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Newsletter #19 - Apr 06 2000
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WELCOME:
Welcome to our 19th edition.

A WORD FROM OUR SPONSORS:
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The Windows 2000 books are here! At 2000Tutor.com we've reviewed most of the new releases and posted our findings. Looking to learn Windows 2000? We'll tell you which books are the best to learn from. Check out the reviews at http://www.2000tutor.com/reviews

WHAT�S NEW:
We have created a brand new partnership with MCSE Live!!! We are no longer directing those of you looking for forums to "Certification Forums". MCSE Live! is the best certification message board available with helpful and knowledgeable moderators. Check them out at http://www.mcselive.com

There are now 846 tutorials listed in our Tech Tutorials section located at http://www.mcmcse.com/tech/techtutorials.shtml. In the very near future, this directory of tutorials will be searchable.

We have written a study guide for NT in the Enterprise that is available at http://www.mcmcse.com/study/ntentguide.shtml. While it is not completely proofed or finished, we wanted to make it available for those of you that are trying to qualify for the Windows 2000 upgrade exam. The finished version should be posted by the middle of this next week.

GETTING THAT I.T. JOB:
As promised in our last article entitled "A Bit of Harsh Reality", we are going to discuss strategies and methods for obtaining a job in the IT industry, particularly if this is your first attempt at obtaining a computer job. While this article is mainly directed at those that are new to the I.T. industry, seasoned veterans may also find useful information here.

If you recall from the last article, we were discussing the question, "How can I get a job with no experience". The very first step in getting your first I.T. job is believing that there are actually jobs out there that do not require experience and knowing how to sell the skills that you do have. We have found a lot of self-defeating behavior when it comes to this subject. People will apply for a few jobs and when they don�t get one of them, they give up and develop the attitude that nobody will hire them because they lack experience and that they now need to get an MCSE in order to get a job.

YOU MUST BELIEVE that you have valuable skills to offer a company. What determines whether or not you get a computer job is rarely based on computer skills alone. Everybody has experience! Maybe your experience isn�t in troubleshooting network problems, but you probably have other skills that will be considered valuable to a company that is willing to train. Accentuate those skills in your interviews and on your resume. Always remember that the way to a company�s heart is how you can better their bottom line. Before applying for a job, ask yourself this question: "How can I make/save money for this company". Remember that an interview is very much like a sales call. You are selling yourself and the company is the consumer. They want to know what they are purchasing before they hire you. Want to know what we think employers are looking for? Read this article located at http://www.mcmcse.com/study/professional.shtml.

BLANKET YOUR RESUME. Send it to every company that you can think of. Sending your resume to 5 companies probably isn�t going to get you a job, especially if you are lacking experience. Apply for at least 100 jobs per week. Need help with your resume? Check out http://www.mcmcse.com/jobs/resume.shtml.

UTILIZE YOUR CONNECTIONS. Where do your friends, family and acquaintances work? Do these businesses have I.T. departments? One of the easier ways to get a job is through someone that you know. Get in touch with the people that you know and get them to help you. Many companies offer bonuses to employees that refer new hires so your friends may be more eager to help than you expected. Make sure that you don�t let them down! Remember, they may be going out on a limb for you.

BE REALISTIC. If you are new to the industry, odds are that you will not start at $50,000 per year. You may be lucky to start at $20,000 per year. Check out help desks, 3rd party tech support companies, ISPs, etc. Don�t waste your time applying for senior level positions. Look for entry-level positions and accept the fact that you will have to pay your dues. Don�t worry this is a temporary situation. If you work hard, there is a lot of room to move up and increase your salary in this industry. I speak from experience - At my first tech job, my salary increased by $9,000 in the first year.

GET EXPERIENCE. A job isn�t the only place that you can acquire experience. Build a home computer lab and read some books. At your current position, try to become the go to person for computer problems for the people in your department. We have spoken with many people that have assumed this role at their company(usually because their I.T. department takes a while to be dispatched) and it is a great way to get a little hands on. Volunteer at a non-profit organization. Start a website. Become the computer support person for your friends and family. The point is that there are a lot of ways that you can get experience, some you can put on your resume and others you can�t. Regardless, you can certainly discuss them in an interview so turn off the television and get to work.

Enough lecturing! Now we need to give you the resources that you need to get your resume out there. Don�t just look in the newspaper classifieds - the jobs listed there represent a very, very small percentage of available jobs.

Every major city has a ton of job placement agencies. Sign up at every single one of them. You will probably find that these organizations will keep you pretty busy and are a very useful free resource for you.
Use your online resources. Applying for jobs online not only works, but save a ton of time. Check out our job database at http://www.mcmcse.com/jobs/jobs.shtml to get started with your online job search. If you are looking for your first job, try keywords such as entry-level, help desk, tech support, call center, MCP(if you have one), beginner and junior level. If you don�t find what you are looking for here, there are dozens of major employment websites out there.
Check out your local Department of Labor. They will usually have quite a few job listings and often provide other free resources.
Keep your eyes peeled for job fairs.
If these resources don�t keep you busy enough, start popping into companies that you would like to work for and drop off your resume. It is helpful if you can do a little research beforehand and find out who is actually in charge of hiring. Give them a call or when dropping off your resume, ask if you can speak with them briefly and introduce yourself. It will make you stand out in their mind when they are reviewing resumes.

If this has been useful for at least 1 person, then our work is done here.

Good luck!!!

SURVEY RESULTS:
Our most recent question asked, "What was your first job in the IT industry?" Let�s take a look at the results:
31% Help desk
11% Call center tech support
31% Hardware tech
7% Data Entry/Service
2% Web Development
18% Other

The real point of this survey was to give those of you that are new to the industry an idea of where people start. You can see that 80% of those listed here started off in positions that are typically considered entry-level. These are the types of jobs that you should be looking at if you are new to the industry.

There were 767 respondents.

Jason Sprague
MC MCSE
http://www.mcmcse.com

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