ITILv3 for entry-level?

CoolAsAFan

Hey guys, there are a few companies in my state that I would like to work for once I start applying for jobs. I noticed in their job descriptions that they follow ITIL and they state that ITIL certs are a plus. It almost sounds like ITIL guys get pushed to the top of the stack.

Keeping in mind that I am only looking at entry-level. Would it be advantageous for me to get ITILv3 Foundation before I applied?

If so, would these two resources be okay?
-ITIL v3 Foundations Complete Cert Kit (2009)
-CBT Nuggets ITIL v3 Foundations

Thanks!

Claire Agutter

Hi CoolAsAFan,

ITIL is being adopted in many IT departments so having the Foundation certification will help by showing you've got an understanding of the basic principles, processes etc. The 2 study resources you mention there are both 'V3' so may be slightly out of date - 2011 is the latest version of ITIL (an update to V3 basically). I would recommend you spend a few dollars on one of the official study books if you don't want to take a course - if it saves you the price of a resit it's a worthwhile investment.

If you search ITIL Foundation books on Amazon you'll see a wide selection - I've written 2 and the one by Helen Morris and Liz Gallacher comes highly recommended on these boards.

My company also offers a free introduction to ITIL at www.freeITILtraining.com so you could take a look there - but it's not a Foundation prep, only an overview.

Kind regards

Claire

Socom

Not to hijack but I've seen this on job's also. ITIL v3, what is the certification path for ITIL v3, and where does it stand compared to other ITIL certs.

What ITIL cert should I go for? I'm a tier 2 service desk guy now, but going towards Cisco security.

CoolAsAFan

Thank you Clair for your response! I actually found your and Liz's book on books24/7 and plan on using that as my primary resource.


@Socom, I am fairly new to ITIL myself, but from what I can tell, most people usually go after ITIL when their employer requires it. The foundations and intermediate levels appear to be more geared to technicians/management while the expert and master levels are more for just management.

I am seeing ITIL certification/knowledge in a lot of job descriptions, not necessarily required, but definitely given more attention versus those without because as Claire mentioned, ITIL is being adopted in many IT departments.

Does your employer utilize ITIL? If so, foundations would be a good start. If not, you might not even bother.

Socom

My employer doesn't require it, but I see alot of jobs that would like it. Is ITIL v3 an older version of foundations ?

CoolAsAFan

ITIL v3, specifically the 2011 revision, is the current version of the entire ITIL framework. You can get ITIL v3 Foundations, ITIL v3 Expert, ITIL v3 Master, etc. The older ITIL certs where v1, v2...

If you plan on applying to a different job where they have adopted ITIL, it wouldn't hurt to get Foundation. I see on a lot of job descriptions that employers state they will give extra consideration to an applicant if he/she knows ITIL and is certified, which is why I am looking at it myself, but I think it is mostly geared towards management.