Need Advice.

Well a quick summary about me: currently 20 years old, living in the SF Bay Area in California, never had a job, working on degree in networking/communications management. Also have A+, Network+, MCP, Exchange 2003 certified.

It's depressing when I've applied for over 12 jobs on Craigslist and no response except 1 from FireDog. Apparently I had 2 interviews with them. I never got a call back. Called a few days later, no response from the supervisor. Called today and his response was "sorry Mike we went the other way"... Dang at least if you don't want me tell me right away!

What would you do in my position? Keep searching for an A+ type of job, or continue to receiving my MCDST?

Thanks and have a nice evening. I'm going to have a cigar now haha.

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human151

Mmartin_47 wrote:

Right now all I can do is blame myself for not gaining experience while still in high school. But I think I will continue my server+ just to see if anyone wants a datacenter operator. Believe it or not to take the exam its $240!!! Oh my!

Better not fail this one. After that will continue towards MCDST. I'm on the vista course right now and sort of put my MCSA/MCSE towards on the side for now. 2 things I lack are: previous work experience at all, and a college degree. Both are in progress, but number 1 is failing so far.

I work @ a datacenter. Where I work, a Server + cert alone is not going to get you very far. In the Data Cetner you'd be more valuable getting your CCNA. All the Servers in a DataCenter belong to the customers colocated there, and most of them Have their own people work on thier servers. The most you would be doing on a server is maybe changing out a card, such as an HBA. Mostly in a DC you would be racking the servers and cablinbg them to the customers switch. Maybe running fiber cables from the HBA to the SANS Director.

Now if your going after a the Server + to complement a MSCA/E then that is a different story, but as I said it wont get you a job, at least from my experience.

Sorry to be so negative, just telling you like it is.

Mmartin_47

human151 wrote:

Mmartin_47 wrote:

Right now all I can do is blame myself for not gaining experience while still in high school. But I think I will continue my server+ just to see if anyone wants a datacenter operator. Believe it or not to take the exam its $240!!! Oh my!

Better not fail this one. After that will continue towards MCDST. I'm on the vista course right now and sort of put my MCSA/MCSE towards on the side for now. 2 things I lack are: previous work experience at all, and a college degree. Both are in progress, but number 1 is failing so far.

I work @ a datacenter. Where I work, a Server + cert alone is not going to get you very far. In the Data Cetner you'd be more valuable getting your CCNA. All the Servers in a DataCenter belong to the customers colocated there, and most of them Have their own people work on thier servers. The most you would be doing on a server is maybe changing out a card, such as an HBA. Mostly in a DC you would be racking the servers and cablinbg them to the customers switch. Maybe running fiber cables from the HBA to the SANS Director.

Now if your going after a the Server + to complement a MSCA/E then that is a different story, but as I said it wont get you a job, at least from my experience.

Sorry to be so negative, just telling you like it is.

Appreciate though!

Essendon

Martin, I commiserate with you about your current situation. 2 and a half years ago, I had just completed a believe it or not, MS in Telecomm Engineering (focus on VoIP), and no one was willing to hire me. I somehow did an A+ because someone told me it was the first thing one should do. Took me 7 months to get a crappy technical support job at an ISP here in Melbourne. But it was a job and I first learned what ping, ipconfig and netsh did. For 7 months, I sweated it out man, there were times when I would send out 20-30 resumes everyday just to get as many rejections in the email the next day. Very depressing, I had the rent paid with some odd jobs I did then.

2 and a half years on, I have 4 certs, the MS I shouldnt have done now carries some weight. The current gig I am at now pays well, pays for me certs too, free resources (Nuggets, Transcender, Test-Out, free ITIL training) the whole works. I have the chance to work on what I have been yearning for a long time, servers.

Stick at it bro, as the others have said, spice your resume up. Very important to do this, instead of just writing "Did cabling for the networks team", elaborate on that by instead saying "Replaced CAT 4 cabling with CAT 6 cabling. Repatched all servers with the patch panels", get the picture? There are better ways of saying the same thing. Since you have the Exchange cert, I'd imagine you'd have some kind of setup at home, using VMware or VirtualPC, try writing that in the resume as well. You'll want to come up with ideas to have something come your way.

Good luck mate, if you want any other advice, just postup there are plenty of smart-cats willing to help!!

Slowhand

human151 wrote:

you ever hear of sarcasm?

Sarcasm? No, never heard of it.

Slowhand wrote:

I must have missed that memo.

Mmartin_47

Essendon wrote:

Martin, I commiserate with you about your current situation. 2 and a half years ago, I had just completed a believe it or not, MS in Telecomm Engineering (focus on VoIP), and no one was willing to hire me. I somehow did an A+ because someone told me it was the first thing one should do. Took me 7 months to get a crappy technical support job at an ISP here in Melbourne. But it was a job and I first learned what ping, ipconfig and netsh did. For 7 months, I sweated it out man, there were times when I would send out 20-30 resumes everyday just to get as many rejections in the email the next day. Very depressing, I had the rent paid with some odd jobs I did then.

2 and a half years on, I have 4 certs, the MS I shouldnt have done now carries some weight. The current gig I am at now pays well, pays for me certs too, free resources (Nuggets, Transcender, Test-Out, free ITIL training) the whole works. I have the chance to work on what I have been yearning for a long time, servers.

Stick at it bro, as the others have said, spice your resume up. Very important to do this, instead of just writing "Did cabling for the networks team", elaborate on that by instead saying "Replaced CAT 4 cabling with CAT 6 cabling. Repatched all servers with the patch panels", get the picture? There are better ways of saying the same thing. Since you have the Exchange cert, I'd imagine you'd have some kind of setup at home, using VMware or VirtualPC, try writing that in the resume as well. You'll want to come up with ideas to have something come your way.

Good luck mate, if you want any other advice, just postup there are plenty of smart-cats willing to help!!

Well I do have a server closet downstairs. In my cover letter for a datacenter technician/operator I did mention that I have done patch panel work, labling, terminating cables, racking Dell servers etc. It's not even been a week so we will see.

Mmartin_47

Well got an email today for a job interview on Friday @ 2:30pm. Thanks all for your support and I will let you know the results. Apparently they were asking for having some knowledge of Exchange, which I do. Also passed the vendor. Took 284 before 291. Exchange wasn't all that hard comparing to the rest of the courses at least.

Mmartin_47

Well I received a job interview yesterday. Unfortunately I got sick overnight but I still came in anyways. It's an IT outsourcing company and they need a help desk technician that knows Exchange Server. I was shocked their asking for MCP with Exchange knowledge.

Anyways interview with human resources went well. I was introduced to the IT Operations Manager. He said I want to give you a shot and a fair chance. We will e-mail you a time and day when to come in next week and work here for a couple of hours so we can observe you on how well you handle customers and problems in their ticketing system.

As for the office its in a building. Nice place. 14th level, my own parking, executive desk and chair, 4 Dell monitors, brand new carpet and paint.

This is my first job ever and I'm excited about it. Especially after sending out a dozen resumes and receiving 3 responses. I failed the Geek Squad quiz twice, FireDog led me on completely, and now this help desk position is serious about hiring me. Will let you know when I'm officially hired.

I'm out, looks like I have a fever. Pretty cold where I live, but I'm sweating along with a sore throat, stuffy nose, and a cold.

networker050184

Good luck on the job!

I've never had a hardcore interview like that where you have to actually work for them for a day! It usually just a bunch of questions...

Mmartin_47

networker050184 wrote:

Good luck on the job!

I've never had a hardcore interview like that where you have to actually work for them for a day! It usually just a bunch of questions...

I had that too a bunch of questions but the guy wanted to give me a shot and see if I can handle it since I have no customer service experience at all. It's just for two hours, but it can be worth it or a waste of time. Most of the time while I was there they were pretty relaxed and on youtube. Guess no calls came in.

Just curious help desk is mostly email or using the phone or both? Anyone know?

undomiel

Mmartin_47 wrote:

Just curious help desk is mostly email or using the phone or both? Anyone know?

Your mileage may vary. Could be 100% phones, could be 10% phones, it totally depends upon the company. More likely to be phones though than not.

Getting a tryout for your interview is absolutely the best way possible. If more managers did that then more people would be getting the jobs they're good for and less paper certs would be getting churned.

cisco_trooper

Dude, you can blindly send the same resume to a bunch of different people and expect any significant response. You'll need to tailor that resume to each job you apply for, highlighting the skillset you have that best matches what they are looking for....

Keep working at it, research the company, and tailor that resume and you'll get better results. Trust me, it is worth the effort.

Good luck bro.

robertguess

Mmartin_47 wrote:

Heh CompUsa.. reminds me. Went down to one by Emeryville. SlowHand knows what I'm talking about. They went out of business! Found out their only located in Florida now. Heh.

Yeah I heard even in florida with restructuring going on new name etc.. Can't verify till next week since heard from someone at work and didn't really question him.

robertguess

Mmartin_47 wrote:

Well a quick summary about me: currently 20 years old, living in the SF Bay Area in California, never had a job, working on degree in networking/communications management. Also have A+, Network+, MCP, Exchange 2003 certified.

It's depressing when I've applied for over 12 jobs on Craigslist and no response except 1 from FireDog. Apparently I had 2 interviews with them. I never got a call back. Called a few days later, no response from the supervisor. Called today and his response was "sorry Mike we went the other way"... Dang at least if you don't want me tell me right away!

What would you do in my position? Keep searching for an A+ type of job, or continue to receiving my MCDST?

Thanks and have a nice evening. I'm going to have a cigar now haha.

12 jobs?? You are really young. What if you went to broad way to be a dancer?? How many auditions do you think you would need to do before you got a break?? For most in 100's.

Good luck on your job search just don't give up and know for some of us we just luck out for others you need to work tail off in all kinds of different ways. Good news though sometimes nothing ever worthwhile is easy. Makes you appreciate things more.

Here is something to read on is history of someone who never gave up his name was abraham lincoln look at all his losses and trials before he succeeded and became president.

http://www.abrahamlincolnarchive.com/Biography.aspx

I saw his history of losses his climb one time and has been inspiration ever since.

Couple great quotes I like:

"When you're a professional, you come back no matter what happened the day before" Billy Martin Yankee skipper

" He turns not back who is bound to a star" Da Vinci

" There was a Texas Ranger one time who said there's no stopping a man who knows he's in the right and keeps a-coming" Louis L'amour ( will say this is favorite quote) Is argued though which ranger said it Armstrong or Hall.

I think Hall had said it from what have read etc.. But Hall had issues at end of tenure that he was cleared of but we write the history we write.

Is a great quote Never quit never give up keep pushing and break on through.

It will happen with hard work and perserverance:)

Mmartin_47

robertguess wrote:

Mmartin_47 wrote:

Well a quick summary about me: currently 20 years old, living in the SF Bay Area in California, never had a job, working on degree in networking/communications management. Also have A+, Network+, MCP, Exchange 2003 certified.

It's depressing when I've applied for over 12 jobs on Craigslist and no response except 1 from FireDog. Apparently I had 2 interviews with them. I never got a call back. Called a few days later, no response from the supervisor. Called today and his response was "sorry Mike we went the other way"... Dang at least if you don't want me tell me right away!

What would you do in my position? Keep searching for an A+ type of job, or continue to receiving my MCDST?

Thanks and have a nice evening. I'm going to have a cigar now haha.

12 jobs?? You are really young. What if you went to broad way to be a dancer?? How many auditions do you think you would need to do before you got a break?? For most in 100's.

Good luck on your job search just don't give up and know for some of us we just luck out for others you need to work tail off in all kinds of different ways. Good news though sometimes nothing ever worthwhile is easy. Makes you appreciate things more.

Here is something to read on is history of someone who never gave up his name was abraham lincoln look at all his losses and trials before he succeeded and became president.

http://www.abrahamlincolnarchive.com/Biography.aspx

I saw his history of losses his climb one time and has been inspiration ever since.

Couple great quotes I like:

"When you're a professional, you come back no matter what happened the day before" Billy Martin Yankee skipper

" He turns not back who is bound to a star" Da Vinci

" There was a Texas Ranger one time who said there's no stopping a man who knows he's in the right and keeps a-coming" Louis L'amour ( will say this is favorite quote) Is argued though which ranger said it Armstrong or Hall.

I think Hall had said it from what have read etc.. But Hall had issues at end of tenure that he was cleared of but we write the history we write.

Is a great quote Never quit never give up keep pushing and break on through.

It will happen with hard work and perserverance:)

Well I already sort of have a job. Just need to demonstrate my skills next week to see if I'm officially in.

dwtherock

Hey all, its my first post on a forum since my gaming day UT and Quake

Gaming got me into this IT industry. I have made what I need to go on. However I do agree with the original poster of how hard it is to get to where you want. All the advice here I have seen is good. I am still looking for my dream job but it's just a test away on Monday

Great site for jobs is jobfox.com In fact I only go there and monster.com. However, if you live in NE CT like I do....location can be tough. I had my job search dogs looking in DC and I got 2 interviews out of it and 3 highly reviewed counts. Not ready to move yet, blasted economy.

What's the best, or a combination? degree or certs? I am working on both. I have the degree in a general BS in Bus Admin/MIS and a CCNA coming Monday (won't dawdle thru the test this time). So I think a progressive track is best and never stop learning.

People hire for: Knowledge/Attitude/Expertise
Degrees = you can be taught/enable title promotion
Certs = you are an expert
Combination = You can be taught as an expert, so never stop.

We'll see what happens, use me as a thermometer. I will let you know. I have a tendency to make sure of that

aight back to studying

Mmartin_47

Mud. Rejected due to "we hired someone that does not need any technical training"

What?!

You won't hire me because I've never used a ticketing system...

gravyjoe

You won't hire me because I've never used a ticketing system...

I've heard that one before. I've gotten shot down SO MANY times for not having any experience with the Remedy ticketing system. It seems small compared to having good IT knowledge. I imagine ticketing systems being very easy to learn.

Mmartin_47

Good news is an hour later after being rejected. A local company e-mailed me asking for a phone interview tomorrow.

Technowiz

Just a couple quick tips. Don't be a pest but don't easily take "no" for an answer either. Many people just go in and apply for a job, go to an interview, but don't set themselves apart. Use every opportunity to emphasize to a prospective employer that you want to work for THEM. And always frame things in terms of what you can do for them if given the opportunity, not what the job can do for you or your career.

Two years ago I was also trying to get my first job in IT. I was unemployed for about 6 months. I was called for an interview by a small consulting company. Went to the interview dressed very sharply and was stood up. The owner was at a client site and not able to make it back. He canceled the interview. I followed up with a thank you for the opportunity and request for another appointment. No response. Followed up a week later and they emailed me back saying they had hired someone "higher level" than me. At this time I had some computer training and electronics experience but no IT experience and no certifications. I WANTED to go to work for this guy. I sent him an email again thanking him for his time and the interest he had shown. I reiterated what I had achieved so far and that I was 100% serious and committed to my career change into IT. I told him that I really felt I was a fit for his company and wanted to work for him and that I was flexible on hours and pay. I just wanted an opportunity to show him what I could do.

He was impressed. He said he didn't have any openings at the moment but could use me on an on call basis making service calls. I was thrilled. At first I didn't get called much. Maybe once every week or two. But let me tell you when I did get called I was ready to go, again dressed sharp, and out the door to do their bidding asap. Wasn't making much money but it was a start.

After a couple months of this he decided to bring me on full time and as it turned out the guy he had hired instead of me turned out to be not such a good employee and quit. I had my start in IT.

The moral of the story is it wouldn't have happened without some persistence. Again you don't have to be a nuisance but don't just disappear off someone's radar screen the first time they tell you no. Rudy is a great movie for inspiration and demonstrating the point.

That first IT job seems to be the toughest to land. Just stick with it and you will get your break!

Mmartin_47

Technowiz wrote:

Just a couple quick tips. Don't be a pest but don't easily take "no" for an answer either. Many people just go in and apply for a job, go to an interview, but don't set themselves apart. Use every opportunity to emphasize to a prospective employer that you want to work for THEM. And always frame things in terms of what you can do for them if given the opportunity, not what the job can do for you or your career.

Two years ago I was also trying to get my first job in IT. I was unemployed for about 6 months. I was called for an interview by a small consulting company. Went to the interview dressed very sharply and was stood up. The owner was at a client site and not able to make it back. He canceled the interview. I followed up with a thank you for the opportunity and request for another appointment. No response. Followed up a week later and they emailed me back saying they had hired someone "higher level" than me. At this time I had some computer training and electronics experience but no IT experience and no certifications. I WANTED to go to work for this guy. I sent him an email again thanking him for his time and the interest he had shown. I reiterated what I had achieved so far and that I was 100% serious and committed to my career change into IT. I told him that I really felt I was a fit for his company and wanted to work for him and that I was flexible on hours and pay. I just wanted an opportunity to show him what I could do.

He was impressed. He said he didn't have any openings at the moment but could use me on an on call basis making service calls. I was thrilled. At first I didn't get called much. Maybe once every week or two. But let me tell you when I did get called I was ready to go, again dressed sharp, and out the door to do their bidding asap. Wasn't making much money but it was a start.

After a couple months of this he decided to bring me on full time and as it turned out the guy he had hired instead of me turned out to be not such a good employee and quit. I had my start in IT.

The moral of the story is it wouldn't have happened without some persistence. Again you don't have to be a nuisance but don't just disappear off someone's radar screen the first time they tell you no. Rudy is a great movie for inspiration and demonstrating the point.

That first IT job seems to be the toughest to land. Just stick with it and you will get your break!

Thanks man appreciate. Yeah I talked to my pops. He was too laid off for 6 months and he had a hell of a time getting a new job with 20 years of IT experience in mainframe programming.

Mmartin_47

Well good news is I had another interview via phone today for a local IT contracting company about 10 minutes away from my home. Will keep this thread updated!

Mmartin_47

Actual interview in person was today. Unfortunately they want to put me as a part-time tech. I guess they will move me to full-time later on?

Got a surprise call. Interview with an ISP on Thursday, after 1 month from sending my app. in.

Mmartin_47

Mmartin_47 wrote:

Actual interview in person was today. Unfortunately they want to put me as a part-time tech. I guess they will move me to full-time later on?

Got a surprise call. Interview with an ISP on Thursday, after 1 month from sending my app. in.

God mud it. IT Operations Manager said in the email "We're making an offer internally. You were on the radar screen the entire way, though."

I can't believe it. Why even post the job online if your going to make an internal offer.

By the way this was with Comcast. Not bad for someone that never had a job, was even lucky to get an interview!