Posted: 5/7/2007 8:37:03 AM EDT
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Disclosure #1: First off let me say that I am currently working and even though I regularly whine about my job it is not all that bad. I just don't make as much money as I would like but it is a factor of the market not the company. I am looking for a new job now that I am out of college. I am at the top of my career pay scale and career opportunities here and I am trying to get into the IT (hardware, DB or analyst but not programing) My problem is that I just can't seem to get my foot in the door anywhere. Disclosure #2: Patience is not my strong suit. I have been posting resumes and applying all over the web (but for my local area) for about 4 weeks now and I have not heard a single thing back from anyone. more rants to follow.... Any advice? |
You need to make the decision to be mobile if you want the kind of job that you want. That means applying for jobs that are not local and it will require you to drive or fly out to interviews and eventually pack up and move to a new city. Yes, that's what I did. You go to where the jobs are. It's not a hot job market anymore. Good luck. Note. That's what I "did". I have moved on to another career because software development is not what I want to do with my life, even though the money was good. |
| Many HR departments use a program that autoscans your resume. If it doesn't pick up several key words, it will disreguard your resume. the trick is to adjust your resume for each job posting that you apply to. Basicaly cut and paste their requirements and change it just enough to not be blatant in your plagiarism. |
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Not sure if your willing to relocate but my boss needs Security Analysts and Security Engineers in Dallas, TX. Starting pay is around 45k/yr, full benefits (dental, health, vision, life), matching 401k. You will need a programming background for the engineer position as they do a lot of pen testing and reverse engineering. The security analyst position is cake, though. You need to know a bit about IDS and Snort, TACACS+, linux administration (be able to at least navigate and do basic things in linux)...etc. If this is something you may be interested in, send me a message. Good luck! Also, monster.com is a great resource. |
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Thanks for the heads up on those. I have just started getting responses back from Monster today. I am not opposed to moving for a job, I am just opposed to doing it for the first one. With little to no experience that would be like going to Vegas and putting my life savings on the roulette wheel and calling black. If I were single I may do it but I can't do it now. |
Luckily for me, my current salary is pretty close to a starting IT salary so that won't be too bad. Thing is I don't know what I want to do. I like SQL, I like the hardware side and there is just so much I have never dealt with that I don't know what is available. |
+1 on this. My current job started as a contract gig. If you're lucky and get a good recruiter (as opposed to just a headhunter who's looking to fill seats as quickly as possible), you can get a lot of good advice about your resume. Also, craigslist... it's surprisingly good for finding jobs. |
Congrats. Just remember - Though they may find you jobs they are not your friend. Actually you can say that about anybody. They are in business to put you in a job at the lowest wage you will accept while charging the most that the client will pay. You may or may not receive vacation, sick time, insurance, or all of the normal stuff. Constantly look for skills to learn to bulk up your resume!!! Rewrite it every three months adding your new skills, assignments, and bs crappolla. Do not let them park you in a boring job were you are not learning or doing anything. Unless you can study on the job to make use of the time. YMMV |
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I've been in IT for over 12 years. Pre-2001, certs didn't matter. Now, you have a difficult time getting past HR without at least SOME certs on your resume. I got my Solaris cert by self-study and paying for it myself, it helps to have a system you can beat on to do this with, and immediately started getting more hits from potential employers. What the other poster said about buzz-words is correct, even most IT recruiters don't know squat about IT, I'll have listed all of the operating systems I've supported (Solaris, Linux, AIX, HP-UX, Irix, Dynix, etc) and they'll ask if I know Unix... The BEST way to find a new job that you like is to make personal contacts, a lot of IT shops are little more than sweatshops, long hours with little or no recognition, since most IT jobs are salaried. Nothing like having to work several weekends in a row and then management chews you out because you want to leave early one day because your family is coming in town (happened to a former coworker after I'd already left that company, he left within a month of that). You're interested in several different areas, and one resume won't fit. You need to determine what skills you have that apply to each area, and write a custom resume for each area. Even then, you'll probably need to create a customized version of that for each position you're applying for. But your best bet is to play with some open source software and figure out which one you REALLY enjoy doing, and try to get jobs doing that. I can DO networks, but that isn't my preferred specialty, so while I list it on my resume, and I have to deal with networking issues everyday, it isn't listed prominently. |
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I don't know dude. I like your resume (I finally got around to reading it today), and it's a good one. The problem is, you have no IT experience whatsoever. Somehow, you need to make somebody think "His CAD experience will parlay nicely into x position". I'd make one other suggestion - DO NOT work for some company's IT department. It's miserable work, the pay is so-so, and you'll be the janitor of the white color world. With your experience, you'd be much better suited to working for a VAR/integrator/consulting firm. That's what I do, and it's ALOT more rewarding and fun.  Every week I walk into some company's IT department and say to myself "Fuck, good thing I don't have to put up with this bullshit". 
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BTW - your MIS degree is a great start, but you need to get some certs in there. At a minimum, I'd suggest the Cisco route (ya, I'm biased) and pick up your CCNA to start with. You're a smart and motivated guy, and I think you could self study and pass the tests in 2 months. It'll help. After that, go for your CCNP (if network engineering is your thing) or even better your CCVP (if you want to be a phone jockey like your hero SubnetMask). 
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