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[Hijpo]

Finally took it and passed and with only a days notice to take the friggin thing! Questions were confusing and even though it was multiple choice answers they gave 2 correct answers but one was better. Really fucked with my head, if ever there was a time to second guess and question yourself that exam was it. Bring on ccna, pity comptia arnt as recognised as cisco and microsoft courses.

[Wooster]

It's ok for an entry level since it weeds out the balloons. 


Grats. 

[digidix]

Wished I had gone on one of these courses instead of trying the full blown stuff....sales(wo)men, can't live with them, can't do without them

[Hijpo]

Not even good enough for an internship woosty, some joke.

[Wooster]

The broo sent me on a CompTIA+ when I'd already done an HNC and ended up advising the bloke who was running the course.

Worth mentioning though that it acted like a bit of a refresher and covered some old Legacy stuff the HNC (and the half of the HND I didn't get around to finishing) didn't cover.
...never gotten around to the CCNA etc. yet, tbh I learn most of what I need to as I go along and most of the stuff I don't use would have been forgotten by now I reckon.


The problem you have Hijpo is you're in the wrong place at the wrong time.
There are probably thousands of people with degrees, a list of qualifications as long as your arm, and relevant work experience looking for jobs at the moment.
It's a hard market to compete in.

Six or seven years ago it was a completely different situation. 

[Kryten]

Major congratulations, Hijpo.

It's always good to gain as many accreditations as you can in your chosen career path. They will put your CV on the top of the pile to be considered at the very least.

What I value most when I'm interviewing is potential. Speaking in analogies, I'm not that interested in the dude who can run 100 metres in 9 seconds. He's achieved all he can and can do no better. What I look for is the dude who can run 100 metres in 11 or 12 seconds and is both hungry and passionate to do better. That's the person who I can mentor, teach and push for him to achieve better.

The analogy probably reads wrong but I hope the point is clear.

[Hijpo]

Crystal clear Kryten, i just completed the first module in the ICND today aswell.

Woosty i know exactly what you mean, i know a lad that got an IT job in the factory i work at the moment simply because he went to college to do law and fuckin HATES computers.

But the internships were setup so entry level techs could get a bit of experience to stick on the CV, your paid 50 euro a week for doing 39 hour weeks for 9 months and A+ isnt high enough and was advised to do an Microsoft certification.

[Wooster]

I don't like the idea of internships at all.
For me it's a form of serfdom and favours the arsekissers over the skilled, and having to pay (when I was under the assumption that you merely worked for free) is even worse.  
I'd no idea it was common in Eire.  

If a company is looking to hire a junior, they should take them on under probation, pay them, and if they don't look suitable within six months then lay them off and hire someone else.
(Shit, under the old apprenticeship scheme you were hired until the company went bust or you left.)

What about contractor work?
Most of those who got laid off over the last few years might be concentrating on finding a full time job.
If you're flexible in regard to hours, length of contract and variable rates of pay, then you might have better luck and pull a full time job out of the bag as well.

Looking around there isn't a great amount available over there and they usually come with the standard "x amount of years" experience caveat  , but, if you get your name in with a few agencies it can pay dividends if you're lucky.
That's where being flexible comes in.
They could have something come in that requires someone to start within a week for a contract that only lasts a fortnight. By the time they do the usual routine of advertising, interviewing etc. (at a cost), it's too late..the contract is over.
But if they have someone on the books that can manage the job already, they're quids in.

One of the early agency contract jobs I got was a piece of piss (installing Chip & Pin in Sainsbury's), they made me up to senior engineer on the second night and by week two they told me I could hire anyone I liked to get them done.
So Keasy took an odd shift, so did Bopper and Guderian as well.

So long as the job got done to spec the agency didn't care, they were making their money.


Some of the jobs subbies do can be shockingly bad, but they still get work because they can turn up at short notice (then the main contractor can fix things at their leisure)
--One of our lads went over to NI to check out the work some subbies had done for us and found that they'd installed the mini trunking right over someone's photo that was pinned to a board--
...honestly, how lazy is that?  


-edit- Now that I come to think of it I have no idea of your circumstances.
If you've got kids/family to look after then flexibility isn't really an option.

[Kryten]

Okay, after reading yours (Hijpo) and Wooster's replies, I will admit that I am not entirely sure where you're at, at the moment, Hijpo. Are you employed but looking to move? Are you employed but looking for promotion?

Either way, what I would strongly advise is that you brush up on your selling skills.

Focus on your skills and how they will benefit your current or future employer. That is the key element that I, or any decent employer, looks for. When asked a question, technical or otherwise, answer it and then turn it around by saying something like - '... and this will be of benefit to your company because... ' - and then say how it will benefit the employer.

Sales is about focusing on the customer's needs. Which means listening. Two ears and one mouth means listening twice as much as you should talk. And when you talk, it should all be about what the customer's needs are and how your product will benefit and help them fulfill those needs.

It's not that different in a job interview. or an interview to assess you for promotion. In this scenario, you are selling yourself, regardless of whether the position applied for is a sales role or a technical role. The interviewer is your customer so you must ask questions to find out what their 'needs' are and then pitch your replies in a way that are relevant to them. How will your knowledge benefit them? How will your experience benefit them?

Never, ever give up because of not succeeding during the first try. I think it was Thomas Eddison who, when asked why he failed one thousand plus (or whatever) times when trying to invent the light bulb said something along the lines of "I didn't fail one thousand times! I succeeded one thousand times in discovering what would not work"... or something like that.

If once you fail, try and try again and every time change your approach.

[Wooster]

in the factory I work at the moment

Gives me the impression of a man with aspirations who's looking for a change.
The problem is options.
You can't take too many risks if you have a family to look after, especially in this climate.

...but then the internship was mentioned, so I have no idea what his exact circumstances are. 

[Wooster]

Hey, you might be able to blag this kind of thing: http://jobview.monster.co.uk/1st-Line-IT-Support-Job-Dublin-Ireland-105725101.aspx

The UAT and DQC stuff is most likely a box ticking excercise. 

[Hijpo]

Thanks for the advice lads. Im employed at the moment but not in IT. The internship was a way of putting experience down on my cv. I work weekends in bausch and lomb and was doing 2 and 3 full days during the week in IT for free just to get the experience as a helpdesk/network tech in the offices. Working on a manufacturing line is great for the first month or two seeing and understand how the machines work and the process the machine goes through. But, when you get to the stage where your telling the instructor how to fix the faults it feels like im wasting my time and want to know more. Cheers for the find woosty but im in waterford :-\

[Wooster]

The company is based in Dublin, so I read "This person will work independently" as being home based or mobile. 
(I'm still classed as home based and working out of our Egham office, which must be a good 400 miles away, despite the fact that we have an office in Bellshill that's only about 7 miles away.)

Still, they did say they were looking for someone possessing a high attention to detail...

[Hijpo]

Am i authorised to work for any employer in the UK? 

[Wooster]

I'm pretty sure you are since you're part of the EU..in the same way I'm authorised to work in the ROI (or any other country in the EU).