Trying to Gain Experience

bnorman0421

I've been out of IT work for almost 5 years now and it's kicking me in the butt trying to get back in. Due to school and the job crisis I haven't been able to get anything to help me gain experience to get where I want to be. I have an Associates in IT and plan on finishing up on my BA. I have no certs but also studying for my A+. But, I need a job and don't want to wait til I'm done in school to have a tougher time getting one. I'm in Northern VA and trying to get any thing while finishing school. Can any one advise me please. Just found the site and it's great any help is appreciated.

Essendon

Welcome to the forums! I am from the other side of the globe so cannot provide an US specific information, but I sure can advise on a few other things.

1. How's your resume? Putting it quite blatantly I know, but if you've been looking that long for a job, it probably sucks. Take your info out of it and put it up here so we can critique it.

2. After it's been reworked, flood it on all your job sites. Dice, Monster, craigslist, and whatever other sites you guys have.

3. Work your arse off on the certs. Get that A+ as quick as you can and start on the CCENT/CCNA/MCTS/MCP. Something that'll make your resume get picked from the pile.

I wish you all the luck you need to land that first gig! Just take any job that comes your way, build experience and go from there. This industry can be a bit hard to break into, but it'll be rewarding in a few years from now, you'll see.

Akaricloud

What is your previous IT experience? -You mention being out of work for 5 years so what positions have you held and for how long?

the_Grinch

People seems to forget when you've been out of IT for awhile or are getting a fresh start, soft skills are as important as technical skills. On the entry level, anyone can work a helpdesk. When I was with Comcast, there were people who were coming back to the work force after long hiatuses taking care of kids or family members. Customer service skills were what really matter, the rest could be scripted. Now, that's not to say you could move up with just soft skills, but getting a start most companies will look to see can you talk a customer off the ledge. At this point in time it is very hard to not have a job with some form of customer interaction, so play it up on your resume. Place emphasis on learning new things at the job you did have and on any advancement that you made. Give me someone who can be a team player, go the extra mile, and learn on the job. With that I could mold you into the tech you want to be and the one the department needs. Good luck!

bnorman0421

I was working in a help desk position for Canon. Had to leave because I wanted to go back to school. Now I have my Associates and I'm more than willing to take a entry level position like a help desk position but I'm being told that I need to intern some where. Intern for a help desk position? I'm stacked in the customer service department I've worked in customer service one way or another all my life.

Mstavridis

Work on your A+ and maybe a microsoft cert. You need the cert no to show you know the technology at your point, You need it to show that you are serious about IT. That you will invest in yourself.