03.21.01
This is an article aimed at those trying to get into their first IT
position. This can be quite an undertaking, so gather up your resume
and have at it! As always, any questions, suggestions or comments
are always welcome.
Jay Fougere
NetworkNewz Editor
You can't visit an IT forum anymore without seeing a ton of posts
regarding employment in the IT industry. The age-old question keeps
popping up again and again - "How can I get experience if nobody
will hire me?" Before we answer this question, let's first discuss
our perspective on what has happened in the IT marketplace over the
last few years. Within the last 5 years the job market has exploded.
The growth of the Internet and the great economic prosperity in many
of the world's countries created an atmosphere that allowed for the
inception of thousands of new startup companies, massive growth in
existing IT corporations and greater amounts of money dedicated to
R&D. This created what seemed like an endless supply of high-paying
IT jobs.
However, the inevitable laws of supply and demand lured countless
numbers of individuals into the field. The MCSE certification played
a big role in this phenomenon. IT journals, newspapers, websites,
salary surveys, etc. contributed to the hype that falsely led many
into believing that an MCSE certification would guarantee them a high-paying
job. There was rarely any mention regarding experience or
other requirements that needed to accompany the certification in
order to attain these positions.
So where do we find ourselves now? Well, the IT industry is saturated
with certified individuals with little or no real-world experience,
also known as "Paper MCSEs", who feel antagonized in the forums and
looked down upon by those "in the know". They find themselves
accepting jobs that pay less than they were making in their previous
industry or unable to get a job at all. In light of all of this, we have some good news and
bad news for you. Let's get the bad news over with.
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BAD NEWS #1: You did everything out of order. The correct way to go
about a career in the IT industry is to get a job, work there for a
while, and then get certified after you gain some experience. Having
an MCSE with no experience can hurt you more than it helps. Some
employers may be wary that an MCSE with no experience, may be
looking for a way to build their resume and move on to greener
pastures and more money. Others may think that you are
over-qualified for an entry-level position.
BAD NEWS #2: Some will automatically assume that you used braindumps
to pass your exams. Enough said.
BAD NEWS #3: This is the most important one of them all. The
overwhelming majority of you will have to start at the bottom of the
food chain (even with an MCSE)! You will not start out as a network
administrator, in fact you may even find it difficult to get a job
at a help desk. You will have to work your way up in the field like
everyone else in every other industry. This MAY mean that you start
out at less than $10/hr.
And now for some more pleasant news.
GOOD NEWS #1: You do not need an MCSE or any other certification to
get a job in the IT industry.
GOOD NEWS #2: If you work really hard, you will eventually get one of
the coveted high-paying jobs.
GOOD NEWS #3: There are a ton of these high-paying jobs available for
those that are qualified. There is still a great shortage of
qualified IT professionals.
For those of you that are new to the industry or those that are
thinking about moving into this field, we highly recommend getting
an I.T. job first. Spend around 6 months to a year at this job
before thinking about certification. As quoted from Microsoft's
website, "A Windows 2000 MCSE candidate should have at least one
year of experience implementing and administering a network
operating system." CompTIA has a similar statement that recommends 6
months of experience. So now we have come full circle and you are
probably still asking yourself, "How do I get that first job with no
experience?" The majority of college students find themselves asking
this same question after graduation. You see, the question is not
specific to the IT industry and certification is not necessarily the
answer.
Now we are going to discuss strategies and methods for obtaining a
job in the IT industry, particularly if this is your first attempt
at obtaining a computer job.
The very first step in getting your first I.T. job is believing that
there are actually jobs out there that do not require experience and
knowing how to sell the skills that you do have. We have found a lot
of self-defeating behavior when it comes to this subject. People
will apply for a few jobs and when they don't get one of them, they
give up and develop the attitude that nobody will hire them because
they lack experience and that they now need to get an MCSE in order
to get a job.
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YOU MUST BELIEVE that you have valuable skills to offer a company.
What determines whether or not you get a computer job is rarely
based on computer skills alone. Everybody has experience! Maybe your
experience isn't in troubleshooting network problems, but you
probably have other skills that will be considered valuable to a
company that is willing to train. Accentuate those skills in your
interviews and on your resume. Always remember that the way to a
company's heart is how you can better their bottom line. Before
applying for a job, ask yourself this question: "How can I make/save
money for this company?" Remember that an interview is very much
like a sales call. You are selling yourself and the company is the
consumer. They want to know what they are purchasing before they
hire you. Want to know what we think employers are looking for? Read
this article located here.
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BLANKET YOUR RESUME. Send it to every company that you can think of.
Sending your resume to 5 companies probably isn't going to get you a
job, especially if you are lacking experience. Apply for at least
100 jobs per week. Need help with your resume? Check out
mcmcse.com
UTILIZE YOUR CONNECTIONS. Where do your friends, family and
acquaintances work? Do these businesses have I.T. departments? One
of the easier ways to get a job is through someone that you know.
Get in touch with the people that you know and get them to help you.
Many companies offer bonuses to employees that refer new hires so
your friends may be more eager to help than you expected. Make sure
that you don't let them down! Remember, they may be going out on a
limb for you.
BE REALISTIC. If you are new to the industry, odds are that you will
not start at $50,000 per year. You may be lucky to start at $20,000
per year. Check out help desks, 3rd party tech support companies,
ISPs, etc. Don't waste your time applying for senior-level
positions. Look for entry-level positions and accept the fact that
you will have to pay your dues. Don't worry - this is a temporary
situation. If you work hard, there is a lot of room to move up and
increase your salary in this industry. I speak from experience - at
my first tech job, my salary increased by $9,000 in the first year.
GET EXPERIENCE. A job isn't the only place that you can acquire
experience. Build a home computer lab and read some books. At your
current position, try to become the go to person for computer
problems for the people in your department. We have spoken with many
people that have assumed this role at their company (usually because
their I.T. department takes a while to be dispatched) and it is a
great way to get a little hands on. Volunteer at a non-profit
organization. Start a website. Become the computer support person
for your friends and family. The point is that there are a lot of
ways that you can get experience, some you can put on your resume
and others you can't. Regardless, you can certainly discuss them in
an interview so turn off the television and get to work.
Enough lecturing! Now we need to give you the resources that you need
to get your resume out there. Don't just look in the newspaper
classifieds - the jobs listed there represent a very, very small
percentage of available jobs.
Every major city has a ton of job placement agencies. Sign up at
every single one of them. You will probably find that these
organizations will keep you pretty busy and are a very useful free
resource for you.
Use your online resources. Applying for jobs online not only works,
but saves a ton of time. Check out our job database
to get started with your
online job search. If you are looking for your first job, try
keywords such as entry-level, help desk, tech support, call center,
MCP (if you have one), beginner- and junior-level. If you don't find
what you are looking for here, there are dozens of major employment
websites out there.
Check out your local Department of Labor. They will usually have
quite a few job listings and often provide other free resources.
Keep your eyes peeled for job fairs.
If these resources don't keep you busy enough, start popping into
companies that you would like to work for and drop off your resume.
It is helpful if you can do a little research beforehand and find
out who is actually in charge of hiring. Give them a call, or when
dropping off your resume ask if you can speak with them briefly and
introduce yourself. It will make you stand out in their mind when
they are reviewing resumes.
Good luck!!!
MC MCSE is a popular computer certification website devoted to
providing free learning materials to candidates pursuing Microsoft,
CompTIA and Cisco certifications. To access these resources visit
mcmse.com
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