getting IT career started

I am a new member and would like to say hello to everyone.

I have always been interested in computers and liked the idea of working in the computer/IT field ever since high school. I really wish I would have taken school more seriously and either went to college or started getting certifications earlier in life. Anyways, after getting laid off from my last job that had absolutely nothing to do with computers, I decided that I either need to get educated or I'll end up being stuck working what-ever-I-can-get jobs having nothing to do with the computer field for the rest of my life. Since I am most interested in server administration and very familiar with Microsoft operating systems, I decided to take a MCITPSA course at a county college. I have since passed the 70-640 and 70-642. I am studying to take the 70-646 which would give me the MCITPSA certification.

I have been applying to many jobs on careerbuilder and dice that I felt I was qualified (or even over qualified as per the job requirements) but have not received a single call back from any of those places. I honestly feel that with my knowledge I am perfect for a help desk role but I have yet to receive a interview from anyone. Should I be sending follow up emails/calls or is there something wrong with my resume?

Also almost every “entry-level help desk” job on careerbuilder or dice wants a 2 or 4 year degree or X years experience. How do I get my career started when I don't have a degree or the X years related experience?

I do have an upcoming interview with a local company that provides residential and business IT support. The position they have available is for an in-store pc technician. I wouldn't mind working as a pc tech but what worries me is once I pass my 70-646 and begin looking for a help desk or system admin type job would the experience as a pc tech benefit/help me towards advancing my career?

Would you mind also taking a look at my resume and telling me if it's OK or giving suggestions on how to improve it.

Thank You

FlankResume.doc

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Comments

earweed

I don't think the PC tech position would actually help but it would provide you work if you're not working now.
As for the resume in the experience section be consistent as I noticed where you went from saying what you did to "proficient in".
I'm sure a lot of others here will mention better ways to format and many people here disagree on whether to include any insignias or icons denoting your certs and most here don't like the generic introductory profile.

matt333

resume looks alittle plain.. look around for a nicer looking template
Education is a little confusing.. So you don't have a BS or BA? looks like the Fall 2011 is a grad date.
take out
"On-line program
Completed several courses in Cisco CCNA"
the Microsoft image on the corner
try to condense the key skills more

"Able to effectively troubleshoot hardware and software related computer issues."
isn't a key skill it is something you have developed from work experience

This is how I organized my technical skills...
 Networking: Solid understanding of Cisco IOS routers and switches, including single-area OSPF, RIPv1/v2, EIGRP, Vlan and subnetting.
 Applications: Working knowledge with Active Directory, pfSense 2.0/1.2.3, WDS, WSUS, Microsoft Office Suite 03/07/10, Windows Exchange 07/10
Exposure to VMware ESX/i vSphere 4/5, Symantec Backup Exec & Antivirus
Basic knowledge of Sharepoint and Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES)
 Operating Systems: Strong working knowledge of Windows 2000/XP/7, Windows Server 03/08/R2, Mac OS,
Basic knowledge of Unix/Linux specifically Ubuntu and Fedora
 Database Systems: Basic knowledge of SQL Server, MySQL and writing SQL statements.
 Scripting: Basic knowledge of Perl and Bash

++ add summaries for each position and bullet any major accomplishments you have done
etc.. look around on the internet there are some good examples (and this forum)

any experience you can get will help you, you like me are early in our careers get certs and better jobs will come around as you stay in the industry.
Good luck

flank

thanks for the responses so far. I am definitely going to rewrite my resume in a better looking layout.

should I remove the education section? because really all I have is a high school diploma.

in your opinion, do you think that my resume is the reason for not landing any interviews via careerbuilder or dice so far?

rsutton

flank wrote: »

in your opinion, do you think that my resume is the reason for not landing any interviews via careerbuilder or dice so far?

It is ALWAYS the reason for not at least getting a phone call. Your resume is all potential employers know about you, and they must make that first decision as to whether or not to contact you, based completely off your resume and cover letter. Have you looked in to volunteering to gain experience? It could lead to paid work, and worst case scenario, would be some experience to add to the resume.

ptilsen

What happened between June 2009 and August 2010? It seems to me like you were in IT from August 2007 to June 2009, then left.

If you do get called, you will get that question.

List your high school diploma. No education section at all tells me you might not even have a diploma -- it's definitely preferable to list it. If you re-enroll in school, list a degree in progress. I think WGU would make a lot of sense for you.

MeanDrunkR2D2

Ok.... please don't take this the wrong way, but I'll dissect your resume. Remove the "Profile" section on your resume and replace it with a Resume Objective. From what I read in your OP, you do not actually have IT experience in a professional environment. If I were a hiring manager and I saw that, I'd immediately trash the resume.

Remove the Microsoft certification image from your resume. It's tacky and doesn't really go with the resume well. I'm not a fan of putting them in my Resume, although I do list them.

Certifications:
Just use MCTS instead of writing out the whole name. If a person is HR or the hiring manager, they will know the term MCTS.

Education:
Unless you are currently enrolled in college level courses, just list your high school graduation. If you do enroll in college, put in the school you are currently enrolled in and what your expected graduation date will be. This doesn't need to be set in stone, but seeing the goal is a good thing. Even if it's an AA, it's a good thing.

Key Skills:
Since you don't have much Professional experience, focus alot on your soft skills, such as communication, dealing with angry people. Don't overstate something that you are not 100% confident in. If they choose to quiz you on something simple, but odd, be careful as that could be something that they'd disqualify you for. Be general about them until you have professional enterprise experience.

Work:

I'd be careful about listing your freelance work unless you were paid for those services. Be specific if it was a business that you performed the word for, or if it was a normal home user. Focus on the soft skills of your prior professional work experience. That can go a very long way, especially in picking up a entry level helpdesk position. If you have those skills, you have more than quite a few new to IT folks who aren't outgoing or people persons.

I'd also wonder what happened in 2008 and why you left that pc tech job, as it looks like a good entry level position, yet I also know that you said you haven't had professional experience from what you said in your OP. Be prepared to answer that question as it will be asked why you got away from IT.

In all honesty, I'd strongly consider picking up the A+ certification before you finish off the MCITP SA certification. The A+ will fill in the gaps of your education and work history to start in the IT world. It's not a difficult one to pick up for most people and will make the HR filters get a hit on that.

MeanDrunkR2D2

Another certification that may do you well is to pick up the windows 7 MCITP. That's exam 70-680 and 70-685/6. That can help you get a leg up when it comes to desktop admin type of positions. Passing those exams show you are very familiar with windows 7, and with more companies transitioning to this OS, it's a good one to pick up.

flank

thanks everyone for the advice

do you think I should list the cert I am currently studying for under my certifications section?
ex.
MCITPSA pending

ptilsen

No, you should not list it. It could be worth mentioning in person or even in a cover letter if they're specifically asking for it and you think it makes sense there, but I would not list it on a resume.

rensational

I have not looked at your resume, and it seems you're getting feedback from others on it. Just wanted to add, though:

1) I have never gotten a response from anything I applied to on sites like Careerbuilder or Monster, regardless of how good my resume was. With Dice I've only heard from a few placement companies that didn't really seem to pay very close attention to my resume. My luck with finding jobs and getting interviews has been Craigslist.

2) My first IT-related job was PC Tech and it did help me get other IT interviews. I don't think it'd help get a system admin job, but you might be able to get a job that will be a step towards that. I basically work help desk now, and when they were hiring they were just looking for someone who had any sort of technical background. It got me into a company where I could be promoted to server admin or something else if I developed the background for it, and that wasn't going to happen where I worked before, most likely. I have also gotten interviews with a few other places that mainly just required some kind of tech experience before they'd consider you, jobs I wouldn't have had a chance with without having had that repair job.

Raisin

You're better off picking up some Comptia certifications for a help desk position. In many situations someone in HR will just search for A+, Net+, and Sec+. There's a good chance that a human isn't even seeing your resume.

ptilsen

rensational wrote: »

1) I have never gotten a response from anything I applied to on sites like Careerbuilder or Monster, regardless of how good my resume was. With Dice I've only heard from a few placement companies that didn't really seem to pay very close attention to my resume. My luck with finding jobs and getting interviews has been Craigslist.

Something is horribly wrong with your resume, I have to say. I get responses on Monster all the time. Dice and Careerbuilder too. I get more responses from Monster than there are relevant jobs listed in my area on Craigslist.

That being said, looking for jobs on Indeed is the best way to go. CareerBuilder and Monster will often miss out on jobs that Indeed finds.

Yunghogg_Tx

ptilsen wrote: »

Something is horribly wrong with your resume, I have to say. I get responses on Monster all the time. Dice and Careerbuilder too. I get more responses from Monster than there are relevant jobs listed in my area on Craigslist.

That being said, looking for jobs on Indeed is the best way to go. CareerBuilder and Monster will often miss out on jobs that Indeed finds.

Very true.

flank

I had my interview yesterday and It went very well. I interviewed with the owner and founder of the company and he was very nice. He basically went over my resume with me and then started asking me some technical questions. I also learned that this company has help-desk type roles, but they are not currently hiring for those positions. Towards the end of the interview he said i'm a good fit for the position and then started to explain that this was just the first interview and that the next step is for HR rep (forgot her name) to contact me in the next few days to setup a technical assessment.

I am excited because I think I got the job and there may be possibilities for me to advance into a help-desk position within the company.