How to enter IT field with no expierence?

HLRS

i have no expierence , i have self taught IT enthusiast, got A+ ,MCTS:Win 7. MCITP EDST, can i pretend i have experience as freelancer to boost my resume ?

Mstavridis

Never pretend, just list what volunteer work you have done if you have lab experience. Also alot of companies will hire you even if you have no experience but will give you a technical interview

Iristheangel

If you live near Rochester, NY, you could apply for this job: http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/77812-market-bad.html

+1 to Mstavridis. Don't lie on your resume or fluff it.

cyberguypr

Every single lie or half truth you put on a resume or bring up in an interview will end up adversely affecting you at some point or another. It's karma. Why risk it? You'll be only fooling yourself.

kgb

One of the best jobs I've had when I interviewed, I said, "Nope, I've never done that" more than "Yep, done that". I didn't think I stood a chance. After I was hired I asked the senior guy about it and he said the fact that I was clearly being honest was a big deciding factor in the job offer.

Now, that's not always the case, but I'm of the mindset that being honest and upfront about my abilities will place me where I'm supposed to be.

I also think you should sell yourself too. But, you don't need to be shady to accomplish that.

MrBishop

Never lie on your resume. Most companies do a thorough background check on previous employment history. I would say that if you don't have the experience you can substitute that with education.

kriscamaro68

Move to Utah. We have a job opening for internal helpdesk that pays $16-$20 which is easily enough to live in Utah and the applicants we are getting just plan suck right now.

breannaall

Always present YOUR qualities to the best of your ability, without going overboard

Akaricloud

kgb wrote: »

One of the best jobs I've had when I interviewed, I said, "Nope, I've never done that" more than "Yep, done that". I didn't think I stood a chance. After I was hired I asked the senior guy about it and he said the fact that I was clearly being honest was a big deciding factor in the job offer.

I usually come back to those type of questions saying that I don't know how to do that then provide insight into how I would go about figuring it out or it's something that I've been wanting to learn but haven't had the opportunity to.

Entry level positions are more about your ability and willingness to learn than what you know.

alan2308

Mstavridis wrote: »

Never pretend, just list what volunteer work you have done if you have lab experience. Also alot of companies will hire you even if you have no experience but will give you a technical interview

Right here. You keep applying for positions that you think that you could do and sooner or later someone is going to take a chance and call you for at least a brief phone interview. Then you know your stuff and wow them. It worked for me, and in no way did I lie or stretch the truth about anything to get that call back.

techdudehere

The certs will help you get up to speed quicker on the job, but you need exposure to the business world of IT. Get out your phone book and call every consultant within an hour. You'll probably have a job before you finish the list. The pay will be horrible, but within 6 months you'll be qualified to do something else (and should). In the event that fails, call every recruiter and placement service you can find. Unless you live in a very rural area, you'll be on a project soon enough. Project work can sometimes develop internal contacts. If you attend business networking events or are good with people, it's possible to start your own company.

Iristheangel

With a few certifications, you could probably do some contracting work through onforce.com or workmarket.com. I do that stuff on the side and it nets me an extra couple thousand a month. You'd probably get paid a lot more than most entry level jobs and it'd give you exposure to a broad range of technologies, but don't do any work orders that you're not sure you can do. If you accept a work order that you end up not having the skillset to handle, your ratings will go down and you won't get future work.

Oh, and I also gave my new employer a link to my Onforce profile which has a 100% rating with over 60 work orders completed in the last two months. He was impressed and hired me on the spot.

CLEMENTE21

Thanks for the links. Seriously, You are just awesome, Iristheangel

Novalith478

Iristheangel wrote: »

With a few certifications, you could probably do some contracting work through onforce.com or workmarket.com. I do that stuff on the side and it nets me an extra couple thousand a month. You'd probably get paid a lot more than most entry level jobs and it'd give you exposure to a broad range of technologies, but don't do any work orders that you're not sure you can do. If you accept a work order that you end up not having the skillset to handle, your ratings will go down and you won't get future work.

Oh, and I also gave my new employer a link to my Onforce profile which has a 100% rating with over 60 work orders completed in the last two months. He was impressed and hired me on the spot.

Would these by any chance cover Canada too? That would be ideal.

YuckTheFankees

I would go to indeed.com, simplyhired.com, and your local craigslist page..search "NOC" "help desk" "junior sys admin" and even all the certifications that you have. You'll be able to find out a lot about your local I.T. job market.

Just like kgb said, even if you don't have the skills they are looking for, apply anyways. Last September when I was hired for my very 1st I.T. job, I was so close to not even applying for the job because it was asking for Linux and networking experience...but I interviewed, nailed the technical interview and made a great 1st impression. But don't apply for everything, if they are asking for 8+ years and a CCIE, I would probably hold off on that lol

MrBishop

Iristheangel wrote: »

With a few certifications, you could probably do some contracting work through onforce.com or workmarket.com.

I gotta thank you for posting these two links and the other two you posted about rentals & housing. Great stuff and will definitely come in handy.

USM_ITCboy

Hello everyone. This is my 1st post on the boards even though I've been lurking for a few months now. I'll be taking my CCENT cert on Friday so wish me luck. I wanted to post to Iristheangel's response concerning OnForce. You seem have had great success with OnForce & it was actually your reply on another topic that led me to sign up for OnForce. I have a question: is it better to have a business license & business to be with OnForce or to do work as your own name? I've signed up under a business name but I'm debating on going by my own name. What would the community recommend?

Iristheangel

I wouldn't bother with a business license. It's just an extra cost to incur that you usually don't need. I use my real name on Onforce and anyone looking at your profile will only see your first name and last initial.

itangel

Get a Help Desk job, you will build Skills + Customer services. Most company I have worked for look for those two things and often time they get skills but no customer services. They end up not hiring that person so the best idea in my opinion is to start with a Help Desk position for a year at least. Get certs, build your skills, and customer service skills and you have a ticket to most IT jobs. I did that too and 4 years later I am a engineer at my third company. Not to mention your salary should double or triple by then.

You can also do some side work like Iristheangel said, plus you might want try out fieldsolutions.com. If you need work right now, plus some money while you land a nice job somewhere is not a bad start.

Good Luck!