Help, I'm not an Expert in Anything For Next Job Search

I have more than three years experience working very basic IT at a non-profit, but I feel like I do not have expertise in any one computer skill-set in order to help me land the next job in my career. Ideally management or systems admin. Now, I admit that I am very picky when searching for jobs here in the tri-state area, but even when I do find a job that I like, I don't hear back.

I probably started applying to new jobs last year. I apply to about 2-3 jobs every 2-3 days. The last interview I got was end of May, and even though I didn't get offered the position I felt I wasn't qualified for it at all. Coding questions for a IT position? Ideally I would love to work at a media company, but even they have specialized software that I have not had the opportunity to work with.

I have slacked on taking the tests and I probably will start studying again soon, despite my pessimistic attitude towards them that they are a waste of time and money. I am a terrible test-taker. I am a visual learner and almost everything I have learned in IT I have taught myself. I do not feel that taking tests are a true measure of a man's worth especially when that man sucks at memorization. I am at the place in my career where I can't teach myself the stuff I'm not even aware of. My degree did barely anything for me except introduce me to programming which I haven't touched in four years. At this point I'm wondering if I should go back to school and do something besides IT.

My professional work experience includes the following:

Backups using Acronis, Easeus ToDo, Backup Exec and Veritas 9.1
Active Directory/exchange 2013/some powershell but not expert
Microsoft word/excel/powerpoint/visio
Managed and upgraded various VMware servers using the webclient
antivirus administration and firewalls
Certain non-profit legacy software EX: Immigration and education databases
Spiceworks/Solarwinds
Nortel
coordination and project management
computer training
upgrades from windows xp-Windows 10
Dreamweaver/wordpress/Website management
SEO/Ad placement

My passion is working in or with all departments of a company or organization, learning about how things get done, and using technology to make those processes work better than before. So that is where I am most comfortable not just sitting behind the phone all day reading off a script. What should I be doing more to stand out in my job search? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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dave330i

Your competitors likely have a more impressive resume than you. If you don't believe in certs, then do you go to a certified doctor or just some guy who "know" some stuff?

quickman007

johnIT wrote: »

Now, I admit that I am very picky when searching for jobs here in the tri-state area, but even when I do find a job that I like, I don't hear back.

There's your problem. Don't be so picky and apply to more jobs.

ITSpectre

You can be picky when you have a job... get a job first then build with the company. I would also get some certs the basic Net+ and sec+ will help you out greatly

TechGromit

johnIT wrote: »

I have slacked on taking the tests and I probably will start studying again soon, despite my pessimistic attitude towards them that they are a waste of time and money. I am a terrible test-taker. I am a visual learner and almost everything I have learned in IT I have taught myself. I do not feel that taking tests are a true measure of a man's worth especially when that man sucks at memorization.

You could be right, IT certifications could be a complete waste of time, but from an IT survey,

64% of I.T. hiring managers rate certifications as having extremely high or high value when rating expertise of candidates.
89% of I.T. hiring managers say that I.T. certifications help confirm subject matter knowledge and expertise.
86% of hiring managers indicate I.T. certifications are a high or medium priority during the candidate evaluation process.

So even if you think certifications are a complete waste of time, hiring managers feel differently. If you get a chance to interview, I'm sure you could enlighten them, but chances are your resume will never make it past the HR drone that first sees your resume/application.

mgeoffriau

TechGromit wrote: »

I'm sure you could enlighten them, but chances are your resume will never make it past the HR drone that first sees your resume/application.

This.

If you want to be good at finding and landing great jobs, then you have to stop thinking quite so much about your own preferences* and more about the company's position. From their perspective, hiring is extremely risky. They are investing a lot of time and money in the recruiting, hiring, and training process and hoping that they end up with a happy, productive employee at the end of it. From their side of things, industry certifications don't have to be a perfect indicator or even an excellent indicator of a good potential hire -- it just has to help them weed out a lot of the bad ones. I promise that HR departments will be happy to miss out on a few good potential hires as long as they can avoid most of the bad potential hires.

So, from your perspective, things like certifications might seem like a waste of time and money. From the employer's perspective, they are a valuable way to efficiently weed out a lot of bad applicants. If you don't want to work for a company that does this, that's fine -- but then it's on you to figure out how you're going to reach the other companies and make yourself an attractive candidate for them.

*When I say stop thinking about your own preferences, I do not mean with regard to the job itself. Absolutely, you need to develop an idea of what kind of job you want to pursue. But having strict preferences about the hiring process itself is going to lock you out of a lot of good jobs.

NetworkNewb

You really need to choose something you like to do and work on that... Sounds like you're all over the place.

johnIT wrote: »

My passion is working in or with all departments of a company or organization, learning about how things get done, and using technology to make those processes work better than before.

Become an expert at any specific technology and you will be doing this... I'm not sure what going back to school would do for you. Especially since you said you like technology and want to use it to improve how things get done. Your over thinking it. Do you like working on the Systems side? get some server certs. Do you like working on the Networking side? get some networking certs. Do like Security or any other specific technology? Work on those. Once you get further along in your career any of those areas you will need to be working with the departments in an organization on how to optimize the systems you are in control of....

As far as certs, yea, they are just tests. But how else is HR supposed to evaluate someone they have never met based off a sheet of paper?

Don't over think it, choose an area of technology you like to work with, get good at that area, get some certs on it, then get a job where you help businesses improve in that area.

ratbuddy

johnIT wrote: »

My passion is working in or with all departments of a company or organization, learning about how things get done, and using technology to make those processes work better than before.

Based on the quoted statement, you're looking for a role in business analysis, systems analysis, business process analysis, etc. If you're applying for further help desk or admin roles, it's no wonder you aren't finding something that interests you. I'd also suggest getting over the negativity, that's not gonna help, and changing careers, you'll probably be just as negative about your poor prospects in that field. You need to take on a more positive attitude and stop blaming the market for your shortcomings.

NetworkingStudent

johnIT wrote: »

I have more than three years experience working very basic IT at a non-profit, but I feel like I do not have expertise in any one computer skill-set in order to help me land the next job in my career. Ideally management or systems admin. Now, I admit that I am very picky when searching for jobs here in the tri-state area, but even when I do find a job that I like, I don't hear back.

I probably started applying to new jobs last year. I apply to about 2-3 jobs every 2-3 days. The last interview I got was end of May, and even though I didn't get offered the position I felt I wasn't qualified for it at all. Coding questions for a IT position? Ideally I would love to work at a media company, but even they have specialized software that I have not had the opportunity to work with.

I have slacked on taking the tests and I probably will start studying again soon, despite my pessimistic attitude towards them that they are a waste of time and money. I am a terrible test-taker. I am a visual learner and almost everything I have learned in IT I have taught myself. I do not feel that taking tests are a true measure of a man's worth especially when that man sucks at memorization. I am at the place in my career where I can't teach myself the stuff I'm not even aware of. My degree did barely anything for me except introduce me to programming which I haven't touched in four years. At this point I'm wondering if I should go back to school and do something besides IT.

My professional work experience includes the following:
Backups using Acronis, Easeus ToDo, Backup Exec and Veritas 9.1

Active Directory/exchange 2013/some powershell but not expert

Microsoft word/excel/powerpoint/visio

Managed and upgraded various VMware servers using the webclient

antivirus administration and firewalls

Certain non-profit legacy software EX: Immigration and education databases

Spiceworks/Solarwinds

Nortel

coordination and project management

computer training

upgrades from windows xp-Windows 10

Dreamweaver/wordpress/Website management

SEO/Ad placement

My passion is working in or with all departments of a company or organization, learning about how things get done, and using technology to make those processes work better than before. So that is where I am most comfortable not just sitting behind the phone all day reading off a script. What should I be doing more to stand out in my job search? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Are you working now? Was your last interview in May 2016 or 2017 ?

If you're not hearing back, then it is probably has something to do with your resume.
This link can help you update your resume:

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/113891-resume-writing-resources.html

1)
How to stand out in your job search? Network,network,network ( person to person)

I was at an interviewer yesterday and the person interviewing me said they hire employees that internal employees recommend.

2) Get some certs think A+,Net+,Sec+. I know you're visual learner, but guess what..? I'm a visual learner too!!!

The certs help you gain knowledge, and they show hiring managers that you're doing something top improve your IT knowledge.

A lot of hiring managers will ask .."What do you do to stay up to date on IT?"

3) Use the star method on your resume:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B62C7HpuIwINdkFjV1dieWVlQ1U/view

johnIT

ITSpectre wrote: »

You can be picky when you have a job... get a job first then build with the company. I would also get some certs the basic Net+ and sec+ will help you out greatly

I do have a job now in an non profit so I do tend to be picky about where I go from here

johnIT

ratbuddy wrote: »

Based on the quoted statement, you're looking for a role in business analysis, systems analysis, business process analysis, etc. If you're applying for further help desk or admin roles, it's no wonder you aren't finding something that interests you. I'd also suggest getting over the negativity, that's not gonna help, and changing careers, you'll probably be just as negative about your poor prospects in that field. You need to take on a more positive attitude and stop blaming the market for your shortcomings.

. Thanks I was wondering about that too but I have even less business experience

DatabaseHead

One size doesn't fit all. Be weary of blanket statements. If you aren't a good test taker and don't like certifications then don't do them. Resume would be the next step in the process.

Post it and let us take a swing at it.

johnIT

DatabaseHead wrote: »

One size doesn't fit all. Be weary of blanket statements. If you aren't a good test taker and don't like certifications then don't do them. Resume would be the next step in the process.

Post it and let us take a swing at it.

I think I posted it last year on the boards. Not much has changed. Except more random projects I did.
I've even ventured out of IT jobs and just applied to manager type positions that include more IT related stuff especially in non profits. They don't often look at certs

DatabaseHead

No they sure don't........

You won't see me pimping certifications, that's for sure.

SecuritySam

Hi I'm new and would like to say I'm looking for a new challenge. Have been in the IT world for close to 20 years now - support, data analytics etc. But I'd like to break into Security - wondering what are some logical paths/starting points etc. I've looked at CompTIA Security+ however most things I see are CISSP related should I just bite the bullet and start with CISSP (I do have some infosec security - probably about 1 years worth).

TechGromit

johnIT wrote: »

I do have a job now in an non profit so I do tend to be picky about where I go from here

There nothing wrong with being picky about what jobs you want when you gainfully employed and don't have to worry about how your going to make the rent payment next month. But I still say with a couple of certifications, even if they are COMPTIA certs, your resume will get a lot more attention from HR and hiring managers.

johnIT

DatabaseHead wrote: »

One size doesn't fit all. Be weary of blanket statements. If you aren't a good test taker and don't like certifications then don't do them. Resume would be the next step in the process.

Post it and let us take a swing at it.

Hey DH,

I posted my resume on this thread: http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/128872-technical-resume-review.html#post1111835. Take a look and let me know what you think.

johnIT

NetworkNewb wrote: »

You really need to choose something you like to do and work on that... Sounds like you're all over the place.

Become an expert at any specific technology and you will be doing this... I'm not sure what going back to school would do for you. Especially since you said you like technology and want to use it to improve how things get done. Your over thinking it. Do you like working on the Systems side? get some server certs. Do you like working on the Networking side? get some networking certs. Do like Security or any other specific technology? Work on those. Once you get further along in your career any of those areas you will need to be working with the departments in an organization on how to optimize the systems you are in control of....

As far as certs, yea, they are just tests. But how else is HR supposed to evaluate someone they have never met based off a sheet of paper?

Don't over think it, choose an area of technology you like to work with, get good at that area, get some certs on it, then get a job where you help businesses improve in that area.

At this point, I can't say what I really like. I have enjoyed working on servers, but the server tests seem really, really difficult and way too advanced for what I do on them. I don't generally enjoy memorizing powershell scripts (especially since I use them maybe like once a year to do something complex) which is all anybody on the server side seems to expect you to do. I feel like I do everything in each tech sector, but there isn't any place or anybody in my agency to go to to actually learn from. This is stuff I've taught myself and I always doubt my own skills.