down and out no jobs no calls........

hi guys,

been a while since Ive posted, looking for hopefully some positive words right now as Im very frustrated and feeling very down.

at the beggining of the year I was working in the IT department for a school district. doing pretty much everything IT related, from network engineering, to system administration, help desk, and even web administration. my official title was tech support technician.

I loved it, I did everything there from bonding T1s, installing and configuring routers, switches, building servers, everything.
after wroking there for about a year, I came into work one day and was laid off for no apparent reason other than the economy, I was given lame reasons like the budget cuts blah blah, this just isnt gonna work out blah blah blah. I was out of work for about three months and then I found a job with a health care providor. my official title was system administrator but I was brought in as a network engineer. they were closing offices down and relocating there entire infastructure. they badly needed a redesign as they had old equipment. to make a long story short I redesigned there network. and installed and configured just about every piece of equipment. once the relocation/move was done not too long afterwards I was laid off again. ( I was there for about 5 months). now I am unemployed again have been for the last few months and have gotten only one phone call for a technical analyst position, despite sending hundreds of resumes out for hundreds of IT jobs.

my unemployment is running out soon and I am getting very down. please tell me things will get better. I live in southern california, and there are so few jobs out here. almost no network, or system admin positions. is IT this dead everywhere right now? or just in california?

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veritas_libertas

It may just be the fact that I am near a military base, but I am still seeing jobs being added and I expect that jobs will start increasing next year.

ilcram19-2

telco1 wrote: »

hi guys,

been a while since Ive posted, looking for hopefully some positive words right now as Im very frustrated and feeling very down.

at the beggining of the year I was working in the IT department for a school district. doing pretty much everything IT related, from network engineering, to system administration, help desk, and even web administration. my official title was tech support technician.

I loved it, I did everything there from bonding T1s, installing and configuring routers, switches, building servers, everything.
after wroking there for about a year, I came into work one day and was laid off for no apparent reason other than the economy, I was given lame reasons like the budget cuts blah blah, this just isnt gonna work out blah blah blah. I was out of work for about three months and then I found a job with a health care providor. my official title was system administrator but I was brought in as a network engineer. they were closing offices down and relocating there entire infastructure. they badly needed a redesign as they had old equipment. to make a long story short I redesigned there network. and installed and configured just about every piece of equipment. once the relocation/move was done not too long afterwards I was laid off again. ( I was there for about 5 months). now I am unemployed again have been for the last few months and have gotten only one phone call for a technical analyst position, despite sending hundreds of resumes out for hundreds of IT jobs.

my unemployment is running out soon and I am getting very down. please tell me things will get better. I live in southern california, and there are so few jobs out here. almost no network, or system admin positions. is IT this dead everywhere right now? or just in california?

how much do you get on unemploymet just wondering in case i get laid off too ill have an idea lol
is kind of crazy right now imagine how many peoples salaries would the bonuses that were giving to the pople on wall street would pay

kriscamaro68

What part of southern cali? I use to live in North Hollywood, Ca. Just did a quick look on craigslist for L.A. area and there are quite a few jobs. Some even specifically asking for cisco experience. Looks like you got your CCNP. Don't forget to look out of state and out of your city. Thats what it took for me. I now have a 1 hour drive to work but hey work is better than no work. I have been out of work for almost 2 months till the job opened up at the university and I got it. I started applying for jobs in AZ and was even thinking of overseas work for military contractors if nothing worked out. The job market here is pretty bad. Some weeks all of the job boards went without a single job posting than the next week there would be 5 listings for new jobs. Do what you gotta do even if it means looking in places you rather not go.

apena7

I'll be in the same boat as you soon...
I've been checking the job boards and there are quite a few in Irvine.

But honestly, I see nothing but short-term contract work for 2010. I seriously doubt we'll see any substantial increase in demand for full-time jobs, especially if that abomination of a health insurance reform bill passes. This year will definitely be tougher than 2009, but keep your chin up and it may be time to start cold-calling companies. Unemployment in California is still over 12% -- could you imagine the amount of resumes that flood the HR desk when a single job ad is posted? I'm beginning to think that some companies won't bother posting as many ads but instead look more inward (a friend-of-a-friend-of-an-employee type of deal), so maybe cold-calling might show a little initiative and give you a heads-up over the competiton.

Good luck.

SephStorm

Well, for the last 6 months while I have been home, I've seen listings and applied for positions, (teir1 and T2), but received no call backs. Even with the large number of openings I am seeing in my email, I doubt there would be much of a difference if I held out and tried again.

It seems impossible to jump into an entry level position these days.

laptop

This is the worst year for finding jobs. It's the same situation here in Canada. I've graduated this year with little work experience and it's very hard to get a call back after sending out dozens of resumes. I worked for a few months but recently the manager told me that I won't be back in January...

Most are my friends are unemployed and they are all doing low-end jobs such as IT call center and basic work. I don't know what advice I can give you...but, have you tried going to a job agencies as well? Job agencies has a huge network with companies these days. Even workpolois jobs are 80% posted by agencies.

telco1

kriscamaro68 wrote: »

What part of southern cali? I use to live in North Hollywood, Ca. Just did a quick look on craigslist for L.A. area and there are quite a few jobs. Some even specifically asking for cisco experience. Looks like you got your CCNP. Don't forget to look out of state and out of your city. Thats what it took for me. I now have a 1 hour drive to work but hey work is better than no work. I have been out of work for almost 2 months till the job opened up at the university and I got it. I started applying for jobs in AZ and was even thinking of overseas work for military contractors if nothing worked out. The job market here is pretty bad. Some weeks all of the job boards went without a single job posting than the next week there would be 5 listings for new jobs. Do what you gotta do even if it means looking in places you rather not go.

Kriscamaro,

I live about 20 minutes north of north hollywood. I am checking all of the job boards craiglist, monster, dice, computerwork, and Ive been apllying to all kinds of jobs, from entry level to network admin, system admin. there are a few jobs in LA but mostly all programming jobs. im not getting any calls. I think its because the hiring managers and recruiters are being overun with resumes, so they get to pick and choose and of coarse there going to choose the guy with the most experience. I do have a few years experience working in production environments. but im still somewhat young. I cant relocate though as I cant leave my girlfriend. it just seems like IT is a bust right now. I see about 100 programming jobs to every 1 or 2 network jobs. at this point ide take an entry level position just to pay the bills but I dont want to move backwards.

ilcram, unemployment doesnt pay much they take what you were making and maybe pay you half of that. its barly enough to pay my bills. I think IT is just a bust right now. Im just not getting any calls.

kriscamaro68

I know it sucks man. I hate to mention this but maybe its worth a shot. Check out a company called Make It Work. They are located out of Santa Barbara but you can work from about anywhere in southern Cali. They are in home/business support. They give you a Mini cooper to drive and a thinkpad laptop. I worked for them back in 2006 and it wasn't a bad gig. Back then it was $2000 salary plus commission. Yes you have to sell some stuff but the commission back then paid out pretty well. Just a thought. Ask to speak with Randy Greene or Ben Wilding if your interested. Hope that helps.

Apply Online

P.S. unemployment pays crap. Less then half what a made a month.

networker050184

Maybe its your resume thats not getting you any calls. I'd suggest you post it here for some suggestions or maybe take it to a professional. No matter how much experience and certifications you have it doesn't matter if you aren't selling it right on your resume.

ULWiz

networker050184 wrote: »

Maybe its your resume thats not getting you any calls. I'd suggest you post it here for some suggestions or maybe take it to a professional. No matter how much experience and certifications you have it doesn't matter if you aren't selling it right on your resume.

I would second this motion as well. Post your resume and let people take a look.

Paul Boz

Look for jobs down the coast, too. San Diego always has tech jobs and the communities in-between harbor tons of small IT startups. You may have to relocate but hey, it's better than eating cardboard.

GAngel

December is traditionally not a hiring month have some hope and try looking a little further away.

dps

networker050184 wrote: »

Maybe its your resume thats not getting you any calls. I'd suggest you post it here for some suggestions or maybe take it to a professional. No matter how much experience and certifications you have it doesn't matter if you aren't selling it right on your resume.

+1

When I was applying for jobs when I got laid off, I only get about one (or 0) callback per week.

I got lucky and found this site in a magazine. They basically help mostly unemployed people to find jobs etc. I attended one of their free workshops about vamping up your resume and cover letter, interviewing tips etc and it helped me a lot.

The problem was actually my cover letter and resume. After modifying it and deleting unecessary information, my callbacks increased and then it eventually lead me to finding a new job.

Networker is right, maybe you could post your resume here for suggestions or try looking for workshops catering to unemployed people.

The site I posted has an office at Westminster. Maybe you could check it out sometime or try calling them if they know a similar office near your area.

telco1

thanks for the advice guys. much appreciated. its been tough. I only have a couple years experience really, but im not getting any calls so it must be my resume. so since I dont have the money to get it professionally done Ill go ahead and post it up for you guys too look at. where should I post it?

apena7

You should be able to upload it as an attachment on this site. Wherever you upload it though, be sure to blot out your PII -- you don't need any of us prank calling you

Turgon

telco1 wrote: »

hi guys,

been a while since Ive posted, looking for hopefully some positive words right now as Im very frustrated and feeling very down.

at the beggining of the year I was working in the IT department for a school district. doing pretty much everything IT related, from network engineering, to system administration, help desk, and even web administration. my official title was tech support technician.

I loved it, I did everything there from bonding T1s, installing and configuring routers, switches, building servers, everything.
after wroking there for about a year, I came into work one day and was laid off for no apparent reason other than the economy, I was given lame reasons like the budget cuts blah blah, this just isnt gonna work out blah blah blah. I was out of work for about three months and then I found a job with a health care providor. my official title was system administrator but I was brought in as a network engineer. they were closing offices down and relocating there entire infastructure. they badly needed a redesign as they had old equipment. to make a long story short I redesigned there network. and installed and configured just about every piece of equipment. once the relocation/move was done not too long afterwards I was laid off again. ( I was there for about 5 months). now I am unemployed again have been for the last few months and have gotten only one phone call for a technical analyst position, despite sending hundreds of resumes out for hundreds of IT jobs.

my unemployment is running out soon and I am getting very down. please tell me things will get better. I live in southern california, and there are so few jobs out here. almost no network, or system admin positions. is IT this dead everywhere right now? or just in california?

It's a very, very tough economy out there. With clearance military/security jobs are on offer. With extensive experience in the banking sector you could get in with a bank. Both of those areas are hiring but it is competitive since the last round of layoffs. Service providers are looking for talent mainly because they have borrowed heavily to invest in infrastructure but many are now terribly stretched because they haven't invested in the skills needed inhouse even though they pass themselves off as experts. They may have demands from clients they are *really* struggling to resolve right now due to lack of enough skilled internal resource to go around. Main street is very, very quiet. There is a lot of competition for jobs and you must start to get call backs when you apply for jobs. You may need numerous interviews as well until you find the right role. Agents have a habit of sending anyone over with a good CV and often the role isn't what was advertised and not a good fit for what you can offer. Cap-ex is down generally and with it less budget for big projects so companies are looking for all rounders as they have less budget for dedicated specialist teams. If you have design and support you have a chance. A lot of designers have poor command line skills, a lot of support professionals have done no design.

The problem is the same sorts of people are applying for the same jobs. It seems to me you have done both types of work at least a little so really bring that out in your CV. Stand out as a 'go to' guy who will own problems and handle things as well as get results with very little to go on. Also emphasise teamwork as no one wants to hire a prima donna or an ivory tower designer type. You need the hands on skills to get stuck in at the implementation/troubleshooting/support level as well as turn out designs.

There are no 'comfy' jobs out there right now with the downturn and lack of big spending so a lot of people who got used to that are facing a very, very difficult 2010 if they are out of work and may have to leave the industry.

I would say accentuate everything you did in your last job as it seems good experience to me and the sort of stuff companies are looking for.

Good luck!

telco1

ok it seems like I cant upload a word doc on this site. shall I copy paste?

Ive never been any good at making up my resume. Im thinking it is my resume thats the problem.

thanks for the advice turgon.

AlexMR

Things are really tough everywhere. The fact that you seem to have a very broad and nice experience and a CCNP and cant find a job or even interviews confirm it. Also, as few suggested, you might want to check your resume. Remember there is no such thing as one resume for every job. You need to customize it for every single job you apply.

Also, a covert letter has demonstrated to be awesome. Specially for those of us who have a diverse and evenn spread background and a lot of self study. I am a civil/structural engineer with project management, management , sales and some IT experience, and sometimes it's really hard to show all that in the resume in a manner that can be considered good marketing (and make no mistake, your resume is your main marketing arm). The covert letter can be used to explain how and why your background, education and even personality is the best for the job.

I have been looking for a job for almost three months and I havent got even one interview. This week I was contacted for a job with a previous client and was contacted for an interview and availability to take an exam for a junior cisco networkk engineer. Nothing yet, but things should start moving in the right direction in january. December is awful to be looking for a job in my country.

Add the covert letter and remember to address it to somebody, not "to whom it may concern".

Good luck.

thomas130

telco1 wrote: »

ok it seems like I cant upload a word doc on this site. shall I copy paste?

Ive never been any good at making up my resume. Im thinking it is my resume thats the problem.

thanks for the advice turgon.

Just copy and paste

As somebody mentioned earlier don't include your personal information such as address contact numbers etc

mrblackmamba343

Come down to DC,VA or MD the government is always hiring!!!! I love living here, never been out of a job for more than 3 months

Lamini

mrblackmamba343 wrote: »

Come down to DC,VA or MD the government is always hiring!!!! I love living here, never been out of a job for more than 3 months

its booming over here... want to guarantee a good job? have your certs, (military background helps), clearance (TS+), a degree and its a breeze to land a job. at least where i work, degrees>certs, even in IT. not only do the people need to be technically proficient, but also need to be able to deal directly with the user/customer professionally (verbally/written).