Does anybody actually feel qualified?

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Ok so my job hunting is going slow at the moment. The thing that is really getting to me most is that I read job ads searching under title and keywords and within a few mins I just feel depressed. There doesn’t seem to be any standardization within the IT job sector, companies ask for such a broad rang of skills I am finding it hard to nail anything down. I often wonder if other professionals have this problem, I know many people who went down other routes and qualified as a plumber, nurse, teacher, or manager and they don’t seem to have this problem- you qualify and a door opens for you, in Information Technology you qualify it seems and a door doesn’t open you just see a bit of light under the door but nothing else! I am 26 next year and seriously thinking weather I should retrain in something else, I love IT but the job market can be soul destroying, Id like to hear others views and if anyone has any pointers for me I would be most grateful, sorry for the complaining.

 

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the problem with IT is its vastness of options
a nurse working in an NHS hospital has to have a set base of skills for his/her perticular responsibilities, this is the same across the country for that role
you will find larger orginisations also have similar 'roles' well defined even for IT jobs, as they need many people to do similar tasks

IT in smaller outfits however emcompasses different things for different companies, a myriad of different products available for the same task mean every different employer will likely use different technology, and they generally dont have 100 people doing the same thing, they have one, who does everything or a handful at best

the important thing is emphasising your skills, and your ability to adapt, alot of companys may specify 'must know hp laptops and norton AV' the truth is though if you can prove you know how laptops work and are supported, and how corporate AV works, you wont lose many points even if you havn't used the exact product

lest we forget that versions of the same product can also differ wildly

It can be a hard graft, but there are many options, prospects and directions to go in IT, and thats what makes it an exiting arena to work in

Good luck in your hunt

 

Phoenix - Thats the best advice I have heard in a long time! Well done that man!

rockstar6181 - Listen to what Phoenix has said, he is spot on and its a GREAT attitude to have....in ANY industry!

Sadly we all forget that its easy to see past all the good things around us when we are looking far in the distance.

 

Hi rockstar - As an ex-plumber, take my word for it...you don't want to go there. I think that any employer, whatever the job, is now looking for 'multi-tasking' skills. Basically this means that they pay one person to do the work of 5, it's so much more cost effective . Try not to get too disheartened and just give every job application/interview your best shot. Regards.

 

Another thing to remember is that when employers are creating there advert to send out to recruiters/jobsites/job boards etc, the skils they list are usually what they are looking for in an "Ideal World", most of them know that the chances of them getting someone with the required experience/qualifications for the salary they are offering, are a little slim - however they will take the next best thing, and this is where you come in, I know that sounds a little derogitory but it's not meant to be. My last 2 successful interviews seemed to be just about me saying "Unfortunatly I have not used that particular application" or " I've heard of it" then there is "I have used similar products to fix a problem/provide a solution". My last job required me to audit software licenses across the UK and Ireland for a big company, in the interview I even told them that I had never done that before and mt knowledge of licensing was.....to say the least, very limited and I still got the job.

It's not just the job skills they look for, it's your personality, willingness to push yourself to be successful, The "I don't know the answer, but I know where to get it" type attitude.

Don't give up and good luck in your search.

Nelix

 

remember, u can never always satisfy all the requirements in the job advert, but u will need to sell your existing skills...when they ask u about the specified skills in the advert u dont have, u will have to tell them that u r a quick learner and can grasp things easily and u wont have a problem if someone initially guided u in the right path on that particular product...

 

Agree with whats being said, I'm in a similar position to the OP and have just rejigged my CV to include stuff I was missing and I still may rewrite it yet and have even more versions than I do now.

You need to highlight and emphasis all your existing skills, if theres anything you don't know about, I think the interviewer will appreciate your honesty if you say no or not quite rather than yeah and then your found out early on.

Liam

 

Just one other thing I would like to mention -

I have seen a lot of CV's in my time, not just in I.T. but in a wide variety of industries and the best advice I can give to anyone who is looking to write/re-write their CV is to concentrate on the overview of your skills and experiences rather than specifics i.e. mention that you have dealt with the installation & configuration of a number of different corporate Firewalls/AV's inc Symantec etc and name a few....this is much better than specifying exactly which software, version etc that you have dealt with. The reason why I say this is because when an interviewer is looking at your CV they know that the perfect candidate does not exist because its usually company specific (as pointed out by Nelix) so they WANT to see the overview rather than specifics (Unless they have asked for "candidates with only the following certs/specific software/hardware experience to apply")

One last note....when sending your CV off to a prospective employer.....Personalise it for that company!! Do a little background checking, see what their business concentrates on...it’s all about YOU making pointing out with the use of your CV how your skills/experiences match the particular companies needs!

As always - Good luck!!