Work in the IT field? Chime in your experience.

[ParsedOut]

I've spoken to a lot of HR professionals and they literally scan through a resume in 20-30 seconds for pre-screening purposes and they don't have time to read details (let alone click on hyperlinks of your past projects/accomplishments).

You'd have better success if you just popped in a few keywords these HR departments are looking for in a prospective cadidate.

For example if you are applying for a Network Admin job that requires VMWare, Cisco, and HP Blade Server experience then make sure you highlight those in your past/present experiences.

The above may seem obvious but I've met lots of colleagues who goof up on this part. :loco:

In a typical situation you're correct, but if you have literally NO professional experience then you're wasting your time applying with a typical resume. A company with an HR dept doing "20-30 second" scans wouldn't EVER consider hiring anyone without experience. I stand by my earlier recommendation, you need to stand out and highlight non-professional experience and hope that someone on the other end has an open mind about what their expectations are and don't have an HR department scanning for keywords.

[redsubdivisions]

Thanks for the input, guys. Even through all the bullshit that you would have to endure, I still think I would do well in the field. A lot of what entails seems to not bother me because I like problem solving, regardless of how difficult or easy it is. I was talking to a friend of mine earlier and he gave me a lot of good insights on it as well, but what it boiled down to was that I need to get my foot in the door and it is a changing business. My interests are still set on it. I plan on getting my A+, Net+, and a couple Microsoft certs to get started. I know the validity of them are sometimes questioned, but every opportunity I see online requires at least one of them.

[EREKSHUN]

That's a clean cabinet already! You should see the mess our server group operates. If something goes down they're in there for hours looking for cables.

Gracias señor. This is actually a new site so that's all my work from scratch.

[InuFaye]

Thanks for the input, guys. Even through all the bullshit that you would have to endure, I still think I would do well in the field. A lot of what entails seems to not bother me because I like problem solving, regardless of how difficult or easy it is. I was talking to a friend of mine earlier and he gave me a lot of good insights on it as well, but what it boiled down to was that I need to get my foot in the door and it is a changing business. My interests are still set on it. I plan on getting my A+, Net+, and a couple Microsoft certs to get started. I know the validity of them are sometimes questioned, but every opportunity I see online requires at least one of them.

A+ is worthless as shit, Network+ a little less worthless.

If you want certs go get MSCA, CCNA, or CCNET.

You guys are working for the wrong companies if your IT Department consists of 2 people. Help yourself out and find somewhere with a larger department. That is just ridiculous.

In rural VA we take what we can get. Its up to 4 people now but one of them is useless.

[redsubdivisions]

InuFaye, I know that they are worthless, but the sad reality is that it is required.

[InuFaye]

InuFaye, I know that they are worthless, but the sad reality is that it is required.

Required by who? Anyone who is worth working for in the IT world laughs at those certs.

[oddpairs]

A few months ago, I posted about leaving this state and starting a new job, but couldn't determine where. After some serious consideration, I'm ready to make a career change into the IT field where I find it more tolerable. I have been working on computers for as long as I can remember and I actually know more than the IT guy at our dealership. Working in parts has made me want to get out of the auto industry. Before I start to finally get my foot in the door, I would like to hear everyone else's experiences. Let me know what you do, what you've had to do, your requirements to get hired, if you are paid well, your advancement opportunities, etc.

I am an IT Manager, I left and lived in another country for three years and when I came back, my IT skills were obsolete. This is an ever changing industry. Everything you need to learn and can learn is all online, but unfortunately a lot of large companies will only hire people with certs, but those are usually are for people straight from school. You will need to tailor your resume stating you have said experience. Even state you help out at the dealership resolving IT issues. Most HR people look for key words like in your skill set. I can tell you I have no certificate of any kind, all my skills and knowledge are learned on the job and I have worked at many high tech companies from Microsoft to small mom and pop tech shops... When i came back in to the US, I had to get a job at a small consulting company relearning some of the new technology. One thing you should consider is going back to school online school such as http://www.wgu.edu/ is a very good deal it's online and will get you the degree you need to get into this field.

[redsubdivisions]

Required by who? Anyone who is worth working for in the IT world laughs at those certs.

Pretty much any job posting that I see. I can understand where you are coming from (I've taken the practice exams and they are ridiculously easy and almost common sense), but it's on there for prerequisites.

[redsubdivisions]

I am an IT Manager, I left and lived in another country for three years and when I came back, my IT skills were obsolete. This is an ever changing industry. Everything you need to learn and can learn is all online, but unfortunately a lot of large companies will only hire people with certs, but those are usually are for people straight from school. You will need to tailor your resume stating you have said experience. Even state you help out at the dealership resolving IT issues. Most HR people look for key words like in your skill set. I can tell you I have no certificate of any kind, all my skills and knowledge are learned on the job and I have worked at many high tech companies from Microsoft to small mom and pop tech shops... When i came back in to the US, I had to get a job at a small consulting company relearning some of the new technology. One thing you should consider is going back to school online school such as http://www.wgu.edu/ is a very good deal it's online and will get you the degree you need to get into this field.

I will definitely look into this!

[capn]

I am an IT Manager, I left and lived in another country for three years and when I came back, my IT skills were obsolete. This is an ever changing industry. Everything you need to learn and can learn is all online, but unfortunately a lot of large companies will only hire people with certs, but those are usually are for people straight from school. You will need to tailor your resume stating you have said experience. Even state you help out at the dealership resolving IT issues. Most HR people look for key words like in your skill set. I can tell you I have no certificate of any kind, all my skills and knowledge are learned on the job and I have worked at many high tech companies from Microsoft to small mom and pop tech shops... When i came back in to the US, I had to get a job at a small consulting company relearning some of the new technology. One thing you should consider is going back to school online school such as http://www.wgu.edu/ is a very good deal it's online and will get you the degree you need to get into this field.

Can you state which country you were in? I know for a fact in the middle east tons of companies over there require certs in order to even qualify as a candidate (ITIL, CISSP, PMP, CCNAA, RHCE, etc).

[oddpairs]

I went to China, and I was not doing IT stuff, I worked at a law firm there. The biggest thing about the IT industry is the ability to adapt and learn new technology. Experience I find is not an issue. When I do hiring, I look for people that are outgoing and have what it takes to learn new technology. I can always teach the person what I want them to do and do it my way. I been in the industry since 1993, so I seen my ups and down, and when I graduated from college I had a HR degree.

[redsubdivisions]

I went to China, and I was not doing IT stuff, I worked at a law firm there. The biggest thing about the IT industry is the ability to adapt and learn new technology. Experience I find is not an issue. When I do hiring, I look for people that are outgoing and have what it takes to learn new technology. I can always teach the person what I want them to do and do it my way. I been in the industry since 1993, so I seen my ups and down, and when I graduated from college I had a HR degree.

This sums up why I want to get into it before I get too old (I'm 25) and I honestly believe I could go far with it considering I embrace technology and always have since I was a child.

[decay]

i don't have a degree, so it took a long time to work my way out of IT, and i'm glad i did.

i suggest learning to code instead.

[ParsedOut]

i suggest learning to code instead.

+1

(caveat: only if you find it interesting... otherwise it'll just be another version of hell)

[einhander]

Can you state which country you were in? I know for a fact in the middle east tons of companies over there require certs in order to even qualify as a candidate (ITIL, CISSP, PMP, CCNAA, RHCE, etc).

Yup.

I was in the Middle East for a few years and when I was building up my IT team I only hired people with certs. Most of them were for database stuff though, not helpdesk or stuff like that.

I don't know anything about IT, nor do I really care, but from a hiring manager point of view certs confer some seriousness on a job candidate even if they don't have much meaning on their own. Just shows you care enough to jump through hoops.

OP, lemme know if you want to move to Dubai (which is awful). I know some people who are hiring.