Looking to jump into the job market again... (letters, employment, apply)
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OK, let me say that I've been happily employed by the same company for 15 years... so the thought of looking for employment outside is daunting at best, and downright scary at the worst. Over the years I've had several opportunities for advancement, but have now hit the point where it is go into management or look elsewhere. Add the fact that we live Gulf Coast region (never planned on being here this long, but life happens) and we are ready for a change before the kiddos get too old and make moving more difficult. They will be going into 4th and Kindergarten next year.. and the wife really doesn't want to uproot them after the oldest starts middle school... so we only have about a year to find something and make a move.
I work in IT doing Sys. Admin work (job title is Systems Engineer.. but titles can be very YMMV) making just under $100k. Honestly, my only certification is my VMWare VCP-DCV... mainly because I just hate tests I'm sure this won't help my job search in the near future.. so I'm planning on preparing to suck it up and get some of the certification tests out of the way for the area's I work with on a daily basis (Citrix XenApp, Hyper-V, MCSE, SCCM). Also have experience in Simpana/Commvault and Compellent (will be installing a new EMC storage soon to add that experience to my list). I'm also looking at options to broaden my job opportunities by either starting to learn more on the Cisco side (for network administration) or adding some programming skills to my list (Java, .Net, etc.). Just not really sure which of those areas I might pursue..since they aren't really what I enjoy in the first place.
Since I really want to look for opportunities out of state, a big question is how to find/contact recruiters and/or headhunters. Sure.. I can blast my resume out to companies via Indeed and the like, but is that really the best way to find out of state employment opportunities? I know a lot of people might recommend packing up and moving where you want to be and looking for a job... but with a family to support, on a single income, that isn't feasible.
All of my advancements in the last 15 years have been pretty much handed to me. I honestly never applied for any of them.. either the CIO or the manager at the time just asked if I would be interested, usually in a casual meeting with just that one person, and the offered me the promotion. So to say that I'm going to be rusty at this is an extreme understatement.
Sounds like you love your job, and don't really know where you want to move, what is your reason for wanting to move? If it's just because you want to change I hope you find a job you love as well and someone in IT gives you a recommendation of some places to try.
Since your kindergartener will be an 8th grader when your older child graduates it's not to say this would be your home til both are grown. Many families move when the baby is starting high school.
Don't bury your head in more books for a job search. Apply everywhere and hit up all your industry contacts. colleagues, former supervisors, AVPs/VPs/SVPs with the line of business that have moved on to other companies.
My husband and I will be going through the same thing soon, we plan to move pretty far. I have been self employed for several years and am now getting back 'out there' which scares me a lot. Im nervous about interviews and everything. We want to move now while we have the opportunity. My husband just got a pretty decent job he will do till we move.. wish he could transfer but not possible. Our plan is to move then find work. Not so worried though because our house will be paid off and big savings, we have no kids right now either. I will basicly shoot resumes out and fill out as many apps as I can.
Sounds like you love your job, and don't really know where you want to move, what is your reason for wanting to move? If it's just because you want to change I hope you find a job you love as well and someone in IT gives you a recommendation of some places to try.
Since your kindergartener will be an 8th grader when your older child graduates it's not to say this would be your home til both are grown. Many families move when the baby is starting high school.
Wishing you good luck on your adventure!
I do love my job and the people I work with.. which is rare in this day and age. However, what I don't love is the location. 15 years of Houston is taking it's toll with the horrible summers, extremely short spring/fall, and no real winter. At least growing up in Oklahoma we could go camping in the summer... July - September I don't want to step outside down here.
Unfortunately my wife moved several times as a kid and swears we will not put our children through that experience. Personally, I attended the same small school from Kindergarten through graduation (with a total of about 25 students in my graduating class).. so being uprooted and moved during their school years is a foreign concept to me.
At this point, our first choice (and major focus) would be Denver, followed by Seattle, Portland, and Boise. Could possibly also go east to Virginia/West Virginia. A big draw is being closer to mountains and camping/hiking/backpacking/caving opportunities.
I think it is a great idea to get all your certs ready. I just had a conversation with a friend of mine who wants to move to the tech field and do coding and stuff like this. I tried explaining to him that since he hasn't looked for a job for 6 years, things have changed drastically. He doesn't have any certifications and is self taught and thinks this will get him by. Maybe 7-10 years ago having one certification and some experience on the side would have been sufficient, but now the competition is so strong that for any job you apply you will have 10 candidates just as qualified if not more.
So get your certs in order, get any letters of reference or recommendation you can get from previous bosses (try to be discreet). Work on your resume, so that it can be scanned quickly. Then I would identify the cities you want to move to and use LinkedIn and Indeed to see what kind of positions there. Google head hunters in those areas that specialize in the fields you are looking for.
Remember that when it comes to interviewing this rule applies "Whatever you say can and will be used against you". If you are interviewing out of state, you have to make sure that you have a good answer for why you want to relocate. Is your fam ok with it? if they offer you a job tomorrow, are you going to be able to relocate within 2 weeks? These are all questions you need to have answers for.
Be prepared and well rehearsed. Don't buy the advice on here that you should just be yourself and be genuine and wing it. By being well rehearsed you will be able to relax more and appear confident because you are not worried about what to say or that if they throw a hard question at you you won't be prepared. As a matter of fact, learn to recite everything like a friggin Shakespeare play.
You may think this is overkill? It is absolutely not! The competition is brutal and no one will hire you because of your pretty blue eyes. You have to be better and you have to make sure you don't scare prospective employers away by saying anything stupid, negative or stupid.
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I'm sure this won't help my job search in the near future.. so I'm planning on preparing to suck it up and get some of the certification tests out of the way for the area's I work with on a daily basis (Citrix XenApp, Hyper-V, MCSE, SCCM). Also have experience in Simpana/Commvault and Compellent (will be installing a new EMC storage soon to add that experience to my list). I'm also looking at options to broaden my job opportunities by either starting to learn more on the Cisco side (for network administration) or adding some programming skills to my list (Java, .Net, etc.). Just not really sure which of those areas I might pursue..since they aren't really what I enjoy in the first place.
