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I have been unemployed for going on nine months now, had a lot of interviews for positions I have been very well qualified for and ones that were a joke but I think they needed bodies to fill slots.
Anyway, in the feedback I have gotten from the employers, they have said that I am very presentable, did great on the interviews, but they were going with someone who "had more experience". My question is it sounds like I am doing fine on interviews, but I've been knocked out so many times because of "more experience" and I never know in what they are talking about to improve myself.
I'm a hardware break fix guy who is also up to speed on MS Office, XP, 7, and a little of Server 03. I have my A+ and Net+ exams, wondering what I could do for experience or certs that would help me? I don't ever see myself being in the security side or the database admin side, although a network admin or a desktop admin is a def possibility. I've attempted to study for the 70 680 but get blown out on auto deployment and virtualization, as I don't have the money for a lab subscription or build.
I have been unemployed for going on nine months now, had a lot of interviews for positions I have been very well qualified for and ones that were a joke but I think they needed bodies to fill slots.
Anyway, in the feedback I have gotten from the employers, they have said that I am very presentable, did great on the interviews, but they were going with someone who "had more experience". My question is it sounds like I am doing fine on interviews, but I've been knocked out so many times because of "more experience" and I never know in what they are talking about to improve myself.
I'm a hardware break fix guy who is also up to speed on MS Office, XP, 7, and a little of Server 03. I have my A+ and Net+ exams, wondering what I could do for experience or certs that would help me? I don't ever see myself being in the security side or the database admin side, although a network admin or a desktop admin is a def possibility. I've attempted to study for the 70 680 but get blown out on auto deployment and virtualization, as I don't have the money for a lab subscription or build.
Just looking for some advice.
Thanks
How about Server +, I think server repair is a good option otherwise I would look into the copier/printer repairer, I see a fair amount of demand for that .
Ya, I have thought about Server+ but in talking to some of the guys on the exam forums, they say it is a really entry level cert and woulnd't help me at all, even saying I have it, without corporate experience its not worth spending the money. At 250 a shot, I would want it to be more than a conversation piece
Unfortunately, at this time because of the economy, the people that are getting your jobs are people that are overqualified and should be getting more money and higher position titles.
What type of jobs have you been applying for? Based on what you indicated so far, I'd see you as basically a helpdesk/desktop support person.
So if you're looking to be a sys admin or network admin, you need to have that experience since your competitors will most likely have them - if not more. As an example, my last employer filled a senior desktop support person about 15 months ago. We had people with over 10 years of experience applying; and the person we ended up going with was actually a laid off IT director. And he by no means got the job with a wide margin... we actually had others that were equally experienced.
I'd say you probably will need to establish yourself as a support specialist. And try to find internal opportunities to get the next level of experience (i.e. hang out with the server folks and pick their brain or help them out whenever you can).
Also - just a tid bit on your comment about security and databases. Not saying you need to be an expert. But with the convergence of technology today - you really need to have some understanding of those subjects. Especially security - as that's a discipline that is almost mandatory in whatever technology path you decide to stick with. So don't count them out or avoid them if you have the chance.
And finally - certs. They will never substitute for experience. There may be some jobs that will require certain certs (i.e. FISMA/DOD contractors, sales engineers, and services providers) - but most of those will also require certain number years of experience. It's rare these days that someone will be hired by a certification alone.
Don't be too discouraged. I'm not in your field, but lack of experience is an obstacle for people in many areas. It's not so much lack of experience, but simply not having as much experience as the many people often applying for the same job. As was already mentioned, there are people who are sometimes overqualified applying for the same positions you are, and often they're going to have way more experience. From what I've heard, experience can mean a lot more than any other qualifications or certifications that a person might have.
Good luck, I hope some people give you good advice that will help. Sometimes you might just ahve to start in a littlw lower than you might like and work your way to the positions you are currently applying for, which might not take long once you get experience in a company and prove yourself there.
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