Get a job in IT with no experience

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Again referring to my post just above, why is it deceitful to omit certifications? As I mentioned earlier if someone asks me about them I would say sure I have them, why don't I list them? because they aren't pertinent to the roles I am seeking, the same could be said about the OP were he asked 'I am not listing it yet because I don't want it to go against my lack of experience'

 

Fair play, Mike is very good at delivering his opinion.
Whilst I might not agree initially, I would be inclined to think along this way because of how effective he is at explaining things and the fact the guy speaks from experience . Done any teaching in the past Mike?

 

I hear what you are saying BosonMichael, and I agree.

For instance, I can speak fluent French (English is my first language) but I do not put it on my CV because I feel it is not relevant to the jobs that I apply for in IT, although I have been told I should include this by recruiters, my parents and other family members etc . This all because I wanted to be an interpreter when I was at school but was interested in IT as well, so I chose the latter. I normally tailor my CV to each job I apply for. I sometimes omit certain things, and I sometimes include certain things depending on the role.

I suppose if a system admin job came up and one of their offices were in France, then I would probably include that I can speak French on my CV.

 

A lil' bit. ;)

Thank you for the compliment, kind sir.

 

I'm curious how this discussion would be different if it centered more on someone with just the CCENT or on somebody thinking about obtaining the CCENT. I have my A+ from many years ago and I have some Help Desk experience also from many years ago. I've been studying off and on for the Net+ for a while and when I saw the changes about having to recertify I thought about shifting my focus just a bit and studying to take the ICND1 exam as my next step. I'll probably go ahead and take the Net+ now as I'm not that far off from feeling comfortable with sitting the exam and if I do it by the end of the year I'll retain the cert for life.

So anyway I'm not sure the question has much merit for me but it might for someone a few months down the road.

 

To the OP

You can definately get into IT with no expierence, as we all had to start somewhere.

Just keep on applying for the jobs you see and something will eventually come up. Maybe write to some of the larger companies in your area to see if they have any part time work aswell.

Can i ask why/how you done your CCNA?

Thanks

 

That is an excellent question. The answer is that the discussion wouldn't (or, rather, shouldn't) be any different. The CCENT is simply half of the CCNA. Look at the CCENT objectives: these are not things that an entry-level tech would be expected to do - or allowed to do - in an entry-level job.

I'd recommend the CCENT for anyone who is just beginning to touch Cisco routers in their job or is being asked by their employer to get certified so that they can start to administer Cisco routers.

 

You are very welcome!

 

I agree but I would add to this:
... or is expecting to have some exposure to Cisco networking equipment in the near future or works in the place where Cisco gear is used and can shadow more experience colleagues.

To add to the above:
Thing with Cisco certifications is that they expire. So let's say someone does not have any experience with Cisco and gets certified. He keeps looking for jobs and because it's hard it takes him 9 months to get a job. He gets the job and it happens that new employer does not use Cisco equipment. He works there for year and a half to get some experience in IT. After that time his Cisco certificate is due to expire in next 9 months and he still hasn't got any experience. Then, he has 2 choices, upgrade to CCNA (without experience) or let it expire. Both options are not so good, really. Are they?

 

Yep... the key being, as you correctly describe, "near future". Even being allowed to shadow is, in my opinion, a valid reason for beginning Cisco studies.

Only if its time to start working with Cisco routers at the recert time. But you can't really plan for what's gonna happen 3 years from now, can you? You can certainly have career goals... but you can't know what employer is gonna hire you or what equipment they are gonna want to implement.

In any case, I agree with your assessment. ;)

 

I'd recommend not mentioning the CCNA straight away, if you want to impress an IT manager at interview for an entry-level position, learn some hands-on skills. The ability to crimp UTP cables, spot the difference between cross-over cables, configure a static IP address and use Netsh to automate changing IP addresses are all good examples of core skills, that build confidence between you and your boss.

Then after a few months, mention that you are CCNA qualified, if you have built up a good reputation, your manager will no doubt be delighted at the additional skills, if not experience, that you bring to the team.

Or you could just braindump a CCNA like my colleague, then look mystified when asked to crimp a cat5, nor have the faintest clue what ip subnet zero or RSTP means. He has kept his job, through a mutual manager / sys admin incompotency pact, however their names are now mud amongst an ever-growing circle of people. I suppose the moral of the story is that actions speak louder than words (or letters).

 

Hello everyone,

For a while I was just a pasive reader, but after reading this discussion I decided to join too.

I have a bit different opinion than BosonMichael and others who say that CCENT is not an entry level cert and that you better of going after N+. I think that both certs is all about basic concepts of networking. In adition CCENT contains a bit of configuration of Cisco hardware, which is not a bad thing. Also as Cisco is more well known name you get better chances of recognition of your knowledge.

By the way I came upon an interesting interview with Jeremy Cioara on almost the same topic we are discussing here. So if you want his opinion: http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1375311

 

Spot on i feel. The key thing is getting into the job and building up a GOOD reputation. Experience is pretty much key over anything else. I have the CCNA and MCSE and the amount of times i will ask somebody who has less qualifications than me "how did you do that?" Important to know what you are doing but many network admins and engineers will be more than happy to help somebody who is keen and has a willingness to learn. I found listing my qualifications a bit of a hinderance when trying to break into IT so i "dumbed it down" a bit. Got in and a bit later happened to mention what qualifications i had and it has gone from there. Showing a good attitude will reward you once you do the really hard part and manage to break into it.

 

Sorry, but that sounds like utter nonsense. They aren't going to suddenly think you are great because you have revealed you have a CCNA. They are going to respect your experience and skills based on what you demonstrate, not based on what you say you have.