Entry-level IT Support/Help Desk - Looking in AR, AZ, CA, TX

Hello again. I realize things stink economically, but that doesn't mean I should quit or ease up on the job search, especially when one is trying to pay bills. Anyway, I posted a thread over a month ago about looking for work in the Los Angeles/Orange County area in CA. I'm still aiming to find something over there (and yes, I already know about the cost of living being crazy there), but I'm also looking towards finding work in other locations, also. I wouldn't mind relocating to the Phoenix area in Arizona, as well as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Houston, Waco-Killeen-Temple, TX; and maybe Austin, TX. I presently live pretty close to the Little Rock area in AR, and I've looked for opportunities there, also. I've only found two positions I'd like to work. I applied for both of them, and I've not heard back nearly two weeks later (I'll probably have to call them). Most positions that I've found are out of state, and unfortunately, a decent number of employers prefer only local candidates. What can you do?

Anyway, it's been a pretty rotten year for this individual. I haven't worked since April 30, and I recently filed for an extension of unemployment benefits. I loathe not having a job. I have a few questions to ask you guys. First of all, have you received emails and calls about management and sales positions that have nothing to do with IT? I've had that happened to me. Also, I'm wondering about websites, such as apninc.com and blueplanetsolutionsinc.com. Is it common to get calls from people with really thick Indian accents about opportunities, and should they be trusted? I'm not trying to sound prejudice or anything, but I've heard that some of them may be trying to scam people. Finally, any particular headhunters or IT recruiting places you recommend? I'd definitely appreciate the help. I want to improve my job search.

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MCPWannabe

cb6000 wrote:

Hello again. I realize things stink economically, but that doesn't mean I should quit or ease up on the job search, especially when one is trying to pay bills. Anyway, I posted a thread over a month ago about looking for work in the Los Angeles/Orange County area in CA. I'm still aiming to find something over there (and yes, I already know about the cost of living being crazy there), but I'm also looking towards finding work in other locations, also. I wouldn't mind relocating to the Phoenix area in Arizona, as well as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Houston, Waco-Killeen-Temple, TX; and maybe Austin, TX. I presently live pretty close to the Little Rock area in AR, and I've looked for opportunities there, also. I've only found two positions I'd like to work. I applied for both of them, and I've not heard back nearly two weeks later (I'll probably have to call them). Most positions that I've found are out of state, and unfortunately, a decent number of employers prefer only local candidates. What can you do?

Anyway, it's been a pretty rotten year for this individual. I haven't worked since April 30, and I recently filed for an extension of unemployment benefits. I loathe not having a job. I have a few questions to ask you guys. First of all, have you received emails and calls about management and sales positions that have nothing to do with IT? I've had that happened to me. Also, I'm wondering about websites, such as apninc.com and blueplanetsolutionsinc.com. Is it common to get calls from people with really thick Indian accents about opportunities, and should they be trusted? I'm not trying to sound prejudice or anything, but I've heard that some of them may be trying to scam people. Finally, any particular headhunters or IT recruiting places you recommend? I'd definitely appreciate the help. I want to improve my job search.

Stay with it buddy. My opinion is that the hardest job search position of all is when you've got that first certification, and you are trying to break in at some company. Head hunters do tend to be unethical and a waiste of time, but that doesn't mean that you should avoid using all available options.

Keep pushing and post your resume for review here if necessary.

cb6000

I guess I can't upload my document here, so I'll post the text version. I'm going to remove my name and other info here for privacy reasons.

Name Here
Address
City, State ZIP
Cell: XXX-XXX-XXXX

Career Objective

A challenging position with a dynamic company, where technology, innovation, teamwork, and customer service are given top priority.

Interests and aspirations

Build knowledge and experience in areas of customer and user support, cutting-edge technology, system, network and application administration.

Education

* Ouachita Technical College, Associate of Applied Science, Dec. 2002

Skills

* Certifications – CompTIA A+ Certified Technician

* Operating Systems – Microsoft Windows 9x/NT/2000/XP/Vista, SUSE, Fedora, and Ubuntu Linux, Mac OS X.

* Languages – Basic, Visual Basic, C/C++, HTML, XHTML, CSS

* Security – Diagnoses and troubleshoots computer problems and issues, identifies problems, implements effective solutions, implements firewalls, and removes viruses, spyware, adware, and malware.

* Hardware – Extensive background in building, installing, and repairing custom, high-end PCs, servers, workstations as well as wired and wireless networks.

* Productivity Tools – Proficient with entire Microsoft Office Suite. Some Active Directory experience.

* Soft Skills - Excellent documentation skills. Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills. Committed to developing and maintaining solid client relationships and rapport. Excellent time management abilities, self-disciplined and skilled in executing business plans. Assertive, self-motivated worker and leader with strong analytical abilities with a dedication to efficiency and productivity.

Work Experience

Computer Technician - October 2007 – December 2007 - Trek's Computer Shop, Malvern, AR

* Responsible for all computer components from each client. Troubleshoot, install, configure, upgrade, and restore computers and other peripherals at job site and through house calls. Assist customers through telephone with technical issues. Resolve home networking and Internet connectivity issues.

Customer Service Associate - Oct 2001 – April 2008 - Summerwood Partners, LLC, Malvern, AR

* General Store Cashier: Operate Point of Sale cash register and related equipment pertaining to general convenience merchandise sales. Prepare and serve cold and frozen beverages and desert items. Manage product inventory and prepare cashier reports. Train new cashiers on methods and procedures according to company standard practices.

* Short Order Cook: Prepare outstanding culinary dishes based on customer orders and requests. Maintain clean and orderly kitchen and cooking environment. Train new cooks in standard practices of food preparation excellence and culinary arts.

MCPWannabe

cb6000 wrote:

I guess I can't upload my document here, so I'll post the text version. I'm going to remove my name and other info here for privacy reasons.

Name Here
Address
City, State ZIP
Cell: XXX-XXX-XXXX

Career Objective

A challenging position with a dynamic company, where technology, innovation, teamwork, and customer service are given top priority.

Interests and aspirations

Build knowledge and experience in areas of customer and user support, cutting-edge technology, system, network and application administration.

Education

* Ouachita Technical College, Associate of Applied Science, Dec. 2002

Skills

* Certifications – CompTIA A+ Certified Technician

* Operating Systems – Microsoft Windows 9x/NT/2000/XP/Vista, SUSE, Fedora, and Ubuntu Linux, Mac OS X.

* Languages – Basic, Visual Basic, C/C++, HTML, XHTML, CSS

* Security – Diagnoses and troubleshoots computer problems and issues, identifies problems, implements effective solutions, implements firewalls, and removes viruses, spyware, adware, and malware.

* Hardware – Extensive background in building, installing, and repairing custom, high-end PCs, servers, workstations as well as wired and wireless networks.

* Productivity Tools – Proficient with entire Microsoft Office Suite. Some Active Directory experience.

* Soft Skills - Excellent documentation skills. Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills. Committed to developing and maintaining solid client relationships and rapport. Excellent time management abilities, self-disciplined and skilled in executing business plans. Assertive, self-motivated worker and leader with strong analytical abilities with a dedication to efficiency and productivity.

Work Experience

Computer Technician - October 2007 – December 2007 - Trek's Computer Shop, Malvern, AR

* Responsible for all computer components from each client. Troubleshoot, install, configure, upgrade, and restore computers and other peripherals at job site and through house calls. Assist customers through telephone with technical issues. Resolve home networking and Internet connectivity issues.

Customer Service Associate - Oct 2001 – April 2008 - Summerwood Partners, LLC, Malvern, AR

* General Store Cashier: Operate Point of Sale cash register and related equipment pertaining to general convenience merchandise sales. Prepare and serve cold and frozen beverages and desert items. Manage product inventory and prepare cashier reports. Train new cashiers on methods and procedures according to company standard practices.

* Short Order Cook: Prepare outstanding culinary dishes based on customer orders and requests. Maintain clean and orderly kitchen and cooking environment. Train new cooks in standard practices of food preparation excellence and culinary arts.

Okay, lets get to work. You are making me give away a lot of my secrets but here it goes. There are a lot of things wrong here, but you do have some things to work with.

First, we need to change the format of the resume. Right now, you are using an experienced-based resume when you should have a project/skills based resume. The difference being that a project skills based resume emphasizes skills revelant to the position.

I want you to review this resume here:

http://www.principaltechnologies.com/asampleresumes

It's by far the best that I've seen of sample resumes on the net. Now, if you notice, it has 4 sections:

1. Certifications:
2. Skills
3. Employment History
4. Education

Add another section in it called "Special Projects."

So, you should have these 5 categories:

1. Certifications
2. Skills (add years of experience here in bold print)
3. Special Projects
4. Employment History
5. Education

Include your A+ certified logo on your resume when you directly email it to companies.

Now, some other things.. For special projects, list things that you've done -- like building computers, programming projects, etc.. Make each special project like an employment format. But instead of an employment company include the special project name in the field. Then include a date to the side just as you would for a job. Under that, list the special activities that you engaged in -- make sure that the special activities is loaded with commonly used words that you find in job descriptions on Dice or Monster or Careerbuilder.

So, essentially, what you will do is shift the focus from your employment to the skills that you gained. Go into depth on the skills and make sure that you include the time.

On your employment history, leave out the part about cooking. Only list activities revelant to the business/technical world -- preparing Excel Reports, troubleshooting POS software (e.g. fixing cash registers), etc.

Leave the objective alone. Study after study has shown this to be useless.

Set up a cover letter but leave it extremely brief. It should have your name, address, phone, and email. Make 3 bulleted points: 1. Highlight total years of Project experience 2. Right salary expectation 3. Something about you being enthusiastic. Keep it down to 3 sentences, double-spaced and bulleted. Make sure each sentence is in bold black, Times-New Roman.

cb6000

I knew my resume was a problem. Augh! I'm glad you've pointed out what I needed to do, though. I prefer the truth over pretending that everything is great.

I will see what I can come up with, as well as try to come up with a cover letter.

Thank you.

cb6000

I went ahead and just made a text version of an updated resume. I will definitely make some adjustments. Is it an improvement? Anything that needs to be reworded? Also, what resume titles would you recommend that I use? Would uploading a resume with an A+ work on Monster, Craigslist, Careerbuilder, or Dice? You said not to bring up the cooking experience, would I still need to bring up the rest of my experience with my Customer Service Associate position? I didn't do anything with computers on that job (except operate a cash register), it was mostly customer service stuff.

I don't have a cover letter ready, yet, though...I'll try to come up with one later.

CERTIFICATIONS

* CompTIA A+

SKILLS
* Experience with many operating systems and software applications: MS-DOS (5 years), Windows 9x (5 years), Windows NT 4.0 Server/Workstation (under 1 year), Windows 2000 (2 years), Windows XP (6 years), Windows Vista (1 year) Microsoft Office (2 years), Linux (1 year), Mac OS X (under 1 year), Novell NetWare (under 1 year), Microsoft Outlook (1 year), Microsoft/Windows Internet Explorer (10 years), Mozilla Firefox (4 years), FrontPage 98/2000, AVG Anti-Virus (5 years), Adobe Photoshop (under 1 year).
* Extensive experience with installation, configuration, operation, and maintenance of PC desktops and laptops: HP, Toshiba, Gateway, Dell, ASUS, Acer, and custom-build desktops to include peripherals: scanners, modems, PC/PCMCIA cards, printers, network interface cards, video cards, sound cards, hard drives, memory, processors, and removable media (9 years).
* Experience with various network protocols and specifications: TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, NetBEUI, 10 BASE-2, 10 BASE-T, 100 BASE-TX, and wireless technologies.
* Experience in several languages: Basic, Visual Basic, C/C++, HTML, XHTML, and CSS (under 1 year)
* Extensive software/hardware troubleshooting skills, both in stand-alone and Client/Server environments.
* Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills. Committed to developing and maintaining solid client relationships and rapport. Excellent time management abilities, self-disciplined and skilled in executing business plans. Assertive, self-motivated worker and leader with strong analytical abilities with a dedication to efficiency and productivity.

SPECIAL PROJECTS

WEBMASTER, FREELANCE 12/08 - Present
* Code personal webpage using (X)HTML and CSS.
* Use photo editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop Elements 6, and Wacom intuos3 table for the creation of images.

DATA ENTRY, (name of company here), ORANGE, CA, Volunteer 07/05 (One week)
* Insert product information onto a spreadsheet using Microsoft Excel.

COMPUTER TECHNICIAN, FREELANCE 01/01 and 07/01
* Order desktop tower, motherboards, CPU, power supply, monitor, software, and other internal peripherals.
* Install each and every part of the desktop and test them.
* Install the operating system and all the necessary programs.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

COMPUTER TECHNICIAN, TREK'S COMPUTER SHOP; MALVERN, AR 10/07 - 12/07
* Responsible for all computer components from each client.
* Troubleshoot, install, configure, upgrade, and restore computers and other peripherals at job site and through house calls.
* Assist customers through telephone with technical issues.
* Resolve home networking and Internet connectivity issues.

EDUCATION
OUACHITA TECHNICAL COLLEGE; MALVERN, AR 12/02 Associate of Applied Science in Computer Information Systems

COMPLETED A+ TRAINING COURSE 11/03

cb6000

My cover letter

Date

Name
Title
Company Name
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear (name):

It is with a great deal of interest and enthusiasm that I present to you my enclosed résumé. I have extensive training in computer technology and support, as well as expertise in customer service.

Highlights of my qualifications include:
* Experience with MS-DOS, Windows 9x/2000/XP/Vista, Linux, OS X, Microsoft Office, anti-virus and spyware software, web browsers, MS Outlook, and network protocols and specifications such as TCP/IP, 10 BASE-T, 100 BASE-TX, and wireless technologies.
* Extensive software/hardware troubleshooting skills, both in stand-alone and Client/Server environments.
* Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills. Committed to developing and maintaining solid client relationships and rapport. Excellent time management abilities, self-disciplined and skilled in executing business plans. Assertive, self-motivated worker and leader with strong analytical abilities with a dedication to efficiency and productivity.

Currently, I am seeking a position as a (position here), where my skills and abilities will make an immediate and lasting contribution. As you can see from my résumé, my experience with my previous employers demonstrates my ability to accept responsibility and engender the well-deserved confidence of my supervisors.

I welcome the opportunity to elaborate on how I could make a meaningful contribution to your organization. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to speaking with you.

Sincerely,

(My name here)

Enclosure

MCPWannabe

A 150% Improvement!!!! This should definitely make a huge difference.

Now, just two more things and you should see a big difference.

1.) Add your "Customer Service Associate" position to your resume but don't put anything in there about cooking. You don't need to include technical things, but include business things -- like using Microsoft Office or helping other people use Microsoft Office, Making Excel Reports, Assisting Customers, Answerings Phones, Instructing customers.

Then, in your cover letter mention, in bold, that you have 7 years of customer service experience. That's what most help desk jobs will be looking for in an intro position.

2.) For the 3 month job, put "Temp Job " by it in brackets or something giving your version of why it only lasted for 3 months. This is critical.

Other than that, I don't know if I've seen any resume improve so much on just one revision. You should definitely get some hits when you post this on Monster and Careerbuilder.

One more thing... Remove your resume from Monster, Careerbuilder, and Dice for the weekend. Then put it back on Monday Morning before 8AM. Make sure that you edit your profile to say 8 years of help desk experience and technical experience when they ask for it.

A little secret that I learned to manipulate was the fact that most of the job search engines are built to emphasize new resumes and profiles over old ones. When you first register a new resume (after your resume has been removed for awhile), an automatic message will be sent out to all the jobs. I utilized this tactic several times to gain resume exposure. I would remove my resume for a couple of days and then put it right back up and alter something in my profile.

And trust me.. with an associates degree, A+ certification, and the other stuff, you are going to be eligible for an advanced Help Desk position making some decent money.

Good job again!

rubberToe

I have a few questions to ask you guys. First of all, have you received emails and calls about management and sales positions that have nothing to do with IT? I've had that happened to me. Also, I'm wondering about websites, such as apninc.com and blueplanetsolutionsinc.com. Is it common to get calls from people with really thick Indian accents about opportunities, and should they be trusted?

This is the result of posting your resume on Monster and Careerbuilder etc. I would suggest not to bother because unless you have some real marketable skills you will not get the responses you are looking for. Also, I have gotten variations of the Nigerian scam. They snag your email and address you by your full name to sound more legitimate.

Typically the way I go about job hunting is to search Craigslist religiously, browse Monster and Careerbuilder or set default searches, Indeed is great as well. After applying for a job it is very important to keep track of the jobs you apply to. You want to copy the ad to a word rather than save the link along with copies of your resume and cover letter if you change them to suite the each job into a folder with the company name date applied and initials of where you found it [CL, M, CB, etc]

1) Get that resume in order.

2) Perfect your cover letter.

--A cover letter should typically contain 3 to 4 sections. Mine has 3.

Typically if I can get the company info I will set it up like a standard business letter and copy it into the email with my resume attached.

Your Name
Address
Town, Zip
email
phone

DATE

contact name if available
job title if available
company
address

Dear contact name or To whom it may concern,

Address the role and to some effect why you you are a good candidate. "I believe my education and employment background are appropriate for this position"

Detail skills from work experience and education specifically targeted at the job requirements

"I welcome the opportunity to discuss these and other qualifications with you. Please contact me through email at xxxxx@xxxx.com or at the telephone number (xxx) xxx-xxxx. I look forward to putting forth my ambition and my aptitude."

"Thank you for your consideration."

Sincerely,

xxxx

Resume enclosed.

3) Get your interview skills in order.

The first part of the battle is getting interviews. The next beast is the interviews themselves.

cb6000

Thank you all for the advice. I will update you folks on any progress (or if I'm still stuck). I have one more question about Craigslist. Is it true that one can only post their resume in one city/market only, or did I read it incorrectly? As I mentioned, I'm looking in multiple areas.