VENT: What are employers in the I.T field looking for?

[Thetech]

I've been trying to get a job in the entry level I.T field lately, but have had no luck.

Therefore I need some advice as to what in the world I could possibly be doing wrong!
I've had some interviews but they never seem to go to well, what could I be missing?
As far as my skills go I've explained that I have the skills, but I have no A+ certification.
They usually seem to want to hear a sales pitch at interviews, but I don't know how to give them the answers they want.

Any advice will be appreciated,(especially advice by those who interview others for computer repair jobs)

 

[Thetech]

bump

 

[BigJ]

Spend the money, get the certs or a degree.

Most of the people that do the interviewing (especially the early rounds) have no technical background. They thrive on buzzwords and seeing certifications and crap like that. Use them to get your foot in the door and then WOW them with your technical abilities if you interview with someone that is actually part of the IT process.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

What kind of experience do you tell them about?

 

[jinduy]

write down some significant accomplishments/experiences you've had and use them as ammo to answer questions (school, projects, whatever)

you can spit out everything you know about tcp/ip but experience is usually what most employers look for

 

[Rogodin2]

I was able to land a tech 2 site-ops job at a new Yahoo! datacenter because I am the CEO of a company I started 2 years ago.

You need to be confident but not arrogant when you interview.

I've no idea how you interview. I can't speak for most of the IT field, but at Yahoo! you need to be a team player, personable, hardworking (in site-ops you need to have hardware experience).

Goodluck!

Rogo

 

[Wapp]

Originally posted by: BigJ
Spend the money, get the certs or a degree.

Most of the people that do the interviewing (especially the early rounds) have no technical background. They thrive on buzzwords and seeing certifications and crap like that. Use them to get your foot in the door and then WOW them with your technical abilities if you interview with someone that is actually part of the IT process.

Yeah, get at least the entry level stuff to get your foot in the door. If you know where to look you can find cBT nuggets out there for free for COMPTIA/MCSE/CCNA. After that all you need is to pay for your tests. So knock out 270(MCP), A+, and Net+ and you'll be set for only $625. After that wait until you start working and see if your company will pay for the rest of your certifications.

 

[Deeko]

Do you have a degree?

 

[pontifex]

what position are you applying for? sounds like help desk type stuff.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

I have A+ and network+ along with my degree. I work as a systems engineer and before that an IT manager and before that Network Admin and before that ISP Call center. None of the employers gave 2 shits about certs

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer
I have A+ and network+ along with my degree. I work as a systems engineer and before that an IT manager and before that Network Admin and before that ISP Call center. None of the employers gave 2 shits about certs

But what is your degree in? I work in IT now... my degree is totally non-IT related. Had it not been for the MCSE on my resume... I would have not even gotten interviewed for the position I am in.

As others have mentioned a lot of time the ones doing the initial interview are non technical. But they do understand what an A+ or MCSE on a resume means... and as worthless as they may be in judging a persons ability, it cannot hurt to have them on the resume.

 

[Thetech]

I don't have any degrees, I just explain to them that I've been working with computers for a certain amount of time, I've done this done that etc.
Yes, the jobs I've been trying to get are in store pc technician at small, and big box computer stores.

 

[Randum]

I am hiring in IT and I have to tell you a lot of employers dont bother unless they see the stupid A+ certification or MIcrosoft certification. I know experience trumps all of this but to get your foot in the door, you really do need those.
Second, be sure to talk to them and let them know you have a personality- the biggest drawback to a lot of candidates I see is the personality.
And finally, I think goes without saying is being punctual. Be on time and dressed to impressed.

 

[RandomFool]

In my experience the most important thing is have a good personality. As far as technical stuff just be confident and focus on experience over education. It doesn't really matter what question they ask you can answer pretty much anything(within reason)

 

[ahurtt]

Sounds like you need a B.S. in BS.

 

[daveshel]

In my experience, what employers want is people who will work untold hours for a fixed salary without expectations of additional compensation for working additional hours.

 

[Platypus]

Seems to be a wide spread here.. certs are kind of a running joke at most of the places I've worked. In fact we usually hang up fake certs for the most ridiculous shit to further accentuate it.

It seems like while you might be technical you don't have good people skills? Your post is vague so it's hard to tell.
Can you give us some examples from your interviews and how you answered the questions?

 

[dyna]

There are a lot of people who claim to have skills and end up being really horrible. This is why experience and references are important. It sounds like your experience is lacking severly. Sounds like you need some luck, good BS skills, or an internal referral.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Originally posted by: rudder

Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer
I have A+ and network+ along with my degree. I work as a systems engineer and before that an IT manager and before that Network Admin and before that ISP Call center. None of the employers gave 2 shits about certs

But what is your degree in? I work in IT now... my degree is totally non-IT related. Had it not been for the MCSE on my resume... I would have not even gotten interviewed for the position I am in.

As others have mentioned a lot of time the ones doing the initial interview are non technical. But they do understand what an A+ or MCSE on a resume means... and as worthless as they may be in judging a persons ability, it cannot hurt to have them on the resume.

Computer info mgmt

 

[TwiceOver]

Originally posted by: Thetech
... They usually seem to want to hear a sales pitch at interviews, but I don't know how to give them the answers they want....

This is what interviews are all about. You need to sell them a product, in this case, yourself.

 

[Elbryn]

Originally posted by: Thetech
I don't have any degrees, I just explain to them that I've been working with computers for a certain amount of time, I've done this done that etc.
Yes, the jobs I've been trying to get are in store pc technician at small, and big box computer stores.

sounds like you just need to suck it up and get an A+ cert. thats what those store tech places want to see. if you dont have other qualifications like a degree or past work experience in a similar field.

 

[Saulbadguy]

Originally posted by: Randum
Second, be sure to talk to them and let them know you have a personality- the biggest drawback to a lot of candidates I see is the personality.
And finally, I think goes without saying is being punctual. Be on time and dressed to impressed.

QFT.

All the certifications in the world will not help you if you don't interview well and don't have a good personality.

I and my co-workers have done interviews for entry level (help desk) tech jobs, and the we score more on how well they will function within a team, and how well they will deal with customers. Most of the time we deal with people who think they are gods gifts to computers, we generally will not hire them.

We will take the lesser qualified candidate if it means we are getting someone who we think will be a team player and work with customers well.

I'd focus more on how you would answer personality and scenario based questions.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Platypus
Seems to be a wide spread here.. certs are kind of a running joke at most of the places I've worked. In fact we usually hang up fake certs for the most ridiculous shit to further accentuate it.

It seems like while you might be technical you don't have good people skills? Your post is vague so it's hard to tell.
Can you give us some examples from your interviews and how you answered the questions?

I have to say that in my experience thus far, the more certs a person had, the more useless they were. Degrees also seem to mean jack squat.

 

[Platypus]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: Platypus
Seems to be a wide spread here.. certs are kind of a running joke at most of the places I've worked. In fact we usually hang up fake certs for the most ridiculous shit to further accentuate it.

It seems like while you might be technical you don't have good people skills? Your post is vague so it's hard to tell.
Can you give us some examples from your interviews and how you answered the questions?

I have to say that in my experience thus far, the more certs a person had, the more useless they were. Degrees also seem to mean jack squat.

Exactly.

 

[Elbryn]

Originally posted by: Platypus

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: Platypus
Seems to be a wide spread here.. certs are kind of a running joke at most of the places I've worked. In fact we usually hang up fake certs for the most ridiculous shit to further accentuate it.

It seems like while you might be technical you don't have good people skills? Your post is vague so it's hard to tell.
Can you give us some examples from your interviews and how you answered the questions?

I have to say that in my experience thus far, the more certs a person had, the more useless they were. Degrees also seem to mean jack squat.

Exactly.

but the issue here is how to get your foot into the door and snag that first job. without the certs or degree to get you to the job or without past job experience in the field, how do you get in? I agree that certs are a waste of time once you have been doing the job.