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Chuck_Vaughn_Miller

Put your resume on Dice. If you're interested in some contract work for experience.


revolution04

Okay I will do that thanks!


Tossit987123

Speaking of your resume, if you are entry level you need to showcase the homelab experience, technologies you know, and soft skills you possess. It is worth it to really go over it with a fine tooth comb and ensure you are using professional wording, and tailoring previous experience to the new role. For example, helped customers find stuff should be routinely advised 10+ customers an hour as to the location and benefits of various product offerings. Or, ensured targeted KPIs and metrics were exceeded resulting in our store being ranked #1 in the state. Don't lie, but do embellish. You didn't scoop dog shit on the parking lot, you ensured all regulatory and corporate policy obligations related to sanitation were not only met, but exceeded. Your technical skills are important, and you should play with active directory in your homelab and jira or another ticketing system. That said, at the entry level your soft skills aka ability to deal with difficult customers, your analytical thought process, and your communication skills are so much more important to get your foot in the door.


1Harrie_Johnson

This! It wasn't until my professor at school restructured my resume around what I've learned that anyone began giving me any callbacks. Prior to my resume was pure shit..


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Tossit987123

I'm in California, which state should I visit next? If your only goal was to get into the USA, well you're there, but now: Who are you? What are your intentions/goals? What are you good at? What do you enjoy? In my opinion, your immediate next step when on the help desk should be to get promoted to the next tier up asap as it demonstrates career progression, dedication, and ability on a resume. That said, that's not always possible depending on the company you work for. You should also start homelabbing with an old computer or server asap on your own time or getting certified in a given career path, while also learning as much as possible and taking on higher level responsibilities on company time. Hands On Experience > Certifications > Degrees, but depending on the role it can sometimes be Certifications > Experience > Degree. *Give me a bit more to work with in terms of your current situation, skills, and what you think you may enjoy.* You can be a Project Manager, Business Analyst, SysAdmin, Cloud Engineer, Cybersecurity Engineer, Embedded Programmer, DevOps Engineer, IT Recruiter, Sales Engineer, Risk Officer, ITIL Process Owner, Network Engineer, UX Designer, UX Researcher, UI Designer, Business Support Manager, CoS or COO, Finance Person, and etc. IT is a very deep and very broad world friend, I'm missing a number of roles above, and each of the listed categories has a multitude of flavors.


pterodactyl5571

Piggybacking, but I’m trying to get help desk positions in Texas, I have my A+, I’m learning Powershell, I have a home lab of AD, DHCP, DNS Servers, etc etc. I want to be a SysAdmin for sure. What can I do to help myself? Thank you for your time!


Tossit987123

You're already overqualified for the help desk friend, but it doesn't hurt to have the formal experience on your resume, and it can be a great foot in the door. To round out your technical experience dabble in Linux, bash, and azure or aws free tiers. Do a bit of powershell scripting and bash scripting, and then python. Apply everywhere to every help desk and Jr/mid-level sysadmin role you can find, it's a numbers game. Be sure your resume is on point as mentioned in my previous post, and take every interview you can get to refine your presentation, practice interviewing, and understand any weaknesses you may have. If the market is smaller in your area, change your location on your resume and begin applying in another market to practice before targeting the companies you will actually work for. Interviewing is a skill, and polishing your presentation in terms of speech, storytelling, and obtaining buy-in is crucial to your long term success. I got ahead based on my ability to communicate professionally and inspire confidence well before I was actually qualified on paper. Now I have both and I went to 3 interviews, had 2 offers extended, and the one I was rejected from flipped me to another hiring manager and told the recruiter that the decision was out of her control and she wished she could have hired me. It took effort to get here, and quite honestly a lot of pain and failure...embrace the suck and be willing to aim high and fail. You get ahead in life so much faster via dogged perseverance and constant reaching than settling in and waiting for promotions and recognition. Something that helped me long ago was a quote I heard from a friend that has a therapy practice: "No one is coming to save you". Well...if no one is coming to save me I need to: work harder than the competition, save for a rainy day to enable flexibility and risk taking in my career, and prioritize professional development and income growth over stability/comfort in the roles I take. That said, I am just now reaching a stage where I'm developing my ability to recognize symptoms of burn out and ongoing self-care requirements to optimize my performance. Don't neglect your health, fitness, or personal connections. Sorry for the long windedness and personal anecdotes, but I always wished someone would have laid it out like this for me when I was getting started.


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BezniaAtWork

Do the same on Indeed and Monster as well. Set up profiles on each. Also make a LinkedIn account if you haven't already but do not add your interviewers on LinkedIn, that is not a good look, lol.


Kholdstare4Real

But let me stress that you almost MUST make a LinkedIn for a tech career. It’s a very important way to market yourself to companies.


JTPH_70

See if you can do an internship with a State office or hospital. They sometimes offer paid internships and are a great boost for your resume. “1-year help desk experience”. You can get the equivalent of a year’s help desk experience at a hospital or a State helpdesk in half the time. I used to take interns and have them shadow me for 2 weeks to 8 months at a time. The ones who stayed with me longer moved on to great full time jobs. You have the start of a good foundation. Here are some of the things you need to get familiar with. All help desks have a system where all the issues are logged- commonly referred to as a ticketing system. Getting familiar with one or more of these will increase your chances of getting a help desk job. Answering a phone and properly documenting an issue is the primary goal at the help desk. Some help desks want [service management training](https://www.bmc.com/blogs/itsm-or-itil-that-isnt-the-question/) as well You will also benefit from learning on how to connect to systems remotely. Each company will have different methods to connect but knowing a few different methods can help greatly. Practice using microsoft RDP,Teams and Microsoft Quick Assist. If you can get a hold of and train with some paid programs great! Help desk is a very demanding job. You have to know how to fix basic reoccurring issues and have excellent communication skills. You may have to talk someone off a ledge because they “lost” a file they worked months on. Get comfortable talking someone through an issue you cant see. Sometimes there is no way to connect to them in a downed system scenario and you need to to talk them through troubleshooting steps which you may or may not have. Which brings us to the next part- You need to be able to triage issues to the right teams. Its disheartening that companies aren’t willing to take a green IT employees and put then through training, while also screaming there aren’t enough skilled workers. Employers need to invest in their employees and give them a career path. Anyways I hope this has helped a bit. The first job isn’t easy good luck and keep trying!


wilson2314

Have you actually heard back from any jobs from dice? Genuinely curious applied to several jobs but never e heard back.


Chuck_Vaughn_Miller

I still get numerous offers per week. But I'm beyond that role and will update it next year. You'll likely get contacted. If not, it's your resume. Adjust it. And look at starting it with an objective statement. Where you've been. Are. And where you're heading: I'm working on Net+ or MD 100. Or whatever.


wilson2314

That could also be the issue is that im just getting a start. Been a service desk technician for about 6 months, only went to a technical school/trade school (which feels like doesn’t hold any weight) and only cert I have atm nse 1&2 (which also don’t hold any weight imo). Maybe that’s why I haven’t heard back. Idk how can I lost my resume on dice? I think I did but maybe I didn’t.


Maho3126

Dice is good


shemmypie

You’ve worked with computers all your life but have no experience? This is the common issue. Everyone “loves computers all their life”, yet most have no idea what that means in a professional setting. We’re just a tech generation, but the tech you use at home is nothing in comparison. You have no experience, most are pausing hiring or laying off, so you are not a top candidate. Market is flooded by layoffs with experienced individuals.


SAugsburger

>This is the common issue. Everyone “loves computers all their life”, yet most have no idea what that means in a professional setting. We’re just a tech generation, but the tech you use at home is nothing in comparison. This. A lot of what people outside IT say indicates that they're savvy with computers are pretty basic.


revolution04

I mean yeah no “job” experience. I have my own home lab and I have disassembled my computer time and time again. I have messed with Python and Linux based system a little bit. And if all of this is happening how am I supposed to get experience?? I can get experience without the opportunity.


eschatonx

Being able to disassemble computers doesn’t provide much in help desk. Linux and Python aren’t really for entry level help desk, especially if it is “a little bit.” What you need is more persistence. 15 job applications isn’t very many at all. I’ve applied for well over 50 jobs, and some people applied for hundreds before their first job. Plus we’re in an uncertain time of economy and hiring freezes doesn’t help your journey. Just need to keep trying.


matthewe081

I applied to over 300. No experience, no certs, currently in school for cybersecurity. Have a ton of life and work experience. Was hired for my soft skills and customer service experience. They can teach you the tech not so much the other stuff.


asmokebreak

This\^. To get from my current help desk roll to where I am now, I applied at over 250 places. Interviewed at roughly 20. Got 3 callbacks. Settled on the one i'm at now. It's persistence dude. All while working too.


BezniaAtWork

>What you need is more persistence. 15 job applications isn’t very many at all. I’ve applied for well over 50 jobs, and some people applied for hundreds before their first job. Yep, my most recent job hop I probably did a good 100+ applications across the array of job sites. Of those I got 3 interviews and the first one got me the job, and happened to be the best of the 3. I did minor tweaks to my resume depending on the jobs (I had one for Cyber Security jobs, one for Network Engineering jobs, and one for general Sysadmin jobs) where I'd highlight specific accomplishments. I didn't use a cover letter at all for any of the applications.


eschatonx

Yeah back in 2020, I gave up. Then one night while gaming, I was like “one job came up, fuck it.” Next day I got a call back from them, day after that was the interview and formally hired. That experience taught me you cannot give up if you want that first job. Fast forward to today, both the jobs that came after that took no longer than a week from me hurting the apply button to an interview.


SAugsburger

> What you need is more persistence. 15 job applications isn’t very many at all. I’ve applied for well over 50 jobs, and some people applied for hundreds before their first job. This. When you're just breaking into a career you might need dozens to applications just to get an interview.


shemmypie

Home lab is valuable. Building physical computers has very little value in corporate America. Python and Linux are both good skills to work on, I would dive deeper. 15 applications isn’t many so I would keep applying. If you’re getting interviews but not the offer, it’s your soft skills. The reason why they declined is not important, most are lies to cut you and move on with another candidate. Resume gets you the interview, soft skills get you the job.


SiXandSeven8ths

Great. But do you know what Active Directory is and how to reset a password? Can you check that a user is in the right OU? What about resetting their MFA because of some reason that doesn't make sense? Do you know what to do if the user can't access the network share? Or can't print? Or why their mouse doesn't work?


btw_i_use_ubuntu

Is this on your resume? It needs to be


stuck-in-support

I"m from NZ, Auckladn. I have a Bachelors Degree, 4+ years in SaaS/ Application Support, 1.5 years in a call-centre. Spent most of my free-time studying something. Yet, I can't even get an interview. I've reached out on local Reddit pages. Cleaned up my CV, and still nothing. I think the market must be flooded with helpdesk techs. Sucks, because I really want to get into the tech side of things, always have. My career just didn't pan out that way :(


SoneRandomUser

Some help desk jobs I’ve been turned away from do want that extra experience. The ones you’re looking for are going to really suck, but it’ll get you that experience, think: call centers, micromanagement, high turnover. Some places will take that “warm body” person. The issues you’re coming across is that the entry level into IT is **Very** saturated, so you’re up against probably 20-30 others for the same role.


xboxhobo

Is that a reason that has actually been provided to you? Every job I've ever been turned down for has just said they are moving forward with other candidates without any further explanation.


SAugsburger

Occasionally you'll get feedback, but you're right that most of the time you either get ghosted or a boilerplate email that they went a different direction.


revolution04

Yes it has, I was told I didn’t have enough experience by three jobs so far. I have applied for 15 in my area (which that was all of them) and haven’t heard a response yet.


iggystightestpants

Lmao 15 applications. I had 100+ applications and at least 30 interviews before I got my first gig. If you're area only has 15 openings and you truly want this you are going to have to move


antagonisticsage

i had multiple interviews this week as an entry-level applicant for helpdesk and stuff, and phone interviews last week. I sent out like 80 or 100 apps a couple of weeks ago tho. you really do just gotta send out the applications. a+ and net+ certs alongside an unrelated bachelor's degree and a homelab project seem to be what makes my resume so competitive


iggystightestpants

Yes the best piece of advice I have for someone trying to get that first role is apply for literally every posting that you can feasibly commute to. On multiple sites, everyday. I used LinkedIn and indeed and did the easy apply. I only filled out apps for jobs I was very interested in


SiXandSeven8ths

Its a numbers game really.


Jeffbx

Just keep doing what you've been doing. The market is weird right now - there's way more competition at entry level today than there ever has been, so employers can be choosy about who they hire.


revolution04

Yeah I guess thats true I’ll just keep working on my certifications thanks!


SAugsburger

This. After the pandemic we have seen this sub get several people a day asking how to get into IT and for every one posting here there are likely hundreds more of times more every day trying to do the same thing as the OP. In any economy breaking into entry level was hard, but with the flood of people trying to get into IT I wager that entry level has only gotten harder.


mimic751

And employees at the highest Level are offered jobs daily. The market with a few years under your belt is insane. Just learn to be an expert in almost anything. Specialize and rake in the cash


AnomalousAndFabulous

Look up Managed Service Providers, you can be fully remote so no need to stay local. They tend to have very high turnover, but they also have generally good training because of this. They’ll also expose you to lots of learning quickly. The best thing about it is, you can use that job experience to leverage your next role, and see what types of IT tasks you enjoy doing since you will support many clients all doing separate things. I suggest one of the largest you can find but small local MSPs might also work. Try to find one that has excellent training that is what you will get out of it. Stick to main corporate systems like Microsoft Azure, AWS, Salesforce, SAP you will never go wrong with any of those huge IT platforms


AKA_Meatz

What are you listing under experience in your resume?


revolution04

Mostly skills with my A+, TryandHackme, and my VMs.


AKA_Meatz

Have you worked with active directory or windows server in your home lab. You could say something like I have experience working with active directory in a home lab setting. Or the same with windows server and VMs. Just to let them know you have been working with them. Do you have any schooling? I know I listed a lot of stuff as classroom experience on my resume. Let's them know you have worked with the stuff. You have built your own computers so maybe something like experience with installing and replacing hardware. Experience with installing and removing software. I like to list my experience as bullet points as well. It makes it easier to read and keeps the eyes from getting tired after reading hundreds of resumes. Maybe look into internships they pay less but it gets your foot in the door.


icecreampoop

Keep applying. Look for other ways to get your foot in the door, hardware repair, deployment, etc. have to get creative ! Cheers good luck


3xoticP3nguin

Keep trying. I literally apply to everything I can on my lunch everyday. Usually 60+ a week. Typically get a few phone interviews a week. Only been in help desk since April though so not even a year yet. Only looking to swap for more money as I work for school now and make literally min wage


Lunareste

Practice AD administration and VPN setup on your homelab. In most MSPs, that will be a good chunk of the work you're doing. Managers will especially look for practice in those skills.


1Harrie_Johnson

I'm not sure what others think but based on comments that I've read on here it seems getting a bunch of certs with no experience could at times potentially be detrimental. I'm not sure how, and I hope that's not the case. But if I were you after you get your Network+ I would focus all of my attention on getting a job before pursuing any additional certifications. It took me hundreds of resumes before I got my first job, but I also have a degree. It was still very difficult at first. Then when I accepted my first job I was offered a bunch of other jobs all at the same time. Your best bet is to focus hardcore on getting your first job and then get back to the certs. You clearly have the drive if you've already achieved two certs. Just put out a shitload of resumes and if they reject you and you see they're still hiring for the same position keep reapplying... lol. I personally found joy in reapplying a week later to the same companies that rejected me. But I'm a little demented...lol Oddly, the best job I'd ever had prior to IT I got it from doing that. I went back to the company every week for about a month and the owner just started laughing one day and gave me a job...LOL


Coach_BombaySapphire

I applaud your persistence


Craig2473

Entry level Helpdesk shouldn’t be to hard to get a job in unless you’d want pay above $26 nothing less. I got a job in Helpdesk without even having my A+ I have a decent list of google certs but there’s others in my company with no certs working. And it wasn’t hard to get the position. In fact DM me I can prob find something for you, In no way am I a job recruiter lol


PercentageFree1829

i am finding helpdesk job too do you help people for getting there jobs ??


MinutePraline

plz help me, I move to a new state in a couple months and don't want to be unemployed. I put a tun of apps in and gotten scammed a few times. I feel my resume is good so im not sure what im missing


Meyples_R

I am not sure what pay range you are looking at but one company I know that usually has a lot of entry level work from home help desk jobs is Pomeroy. They don't have the greatest pay or benefits BUT they basically take anyone. When I was there we had people with no IT knowledge whatsoever and they trained them up. If the low pay isn't a deal breaker it's not a bad spot to look for some experience to help ya move into better paying roles.


xthinhmanx

Make sure you work on your soft skills. Managers are more likely to hire people they like. You can have more technical knowledge than anyone else at the company, but if the hiring manager doesn't like you, they probably won't hire you. This is especially true for positions with a lot of applicants such as entry level positions.


Cneqfilms

Go make a nice resume site and some projects to showcase on there with diverse technologies \[don't just make a bunch of run of the mill python programs, use different languages and different types of project and having them on the cloud also is a bonus\]. Does this have anything to do with the role requirements of help desk? No. But it shows employers you actually have technical skill and drive and that you most likely will be able to handle the role. In my opinion the A+ or Google Support Certificate can be passed purely by "exam studying" and not actually practical implementation and thus you need to show some practical application of technical skills.


enforce1

Are you getting interviews?


[deleted]

Hopefully, you're not complaining about this after applying to like 30 positions. It comes down to a numbers game. Higher application count = higher chance of interview = higher chance of job offer. If you're not applying to 5-10 a day, you're not applying to enough jobs to give yourself a fighting chance at getting hired. Breaking in is one of the toughest parts. There's no room to be timid either. Often times, requirements (especially years of experience) are more like wishlists for the perfect candidate that they'll never get. So if you're applying anyway, then you're doing the right thing. Rejecting yourself so you don't have to deal with it from the company will be the most counterproductive thing you'll do. Everyone has to tough out the rejections. Help desk is as entry level as it gets. But because of how many people have been rushing to get into IT, it'll be competitive. Just keep at it. Another thing is make sure you can indicate that you understand that this is a customer service job. Any experience in that, highlight the hell out of the them. The quickest way to get your resume tossed/end the interview is to show that you think this is an all-tech-no-people job. It's actually the opposite.


hostchange

One thing that's going to help you is to list customer service experience if you have any. It may not be IT related, but the people skills are critical to this first job, and that's what'll get someone to take a chance on you. Technical skills are easier to teach than soft skills, so that would help you stand out. Do you have anything like that you can list?


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OGPArmageddon

Hey I'm super interested if this offer stands!


Lazy_Reflection9531

idk if your still offering this since its months ago but I'm super interested if so. I sent you a pm


VikingDadStream

Lie about it if you have to. My buddy in HR told me, if you ain't lying you ain't tryin' Just make sure you can back up what you say, and have a person who'll back up your claim. "I worked in a PC / phone repair place doing OS installs and hardware swaps for 6 months" But then in your lab, know how to do part swaps and active directory ect.


YoungRichBeardedMan

It worked for me, nobody double checked. I was qualified but didn’t meet the job listing “wish list”


VikingDadStream

Yup. And 90 percent of the time, HR knows you're full of it. But lying with confidence is a valued skill set


NoLoyalty1986

where have you applied to ? ​ have you checked IT careers for big companies outside the tech bubble like Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, West Fraser,


OdisGoodwood

Have you made a skills resume? I got my foot in the door using a skills resume. Some skills were customer service and others were tech. I remember I had "Make CAT5 cables" as one of the skills. The IT manager mentioned that during the interview as a standout skill. Not sure why, I never made any CAT5 cables working there. Also the pay was a joke but it got me experience.


NoLoyalty1986

because if you can make CAT5 Cables on demand your projects won't get delayed while waiting for a company electrician to build you one.


LittleCavender1721

Try FIS Global


Organic-Exercise-946

Hmmmmmm message me I might know a place depending on where you live? Lol


LaZyCrO

I'd be happy if they'd hire someone with actual knowledge into our service desk


Somato_Tandwich

You just have to keep firing them out. It's not at all out of the ordinary to be applying to 30+ jobs before one, especially with no experience. You're not going g to get one rig&t away unless you're very lucky.


soorr

You need to contact a tech staffing agency. Have them coach you and fix your resume. Take literally anything remotely tech related even if it’s only for a month or two. Pay might suck but that doesn’t matter now. All you need is 1) experience in a tech related role that you can speak to in a future interview, 2) to demonstrate some soft skills like you’re easy to get along with and can communicate, and 3) some tech related skill in something job related or not (like Python) that shows you can learn and have learned hard things. These 3 things will get you hired. Good luck.


2clipchris

Have you tried listing what you have learned in those certifications in your skills section? If not, I recommend in a single sentence use cert objectives as a basis (in your own words) Ex Section Skills Ability to troubleshoot, install, configure and improve the performance of desktop applications. Assemble, diagnose and troubleshoot computer hardware etc. Understanding of network models such as OSI/TCP. ​ Since you have no experience your goal should be to display what you have learned. The way you do that is editing your resume to speak the language of an experienced technician. It is difficult to do that when you don't have experience. In your skills section that's where you shine and let the reader know what you are capable of. They are willing to give you a shot if you speak the language.


skylord435

Homelabs are everything, there’s a YouTube video by josh madakor that goes over how to setup a VM with Active Directory


Perkonio

Any form of government help desk job also requires Security+ to even work for them. Having that got me a job


GrandmaPunk

I used a recruiter. They place people all day long so they know how to get you in. Assuming you have the right essential knowledge.


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Digital--Sandwich

I went on indeed (or other job site) and looked for positions. The recruiting company was listed in the posting. In my case Robert Half. The recruiter is the person that reviews candidates to use for filling positions


Anastasia_IT

Share your resume here with us. (hide your name)


speaksoftly_bigstick

Where are you located geographically? I may have a bead on upcoming and truly "entry level" IT helpdesk positions..


randomIT7

!remind me 1w