14/09/2016
HOW DO WE SOLVE THIS ?
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You need to have to get a job
BUT ..
To have experience, you need to get a
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HERE ARE TWO WAYS TO SOLVE IT
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#1 - Volunteer or
#2 - Hire yourself
, you can volunteer to work for a charitable organization or a church. Make sure when you volunteer, the job you will be doing have a title like IT Technician, Computer Technician, Network Engineer and so on. I got my first official IT job when i volunteered to work for an American NGO in Egypt. I could have used the experience i gained from working for the NGO to get a job elsewhere, but luckily, just after months of volunteering, the NGO hired me as the IT Manager. How that happen so quick ? Well, while working as a volunteer, i demonstrated some high technical skills more than all the other guys who were a mixture of volunteers and paid employees. I helped the IT manager troubleshoot network issues and repair broken computers. I did some troubleshooting that he himself couldn't do which led to him asking me to do training for the other IT guys which i did. I actually conducted an intensive CompTIA A+ course for them. So when the IT manager was leaving, he recommended i take his place. He told the administration that i was the best one to replace him. The executive director called me and offered me the position which i accepted.
When you volunteer, here is an example how it appears on your CV:
IT Technician - AlfaGeeks Community Services
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Duties: Supporting users, repairing computers, troubleshooting network issues, installing and configuring network printers,
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, hire yourself, it means creating your own small ICT consulting business. Make very good looking business cards and give them to people whenever you get a chance. Through good word of mouth from friends and family, you will get people calling you to do some IT work for them at home or office. By doing this, you can get some experience to mention in your CV. Back in the day, i did it when i got my CompTIA A+ and MCP certifications and i even created a web site for it. But i went one step further than just distributing business cards, i did something that i had not seen anybody done. That time, obtaining video clips was not an easy thing because there was no Youtube and actually the Internet was mostly dial-up. I used to collect video clips from friends in CDs and copy them into my computer. Then i use PowerDirector (a video editing software) to insert my name, profession and contact information into every clip. After that whenever people ask me video clips, i give them those clips i edited. Usually, people watch video clips in groups, so while they're watching, suddenly my name pops up (Mr. Tamboura, a Computer Technician and Teacher, Tel: blah blah blah, Email: blah blah blah). The clips are in VCD format which means they will mostly be played on computers - in other words, i am targeting people who have computers who might need a computer technician when they get a problem or who might need some one to teach them basic computer courses. The strategy worked like magic.I was getting calls from people i never expected to know about me. And once a girl asked me when she saw my name in many video clips, she said: "how did you manage to put your name inside the video clips, do you have a in computer science?" - I smiled and said no, it is just some geeky stuff i taught myself :) . By the way, when the text appears, it doesn't appear at once, i added some text effects and transition so it draws attention when appearing and disappearing. And i made it appear twice at different times when the video is playing.
Any way, when you setup your own IT business, here is an example how it appears on your CV:
Owner - AlfaGeeks IT Consulting Services
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Responsibilities: Operating a small IT company, Setting up home and small office networks wired and wireless. Configuring and and troubleshooting ADSL Internet connections, Setting up and Repairing Computers
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I hope this will be helpful info for entry-level IT pros and gives them an idea about getting around the problem of having experience to get a job to get experience :)
