Recruiter Interview with Dilemma

I sent out resumes and applications this weekend for an internship that's required to finish my AS degree. While I was at it, I applied to a couple recruiters and today received a response, but for a full time Help Desk position, not an internship.

It's basically my dream entry level position at a big company that the commute would be reasonable and the pay would be considerably more than my current non-technical job.

I'm having a short 30 minute get to know you meeting Friday morning to go over work history and career goals, and I know the internship and my school will be the major subject.

My school will and has allowed students to have work count as their internship, if it's in the required field, but I feel like that would be too much baggage for a new hire.

Also, what do recruiters want to know? Unfortunately I already let the internship cat out of the bag, so any advice or opinions on this situation would be much appreciated.

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Comments

beaucaldwell

i'd take a job over an internship any day... don't really see a downside to leaving a job that isn't in the field you're aiming for, for a position that sounds right up your alley...

help desk jobs are primarily looking for real solid customer service skills since your going to be on the phone all the time. if you have basic technical skills you should be fine, most help desk jobs are just simple things like password resets, or troubleshooting things that you're reading repair steps from a KB (knowledge base) and not so much critical thinking. as long as you're real friendly and personable with the recruiter you should be fine. get your foot in the door, continue your school, and this will be a good stepping stone to a better role down the road.

Analystguy89

Do you have to write a paper about your experience from the job or internship? Most places that take on interns that are paid or that will actually hire you are very flexible and it shouldn't be much of a problem at all. I would explain to the recruiter what you have to do to fulfill your school credit which shouldn't be much and also get permission from the school to make sure that the job is satisfactory for credit which should also be very easy.

citrus_sugar

Thank you both for the replies. I've decided if a position is offered, to go forward with it. Experience is way more important at this point, and since the company is THE big employer in the area, I think they would sponsor my internship.

I'm pretty sure after this meeting I will be jumping through more hoops if they decide I'm a good candidate for this or another company.

puertorico1985

Definitely go for it. You have done good by getting a degree, but you need experience to validate/back up your degree, as well as certifications. Best of luck to you, and keep us updated on your progress.

citrus_sugar

I had the interview this morning, and it is the company I wanted to work for that they're recruiting for. It starts at a 6 month contract, then to perm and pays $5 more an hour. It was brief compared to my previous tech interview, and I wasn't asked any questions. The company is hiring based on a personality type pre-determined by the Helpdesk manager.
A couple encouraging things: in the previous round of hiring, my recruiter placed 7 of the 8 open positions, leading them to request 3, maybe 4, more. I was also the only female to have ever interviewed for this specific position. I have only worked in male dominated fields, and I made sure to relate that.
Discouraging: That I was the only female to apply. Sometimes, companies just don’t want to break up the boys club. Just an observation, I don't dwell on it or get upset about not being picked. That I am currently employed and in school. They were accepting people with very little to no experience and grooming them because of personality.
I really didn’t know what to think after this. If I make it to the next round, however, they did let me know it’s 1 make or break interview with 5-6 people judging me by personality from the hiring company. I’ll know by the middle of next week, and will let TE know!

nestech

citrus_sugar wrote: »

I had the interview this morning, and it is the company I wanted to work for that they're recruiting for. It starts at a 6 month contract, then to perm and pays $5 more an hour. It was brief compared to my previous tech interview, and I wasn't asked any questions. The company is hiring based on a personality type pre-determined by the Helpdesk manager.
A couple encouraging things: in the previous round of hiring, my recruiter placed 7 of the 8 open positions, leading them to request 3, maybe 4, more. I was also the only female to have ever interviewed for this specific position. I have only worked in male dominated fields, and I made sure to relate that.
Discouraging: That I was the only female to apply. Sometimes, companies just don’t want to break up the boys club. Just an observation, I don't dwell on it or get upset about not being picked. That I am currently employed and in school. They were accepting people with very little to no experience and grooming them because of personality.
I really didn’t know what to think after this. If I make it to the next round, however, they did let me know it’s 1 make or break interview with 5-6 people judging me by personality from the hiring company. I’ll know by the middle of next week, and will let TE know!

You are good... you can use your new job as your internship...

Eston21

Just go into the interview and be energetic( not over the top). This is probably one of those positions that are more worried about customer sevice skills as opposed to technical skills. So keep that in mind.

citrus_sugar

Still have yet to hear from this particular opportunity, but I gained more valuable interview experience as well as some great resume tips from the recruiter.

One suggestion I was given that I haven't seen suggested anywhere was to include the skills in the job experience portion and put them in bold. So I have Windows 8 and Server 2012 in my skill section at the top of my resume, then in listing my current work experience, put Windows 8 or Server 2012 and the HR person's 30-60 second scan will be drawn to those points.

I'll be redoing my resume and sending out again this weekend, this time in bold.

gbdavidx

what is the job?

ande0255

Did you clean up your resume and get it back to them yet? Not having your resume properly formatted might have cost you an interview, but the once you give them something they can put in front of a hiring manager, they'll probably have an interview lined up pretty quickly.

citrus_sugar

what is the job?

Helpdesk at an international financial corp. They just cleaned house and are hiring an all new crew and want people who want to grow with the company and be there for years, regardless of current experience. The recruiter told me they were hiring people with no tech skills at all, just because they fit the Helpdesk Manager's personality preferences.

Did you clean up your resume and get it back to them yet? Not having your resume properly formatted might have cost you an interview, but the once you give them something they can put in front of a hiring manager, they'll probably have an interview lined up pretty quickly.

I'm planning this weekend to refresh and tweak my resume with her tips. Probably update my LinkedIn as well. There are a few MSPs I'm planning on applying to after reading some threads here about really getting into everything, which is what I want to do.

And also studying for the Net+, Sec+, and the MCSA by the end of the summer as the cherry on top of all of this.

citrus_sugar

I haven't heard anything, and my recruiter told me one of the other interviewees was offered a position, so I'll just assume it's a no for now. I did spend the weekend updating the old resume and writing a great cover letter. I also downloaded Spiceworks to get some ticketing service experience for the small business I work on trade for. By the time I get another interview I want to be offered the position on the spot.

Spaced

citrus_sugar wrote: »

Discouraging: That I was the only female to apply. Sometimes, companies just don’t want to break up the boys club. Just an observation, I don't dwell on it or get upset about not being picked. That I am currently employed and in school. They were accepting people with very little to no experience and grooming them because of personality.
I really didn’t know what to think after this. If I make it to the next round, however, they did let me know it’s 1 make or break interview with 5-6 people judging me by personality from the hiring company. I’ll know by the middle of next week, and will let TE know!

That's interesting. I have wondered how much of a hindrance it will be to be a woman in a primarily male dominated career. I work in a large health organization in CA and had planned in transitioning to an IT role. I was just looking through the IT departments for all if our CA locations and noticed that out of the 30+ desktop positions not a single one is held by a female. There are a couple of female engineers, but most of the positions held by women in the department are either clerical or project management. Although I would say a large part of the disparity is due to very few women having an interest in pursuing IT related roles, not that they would not hire a woman. That's pretty clear even in this forum. There are women, but far more men. I also have never met (outside of this forum) any women with even the slightest interest in pursuing a career in IT. Oh well, more room for the few of us that do.