can;t find work related to my field.-anyone been there

[joel]

i have a cert in IT but never found work related to the field after going to VCC. i applied, but nothing. seems like every company out there is looking for someone with experience and if you don;t have that they don't want to hire you.

i'm thinking of going to take course in the A plus certification so it can prepare me to write it.

i also went to school for 2 yrs at langara for business management program, but couldn't find work related to the field. i tried everywhere from CL, monster, workopolis.... and i went to job search clubs and they help me with tweeking the resume and cover letter.

i been doing lot attendant, cashier/merchandiser,temp job for job agency like randstad, driver at car rental places, jobs for 6 years now since i couldn't find work related to the field

 

i want to take the A plus cert and hoping it will get me a help desk , IT job, if not maybe go into web design.

 

has anyone here been through this kind of situation and if so what do you do?

[JaggedRoad]

I'm still 3 semesters away from getting my BA, but I've been taking on jobs that has little to do with my major (unless you want to stretch things).

 

Try to find entry-level positions. You may have luck with those.

[Enema]

You'll need to get into a company that offers the type of positions you want, then work your way up to them.

 

A number of my employees started in the customer care section, then as they got more experience with the company itself and had a foot in the door, were able to move out to development or real ITS.

 

Just getting in there in any job is the way to go if you can't get the job you want straight up.

[Ronni_W]

has anyone here been through this kind of situation and if so what do you do?

I do know many who've had exactly the same experience. It can drag one down after so long, can't it?

 

You might want to consider doing some (unpaid) internships in order to gain the experience your future employers are wanting...but not willing to give you the chance to get.

Places like radio & TV stations, colleges & universities, hospitals, service & volunteer organizations -- possibly would all welcome your expertise while not having the budget to compensate.

 

Best of luck.

[Odyssey]

You might want to consider doing some (unpaid) internships in order to gain the experience your future employers are wanting...but not willing to give you the chance to get.

Places like radio & TV stations, colleges & universities, hospitals, service & volunteer organizations -- possibly would all welcome your expertise while not having the budget to compensate.

This is a great idea, i've been a volunteer at a charity and helping the community with a young offenders program for a week now. It's been good to meet different people. I just need more to fill up my entire week though. Plus it will look awesome on your resume.

 

By the way, lots of places are hiring for staff for the xmas holidays now.

[Peaceful Guy]

i have a cert in IT..

has anyone here been through this kind of situation and if so what do you do?

 

a few years ago i found work at a temp agency.. now listen, this was a little indirect but it could work for other people too. i started off going around to diff. places and eventually there was one place that really liked me. it was a classic start off in the mailroom thing. i showed them my work ethic by filing paper, making calls, that kind of crap.. before long, they had me doing accounting, i learned their database program, and was quickly offered a high paying job. i turned it down, because i realized that working in a company like that wasnt what i really wanted to do, but under different circumstances (if i had kids at that time probably), it would have been awesome. i should point out that i really did work very hard when i first got there, thats why they brought me back and then eventually offered me the position.. "getting your foot in the door" combined with a strong work ethic will get you where you want to go. also, make a nice resume and send it out.. i recommend using faxes, because in my experience people just ignore the electronic ones.. all jobs ive gotten from my resume were by fax, despite what HR people might tell you about how they don't like it.

[Peaceful Guy]

reread your post, missed the part that you already worked in a temp agency. still, get in, work hard, get promoted from within the company, which is WAY easier than getting in from the outside!

[Awesome Username]

i have a cert in IT but never found work related to the field after going to VCC. i applied, but nothing. seems like every company out there is looking for someone with experience and if you don;t have that they don't want to hire you.

i'm thinking of going to take course in the A plus certification so it can prepare me to write it.

i also went to school for 2 yrs at langara for business management program, but couldn't find work related to the field. i tried everywhere from CL, monster, workopolis.... and i went to job search clubs and they help me with tweeking the resume and cover letter.

i been doing lot attendant, cashier/merchandiser,temp job for job agency like randstad, driver at car rental places, jobs for 6 years now since i couldn't find work related to the field

 

i want to take the A plus cert and hoping it will get me a help desk , IT job, if not maybe go into web design.

 

has anyone here been through this kind of situation and if so what do you do?

 

 

I'm so sorry man, I've definitely been in that situation and you just have to be patient and not stop applying. The problem in IT is that so many entry level-positions that people used to be able to get in the past are now outsourced to China and India. Make sure in interviews that you seem like the guy with the coolest personality on the planet, and try to continue to educate yourself in your field by reading books even though you already have a degree.

 

Times are tough, but if you keep working hard things will come up. Sometimes right before the holidays, companies are on crunch time and they need to hire more entry people on site.

 

Good luck, and don't lose hope.

[Template]

Hmmm... Here's is my take, I'm an IT Infrastructure manager...

 

I've interviewed and hired for positions from T1 to T4. Employers look at each position differently, and interview accordingly. In your situation, your best best is to go for something really entry level. Managers that interview for this position concentrate more on your people skills, and resourcefulness, more than any technical skill. Core technologies are the same, but business applications vary from business business. A good solid foundation in networking and Operating Systems (take your pick) is essential building blocks for T1. As a T1, you would be basically a orde taker. Someone who has an issue will call on the phone, and if it's something simple (password reset), you should be able to handle it, and if more, be prepared to escalate. Your job performance is based on your ability to determine exactly what the problem is, and escalate accordingly if needed.

 

This world wide economy is not the greatest for any job seeker, much less one in IT. Many are correct in that many jobs are sent overseas, but not as many as you think. Most companies still find value in having in house staff from T1-T4. The unfortunate part is that as you are competing for entry level jobs in T1, you'll also find that there are t2-t4 willing to take that extreme pay cut, because let's face it, we all need to eat.

 

One of the best places to start is temp agencies. If you know of a couple that deals with government contracts, those are usually the best places to start in my experience.

 

Remember, gone are they days when having a cert is a way to get a job. Having a cert should be compliment to your qualifications, not a qualification itself.