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A thorough all-out guide to help you land your dream job as a computer technician or IT professional. It covers everything from proper training, to writing and attractive resume, and passing your interview with flying colors.
This guide is for the many people that love computers, love thinking, and love figuring things out. Any computer-related job from a low-level computer technician to a 6-figure IT professional will always be challenging. It's the true "nerds" like us that love having a challenge, love having a new puzzle to solve each and everyday at work, and best of all...we make other people's lives better. People like us keep business, schools, communication, and people's sanity together. With every fix that we provide, our knowledge increases and a happiness also grows from within us, satisfied with our ability to make things work. There is nothing like pounding your head for a week only to finally figure it out and go, "A-HA!" But there's more to the computer career than you think, people in the computer career are usually paid nice comfortable salaries and hold respectable positions. NOBODY, ever messes with the IT guy. You have your own job and you are usually your own boss. Even when you do have a boss, he or she is not standing over your shoulder the whole day and monitoring you. Most computer jobs leave you alone to work at your desk in whatever style you like. Computer jobs range from the network techies, to the programming code-monkeys, to security and software consultants. There's also the graphics and architectural design field, web marketing, phone support technician. Whatever job that exists in the outside world can be translated into a job dealing with computers. Computers make EVERYTHING and even LIFE easier to do. By being flexible and willing to learn, you can enhance your skills and diversify your talents. On to landing a job. Step 1: LEARN - Be knowledgeable. You don't have to be an expert. You have to be able to sound like you know what you're doing. You also must be good at learning things ON THE SPOT! If you're not good at poking around with new software and learning how to work with things in 5 minutes, maybe a job as an IT guy or computer tech isn't for you. This doesn't mean the computer career in general, it just means you shouldn't be a computer problem-solver. For most IT professionals and computer tech jobs, your experience should cover the Comptia's A+ and Network+ material. And by that, I mean only the relevant part of it. You don't really have to be Microsoft Certified. You simply have to be experienced, knowledgeable and ready to learn more as needed. Most importantly, you must have basic skills like learning how to use Google to search up and solve error messages and finding solutions to problems. Step 2: DISCOVER - yourself. Find where you fit in. Just because you can replace a hard drive in a laptop doesn't mean you're destined to be a electrician with a soldering iron. Try different things and see what interests you the most. If you can't figure that out, pick a job that pays you the best, and move down to the next best paying computer job if you hate your first choice. Step 3: LIFESTYLE - what kind of lifestyle do you like to lead? There are many different choices of lifestyles. Computer techs and IT people come in 4 flavors: a) "The Field Technician" or "field engineer"; this guy is the equivalent of the handyman in the computer world. These people like to be out and about and have a new challenge and environment everyday. They are generally more social and enjoy meeting new people and staying out of the routine work. Field technicians are usually paid on 1099 status and have the most flexible schedules that allow them to work whenever they want. Field techs are not the least intelligent of the bunch, they are often the most intelligent. Big IT companies are known to send out the lowest guys and to support them by phone help from the headquarters while small IT companies usually send out their best guys as often as possible. b) "The Code Monkey"; this nickname belongs to all the crazy programmers out there. They LOVE sitting at a desk and solving long lists of code by use of logical thinking, mind-organization, and mathematical skills to make them the best coders possible. They are usually at home or in an office all day long and work long solid hours without leaving their seat. c) "The Consultant"; I also call these guys the middlemen. They are usually the ones picking up the cellphone and smooth-talking to the clients. Once a deal is landed and a service appointment or work contract is made, they outsource the work to someone else and send somebody else out to actually do the work. Consultants are usually on the phone 24/7 and constantly emailing and talking to a potential client looking to land a big deal. d) "The Designer"; this nickname applies to web-designers and graphics designers. Just like the Code Monkeys, they also sit in the same chair for long hours at a time to finish up a project. Their pay is highly dependent on the clients they are able to land and being trustworthy and reliable by finishing projects ON-TIME to the CLIENT'S SATISFACTION. Designers have absolutely no schedule whatsoever and top level ones are often working from home and their own leisure. e) "The IT Manager"; IT managers are often the older more mature and management type material. They are management guys that help train and support the lower levels are usually the least knowledgeable about the type of job they are actually managing for. They are usually picked for their position because of their versatility and broad knowledge of the business as well as being with the company for a long time. That's not to say that IT managers don't have to keep up with the technology, I'm only claiming that they don't always have to know how to do a specific job step by step. Step 4: UNDERSTANDING - your employers and the job. To be the right candidate for a job, you must understand the job and how to do it. If you never had that type of computer job before than you must understand your boss or employer. These two are some of the most important things when it comes to getting a computer job or ANY job. This understanding alone can get you promoted so pay attention.
Small Companies - what defines a small company. Is it the size of the building or number of employees? I prefer to think of it as the attitude. Do you know who your boss is? Are you within range of the owner of the company? Do you know the person who writes your paycheck? If the answer to these questions is yes, your company works like a small company. Some small companies can have 50 employees and yet the owner still has time to stop by and check up on you. If you plan on working for a small company, here are the guidelines:
1 - The decision-maker is close to you. This means you can get fired quickly.
2 - There is more micro-management. This means you are monitored better. The nice part about small companies is that you MUST get along with everyone around you. The work environment is usually less corporate-feeling and more down to earth with a joking mood (depending on your boss and managers of course). Because small companies are more personable, you can get fired or kept on aboard just by being a cool person to hang around with.
3. Small companies are big on being personal. They care about upholding the reputation of a being a friendly and personable company. 4. Small companies don't have strict guidelines or procedures. They are more relaxed and allow you to use your own style as long as it works. Big Companies - In sharp contrast to a small company, a big company is where you can hide in your own office and cubicle and be lazy and nobody will ever notice. Employees are looked upon more as numbers than people. You won't have a friendly relationship with the people above and you will probably never meet your boss. 1. Being in a big company may make it easier to get promoted for many people. The wage goes up after each year or specific length of time and you can even get promoted just by the company losing someone in a position above you. 2. Big companies care more about results and numbers. 3. Strict guidelines and rules. Big companies don't have time to micro-manage and special instructions for every employee. Therefore, they ask that every employee do things all the same way. These procedures may take longer and seem ridiculous but it makes sense in the long run. What Employers Want:
1. Someone who is profitable! -
Don't tell an employer how much you love your job. Tell them how their company will profit by hiring you! They don't care about how you are over-qualified. Instead of saying, "I held 50 different jobs all related to computers and the IT field. I can type 95wpm, I know how to use all programs, do everything.. BLAH BLAH BLAH", say "I was a employee at BCD Technologies responsible for testing software. I keep bad software from being sold about 5-10 times a week and because of that, our company had a retention rate of 95% with repeat clients and my company's profits increased by 400% during my employment there of 2 years." 2. Someone who can learn the job - Although most employers will hire you on the spot if you say, "I've worked for [direct competitor company] for 5 years and had to move so I'm looking to fulfill the same position because I do it well, this isn't necessary.
Most employers will hire you if they really like you and you show the capacity and willingness to learn your position! Most employers will love people who are willing to learn. Employees that are willing to learn new skills are indispensable because you can put them anyway! In the computer field, a flexible IT engineer is priceless because you can use him to solve any problem! An employee that can do 5 jobs in the company will never be let go! 3. Someone who is punctual - Employers pay by the hour and they must have someone who is reliable and there on time to work when the company starts working. Showing up late 10 minutes everyday is a great way to get yourself fired. Be on time, it's a part of being a grown up and responsible for yourself, best of all, it SHOWS that you want to do your job. Step 5: RESUME and SELLING YOURSELF - One of the biggest tasks of landing a job is writing an attractive resume. Your resume must be easy to read and fulfill the needs of the employer. The second part is to make sure the resume gets in the hand of the right person instead of a pile of resumes that never get looked at. Here are the MOST IMPORTANT rules to writing a successful resume. 1. Eye-scan-able - the resume must be scan-able. What this means is that somebody should be able to quickly pick up your resume and scan through it and decide within 5 seconds whether or not you are the right candidate for the job. Try as hard as you can to make your resume only 1 page. Your resume should be split into sections with main keywords bolded and or underlined. Don't have big clumping paragraphs. It makes your resume hard to scan and the employer will not be able to read the main points about yourself. Pick 3 great points about yourself and sell on it. Don't try to list 100 reasons about why you are so great. 2. Keep it Short - Again, this is part of making it "eye scan-able". But basically, you do not want to bore your employer about how you've loved computers ever since you were 5. Nobody cares, really. Everyone filling out a resume is going to show off their giant list of qualifications, DON'T DO THIS! employers don't care about how qualified you are, they just want to know if you can do the job or if you are willing to learn the job.
3. Employers only care about 5 things. FRIENDLY-PROFESSIONAL-EXPERIENCED-PUNCTUAL-WILLING TO LEARN (make sure you list this). They want somebody professional in appearance and friendly enough to handle the customers, experienced and punctual to have the knowledge to solve the problem ON-TIME reliably, and willing to learn new things to grow with the company and take up other positions and jobs.
4. Talk about profit, most employers really only care about how they can justify your paycheck with the profit/productivity that you bring in - talk about how you can SAVE the company money instead of costing them money. Tell them how your organization skills will get a lot of work done in less time and so forth.
5. Have key examples of what you did at your previous jobs. Have this list memorized in your head. This way when an employer asks you what you did at your last computer job or your experiences with computers, you don't get stuck and say something like, "Oh, ummm...using Windows and installing drivers and stuff like that." You should quickly let out, "I've setup many home networks, configured routers, made registry edits, backed up systems, fixed printer problems, and removed viruses and spyware. Etc..."
6. When emailing your job application, AVOID attaching it in a word format, instead do a SCREEN SNAPSHOT using "print-screen" or program and attach it in the email as a picture. This saves employers that extra click to look at your resume!
7. Mention only relevant employment experiences. Don't talk about your summer work at Vons Supermarket if you're applying for the Geek Squad at BestBuy. You can make a brief mention about Vons during your interview to show that you can work long hours and be on time if needed.
Step 6: THE INTERVIEW - You really have to screw it up to blow this one. 1. If you're in the waiting room, talk to the receptionist and be friendly, many employers ask the receptionists to monitor the interviewee's behavior in the waiting room (don't put your feet on the table and talk unprofessionally on your cellphone while you wait!) 2. If the position is a low-level one, don't BS the employer by making it sound like a prestigious job you can't wait to do. 3. TURN OFF YOUR CELLPHONE DURING INTERVIEW 4. Research the job position, and during the interview, explain that you know how the job works and you know what is expected for you to do. If you have worked with a competitor company before, mention it and show that you know how to do things correctly. 5. Keep the interview from becoming an interrogation. ASK questions yourself to show that you are really interviewing the job yourself. It shows that you really care about fitting for the job and that it's not just about money. 6. Avoid talking about irrelevant side stories unless your employer initiates it. Some people talk too much or they ramble on when they are nervous. 7. Avoid saying Uhhh.. Umm... or making verbal pauses. If you have to stop and think, simply shut your mouth, don't make any noise, think, and then speak or continue your sentence when you are ready. This makes you sound much more professional and experienced. Another note is that if you are a young college student, saying "uhh" or "umm" makes you sound REALLY immature and inexperienced. So practice not doing that.
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