Jimeni: CCNA Passed, Now Job?
# 01 Jimeni
I passed my CCNA in May, I’ve been in Tech support for seven years now but I’ve been working for myself for the last four years. I spent three months studying for the exam and now hope to move into networking in an organisation.
I’m really enthusiastic about learning new things and getting going down this new path but it seems getting a job is easier said than done.
I’ve applied for plenty but I think being self employed may be putting people off. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get my foot in the door? I’m thinking of writing letters to some companies to ask for work experience, it obviously means more time with no wages but it might get me the experience required. Any ideas on the types of companies? Just any large company with a Network?
# 02 Rickey
I’d keep hunting. I know one thing that helped me is I sought out everyone I knew of to try to get something started. I used all the online tools to help find employers seeking employees in my area. I would definitely seek out people to volunteer. That would definitely boost your rep to another company when they see you volunteered to learn the stuff. I ended up just getting a normal IT job, but in the interview process I showed that I had excellent networking skills so from the get go I was thrown projects with networking every now and then. It always helps to wear multiple hats.
# 03 Scottyyyc
I was in a similar position several years ago. I just treated my own company as any other company as far as listing experience on my resume. There shouldn’t really be much about it that turn people off otherwise.
Keep in mind, despite everyone’s best intentions, the whole global economy thing is a big issue right now. The fact of the matter is that just about everything has slowed down a bit, and most company’s are being very cautious hiring. I’m in a pretty strong economy in Western Canada, and things are still a little slow. I’ve noticed about 1/2 to 1/3 as many job postings as compared to a year or two ago.
Just keep plugging at er. Remember, try to differentiate yourself on your resume. Don’t just list the kinds of things you ‘did’, mention all of the innovations you brought to the table, and the things that changed as a result of your individual efforts. You really have to go that extra mile in selling yourself. Simply mentioning you installed this, and setup that, isn’t enough right now.
# 04 dmolfetas
Some good advice was posted already. Have you visited any job fairs in your area ? Is the available time being used for pursuing an additional certification ?
Also, consider creating a profile on an online networking site if you don’t already have one.
I, too, am also available for immediate hire which gives me an excellent opportunity to continue studies in R&S through the CCNP.
# 05 Jimeni
Thanks for the good advice everyone, its good to hear other people have been in the same shoes. I’m using my time to study for my MCSA and ITIL foundation. Its not being wasted but I’ll be sure to get on and try to do some volunteer work, would an ISP be a good start? I’ve seen a few offering networking jobs requiring experience and I’ve started asking them if they have any more junior positions or if I could do some work experience.
I’ll keep and it and try to keep my chin up, I just really want to ‘Dive in’ and get working ASAP. I’m certain if I got an interview my passion and work ethic would get someone interested I’m just struggling to get to that stage.
I’ve just joined linked in so I’ll see how that goes. I feel like going for a CCNP without networking experience may not be the best idea so thats why I’m trying to get my Microsoft Cert and then hopefully move back to Cisco if I can land a networking job in between.
Thanks so much for the advice any more would be much appreciated!
