Applying for a job

Sometimes I don't apply for an internship or part-time IT job because I feel like I'm underqualified for it. My first IT interview ever was back in 2006 or 2007 and I bombed it; I think that has made me hesitant to apply elsewhere. The job would've been mostly imaging laptops.

tl;dr summary - My first IT interview has made me hesitant to apply for another IT job. The guy interviewing me told me to test a laptop's hard drive with a HDD test CD, and I thought, "no problem." However, when I walked over to it, it displayed a Linux command prompt, something I wasn't familiar with. I wasn't sure if it was ok to restart it, but the interviewer had left his room. So I just stood there until he came back and restarted it. I put the cd in, and I assumed the laptop would've started the program, but after what seemed like an eternity, it took me to the XP log-in screen. In retrospect, I should've changed the boot settings. Anyway, the interviewer asked me what I would've done after another restart to get the program to start.

Obviously, I didn't get the job. The only tech support related job I've had was working at the computer lab at the local community college, but that was basic "my computer's not turning on", "how do I log in?" stuff and showing people how to use simple MS office features. I've removed spyware and viruses from friends' and my family's computers, mostly from following suggestions I've found via Google search, and I've taken the first two (out of four) networking classes at the local community college (the second class covered some Cisco router IOS commands like assigning IP addresses to different ports and protocols like RIP, EIGRP, and OSPF).

I've never built a computer, and I feel like the best way to get on track to an entry-level job is to study for the A+ exam, right? I want to know if I'd be ok with an internship even if I lack basic hardware knowledge. I figured studying for the A+ exam with an old computer to open up and experiment on would take care of that. I've opened up my desktop to replace RAM and a bad hard drive, but that's as far as I've gone. Also, I've been looking for IT volunteer opportunities but I haven't found many. I live close to Los Angeles, so I don't think location is a problem. Maybe I just don't know where to look. Suggestions?

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Comments

MentholMoose

The A+ is a good place to start, so study for it. Find a cheap computer somewhere (Craigslist, newspaper classifieds, eBay, etc.) and use it to learn. A lot of people buy a new PC when they have any problem with their old one, and they practically give their old one away even though there is almost no problem at all. Fixing a “broken” computer is a great way to learn.

I’d recommend talking with some the professors teaching the computer-related courses at your school, since they are probably a great resource. They likely have contacts with local organizations and businesses, and can probably set you up with some volunteer work. The community college I attended had formal agreements with local organizations to allow students to do volunteer work for course credit (it was actually a required component of the CIS track I took).

Once you have some education, experience, and the confidence that comes with these, looking for an internship is a great idea.

Hyper-Me

Apply for everything. Let THEM decide if you are unqualified, not you.

Worst case scenario, Claymoore steals your first born child because you listed certs in progress rather than completed ones

But seriously, apply for everything...the worst thing you get is a "No", and then you move on to the next one.