Ways to get all important experience....

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I'm stuck in a crappy Admin Job, I'm returning to one of my first interest computers. Going to be going for my A+ cert then N+ but as we all know they mean next to nothing without some kind of experience in the real world. Trouble is I have none.

So what are the best ways of getting the foot in the door so to speak with getting experience? Sorry if this has been posted many times before....

 

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Got exactly the same problem here, getting experience. The thing is it's hard to get experience when your working as well... So how do you go about it? i mean 1 day a week isn't exactly alot so 'how' much experience and for 'how' long do you need to get?

I'm already confident with IT and have teached my self alot and find my self at the same knowledge as people in IT jobs if not more but its the almighty job experience thing that lacks from my cv, which most places want so much

Anyone care to give some advice?

 

May help you, May not?

I applied for a job before xmas as a team leader, in my cv I
included the fact i'm studying for A+ and then MCSE, which is in progress.

We discussed it briefly during interview, and my passion for pc's
and the like, and one day wanting to be in it full time.

Out of the blue, they offered me a job as Warehouse Stock
Control Co-ordinator, ( which they apparently created for me) for 2 massive warehouse's joined together.
This entails co-ordinating everything coming in and out of the business,
including ( More now than when i started) now getting into
the IT side a bit more now i'm there.

After talking to the IT bloke, apparently this was planned from day one for me to eventually move into the IT Dept and help them out.

I love doing the stock control side, but its a foot in the door of
a company that will spend money on technology if they require
it, and are planning more forward than a few months.
As I said they created this job for me due to my experience in
the field of stock control, with the benefit of knowing I can
help out and learn whilst on the job for the IT Dept.

It's about selling yourself, and being confident, someone out there
needs your talent, you just have to convince them its you!

Oh and its a bit of luck too, I'm sure probably alot of people in
here were in the right place doing the right thing at the right time.

Good luck, Callum

 

It's a tough one this- especially if you're already in a job looking to switch.

What are you doing in you current role and in past experience that you can apply to an IT role? Do you have client facing skills and organisational/documentation skills that you can highlight on your CV?

Are you a 'go to' person in your office when colleagues have computer problems- will they ask you before calling the helpdesk?

I'm in the process of covering this no experience catch 22 on my site, it's still WIP so any feedback would be great

http://www.first-computer-job.com/experience.html

 

Well, been at college for the past 3 years and been working in a supermarket (co-op, if you call it one ) to fund for college. Now i want out and get a decent/proper job. I can't just leave work to get experience... i have a car to run and other things to pay for as well.

Customer service would be the only skill i can think of at the top of my head, oh and the fact they gonna promote me to lame supervisor so i can get more hours to pay for certs and stuff. Though the supervisor will give me another benefit but i want to do alot more to get that foot in the door.

Not trying to hijack your thread Fanatical, but i think all the advice we can get would be useful, especially if your in the same boat as me.

 

You're paying you dues:

What's your degree going to be in?

 

No worrie Matey! I'm in the same situation but got rent to pay, car to run, food to buy, bills to pay. I can't afford to to drop anything to get experience.

Plus if I'm studying for A+ in my spare tme, when have I got time to work for free to gain experience!

 

Have you thought about doing repair jobs for friends and family for references?

What about advertising repairs and installs in your local area?

 

I'm sure I read on a thread here about putting down "repaired friends/family pc's" on a cv. Basically the guy said it counts for almost nothing and that just about everyone has it on their CV's. With all the competition for IT jobs it seemes that there needs to be more than this needed to set you apart from the crowd.

I'm not saying that it's worthless but it's a bit like saying you've got gcse's - so has everyone else!

I think I might pop down to my IT dept and see what they say, they might let me shadow someone. I work 1-9pm so could feasably be at work early. Dear God, 12 hours of this ******** place, I'll go mad.....

 

I don't personally see working for friends/family as any thing useful tbh, you could just put a friend down and lie for ya... i don't see the point in it at all. Starting own business and fixing over a greater scale might be more useful but could take a while to get it up and running, thats something i'm considering at the moment.

 

just fired off a begging mail to my IT people , shall let you know what they say! I probably still fix up friends and famlies PC's, it's all experience in the general sense which can't hurt.

 

got a meeting with head of IT next friday. fingers crossed....

 

Good luck dude.

 

Well you come across as being positive and prepared to have a go - this will ALWAYS count...

Generally look at developing your skills and experience as an incremental process, so focus on one thing at a time and you will do well.

So I would mention in the interview that you have good soft skills like customers skills and can focus on work and study efforts effectively.

Nothing to stop you mentioning that you have or will shortly implement [you should do this anyway] a home study lab running windows and linux as part of the skilling process...noting that this can be done very quickly and cheaply.

Good luck!!

 

Very good, informative and well written site Pete, with some great advice.

Carry on, I'll be a regular visitor from now on!

J.

 

Thankyou!

More pages up this week

 

YAAAAAYYYY!!! Spoke to the ehad of IT and as of monday I will be shadowing someone and also helping out with a project to get old pc's ready to be shipped to the 3rd world! Very positive about my volunteering and that whilst not guaranteed the possability of a job at some point is realistic!

 

Well done!

Harry.

 

I send my advert to all computer shops in London. It looks working! Connexions are the key. Now I work in the private music studio and fixing and maintenance desktops network and learning all the music software. Its really cool. I can see all the process – its so much better that some office or voluntary work.

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