So, you want to get started with a career in
Information Technology (IT), or maybe have already started or have
one,
but you're struggling to find that next or first job ... even entry
level. What I generally suggest / reply with, at least
approximately:
So, you've got logical troubleshooting skills? Great! Now apply them!
Your entire job search process, from beginning through end,
apply logical troubleshooting to it every bit of it, from the
very beginning bits through to end (at leas through to landing offer).
E.g. including but not limited to:
- Exactly where and how are you sourcing leads? What
else/additionally and/or better could you be doing in those regards?
- Exactly what are and aren't you applying to, and why? E.g.
should you be changing or adjusting your scope, e.g. aim higher,
lower, broader, go sideways in varying the types of work, adjust
what you are/aren't willing to consider and where, maybe look at
more possible "in"s that may well, at least slightly
longer term, lead you (much) closer to what you actually want to
target.
- Exactly what are you submitting / applying with, and how?
How's your resume? Have you really gotten good critical
analysis and feedback from relevant folks - those that would be
screening/reviewing/hiring for the positions you'd be targeting, or
at least as close as feasible? And as much varied feedback from
folks as possible? Yes, not everyone is going to have the same take
on the same resume. If they all highly agree, you probably haven't
gotten enough feedback - yes, just like actual folks going over your
resume for open positions - they won't all have the same take on it.
So, take in all the feedback you feasibly can, and be grateful for
it and accepting of it. And you want solid critical feedback.
Bunch 'o folks telling you
"looks great, wouldn't change a thing" isn't what you're
looking for - there's always room for improvement. You want folks
nit picking at any, every, and all possible nits that might be found
by the most persnickety of reviewers to pick at.
What about cover letter? How's that? What about other
opportunities, e.g. how's your
"elevator speech?" and such?
So,
"one click" (or other simple fast) apply from some mega
job aggregation site? Uh huh, you and how many thousands of others
are capable of making a single click on a mouse. How 'bout applying
as directly as feasible. If employer has their own web site and can
apply direct there, do so. Many even have capabilities to
"subscribe" to be notified of openings that may be of
interest to you. Many/most employers, will first post externally on
their own site, before going to job mega-sites - if they even find
they need to go there. E.g. when things are tough for candidates -
many candidates relative to openings - employers may not go as far
as the mega-job sites at all. You think it's bad now? This ain't
nothin' compared to the Dot Com crash. Back then it was about dead
silent. If an employer had an opening, they didn't even need post -
they could toss a rock and hit twenty qualified applicants, or
merely whisper to some peers and get flooded with scores of highly
qualified applications from folks those peers knew that were
available. So, get your feelers out there (networking!), keep your
eyes and ears peeled, ask, and check the direct web sites of
potential employers first, before doing the "one click"
or the like apply from the mega-site (along with 1000+ other
applicants doing same).
And the phone screens and interviews, etc. How's that going, how
are you coming off and presenting on those?
Feedback? Take every bit of feedback you can, ask for it, solicit
it. If you did the screen or interview, try and find out as much as
you can - how (un)interested are they in you, how are you staking up
to the competition, what does that competition look like, how do
they perceive you as comparing? Be highly gracious and accepting of
the feedback, thank them, be thankful, don't be critical of it or
you end up cutting off the feedback. Learning as much as you can
about what they think and how they perceived you is generally much
more valuable than any attempt to change their minds - as most of
the time that's mostly a losing battle anyway. You may also help
yourself on getting more feedback by helping / offering to help
them, e.g. ask about what they more wish to see/find in candidates,
e.g. so if you know someone that may be a better fit for what
they're looking for you could refer them.
- Look broadly - not necessarily to apply, but at least learn as
much as relevant regarding what's out there, being sought, what
they're having difficulty filling (listings persisting a long time,
etc.). Where - what are market conditions, how do you appear
compared to your competition? What about location(s)/regions,
industry/market sectors, etc.? Local, (not) willing to locate, or
up to how much commute to where? What about in office 100% vs.
hybrid vs. remote? 100% remote? Are you up for competing
head-to-head against whomever will do it for the cheapest anywhere
on the planet - or whatever regions employer may be limited to due
to legal, regulatory, or other reasons or constraints?
- Help Desk? You heard help desk is "the" place to
start for entry level? First of all, it's not exactly entry level,
though may be at least an approximation thereof. And there's tons
of approximately entry level IT stuff that's not help desk -
probably as much or more as there is help desk. But help desk is
the lazy/fast/efficient response for those that can't ask better
questions, and/or for those that really don't want to type more, yet
again. So, there's tons of other things besides help desk, tons of
possibilities, e.g. pulling and terminating cables, racking
equipment,
"remote hands" type positions (you're in data center or
the like, someone else is remote, they need you to do the physical
hands-on, they have the expertise, you are their physical hands and
eyes and ears to do the needed on-site work),
"eyes on glass" (though the term may be fading, as
physical CRTs are / have been phased out) that - approximately first
tier (at least of human), that sits somewhere 7x24x365 as part of
such staff, that watches the alarms and monitors, and is the first
layer to handle 'em. The alarms go of, you (mostly) follow set of
well documented standard procedures to (attempt) to rectify the
situation. If doing what you're permitted to do doesn't fix it, you
take it to the on-call, or other duly documented escalation
contact(s), per the documentation and documented procedures.
Electronics assembly, QA, troubleshooting, repair and related, etc.
Many hundreds if not thousands of varieties of such positions, many
of which are not and aren't describe as "help desk", or that may
only be part of the job, so "help desk" may or may not at all appear
in such a job description. But if the question is:
"I want IT job, have no IT skill, where start work?"
One can appropriate expect a response like:
"Helpdesk for you bud."
Yeah, well do your research, ask highly relevant question that well
reflects you've done your homework - that's much more likely to get
a more comprehensive better effort response. Do a highly low effort
lazy question, expect similar in response. Folks are generally
around and willing to help. Not so willing to do your work for you.
- Well, maybe check back again later, I may revise, add, enhance,
etc. E.g. maybe put stuff on her about certs, degrees, training/education
resources and ideas, etc.