Bridging the Gap from 1st to 2nd Job

Yarrr

When I look through job listings these days, this is pretty much all I see:

1. Help desk/tier 1 support. 0-2 years of experience, HS diploma or maybe AAS.

2. Senior level position. 5-7 years required, Bachelor's required, lots of certs required, and enough knowledge to single-handedly run an IT department required.

How is anybody supposed to bridge that gap? There's next to nothing in the 3-5 range lately. Where have all of the associate/junior-level jobs gone?

TheFORCE

The job description is a wish list of things nice to have, you do not need to meet all the criteria necessarily. If you have 2-3 years experience you shoukd take your chances and apply for the position. My previous job was required 5-7 years experience but I only had 2 years experience in the specific job but had 5-7 years all together in IT back then. I ended up getting the job. So just go for it, don't worry about to much about the job description requirements. All i look at the job description these days are the tasks and responsibilities. If I beleive I am capable of performing those tasks then I apply for it.

UncleB

The implication is that you start on service desk as a general monkey, get used to how to answer the phone, log calls, follow procedures for requests, password resets etc and over time (the first 5 years) you learn more and move to be more senior (or at least more experienced) and can train the new monkeys that come in.

Once you get senior in the service desk then you have accumulated a lot more skills, ideally will have invested in your own skill set by gaining relevant certs and applying this to when you troubleshoot a more complex call before passing it to 2nd line staff.

The gap bridging is experience and aptitude - internal promotions will probably happen if you show initiative and ability within the first 2 years.

I have no time for the junior staff who expect the company to do everything to develop them - they want training courses paid, time off to do them, time off to prep for exam and the exams paid then time to train on the job. The market is awash with talent with the skills needed which we could hire without having to pay for all this so meet us half way and give some of your own time if you want to develop and earn the promotion. I'll go an extra mile for staff who will do this and even train them in my own time.

I have never seen the sort of associate roles you mention, but my experience has been in the UK/European market.

thanks
Iain

Bjcheung77

I agree with these two posts, 1) Apply for something slightly "out of your range", it won't hurt, if you get to the interview stage and don't get hired, it's practice for the next one

2) It's up to you to decide what educational level and certifications would benefit yourself (and the company). The more popular the certs, the more people will be going for it. It's like an MBA for grad school or a BSBA for undergrad, so many individuals are seeking that "perfect" career.

3) Further to that, it's the experience/training you have as well. You might not have the X years experience, but if your training or educational level is equivalent or is above/beyond what is required, you will have a better shot at it as long as you can show off those talents.

markulous

That's where certs, self-study, labs, and asking your employer for more responsibilities helps so much. If you show the drive then there are places willing to train the right person to get to that point.

NetworkNewb

Yarrr wrote: »

2. Senior level position. 5-7 years required, Bachelor's required, lots of certs required, and enough knowledge to single-handedly run an IT department required.

How is anybody supposed to bridge that gap? There's next to nothing in the 3-5 range lately. Where have all of the associate/junior-level jobs gone?

The problem is your actually thinking what people say as "required" in job postings are actually what is "required". Just apply if you meet most of them.

DatabaseHead

3 - 5 doesn't always mean 3 - 5. I recently took a promotion that required 11 - 14 and I had 5. I agree with Markulous self-study can bridge the gap. My personal strategy is to pick one specific technology that aligns with my career path and deep dive for better or worse. While I might not have the full array of skills one of my skills is really really strong. That helps pry open the door.