Listing side projects in a jr. sysadmin resume

Question

I have many "side-projects" that were not part of my past jobs. Just for example:

• Configuring web site environment for professors and friends
• Configuring a Linux box that does the routing, firewall (iptables), backup and file sharing (samba) for my apartment
• Developing small websites for things as simple as party invites to polling friends.
• Running my own SMTP server with domain keys, SPF and DNSBL
• Etc., etc.

What would be the appropriate section to mention this? Should I even mention it? Perhaps it's best to just bring it up during the interview.

I would especially appreciate the opinion of hiring managers.

Answer 1

I think if you didn't have much experience and you were junior, I'd add a section at the end:

Consulting Projects:
    * Configured web site environment for college professor collaboration
    * Configured a Linux box for the routing, firewall (iptables), backup and file sharing (samba) for home based business
    * Developed small website for party invitations

Makes it sound like you have a bit of business sense and gives you a chance to showcase your random projects.

Answer 2

I upvote Matt, but want to encourage a broader use of this as well. Let me add the disclaimer: I'm a linux nerd who works at a large company of nerds and I am on the hiring team for nerds to help us be more nerdy. I do phone screens, Skype interviews and in person interviews of linux nerds.

Do not undervalue the side projects you do! Every resume in the world has all the standard things on it, all the catchphrases, acronyms and everything else we all expect to see. This does not tell us you actually know them, only that you know how to write a sentence that says you can use DNS. If you give me a project with technicals in one sentence about the DNS you did and why it was cool and maybe even something tricky you did, it goes further than all the normal stuff. Anyone can add a SPF record - not everyone can integrate their DNS zones with LDAP.

This also goes the other way around - DO NOT inflate what you do because we will call you out on it. We've been there, done it and hell wrote a kernel patch to fix a bug that stopped it from working right in the first place. If you did it and it was awesome - toot your horn and tell us. If you just installed some DEB/RPM and turned it on with defaults, we don't care - any tech can do that. :)

This industry is based on what you can do, not what you know from a class. Show me how awesome you are. "Random Projects" ftw.

Answer 3

I wouldn't consider anything you've done outside of an "official" work environment. We all "tinker" outside of work, but in my opinion none of it is justified for inclusion on a resume. As a hiring manager I want to see quantifiable, verifiable items on your resume, not what you do in your spare time for family, friends, charity organizations, etc.

I may consider those things to get an idea of what type of person you are but I would never consider them as qualifications or experience.

There's a reason it's called a professional resume. It's meant to detail what you've done in your professional life, not what you've done outside of work.