Still looking for a job

[crazeeplayer]

yo bredda mi a tell u it ruff dawg.............. cuz a brethren an i basically in the same boat........ finish school last year an still cannot get a buss............ it really frustrating and the thing that sucks is that is not qualification do it but LINKS........... it such a frigign shame... half of the time those of us who have an interest an is quite capable of doing the work cannot get any job. meanwhile persons who dont have an interest but HAVE LINKS half of the time get thru. it jus sucks

[vylle]

actually, when im on the interviews, expecially the first one i think all around im improving from before.. earlier on i would get nervous and because of that i would say things im not supposed to say (im too honest for my own damn good) - but since then i havent been nervous on first interviews because i've been condition to it so many times i realize that its just them trying to get to know me so i promote and sell myself as best as possible and answer the questions as well as i can. however the part i fear the most is when they ask about skills and experience.. my skills are limited to what i've learned in school and wht i practice and i have no hands on experience in companies. so in the end even though i shine through with my personality and my qualifications are good.. my lack of work experience becomes my downfall

as a matter of fact, when i was applying to fullgram - thats what the CIO told me straight up.. that personality wise and qualification wise im a good candidate - but what other candidates had over me was that they had over a year of working experience in corporate offices

[crazeeplayer]

u tried calling any of the companies? or show up to the companies physically instead of sending letters and calling on the phone?

[vylle]

yeah, i called IBM before, COJ, wisynco, forestry departmen, LIME, digicel and 3M.. the ones i can say i physically went to are IBM, and Forestry department, carimed, Lime and some whole heep of others.. nuff walking up and down i been doing uppa new kingston when applying lol

i often visit when companies do not supply any e-mail addresses for applications and i call usually to check on the status of the application process to see if it is taken or not.

anyway right now im gunna send another resume to one of my friends who has a link, ma cousin who work uppa BOJ and check up on yet another application i sent to lime last week

[jackal]

yeah, i called IBM before, COJ, wisynco, forestry departmen, LIME, digicel and 3M.. the ones i can say i physically went to are IBM, and Forestry department, carimed, Lime and some whole heep of others.. nuff walking up and down i been doing uppa new kingston when applying lol


i often visit when companies do not supply any e-mail addresses for applications and i call usually to check on the status of the application process to see if it is taken or not.

anyway right now im gunna send another resume to one of my friends who has a link, ma cousin who work uppa BOJ and check up on yet another application i sent to lime last week

How do you prepare for your interviews? Do you google the company? Get an idea of current projects and how your skills will fit in? Do you find out just who will be sitting in the interview and their role in the organisation? That way you tailor your responses for each person. Do you look up your interviewers on any of the social networks eg linkedIn? Get an idea of their interest so that you can build a rapport during the interview. Also helps in getting an idea of the technology they use, so that you can again tailor your responses.

Do you have one version of your resume? Or is your resume tailor made for the advertised post? How does your resume read? Does it clearly state what you did and the effect it had on the organization?

So your weak on experience, have you tried to make up the slack by volunteering your services to say a non profit organization? Have you considered making contributions to various projects in you field? Do you have an online presence eg a blog that speaks about your interest? So you like networking, do you have a lab? What have you done with that lab? Share it with the rest of the world.

Are you leveraging the power of social networks eg twitter? When you do your courses, do stick around and build a rapport with the lecturer etc?

During the interview do you demonstrate a passion for for field? A genuine love for it? You would be surprised how far that go.

Just random thoughts.......

[vylle]

1. i dont go so indept as too look em up on facebook and get interests. i google the company and look to see who is in charge and who the HRM is so i at least know the name. i also do research on the position to find out a little more about the requirements. when i go in to the interview, i try to remember the names of all people on the panel. When they introduce themselves to me i'm usually told their position in the company so i know from that the type of questions they will ask - usually the HR Staff ask questions about me while Technical Staff ask questions about my competence and skill. i use as much charisma as possible in the interview when asked about myself, i let them know that im a computer geek who's interests are in a wide area in the it fields. i get them to know about me as much as possible and give them a little jokes to laugh here and there so they know im a guy who gets along with people well. cuz thats the type of guy i am.

2. i have one resume that lists out my goals, my education, my skills, my work experiences, and my references. and i update it as much as possible whenever there are new things to add but i tailor my applications to each advertised position

3. i was a part time technician for a year at a friends place of work for a year but thats about all the office experience i have.. i tried interviewing for internships all over for places like syncon and digicel but no1 has given me a shot. the only place i ever volunteered for is at JSPCA but that was nothing to do with the IT Field. from what i have experienced, the only way to be able to get into these companies for internship is by having a solid link of some sort. Right now im trying to assist a small company (ASAP Computers Enterprise) by supplying them with customers for parts and accessories and also myself for supplying the company with hard to find laptop parts. it gives me a little cash from time to time and it builds my rapport. Outside of that, i'm TECHNICALLY fresh out of school - my own lab? i cant afford my own networking equipment much less my own place! i dont blog at all cuz i dont prefer to share my ideas with colleagues and friends rather than on a public basis with strangers but i usually visit forums of interests and submit my input. like here on techJA

4. My CCNA Tutor usually talks to me about employment opportunities and stuff- he knows me as a guy who's into a wide area of interests in I.T. and he gives me solid advice and even links me on vacancies in places - sadly the two places he linked me with are out of my area- 1 is in St. James and the other was in Savana-la-mar (cya afford dat commute)

[vylle]

i created a linkedin profile - so i can use it towards getting jobs.. thanks for the tips guys

[vylle]

i applied for some jobs in the gleaner but not sure how successful i'll be (too many "sure things" have crossed my path)

still looking for a job so if anyone sees anything worthwhile i'll apply for it.. for a list of my skills and references, take a look at the link in my signature.

[willy]

in order for someone to view ur linkedin profile they have to sign up then show how they know u kinda tedious really

[vylle]

fa real.. that sux - i guess i'll change it to a link to a PDF Copy of ma resume