Made redundant, need a job asap

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Hi guys so heres the story,

Been working for an IT repair/sales shop for 5 years now, have my A+.
Shop is closing down so am now in my last week working here and just got turned down from my last interview for being over qualified

My current role is mainly hardware/software repairs, with telephone/remote support and alot of customer service as its a shop/repair centre. Basic network stuff (small office networks or residential networks)
Havent been exposed to servers.


Had a couple other interviews, one wasnt what I was looking for the other I lacked server experience.

I have big bills living on my own at 23 and obviously dont want to be left jobless for any longer than necessary.

My situation has kicked me up the a** to want to self study my MCITP which I will dedicate to once I am secure in another job.

The question really is, is my CV the issue, is the market that bad atm (been looking for 2 months now had 3 interviews)

Any feedback advice would be much appreciated, feeling a bit sh*t and panicky after being turned down today.

 

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Why not :-

1. Read up on job hunting techniques on the internet
2. Broaden your job search, you're 23 and single, you can relocate and work anywhere, make this work to your advantage.
3. Re-vamp your CV and see if the hit rate goes up
4. Practice interview skills with friends
5. Start studying part time for a Windows 7 MCTS or ITIL cert (but ensure your job hunt come first)

 

Appreciate your feedback.

Im not able to move out of the area for other reasons but I drive and am happy to drive up to an hour to work.
Am in process of reading up on job hunting techniques and redoing my CV.

Any tips on which path to take MCITP wise.
I was thinking Enterprise Administrator, or should I aim for the more sought after such as Server Administrator?

 

What's your experience with working with Server 2008 and the various Enterprise technologies (SCCM, SCOM, WDS etc)? The reason I ask is that the MCITP SA or EA are generally aimed at engineers with 12 - 18 months experience and not for someone with no experience with servers, let alone the rest of the Enterprise products out there.

I would probably look at the N+ and maybe an ITIL foundation course first (ITIL gives you an idea of why things are done like they are) whilst the N+ will give you a broader appreciation of Networking.

Being brutally honest I don't hire people with MCITP certifications (certainly the EA and SA) with little to no real world commercial experience because I will be spending more time explaining to them then I would if I just hired someone with the experience but no certifications.

Please understand, certifications are generally there to show your experience, they are not there to give you an introduction to the subject matter.

 

Definitely don't do the Server Admin ones if you haven't touched a server. It would be futile. It's a bit of a bind these days, as there is no MCDST to recommend, so potentially where you sit, you could concentrate on Network+, Sec+ etc, and go first line, and then as you become more exposed to server architectures, do the MCTS / MCITP. For example the 70-680 exam you need to know quite a bit about Server 2008 for BranchCache and DirectAccess and god knows what else.

 

I thought perhaps stupidly, that I would be able to setup a lab at home to get the hands on and put my all into self studying.
Was partially advised to do this by my friend who is in a 1st line role and doing the same thing but he obviously has exposure to servers.

I think I will go for my N+ then, most important thing is that I find a job now.


Heres my CV in case anybody has the spare time to skim over it and throw some criticism at me.
View attachment WhirrelCV.doc

Many thanks all

 

You can do the MCSA / MCITP self study with a lab, the trouble is :-

1. Its likely you won't really grasp many concepts without the right background
2. It could take you a very long time to learn the material
3. Employers are unlikely to give you much credit for the certification without corresponding proof of job experience.

Get someone with good English to look at your CV, a lot of the grammar seems incorrect.

The general presentation is not great, a reasonable level of proficiency in Word is expected for people who are in IT these days.

Consider the document structure, try to break it down into meaningful sections.
For example consider merging qualifications and education.

Use page breaks, styles, tabs, indents to try and make it more appealing. If stuck look at free online templates.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/templates/

For example :-

1. Don't allow bulleted lists / sections to span two pages.
2. Create a unique style for section headings and apply to each section heading.
3. Create a main header style and apply to document title.
4. Use tabs, columns or tables for horizontal layout like your education.
5. Try not to list your GCSE's in a list
6. Be consistent, all dates should be in the same format, not some with two digit years and others with 4 digit years, not multiple types of bulleted list (thin and fat).
7. Add a document title, experience is a section name not a title.
8. Include your contact details on a real CV obviously
9. Try not to underline or bold everything it looks messy.

Try to think of your CV as a sales pamphlet for a new restaurant or museum, yes it must be factual, but it also needs to sell you and be on message. You want to condense the information that makes you look great in a small area.

In reality things like average GCSE marks don't sell you, so these things you need to try to play down.

 

With regards to the grammar, I thought that was all ok :/ (I removed all of my details hence the lists spanning two pages)

I've taken in and appreciate all of your points, I will be completely revising my CV tonight.


Thanks Dmarsh

Edit:
Having looked at it properly myself I feel like a fool for having just added stuff here and there prior to job applications, it is indeed very inconsistent and seems to waffle.

 

Couple of things I always include on my CV.

1. Profile
2. Achievements

In the profile section, you need to mention who you are and what type of position you're looking for. This gives the employer an idea of what you want. In the achievements section, you list your achievements, for example, revamped a network infrastructure, deployed new domain controllers and setup exchange, etc. Obviously you list your technical achievements that you feel will have impact on your future prospects and make sure to tell the truth because they will test you on that.

Things like listing grades on a CV, I don't believe that is necessary, at least not in Canada, I don't know what its like in the UK.

I've always refrained from listing things like currently studying towards ... because you can mention that in your interview, but to me it doesn't sound right, anyone can put that they're studying for CCIE for example, its not an achievement really...

I would also change the layout/structure of the CV and try and keep it on 2 pages max. When recruiters or employers scan the CV, they look for key words that attract their attention, having a 2-3 sentence description of your job followed by bullet point listing of technology you work with always worked for me and continues to work for me today.

In regards to certifications, I would encourage you to actually setup a lab at home and practice until you're comfortable but refrain from doing the advanced certs like MCITP:EA/SA for now. You could go for the desktop supports which is fine. Once you get more experience, then you can start doing the more advanced stuff once you get the experience and believe me it will be easier to pass exams.

There are some good resume examples online they even have word templates for resumes I believe, you just need to google for a few examples. I'd upload mine but I can't seem to locate it, go figure!

 

As others have said don't do an MCITP you will be looked at funny if you don't have any experience to back it up. Please please go and do some research on how to structure and format a CV properly online and on this forum you will find plenty. You don't really need to write every GCSE grade on several lines of text, one point saying how you have 11 GCSE's A-C is good enough.

I would forget about terms like enterprise administrator and ramp up for skills and experience with 1st line support software such as Windows XP, 7, Office etc. I'm sure you had plenty of exposure to fixing Windows and Office problems in the PC shop yet it is not mentioned anywhere in your CV.

 

Ok guys, again cant stress how much I appreciate the guidance.

I redid my CV last night, I want to add more/refine a few things but I feel its better layed out and more to the point, I will continue to work on it whilst applying for around 10 jobs a day.

View attachment WhirrelCV-Revised.doc

With regards to my job hunting, SO many 1st line roles require AD basics/basic server maintenance/Exchange.
I'm going to setup a small lab at home, turning my exisiting network into a small domain and tinkering with that for many many hours and eventually add AD Exposure/Basic server maintenance/Exchange to my CV. Is that feasable?

 

Looks better!

A couple of things to change still

For the profile section, I like what you've put, but I wouldn't use "I" or "My" words in it. For example, you can do something like this:

Experienced IT Technician with over 7 years hands-on experience in repairing, installing and supporting computer systems and components.
Highly focused and ambitious, constantly strive to suppress targets and continuously develop new skills within the industry. An asset to any organization, presently seeking a 1st Line Technical Support role.


For summary of qualifications, I assume you're referring to your skills? if so, just put something like Skills or Technical Skills. For example:

Technical Skills Include, But Not Limited To:

 Install, diagnose, repair, upgrade and maintain desktop/notebook computers and their peripherals
 Break-Fix to soldering/component level
 Basic networking
 Support Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7
 Support MSOffice 2003, 2007, 2010
 Customer service, account management, sales, aftercare
 iPhone/iPad hardware repair & support


For work experience titles, I like putting something like Industry Experience rather than Employment History. But that's a personal preference, I don't see anything wrong with how you have it either.

I don't think you have to put your address. A Name, Phone Number, and an Email should be enough.

Again, for education, you don't need to list your grades, just 9 GCSEs should be enough... if they ask you for grades, you can then list them.

 

Hi all, meant to update you all just been so busy.
Revising my cv did the world of good, did it on Thursday night and updated all recruitment agencies. Next day had 4 phone calls, this eek I've had interviews with; Surrey police HQ, Toyota, HP, and Techtrade.
Had a second interview with techtrade toay and they said I'm theideal candidate and that I should expect a very positive phonecall on the morning as they have no doubt that I am perfect.
My question is, its a 1st line role, Its TSM (IBM) focused , which is backup and data protection focused, they are leaders in the UK with regards to this skill. I have the option to be completely TSM qualified as they will offer all of the training.
Is it a good path to take, TSM engineers seem to earn a **** load of money.
Posted on my phone from the pub so excuse the waffling

 

Tivoli is complicated product learn and if you master it, you'll be making some serious $$$ as I think its a niche market, I don't know that many Tivoli engineers. I've had some experience with it and when setup right, it works well.

If that's something that interests you, for sure go for it.

 

Have been offered the job this morning and I have accepted.
If anyone thinks its not the best path to take then do feel free to share your thoughts.
Otherwise, thanks so much guys for your advice, support and guidance. Turns out I was only left 4 days without a job haha and I was getting worried!!

 

Well done Whirrel, U R a lucky guy, CONGRATULATIONS on your new job.

 

Congrats on the new job

 

Ok, so been here a week now. Not sure if I should stick at it or start looking again... :/

Got a company iPhone 4s and an i5 Thinkpad (also my main work pc) office is very nice, people are nice. And im getting to grips with TSM quite well.
BUT, in interview I was told average transition time from level 1 to level 2 is 18 months, I now have come to understand that this is in fact the record time set by an employee.
A Level 1 technician has been here 18 months now and said they were told it will be another 18 till Level 2 is likely to be reached. Obviously this is down to ability, but also probably down to there being an opening to fill.

The salary from 1st to 2nd DOUBLES, so the issue is I dont want to be on this salary forever, as if I do stay here im only going to be TSM Admin qualified which is very specialized, and I will have to start from the ground up if I decide to get into IT support microsoft kind of roles (which is what I was initially aiming for)

What do you guys think? TSM worth sticking with? Is starting from 1st line MS techy roles just as slow progressing?

Any feedback is really appreciated, thanks in advance guys

 

I'd stick with it for now and do some MS courses, some of the lower lever stuff, and then start looking about.

We used to use Tivoli where I am but that's all gone now, not sure if it is a dwindling technology or not, but at the end of the day you are in a job, earning money, and if you really get your head down and work hard, then in a couple of years you could double your salary and have a few certs to your name.

I'm sure plenty of people would like to be in a similar position! Unless of course your current salary is awful, and you think you could double it in a shorter time by jumping ship again.