As an employer, what do you want to see in a resume and/or cover letter???

[caskratos]

I'll add one more thing, while I have no problem with a longer resume, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR EXPERIENCE IS RELEVANT TO THE JOB YOU ARE SEEKING!

Just my opinion here, but if you want to be an HVAC service tech, skip #1 & 2, because they lead me to believe you won't be happy turning a wrench. Will you be happy turning a wrench? Then expand on #3. The finance degree will help you in management positions in the future, or if you decide to start your own thing.

Thanks Kryzd; I was thinking along the same lines as far as 1 and 3. It seems like leaving 2 out won't hurt as far as reaching the interview stage, and I'll always have it in my back pocket to bring up at an interview if the conversation shifts towards communication skills.

However, I am still undecided about whether to leave the Finance degree in or not and am actually leaning toward keeping it. It's probably due to an emotional attachment since I put in a lot of work to attain it and down playing it is something I'd rather not do. Moreover, though I haven't been in the field for long, I've already noticed that many technicians seem to be out of touch with the business aspect of the company which has led to numerous confrontations between technicians and management/ownership. I feel that the degree may indicate a sense of fiscal responsibility, a feel for the business aspect of a company, and show that the individual is studious and has an eye on advancement. Not to say that I won't be happy turning a wrench for now since I do enjoy the fast paced, busy HVACR work environment, but a technician with a business acumen is an asset.

[XcelTech]

I think you will benefit more by showing proof of previous customer appreciation and dependability then you will with financial literacy.

[caskratos]

I wouldn't use any of the 3. Small and uncredited makes me think you have a poor base of knowledge.

The number one thing I look for is proof of attendance. I will take a 3 year tech with proof of 100% attendance at school and/or work over a 20 year guy who misses 1 day more then the amount of his sick leave and vacation time.

If you use up all your sick leave and vacation time, in my company, that means you have missed 16 days of work.
That means you have been paid 56 hours for work you haven't done,
I have lost out on 128 billable hours, if I charge $100/hr I lost out on $128,000ish dollars of billable time.
Plus the 56 hours of PTO, lets say I pay you $20/hr or $1120 for a total revenue loss of $129,120.
More if I have to pay other techs overtime to keep up with demand.

I like long fancy resumes filled to the brim with usable information, well designed for quick clean reading(not garbage space fillers or large words).
It tells me you put time and effort into finding a good paying career. It is always a career and never a job. Career implies long term.

Your resume is an advertisement of you.

It needs to catch my eye with its clean, easy to read flow.
It needs to keep my attention and be crisp.

I prefer a one page of your past achievements, experience, and vital information.

I like a 2nd page of usable education or hobbies that is tailored to the position 'I enjoy building and programing robots, I rebuild old cars..' (I don't want to see that you play cricket or have a stamp collection), as well as your references.

I would also like to have 3 to 5 letters of recommendation from customer/employers/teachers (no friends, family members, or fellow employees unless they were in some way your boss).

Here is an example of what I like.

XcelTech, thanks for the advice. Though for some reason I'm not able to get through the resume example link, I do appreciate the effort. Your chain of thought is another reason why I feel that highlighting a business acumen is a good thing for a technician(not to mention the sales aspect of the job). I have to ask though, how many employers or managers are going to look into the accreditation of an air-conditioning program. Do you really think it's a bad thing to show that you had some kind of formal training, whether the school is reputable or not, with actual work experience to back up your knowledge. I do understand where you're coming from but the emphasis on the resume won't be on the school rather on the skills and knowledge attained.

[zartangreen]

U passed my test,, U don't have a number in your email.

Once I see a number that tells me you probably don't read The part manuals and Plus probably not good at Programming thermostats.

[caskratos]

I think you will benefit more by showing proof of previous customer appreciation and dependability then you will with financial literacy.

I understand; however, the issue I have is that I haven't been in the field for long, only working for one company, and so there are things that I have not done service-wise with most of my experience coming in the form of installation. Though I have had successful service calls, short of contacting former customers, I do not know how I would show customer appreciation. I'm a hard-working and studious individual with a pretty good and constantly developing understanding of HVAC theory, and though I have limited experience, I can be a very good employee for any company that I work with. In short, the goal is for a good company to slightly open a door for me so that I can kick it wide open.

[caskratos]

U passed my test,, U don't have a number in your email.

Once I see a number that tells me you probably don't read The part manuals and Plus probably not good at Programming thermostats.

Yeah... they fail to warn you about that when you choose your email. I'm on point though. At the least, I have that in my corner.

[XcelTech]

If you told me you had schooling I would say great bring me a copy of your transcripts, you don't have transcripts, oh so this wasn't a real school so much as a gathering of people taught by a curricular schedule, Okay I understand.

What you didn't hear me say is that I understand you have no proof that you actually went to a school and if you did go to a training seminar I don't know if you got good information or not so I am not gonna chance it. With a school you at least have an approved curriculum. If the teachers taught well or not I can't say but I have proof you started and completed a program and you did learn something. More important, your transcripts show me your attendance. Unless you can get the teacher of the class to reference you or you can show a very detail list of the programs curriculum, I would leave it out. If you can get one of those two things then I would enter it in as a school with a name and dates only.

July 2009 - January 2011 Jefferson Community HVAC Program, Jefferson City, CA

I would just show proof of your EPA 608 and not mention the schooling if your work experience is 2 or more years the schooling will not be as important as the hands on time you have.

It is your resume so ultimately you have to be happy that it properly represents you. If you put the associates degree I would only do so as I have mentioned before date that shows time, name of school and location.

The interviewing class information is pretty much useless, giving a speech and talking to a customer are two completely different animals.

[XcelTech]

This is a bogus resume made for presentation purposes the names and numbers are made up.

[zartangreen]

I am still undecided about whether to leave the Finance degree in or not
USE IT


Your in the city,, Financial institutions have many floors in buildings ,, Talk them into drooping there PM contract and be in house tech. There are many accounts that r over 50 k all over the city even more. Plus u will have access to many financial Paths if u change your mind on HVAC.
All u need to do is meet the right Person in upper management. Im sure the ceo has his own HVAC Unit.

And if it dosn't work out and your not happy Im sure a company would hire u if u bring the account over,, or even if the Financial company is not happy with u just give a hvac company all the info of the units and tell them your last day and they will have a contract ready the next day

[XcelTech]

He doesn't have the experience to be an in house maintenance man. He doesn't currently work at a financial group. He would be making a very very hard to sell cold call to do that and I doubt they would create a new position for that.

[caskratos]

If you told me you had schooling I would say great bring me a copy of your transcripts, you don't have transcripts, oh so this wasn't a real school so much as a gathering of people taught by a curricular schedule, Okay I understand.

What you didn't hear me say is that I understand you have no proof that you actually went to a school and if you did go to a training seminar I don't know if you got good information or not so I am not gonna chance it. With a school you at least have an approved curriculum. If the teachers taught well or not I can't say but I have proof you started and completed a program and you did learn something. More important, your transcripts show me your attendance. Unless you can get the teacher of the class to reference you or you can show a very detail list of the programs curriculum, I would leave it out. If you can get one of those two things then I would enter it in as a school with a name and dates only.

July 2009 - January 2011 Jefferson Community HVAC Program, Jefferson City, CA

I would just show proof of your EPA 608 and not mention the schooling if your work experience is 2 or more years the schooling will not be as important as the hands on time you have.

It is your resume so ultimately you have to be happy that it properly represents you. If you put the associates degree I would only do so as I have mentioned before date that shows time, name of school and location.

The interviewing class information is pretty much useless, giving a speech and talking to a customer are two completely different animals.

I see your point XcelTech. I do have certifications from HVAC Excellence which I tested for in the program. What would be your view on using them as proof of knowledge and to give the program some credibility? HVAC Excellence for all intents and purposes is a reputable testing organization.

[XcelTech]

Those would be good. That is an accredited program with a curriculum. I would name the certs and the grade if you were given one.

[caskratos]

I am still undecided about whether to leave the Finance degree in or not
USE IT


Your in the city,, Financial institutions have many floors in buildings ,, Talk them into drooping there PM contract and be in house tech. There are many accounts that r over 50 k all over the city even more. Plus u will have access to many financial Paths if u change your mind on HVAC.
All u need to do is meet the right Person in upper management. Im sure the ceo has his own HVAC Unit.

And if it dosn't work out and your not happy Im sure a company would hire u if u bring the account over,, or even if the Financial company is not happy with u just give a hvac company all the info of the units and tell them your last day and they will have a contract ready the next day

It's actually interesting you mention the maintenance thing since I am on the fence on whether or not I should go for the FDNY Refrigeration System Operating Engineer License which is needed to work in most buildings in Manhattan. The only problem is most of the buildings are maintained by Local 94 and without them, it's hard to get one of those jobs.