Help with my resume.

Hello, I'm having writers block and I was wondering if anyone would be gracious enough to lend a helping hand. I've been trying to write a decent resume but I really can't seem to get very far please help. Here is a copy of my resume, edited for online viewers of course.

If anyone has any suggestions please post back. Thanks in advance.

[Tyr_7BE]

What's brought me a lot of success in the past is to back up every skill.

*C programming experience gained through independent development of games
*C++ development experience obtained through formal academic studies as well as independent activity X

As soon as I did that, I found that my interviews tripled. Also, when you talk about a project, perhaps emphasize what skills you learned while doing it? Unless it's a well-known thing nobody's going to know just how serious you were about it.

[Outlaw]

Very good tip.

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to bang my resume out later tonight and post back any changes.

[Compunuts]

I'm no expert in writing resume' s but after going through 3 lay offs, two job changes, 2 hiring sprees, I've seen many resumes and wrote some.

I will throw in what I think is the better way but you should consult professional resume writers if you really want to looks like professionals or writers like newspaper reporters.

• If you can, do not just list what you do in itemized format. For example, in your skills area, you list all you know. Instead of that, you would say; for example, I've worked with programming languages such as C and C++. I also have other scripting languages experiences including, but not limited to, Perl, Bash, Java and ANSI-SQL. You do not need to spell out what those languages stand for as long as those are common names in tech circle such as Perl. Who cares what that stands for as long as I know what it is.
  
• You need to spell out what you do in your job skills area instead of saying what position you hold. For example, Maintenance crew for city of Cudahy. What DID you actually do? Mopping floors? Wiping windows? Or maintaining buildings owned by city with a crew of 4 in which you are a junior tech for electrical systems? You were a general stuffer?
  
• In your personal projects area, also tell what you actually did rather than you they were. For example, contributed codes
  for Half-life game, metal gear, mainly resposible for fixing bugs. Who cares what stages those games were in. You do not need to say those.
  
• Never lie on your resume although omissions are somewhat allowed depending on what they are. You can't omit things like you get arrested for public urinating, sexual offender, etc. :P But you would proudly list getting arrested while protesting DCMA at your local assembly. You also do not need to list you got fired for fighting with your coworker or caugh having sex at work hours. :P
  
• Write compelling summary. I'm not critising what you wrote here. I'm just pointing out what you need a little more. So let me quote what you wrote. "Seeking an entry-level position within the computer field, where a strong background in the UNIX Operating System would be necessary." What necessary is the employers decision. It doesn't matter what they need. It only matters what YOU can offer. So leave those necessary stuff alone. That's their decision to make. Instead of that you would say; Seeking entry level position in your organization where my professional and educational background can contribute positively for the organization. I also hope to acquire new skills or develop my skills further while working with the professional teams from your organization.

But like I said above, I'm no experts so take it with a grain of salt.

Thank you all, I really appreciate your help.

All right after much procrastination I've got around to finishing my resume.

I worked in alot of your suggestions, especially compunuts, thanks again guys.