So difficult to get your foot in the door

Hey guys, I guess I am just ranting, but MAN it is difficult to get your foot in the door without much experience. =( I live in southern Louisiana and all the entry level desktop support/ help desk jobs want like 2 years experience. I thought having the "holy trinity (A+, Net+, Sec+)" certifications would help me land an entry level job, but does not seem to be the case. Oh well enough of my rant, I hope everyone else who is looking for jobs are having better luck than I am.

Find more posts tagged with

Free for TechExams community: Cybersecurity salary guide

Compare cert salaries and plan your next career move

Button

Comments

Jon_Cisco

Keep in mind that senior position often involve a lot of non technical stuff.
The OP is about getting your foot in the door. Who you know helps.

Most people on this forum want to excel at their jobs. Many employees are content where they are and so we view them in a negative light because they don't reflec our values. In the bigger picture some of them may be performing exactly as the boss expects. Sometimes this is not wrong just different. We will not change the world around us so we must change ourselves. My first step is going to be getting my CCNA.

yzT

the_Grinch wrote: »

As an aside, a Senior Application Database Admin not knowing how to change a screen resolution doesn't surprise me. There are desktop people who's sole purpose in life is to know how to change that. If you are a specialist and work in such a capacity then you are being paid for that skill. I've had to defend members of a team I was part of for thinking like that (oh you're in IT you should know how to do this). Comments like "oh he couldn't figure that out, is he not very good at his job?" No, he's amazing at his job, but what you asked isn't his job. I like the analogy that IT is a lot like being a doctor. All doctors have the same basic training, but once they specialize you don't go to a oncologist when you have a cough.

I always need to use this analogy to explain people why I'm not a programmer xD.

the_Grinch

I dunno, my thought has always been if you aren't asking me how to do something that is your job then I'm ok with it. If the database person comes to me about writing some SQL I'd probably make issue of it. If their coming to me because their mouse doesn't work or they need their resolution fixed then that's my job. IT is there to enable the business to function and if you aren't helping it you're hindering it. If you are specialized I don't expect you to know every nuance of the operating system you are using (unless that's what you specialized in). Besides, most of the time requests like that are the times when the person is in a time crunch and Googling quickly isn't going to happen.

I'm getting soft in my old age I guess, but moving from a support role to where I am now (surrounded by people very weak in technology) has taught me to fight the battles that are worth it. Case in point, I had to tell my boss how things are when they asked that I multitask something that should be handled one at a time. Someone was breathing down his neck thus he was down mine and I had to simply say "it's not a light switch, we need to handle this properly from the beginning to save us grief later on."

fontenjj

I got some pretty good news I think. A while ago I applied for a job that needed a security clearance and they said they would sponsor me and everything and had me fill out some paper work online (sf86? or something like that to start my clearance). Well I honestly thought it was going no where, but turns out today I received some mail from them to get fingerprinted and to send it back to them. I know its a small step, but I am not going to lie, I am pretty stoked.

My question is, say I end up getting cleared for a security clearance (fingers crossed). How hard is it to get an entry level job with a security clearance? I have heard that even if you are under qualified, having a security clearance in the first place will help a big deal for jobs that want you to have them. The company that is sponsoring me is a DOD contracting company if anyone is wondering.

lsud00d

The area we live, there is a lot of federal contracting going on. That said, it's not the safest time to get into that sector.

BUT having Secret clearance does open up another market to you...it doesn't do much for positions that don't require it. Also, it's a process and costs the company sponsoring you to go through everything so on good faith go through with it if you want the job but don't waste their time if not. They will cancel the sponsorship if you pull out at any point, just FYI!

proph21

fontenjj wrote: »

I got some pretty good news I think. A while ago I applied for a job that needed a security clearance and they said they would sponsor me and everything and had me fill out some paper work online (sf86? or something like that to start my clearance). Well I honestly thought it was going no where, but turns out today I received some mail from them to get fingerprinted and to send it back to them. I know its a small step, but I am not going to lie, I am pretty stoked.

My question is, say I end up getting cleared for a security clearance (fingers crossed). How hard is it to get an entry level job with a security clearance? I have heard that even if you are under qualified, having a security clearance in the first place will help a big deal for jobs that want you to have them. The company that is sponsoring me is a DOD contracting company if anyone is wondering.

To go along with the topic title, getting a security clearance opens many more doors for you.

fontenjj

Well that is certainly some great news to hear!! My only worry is I have heard it can take many months to receive a security clearance. They did say I can start working for them or they can start throwing out my resume to companies (forgot which one it is) once I get an interim clearance or secret interim (whatever it is called). Anyone have the slightest idea on how long that may take?

On a side note, the documents I received to get fingerprinted has my social security number wrong and my birth date wrong haha. Sent the CEO of the company an email asking him what I should do. Hopefully that right there does not slow down the process and more haha.

proph21

fontenjj wrote: »

Well that is certainly some great news to hear!! My only worry is I have heard it can take many months to receive a security clearance. They did say I can start working for them or they can start throwing out my resume to companies (forgot which one it is) once I get an interim clearance or secret interim (whatever it is called). Anyone have the slightest idea on how long that may take?

On a side note, the documents I received to get fingerprinted has my social security number wrong and my birth date wrong haha. Sent the CEO of the company an email asking him what I should do. Hopefully that right there does not slow down the process and more haha.

I am pretty sure their plan is to get you an interim clearance so you can start doing work at the job site, while they wait for the full clearance to come through. I would assume the time period for an interim clearance varies, but when I was offered one a while back for a non-IT related job, they said it would take a month, 1.5 tops.

fontenjj

lsud00d wrote: »

The area we live, there is a lot of federal contracting going on. That said, it's not the safest time to get into that sector.

BUT having Secret clearance does open up another market to you...it doesn't do much for positions that don't require it. Also, it's a process and costs the company sponsoring you to go through everything so on good faith go through with it if you want the job but don't waste their time if not. They will cancel the sponsorship if you pull out at any point, just FYI!

Oh yes I know that, and trust me I am sticking with them

techwizard

Soooo hard to get your foot in the door. Tell me about it, ugh. I have been trying to do this since April of 2013. I have filled out 118 applications, done 15 interviews, and 5 phone interviews over 8 months. Granted, I did not have any of my certifications until the end of August, and finally got my "holy trinity" (A+, Net+, Sec+) by mid November.

Before August I was applying to everything and anything. I applied for a Bank help desk position in May, with no certifications, and 10 years of field experience and my small business experience running a mobile computer repair business. Offered pay is $18-20/hr. 8hr days, 5 days. After 3 months of going through the interview/hiring process, and a second phone interview, they told me I did not get the job but could have gotten the job if I had my A+ certification, which I did not have until about 2 weeks after that phone call. It was around the end of August by that time. Really frustrating. My small business isn't doing as well as it used to, so now I am looking for a stable, secure job so that I don't have to worry about where and when my next paycheck will be coming. Basically I hate being self-employed, it sucks.

It sucks because I have to spend time doing bookkeeping, spend time doing all the paperwork involved in it. In my local it is just not doing well. People aren't calling me for repairs so much anymore. Tablets, smartphones, etc are not field serviceable, really. I am also too honest for my own good. For example, a customer might come to me with a 5-7 year old laptop that might need a bunch of things replaced, repaired, etc on it. I might come up with a list for them; it needs a new hard drive, new memory, new OS, new whatever. Cost of parts and me doing the work = about the same as a new laptop at Costco. So, I tend to tell the customer, hey, you know what, its probably cheaper and better to go down to the local Costco and get yourself a brand new laptop that would have all the new parts you need, new OS, and even a new warranty. I am too honest, and it hurts my business.

Most recently, I applied for a job as a School Technology Technician. Offered pay is $17-22/hr. 6hr days. 5 day week. Very nice bennies. I made it past the first round of interviews, which was technical, and had 3 lead techs and the HR lead present. I nailed that pretty much. They called me back two days later and asked me to come in for a second interview. The second interview was with the district superintendent and his assistant, and a member of the board's legal team. I don't know what happened, but I pretty much flopped the second interview. They asked questions that caught me off guard. I was tongue tied, and answered questions poorly. I knew I did at the time, even. I was so disappointed with myself. I knew as soon as I walked out the door, I didn't do that well. Two days later and two days before my birthday I get the call from HR lead that I did not get the job. I was devastated. I wanted to go walk off a cliff. I am discouraged, frustrated, depressed, but I haven't given up.

I know I need to work on my interview skills. I know I need to do more mock interviews. I need to work on public speaking, and my tone of voice, and being able to speak in a warm, friendly, confident, etc manner. I know that I get passed over for younger candidates who may or may not have computer science degrees, and or more certificates and or have more relevant experience then I do.

I am currently trying the "foot in the door" approach. I just recently applied for a non-IT position for a county job. I have a friend who works in the social services department, who sent me an email for the non-IT position. He told me that someone else recently transferred as an eligibility worker to the IT department. The deadline for this application is January 17, so we will see how this goes.

Meanwhile, I will continue to study and gain more certifications, and learn as much as I can. My goals for 2014 consists of obtaining my MCSA and CCNA.

I have been told that based on federal US statistics and the current economy, and depending on where you live and other factors, the average time it takes for someone to find a job is about 9 months. Most people give up after 5. I am coming up on 9. I am hoping my number comes up soon.

fontenjj

Yea I was hoping the "holy trinity" would help me land a job, entry level also. According to what you say is the average time it takes for someone to find a job, I am hoping I am on the very low end of that average haha.

fontenjj

Here is an update of what has happened since my last post. I had a phone interview for a job and the lady conducting the interview asked some basic networking technical questions, and I did well enough to go to a 2nd interview. I asked her what should I expect in the second interview and she said she will have a laptop there and have me do some hands on things to see if I am qualified for the position. Its a desktop support tier 2 position. Anyone have any idea or any useful tips as to what she may ask me to do (I know there a a million things she could ask me).

lsud00d

Here's a few ideas off the top of my head...

How to add a machine to the domain or identify what domain it's currently on
Identify the network configuration & basic network connectivity troubleshooting
How to add a network printer
How to do basic hard drive diagnostics and clean-up (defrag, system file checker, etc)
Configure the approved browser for the corporate http proxy
Setup Outlook for the corporate Exchange server
How to perform Windows Updates
How to replace hardware (RAM and hard drive in a laptop)
Common symptoms of a virus/malware and how to remove it

About7Narwhal

the_Grinch wrote: »

If you aren't using every resource available to your then you are putting yourself at a disadvantage. That being said, I've never used a connection for a job I couldn't do. I wouldn't put a company or a contact in a position where they suffer from my being hired there. I've had people say "oh you'd be great here" show me the position and then I'd pass on it. In turn, I've had people desperate for a job, I'd offer to get them in where I was, but explained how the culture worked before hand. All have spoken up if they didn't feel it was right for them.

I agree with this totally. If I do use a contact, I don't accept their offer unless I think I can spend at least a year there. I'd hate to make them look bad by leaving.

coreyb80

lsud00d wrote: »

Here's a few ideas off the top of my head...

How to add a machine to the domain or identify what domain it's currently on
Identify the network configuration & basic network connectivity troubleshooting
How to add a network printer
How to do basic hard drive diagnostics and clean-up (defrag, system file checker, etc)
Configure the approved browser for the corporate http proxy
Setup Outlook for the corporate Exchange server
How to perform Windows Updates
How to replace hardware (RAM and hard drive in a laptop)
Common symptoms of a virus/malware and how to remove it

Great examples. I work in desktop support and these are some of the things that I've had to do.

brentw722

To the OP, do not give up. I applied to many positions and have very few interviews. I lucked out with an MSP in my area. I had interviewed for the position and was told that I was not qualified.At the time I was in my last semester of school and only had A+ cert, no experience. He told me to keep in touch which I did and a job finally opened. That opened the door to many other opportunities within the first couple of months. Long story short, don' get discouraged or give up. Someone will give you a chance.

lsud00d

coreyb80 wrote: »

Great examples. I work in desktop support and these are some of the things that I've had to do.

Thanks man, I did my time in the trenches

A few others--

How to force a group policy update on the local machine
Set the machine to connect via DHCP or statically
How to update drivers
How to open event viewer
How to install/upgrade the OS
How to view which Windows Updates are applied to the machine
Creating local group policy preferences
To expand on basic connectivity troubleshooting--ipconfig /all, ipconfig /flushdns, ping, tracert, netstat
Perform profile cleanups