Denied from help desk jobs.

Hi all,

I was denied from two help desk jobs..At the moment I have no experience in help desk but I am trying to get experience by getting in the door. My last job rejection, the other candidate had experience over me. Anyone have any tips to help improve my chances? Here is my current resume so you can see as well and critique. Thanks much.

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Comments

coreyb80

Glad to know that I'm not the only one that this has happened to.

bhamz

lol, I guess misery loves company

Polynomial

Just to confirm something- you didn't get the last 2 jobs you applied for using that resume?

YFZblu

I haven't looked at the resume; but if you're getting calls and interviews I would guess your resume is not a big problem.

NetworkVeteran

The resume has a poor lay-out, so I'd suggest using a standard template. Also, since your A+ certification is one of your key assets, I'd make sure that's near the top of your resume. Finally, with small numbers like "10+", take a stab at the actual number. Reading your resume, I'm going to assume 10+ means 10. If you mean 12, say 12. I'm okay with "100+".

You do not mention at what phase of the job-hunting process you're encountering trouble.

crrussell3

Changing I would make:

1. New layout. Find a template online and use it. Or search TE for ones that others have posted and copy their format.
2. Be consistent with your formatting. Some headers are bolded in sections and not in others.
3. I would remove the numbers (10+, 15+, etc) from your Self Employed section. Those numbers are all in a days work at a busy Helpdesk.
4. More detail. Try to give more detail in all areas. Like, you effectively cleaned malware. What tools did you use? You can say: Effectively cleaned malware from infected computers using tools such as

bhamz

thanks for the quick feed back guys..

jibbajabba

You also summarised deinstall / uninstall etc. First thing I reads was you reinstalled 100+ monitors.

Also you mention you testes 500+ graphics chips per day. That's one per minutes on an 8hr day without breaks. You might have to go into some more details as this sounds somewhat ..... Odd

jibbajabba

Err, I wish you could edit posts using the mobile style here. My spelling / autocorrect above is appalling.

Cisco Inferno

start studying another cert as well and put that on your resume. I know some employers like to know that you are studying for a new cert.
It worked for me. I had put Security + expected May 2013 and got a job at a huge DDOS Mitigation company.
Also mention that you are SELF studying and taking it into yourself to advance. Let them know what your goals are. Let them know you can think quantitatively and analytically. Let them know you are a good troubleshooter as well.

rensational

I agree with the user who doesn't see your resume as the problem, and I actually looked at it. I got a help desk job with no help desk experience, and then I got my next one with less than a year of experience at the previous job. I don't have A+ certification (or any certs) and I came from a repair background like you, but the one thing I know helped me get hired that you seem to lack is customer service experience. Since you deal with so many people on help desk, I know that has helped me get hired at both my help desk jobs. It was mentioned in my last interview.

How did the interviews go? What did they ask you? Think more about this, as well. Another thing that was mentioned in my first help desk job's interview was my speaking skills.

Edit: another quick thought...if you have any experience working with Apple products, put this on your resume. If you don't, try to get familiar with Apple products. It is another thing I know for sure helped me get my last help desk job, as it was mentioned in the interview as something they liked and another person told me after I was hired that they liked that about me, and being familiar with iPhones and iPads has helped a ton in both help desk jobs I've had.

bhamz

Thanks rensational, really appreciated your feedback.

j.petrov

I just started working in IT , and had even less success than you with only having an A+. I didn't get a single interview, however I went on to get the N+ and a CCNA on my own. After getting the CCNA I had a job within a month. I then had my second job about 4 months later. Keep self studying and you'll find something sooner than you think. Another key aspect to landing a job is soft skills. I beat out people with more experience due to my ability to hold a conversation. I think a lot can be said about that, especially if you are going to be on the phone all day. Good luck in your search.

bhamz

Thank you so much for your words of wisdom, your success has really inspired me!

bhamz

Another note, I'm not really sure I'm on the correct path in IT, I signed up for WGU BSIT software but I am unsure about that as well.. I like coding but I'm not very sure I'm good at it. I know I want to take this path right now, helpdesk>desktop support> systems admin.. not sure what to specialize in but can I take that path going the software route or should I change?