Here's a little background, I'm currently working for SBC in Hoffman Estates, IL (north burbs of Chicago) and I earn roughly around the high 60's to low 70's (with bonuses). However I'm looking to leave the company and get back into desktop support work again, I realize I will likely take a hit in pay but I'm prepared to deal with that if necessary. About 3-4 weeks ago I began applying for jobs over the net and sending my resume around to a couple of recruiters. In that time period I've only had one interview with a recruiter in Chicago and that's about it. I know the market is'nt as open as it used to be but I thought I would have had more responses by now. Unfortunately I don't have any degrees or certifications but I do have 10 years of IT experience and I've worked at some of the bigger companies (fortune 500) during my career. Is this just a slow time of the year for job seekers or is it because I don't have a degree or certs the reason I'm not hearing from employers?
Need a little job advice from the fellow IT professionals
- Thread starter Arkitech
- Start date
with my certs and my 15 years exp it took less than 4 days to get offered a new position with ChevronTexaco Desktop during december..
you will take a major pay hit coming back down to desktop even the highest paid desktop techs here and at my last company Oxy Petro was making only around 55k...
i make less than that.. those guys have been with the company for 10+ years to make that kinda pay as a desktop tech.
Certs WITH the experience definatly helps these days..
I have
MCSA2003 (XP Cert as well as Server2003 and DNS)
MCDST
Security+
Network+
A+
They are wanting to send me to get my Cisco certs next.. they definatly look at them these days..
but only in conjuction with experience to back them up.
Don't know your area, but near Boston I have received several unsolicted emails from recruiters/contacts about job openings. This is related to Software Engineering though (specifically .NET), so ymmv.
hmm maybe I need to go after a few certs, but that will probably take a few weeks of studying. what does it cost take the tests these days
maybe but I negotiated well when I transitioned from a contractor to a full time employee, but then again I might be at a standard pay grade considering I've been in application testing/support for the past 3 years
It depends on what type of desktop support jobs you are applying for...
The potential companies may view you as being "over qualified", and want to limit their desktop support roles to jr level personnel..
The potential companies may view you as being "over qualified", and want to limit their desktop support roles to jr level personnel..
I'm doing application support which really does'nt interest me at all. I prefer doing 2nd/3rd tier desktop support or either administration.
It's been my experience that without certs or a degree that you usually need someone on the inside to get you in. However with that kind of work experience you should have an easier time.... Maybe start with some of the easier certs like A+ and network+.... 2 weeks of study from a book and going to some websites and you should be fine. The tests do cost a couple hundred but I think they are basic desktop support certs.
This is the best time to look because everyone is now taking their year end bonuses and running away to another company.
sounds like a good idea, I think this weekend I'll hit up a few used book stores and try to find a few study manuals.
ok, maybe I just need to give it a little more time then. I better work on getting a few certs while I'm waiting
Wow, i really hate desktop support... only cert i got was the MCSE from 1998 
, did that in 6 weeks.. 1 test a week..
I think jan-march is good, most people wait for their xmas bonus and leave the company..
, did that in 6 weeks.. 1 test a week..I think jan-march is good, most people wait for their xmas bonus and leave the company..
Hiring is generally really slow during the holiday season unless a company has an immediate need. But it should start picking up now. I would say if you haven't been getting much response you may need to change your resume and / or cover letter. When sending off a resume for a particular job you need to modify your cover letter and resume to cater around the position. A lot of companies use special programs to sort through the hundreds (or thousands) of resumes they get so they scan them for key words. So when someone says their looking for someone who has worked with SMS, Altiris, Microsoft MOM, etc. make sure you put those same keywords on your resume (if you really have worked with them before).
I personally think the 4th qtr is the slowest time of the year, as far as hiring goes. I don't think it's a bad time, but I think you're headed in a bad direction. Taking a paycut to be a pc tech sounds.... wacky to me. Not only that, once you get far enough in the interview process and if they consider hiring you and ask you what you want to make, you might be in trouble if they consider your salary history(although I suppose this depends on the cost of living in your area). If the company wants you to stay, then they might think you'll leave for more money soon. If it's like a contractor gig where they don't give a sh!t, then they just won't care and offer you the usual amount.
I don't think you're not getting feedback due to lack of cert or degree(although they're certainly used as tiebreakers), but your resume might be lacking the keywords they're looking for. Or it could be that your area's dry. Who knows. I used to hit up computerjobs.com, monster, careerbuilder, dice.com, and the local newspaper, and I was pretty happy with the results.
I don't think you're not getting feedback due to lack of cert or degree(although they're certainly used as tiebreakers), but your resume might be lacking the keywords they're looking for. Or it could be that your area's dry. Who knows. I used to hit up computerjobs.com, monster, careerbuilder, dice.com, and the local newspaper, and I was pretty happy with the results.
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