CCNA but not getting hired as Network Technician / Engineer

egrizzlyegrizzly Member Posts: 533 ■■■■■□□□□□
Hello all,

I've passed my CCNA for a few years but not getting hired as a Network Technician (or Engineer). I've got over 10 years experience in Help Desk/Technical Support where my job involves some networking tasks of course. Is there anything I'm doing wrong? My brother got his CCNA with zero tech experience (used to work as waiter) but got hired quickly as a NOC Technician, and now he's working as a Network Security engineer. One difference though is that he went to school for his while I studied books. I was told that does not make a difference. Anyway, to restate the question, is there a reason I'm not getting hired as a Network Tech or Network Engineer?

egrizzly.
B.Sc (Info. Systems), CISSP, CCNA, CCNP, Security+

Comments

  • Robertf969Robertf969 Member Posts: 190
    Your profile says you are a CCNP, can you clarify? Did you mean why are you not getting hired as a CCNP? Remember certs are just one piece of the puzzle. It could be any number of things, Resume or Poor Interviewing skills. Sounds like your brother just might have been in the right place at the right time.
  • egrizzlyegrizzly Member Posts: 533 ■■■■■□□□□□
    Robertf969 wrote: »
    Your profile says you are a CCNP, can you clarify? Did you mean why are you not getting hired as a CCNP? Remember certs are just one piece of the puzzle. It could be any number of things, Resume or Poor Interviewing skills. Sounds like your brother just might have been in the right place at the right time.

    yes, I'm a CCNP however even when I apply for positions that have CCNA listed as the requirements I get no responses. My brother who was previously a waiter got hired by Checkpoint after completing CCNA training at a community college and just 1 year experience as a NOC Engineer. Now he makes about 75K. I don't get it, he doesn't even have an associates degree.
    B.Sc (Info. Systems), CISSP, CCNA, CCNP, Security+
  • Robertf969Robertf969 Member Posts: 190
    What are you doing to try and land a position? Whats the market like in your area? Can you post a resume?
  • ImzehImzeh Registered Users Posts: 1 ■□□□□□□□□□
    LOL. Dude, if you have the experience and the certification than clearly you are not hired because you do not know how to sell yourself.
    If you do not get responses and interviews then something is wrong with your applications & CV. Check your CV vs your brother vs others.

    1st - where do you apply? maybe you need to look into other website jobs
    people from employment agencies don`t know the difference between ccna vs ccnp so put them both on your cv

    2nd - you do not have to be 100% accurate, you can improve a little your CV - compare it with others

    3rd - redo your CV then apply - observe response then redo cv and apply again - so on for a few times.
    and do not forget to emphasize the NETWORKING part on your CV even when talking about your helpdesk experience

    4th - profit
  • HondabuffHondabuff Member Posts: 667 ■■■□□□□□□□
    I would ask your brother to get you into his NOC. Nothing wrong with following the same path..
    “The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you can’t always be sure of their authenticity.” ~Abraham Lincoln
  • scaredoftestsscaredoftests Mod Posts: 2,780 Mod
    Are you working anywhere right now?
    Never let your fear decide your fate....
  • steele84steele84 Member Posts: 62 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Are you getting interviews?
    “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

    Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • networker050184networker050184 Mod Posts: 11,962 Mod
    As steele84 asked are you getting interviews? If not work on your resume. Are at least getting calls? If not definitely your resume. If you get calls but no interview you need to work on selling yourself. You have some experience and certs. Soft skills are what I would expect at this point. You need to be able to sell yourself like a used car salesman.
    An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made.
  • keenonkeenon Member Posts: 1,922 ■■■■□□□□□□
    He needs to read resume thread and do a rewrite. I would also suggest spending more time labbing and building troubleshooting skills.
    Become the stainless steel sharp knife in a drawer full of rusty spoons
  • egrizzlyegrizzly Member Posts: 533 ■■■■■□□□□□
    I'll post the rez for critique as soon as I get home. at work now.
    B.Sc (Info. Systems), CISSP, CCNA, CCNP, Security+
  • Fulcrum45Fulcrum45 Member Posts: 621 ■■■■■□□□□□
    If you are looking at CCNA as a requirement for your potential employer there is a very good chance they will see you as over-qualified with a CCNP. At least that's a possibility.
  • egrizzlyegrizzly Member Posts: 533 ■■■■■□□□□□
    Hello all, I posted the resume
    B.Sc (Info. Systems), CISSP, CCNA, CCNP, Security+
  • egrizzlyegrizzly Member Posts: 533 ■■■■■□□□□□
    I'd recommend posting your resume on here (removing personal information beforehand) and having people critique it. Can get a lot of good advice on here. Could just be something with the resume holding you back...

    I posted the resume here.
    B.Sc (Info. Systems), CISSP, CCNA, CCNP, Security+
  • egrizzlyegrizzly Member Posts: 533 ■■■■■□□□□□
    Are you working anywhere right now?

    yes. just working at some helpdesk.
    B.Sc (Info. Systems), CISSP, CCNA, CCNP, Security+
  • egrizzlyegrizzly Member Posts: 533 ■■■■■□□□□□
    As steele84 asked are you getting interviews? If not work on your resume. Are at least getting calls? If not definitely your resume. If you get calls but no interview you need to work on selling yourself. You have some experience and certs. Soft skills are what I would expect at this point. You need to be able to sell yourself like a used car salesman.

    I get calls but no interviews for some reason. I'm in Houston and they say the tech market is hot.
    B.Sc (Info. Systems), CISSP, CCNA, CCNP, Security+
  • keenonkeenon Member Posts: 1,922 ■■■■□□□□□□
    you need a rewrite
    Become the stainless steel sharp knife in a drawer full of rusty spoons
  • Robertf969Robertf969 Member Posts: 190
    This is way to long, and hard to follow. My guess is that its rarely making it past the HR reps. My first bit of advice would be to get it down to 2 pages. There is a ton of advice on resume writing in the IT Jobs Section of this forum.
  • networker050184networker050184 Mod Posts: 11,962 Mod
    egrizzly wrote: »
    I get calls but no interviews for some reason. I'm in Houston and they say the tech market is hot.

    If you are getting calls you resume is working at least somewhat. Now you need to work on killing it on the phone call to get yourself invited for onsite. It's a process and you need to master all stages to seal the deal. Good luck!
    An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made.
  • Marv_Bx_718Marv_Bx_718 Member Posts: 19 ■□□□□□□□□□
    egrizzly wrote: »
    yes. just working at some helpdesk.

    From my experience reviewing resumes, there are certain key words that our HR look for. Once they see those words " Lead a project...", "Managed a project..."
  • scaredoftestsscaredoftests Mod Posts: 2,780 Mod
    keywords like what type of software supported is always good.
    Never let your fear decide your fate....
  • omi2123omi2123 Member Posts: 189
    Did you try to apply at Dell for any Houston based position?
  • egrizzlyegrizzly Member Posts: 533 ■■■■■□□□□□
    omi2123 wrote: »
    Did you try to apply at Dell for any Houston based position?

    DELL has more of tech support positions, probably not that many network support.
    B.Sc (Info. Systems), CISSP, CCNA, CCNP, Security+
  • egrizzlyegrizzly Member Posts: 533 ■■■■■□□□□□
    Robertf969 wrote: »
    This is way to long, and hard to follow. My guess is that
    its rarely making it past the HR reps. My first bit of advice would be to get it down to 2 pages. There is a ton of advice on resume writing in the IT Jobs Section of this forum.

    ...you suggesting that I remove some of the company's that I work with...thats the only way to get it down to two pages...also, some recruiters suggest including everything so I'm hearing both ends of the talk.
    B.Sc (Info. Systems), CISSP, CCNA, CCNP, Security+
  • scaredoftestsscaredoftests Mod Posts: 2,780 Mod
    Some recruiters are wrong. Don't include 'everything'. Hiring Managers have to do a fast eye scan of resumes. Have buzzwords that catch their eye. Especially on the first page.
    Never let your fear decide your fate....
  • omi2123omi2123 Member Posts: 189
    OIn any mid level Enterprise support position in Dell, you may make more money as oppose to other companies junior admin/jr. network admin position. The benefits at Dell easily makes up for an additional $20,000 pay difference compare to other companies. Specially, having Dell experience in your resume always gives you an extra edge when you look for another position with other employer.
    egrizzly wrote: »
    DELL has more of tech support positions, probably not that many network support.
  • bpennbpenn Member Posts: 499
    You may also have the ability to be promoted and work infrastructure from there. A desktop engineer at Dell seems like a good start.
    "If your dreams dont scare you - they ain't big enough" - Life of Dillon
  • White WizardWhite Wizard Member Posts: 179
    Quite a bit of job hopping huh?

    As others stated, far too long in my opinion. A lot of it seems repetitive as well. I would keep it to two pages and list your most recent positions but, this is just my opinion.
    "The secret to happiness is doing what you love. The secret to success is loving what you do."
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