once you have completed the classes you are moved into a paid internship through the NEG Program with a reputable company associated with MicroTrain.  I had the distinct honor to be placed with MicroTrain as my internship and it has been an experience that I will never forget.  I have been able to learn a great deal from Will, Peter, and Thomas in the Tech Department that I can carry with me in the development of my career.  In the end MicroTrain has become an extension of my family and I have to thank everyone there who has helped me find my way into a lasting career as an IT Professional.

Candidates often want to know the best resume format to use when emailing a recruiter, hiring manager. The answer is simple; use whatever format your audience needs. Usually this means using Microsoft Word format.

Some candidates think a PDF is the best resume format because they can use fancy graphics and unique formatting to stand out. This just isn’t the case. You should spend your time polishing the content of your resume instead of adding fancy graphics. Align it with the job description of the target job. You will stand out, and be selected, too.

Unless it’s specifically requested, you shouldn't send a PDF instead of a MS Word document to a hiring manager or recruiter. Here’s why:

1. The employer probably uses an applicant tracking system (ATS). This means they digitally import your resume into a candidate database to analyze against the job description. This process is most compatible with MS Word files.
2. A PDF file includes metadata elements and is a proprietary format specifically designed for security of documents. There’s a good chance this will conflict with the employer’s ATS.
3. PDFs can be difficult to open and usually require paid software to edit. The more difficult you make it for a recruiter or hiring manager to access your resume, the more likely they are to eliminate you as a candidate and reduce their candidate list.
4. MS Word is nearly everywhere. Most people have a copy of Microsoft Office, and most corporations use it as their standard. Alternatively, Google Docs is free to anyone, and reads and edits MS Word Docs.
5. Your recruiter is your agent and advocate. They won’t be able to tweak your resume, fix spelling errors, or make the other refinements necessary to get you in the door if your resume is a PDF.

When choosing the best resume format, think of the recruiter’s and hiring manager’s workflow, time and process requirements. PDF documents make it hard for them to quickly consume your resume or cover letter. Using the right format may give you the edge you need to be recognized as the best candidate for the employer.

Photo: Shutterstock