Can't Find IT job! Getting Very Frustrated!!

I've been on several interviews and no one will hire me. I do admit, my interviewing skills need some work. I have practiced and I also sat on mock interviews. I have my Bachelors of Arts in Management Information Technology and I can't seem to land the job. I even tried an entry-level position and a woman who worked as a secretary and has no I.T. background got hired before me and when I inquired about it they said she interviewed really well (what an excuse!) The next interview I went on, it seemed as if the hiring manager wanted someone with project management experience or coursework and unfortunately I have neither! This situation really does suck. I'm thinking of either entering a Masters program in a different field because I.T. is So Difficult to break into. I feel like I'm mad at the world!!

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dmac17

I am in an area in florida that once was home to the space shuttle. I can tell you even though alot of people were laid off when the program closed and was converted to more commercial use. The state of the job market is almost the same as it was.. However the divide seems bigger. You either have to little or way to much. I am inbetween.. I certaintly can get my BS and move up... I had my own business for a few years.. I easily made 45/hr that I charged. However there are currently alot of people with no experience charging less.. If you want some base experience consider doing to some work for Onforce.com if you can. Atleast in my area there is work to be had for decent pay and you get the experience.. I would definitly look on craigslist for work as well..

I see your resume is pretty specific and since alot of companies look for certain words in there hiring process.. Like above you may just need to get out there and sell your self.. I know atleast here some places you can only apply online. You may need to look at the job your applying for and rewrite your resume to include more of what they are looking for. I have met plenty of people that don't know what they are doing get the job and fail.. You seem to have the drive needed to succeed and that is good. Getting an A+ cert will most certaintly help and is required at alot of places reguardless of degree because they feel is says you know something..

Also with onforce.com you get access to dell and hp certifications. This may also help you to obtain a job. So if anything use it for that..

Good luck

EDIT: I wanted to add that when I was looking for my current job I went for a one page resume with bullets. I had two interviews within a week. I was hired the next week. Sometimes short to the point is better.

hackman2007

scottbomb, you should post your resume as a word attachment, that way we can see the formatting.

As for your cover letter, parts of it sound a little weird. You don't list the A+, Network+ certifications, but you say you have equivalent knowledge. My first question after reading that cover letter is, why don't you have the certifications if you know it?

Instead of using the word "extensive" in the first sentence, how about mentioning the number of years of experience?

Also, principals should be principles.

Since you have so much experience in sales and for several different companies, you need to play that up more. Soft skills can sometimes be more important than technical skills.

Forsaken_GA

New2ITinCali wrote: »

a woman who worked as a secretary and has no I.T. background got hired before me

This tells me that you interview incredibly poorly. Either you don't dress and groom appropriately, or you say inappropriate things, or you just don't rub people the right way.

About the only way you can get away with that in this job market is if you have a boatload of experience, and the company has a pressing need to fill.

Showing up and talking for an interview is not enough. You're there to sell yourself. Everything counts - your dress, your hairstyle, whether you bothered to brush, floss and shave that day. Everything you say counts, from the actual words you use, to the way you say them. I've done alot of interviewing in my career, and I can tell you flat out that, that the vast majority of the time, hiring managers give equal or more weight to whether or not you'd make a good fit as they do your technical skills.

Why should someone hire you? What skills do you have? Do you geek out for fun? What would be the best thing about working with you? How can you help the company improve on their current situation?

Once you figure out the answers to those questions, next figure out how to sell them to the interviewer. Once you can do that, you'll get more offers than you do rejections.

Forsaken_GA

scottbomb wrote: »

I think the overall economy has a lot to do with it. Real unemployment is around 13%. Add in all the outsourcing to India and the insourcing of H1B visas and it's a double-whammy. There are a lot of unemployed IT pros that do have experience so employers have it made. Hopefully this will eventually turn around when the economy does finally recover. When that happens is anyone's guess.

The outsourcing isn't as big of a problem as people would like to make out. There are still plenty of call center jobs in the US, and my current and former employers were both Fortune 500's, and they both are shying away from H1B's. We had an absolutely perfect candidate last month for an open position, except for one thing - she needed sponsorship for an H1B. That was an immediate no.

I'll agree the market is flooded, but the last three years of interview experience has taught me that the majority of the applicant pool is unsuitable for employment in the field, as they've not done sufficient self-development. Far too many people believe the radio commercials about how easy it is to take some courses and break into IT. And far too many people that do have experience on their resume, were cruising along on the upward swell that preceded the recession. They had the job, they're able to put the experience on their resume, but they're simply not any good at the work, and they haven't done anything to improve that during the downswing. Take a moment and think about it - when downsizing comes, who are the first people to go? The non-essential ones, aka the lazy slackasses who barely do any work when they show up. And if you think folks don't know who the slackasses are in their IT departments, think again.

It may just be my local job market, but in Atlanta, there are plenty of job openings in the IT realm, for all levels of experience. The problem is finding qualified candidates even for the entry level stuff.

scottbomb

Thank you for the feedback, I appreciate it. The reason I say "extensive experience" is because I'm trying to avoid being misleading. All of my experience personal, such as working on my own computers and those of friends and relatives. It's all self-taught, going back to the Timex Sinclair 1000 and Commodore 64 in the 80s. But once employers find out that I haven't actually done it professionally, my application goes straight into the trash, regardless of how much I claim to know. Maybe I should mention a number of years and make it clear that it is non-prof exp.

As for certs, I do plan to get A+ and maybe Network+ but those plans are currently on hold until I can come up with the funds. As far as I can tell, it costs around $300 for each one and money is very tight right now. But I do agree, once I actually have them I suppose it will help.

I will check out those other resources you mentioned as well. As for the resume, I have been thinking about hiring a resume specialist of sorts to look it over and help me re-write it to better target my audience.

bigdogz

scottbomb,

I think Forsaken_GA has brought up some great points. Don't wear a suit with white socks or tennis shoes.

Wear a suit and tie, stand up straight, look them in the eyes, take some notes as you might need them in the case you are hired.
Have some questions that you are ready to ask like, "How many people are on the team?"
Performing a little background check by going to their website would help you as well?
You may want to practice your interviewing skills with friends and/or family that have some experience in the workforce. If they are honest it will help you tremendously. You may not be perfect but better than you are now.

In regards to the vouchers you may be able to find them cheaper at your college.

Good Luck!

ptilsen

networker050184 wrote: »

If they are giving a secretary with no IT experience the job over you I'd have to say you are doing a poor job of selling yourself in the interview. I'd work on that before anything else. If you can't close the deal once you get in the interview room all the qualifications in the world aren't going to help you.

That was my first thought as well. While there's a lot of other truth in this thread, getting the interview is usually what your qualifications and resume do. If you get the interview but not the job, it's quite likely your interviewing skills that need improvement.

mguy

Get a job, any job, then work on yourself, then get a better job, then work on yourself more, then repeat the process until you achieve.

I started loading UPS truck for a snowy christmas season for minimum wage. You will get there!!

Forsaken_GA

mguy wrote: »

Get a job, any job, then work on yourself, then get a better job, then work on yourself more, then repeat the process until you achieve.

I like the Layer Cake version better -

"You're born, you take ****. You get out in the world, you take more ****. You climb a little higher, you take less ****. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what **** even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake son."

Akaricloud

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

I'll agree the market is flooded, but the last three years of interview experience has taught me that the majority of the applicant pool is unsuitable for employment in the field, as they've not done sufficient self-development.

This is so very true. I really don't have any sympathy for those that complain about not being able to find a job but refuse to improve themselves or really even try. If you're unemployed and spend 8-10 hours a day on learning relevant technology, perfecting your resume and applying for jobs then you WILL find yourself employed very quick.

It seems 99% of the time those complaining about unemployment, outsourcing and having no experience are really just making up excuses for their own laziness. If you're not willing to put everything you have into finding a job why would a potential employer think you would try any harder on the job?