Forgot how bad job searching was :(

So you set up your own home server and played around with your own domain? That counts toward something still!

Yeah you don't "need" to have experience to start 1st line because you will most likely receive training anyway but you'll be relying on the script and just end up sounding robotic before passing the issue on to another level if you can't deal with it which annoys the user or customer you're supporting.

That's why I mentioned having some ground experience helps a lot but again, not all places are the same!
 
So if you don't know the issue you simply escalate to a 2nd line support?

Are these jobs demanding? Or does no people higher up the chain of command keep an eye on you and expect you to do lots of work?

I just worry I'd struggle at a job, I've never being in a proper work environment, the work experience I did in London was not in a work environment, it was in a flat with pretty views overlooking canary wharf and I was on my own unsupervised.
 
willhub said:
So if you don't know the issue you simply escalate to a 2nd line support?

Are these jobs demanding? Or does no people higher up the chain of command keep an eye on you and expect you to do lots of work?

I just worry I'd struggle at a job, I've never being in a proper work environment, the work experience I did in London was not in a work environment, it was in a flat with pretty views overlooking canary wharf and I was on my own unsupervised.
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o_0

If the issue is on a piece of bespoke software or hardware then you'd be fully trained on it anyway (assuming the company has an induction program!). If it's off the shelf then whatever the procedure is for your work.

My old place had a knowledge base on the Intranet that was always updated with common issues and resolutions so you could search that, like an internal Google of sorts I guess.

Other times you could just Google the solution. You'll come to realise Google isn't just for finding cat/panda pictures :p

You shouldn't feel you're struggling though, if you are then you've not been given the correct training to do your job.
 
I started a 1st-line support job a few weeks ago, and while I wouldn't say many of the issues customers call up about challenge my technical skills, they do challenge your patience. I also know that 1st-line isn't where I want to be in a few years time; I'm much more interested in network setup/support and server administration stuff, so my aim is to get qualifications in these areas while hopefully picking up a few things in my current job and then I'll move on. The company I work for is quite small, and I don't think there's a lot of scope to move into the areas I'm truly interested in.

I'd say go for it if you just want to get a job and some real-world experience in IT. Stick it out for a year or two and then move onto better, more enjoyable and rewarding things.
 
My main aim is to just get an IT related job in Manchester and move back to Manchester, but I need to find a place where they are flexible about start time (So I can find somewhere to live). Then my next aim is to save, learn to drive, because I know there are jobs I could have applied for and certainly could have done if I had a car, but I don't have a car so as a result could not apply for them,
 
mrk said:
Very large portion of people it seems yeah, although this is a computer forum :D
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Referring to professional IT skillset / experience. I ask because there are loads of IT jobs out there. Are you all looking for IT related roles?!
 
There are lots of IT roles, but there are also a lot of people chasing them :)

Whilst I appreciate using 'lines' as a differentiator between job types I've never been a massive fan of pigeon holing roles as 1st/2nd/3rd line.

Some roles are clear cut, others not so much. My first IT role easily covered all 3 'lines'.
 
I've been looking for a new job on and off for a while (whilst still be at my current job). Applied the other week to one, and sent a really good covering letter which resulted in an interview. I then totally aced the interview and got offered the job later that day (still waiting for the official offer - just waiting on CRB checks to come back). Not bad, saying that 10 minutes into the interview I was a no based on my application and age but my interview skills had made me a strong possibility.

People get obsessed with the quality of their CV, as demonstrated by the numerous threads on here. However, people forget the cover letter and probably just write something like "I'm writing to you to apply for the position of X. Please find my CV attached. I await hearing from you". The cover letter is as important as the CV as this is where you sell yourself, state your skills and what you've achieved and really get them thinking about you in the job. If you can get them thinking about you doing the job then I think you're basically 3/4 of the way into the job.

So yea, tailor each cover letter to each job and really sell yourself. My one was 500 words or so, just fitted onto 1 page and I believe that it was my cover letter that got me the interview and my interview that got me the job. I don't think the CV was that important.

I had another interview a few weeks ago, and I was told that it was between me and another guy. They also said that my covering letter was the best that they had seen in a while.

So yea, cover letters guys! They are super important.
 
DAIR said:
Referring to professional IT skillset / experience. I ask because there are loads of IT jobs out there. Are you all looking for IT related roles?!
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Ah I get you now!

For me personally, I don't want to be in IT forever, I've gone from 1st line to managing a network with multiple domains within in 6 years but I don't feel like I'm where I want to be yet. I have some personal goals (may or may not be IT related) but over the last 6 years I've learnt that you don't always get where you want to be at each step by staying at the same company so must move on!

Obviously that's easier said than done and it's been a struggle for most of those 6 years with travelling to and from work, long hours (usually coming home at +7PM~) and as said above, all this adds up and tests your patience.

Landing this position I have now opened up a lot of free time in and out of work and relieved excess stress. I'm usually a stress free person, always positive but everyone has their limits!
 
mrk said:
It does depend on who you work for! I worked temp for the NHS and that was terrible, you got the sense of complete lack of communication between management and people below management which was probably why anyone not in a senior role was almost always wondering when the notice would come that their job was at risk - This was a year or so before the big recession kicked off though.
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Very true. I worked for EDS for my sins (not through choice I'll add - we were TUPE'd in), and after having to deal with upper management (who really were clueless) it just left such a bad taste in my mouth that I ended up resigning and changing careers.

I'm sure there are companies that are good to work for in IT, but I pretty much lost interest. The only computers I'm interested in now are mine. Couldn't care less if anybody else's work ;)
 
Also remember that working in 'IT' doesn't automatically mean support and dealing with computers as such.

If you're fed up with that then look to use your knowledge to branch out into other areas. From experience companies are usually crying out for people who have the technical know how to go along with whatever other skills may be required for a role.

But whatever you do, when you tell people you work in IT most will always think/ask if you fix computers :)
 
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mrk said:
What career direction did you choose can I ask?
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Started off with some entry level accountancy, or Purchase Ledger to be more precise. Didn't need any qualifications and I didn't mind it. Put me in front of a computer and show me how the application works, and I'm set.

I'm not particularly career minded these days, so I'm quite happy just bimbling along doing general office work. It pays me enough to keep a roof over my head and food in the cupboards, and you generally don't have to worry about silly expectations from management.

Ev0 said:
But whatever you do, when you tell people you work in IT most will always think/ask if you fix computers :)
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Don't they just :). I tend to not bother mentioning it these days unless it comes up at an interview.
 
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Oh cool, that's quite a different path indeed but as you say, it keeps you satisfied :-)
 
The admin temp role I am in is coming up to finishing in the next few weeks, it's through an agency and they said they'll probably have more temp roles going in Jan however they only ever know at short notice. I love where I work, big company with lots of potential, but I need something permanent.

I've been offered an assessment for a financial services company as a CSA, again, big company with lots of potential, there's a group excercise, maths, letter writing, role play and a competency part. What sort of things would you do to prepare yourself?
I haven't been to a group interview in years and that one was based on 'which of these people would you upsell these products to?'
 
this says it all about the jobs market here in the boonies.

Just 10 out of the 840 people in the Valley — 1.2 per cent — referred to the Department of Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Work Programme have gone on to find full-time employment lasting at least six months.
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we have the worst performing work program in the country !
 
Blackhawk47 said:
Guilty. :p

Honestly though it is really easy to just overlook the covering letter and send off a generic 'Dear Sir/Madam.... etc'. Need to start spending more time on it myself. :o
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I've found that C_Letters are only useful when applying directly (not via a recruiter) for a job.
 
DAIR said:
I've found that C_Letters are only useful when applying directly (not via a recruiter) for a job.
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If you send via an agency the covering letter goes only to the agency, not the company hiring. Include it, but then call the agency so that they remember you - they are more likely to put you forward.
 
Had a phonecall a couple of hours ago from an agency I registered with on Tuesday. They've found me work for at least Monday & Tuesday (possibly longer). It's not much, but it's better than JSA, and at least it means I have to get off my bum and go out and feel useful, if only briefly. ;)
 
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