When applying for a IT Technical position ....

ButcherOfNog

Leave out all the marketing type 'e-business speak' $hite. I've had to wade thru 100+ CV's recently and the number of people who've got Hons in the BS generator was quite amazing. Listing various IT unrelated work is fine, but for the love of god don't try and put a spin on it to make it sound relevant:

"In my work as a member of bar staff in the Pub, I was part of a small team working to tight deadlines and dealing with constant and varied client requests."

SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP !

Sposs

Originally posted by ButcherOfNog

"In my work as a member of bar staff in the Pub, I was part of a small team working to tight deadlines and dealing with constant and varied client requests."

SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP !

LOL

sharper

Were the CVs from people with little or no IT experience? Getting one's foot in the door is extremely difficult these days since every company seems to be looking for 3+ years experience.

When I graduated 2 years ago I found the going tough, despite having an excellent academic record (1:1 degree, top of class blah blah etc etc) and 6 months experience in C I got ONE interview out of many hundreds of applications over several months. I simply couldn't compete with the people with 1-2 years experience applying for entry level jobs so I can't really fault people "sexing up" their CVs to at least give themselves a fighting chance and stop HR from binning their CV on sight.

If these people DO have an appreciable amount of IT experience I can't imagine why they'd list non-IT related work unless it was particularly unusual or interesting. I've certainly removed everything except my IT experience now that I've got 2 and a half years of it.

Do these people also proudly list their B in Home Economics from the Leaving Cert?

fisty

since when is "to sex" a verb in relation to documents, frankly... I blame the BBC.

ButcherOfNog

Yer, someone deserves to die for that one ......

BuffyBot

Originally posted by sharper
Do these people also proudly list their B in Home Economics from the Leaving Cert?

Nowt wrong with having one of those

and no, I don't put it on my CV

PalerPaul

To be honest I take my hat off to people who do what they can to get a job. Its all these people in the IT industry in Ireland who are interviewing people being so cut throat as it gives them a power trip. These are also the same people who got these IT jobs ten years ago solely as they used a cash register in their local Spar......

Go on ****ing lie yer arse off, I did and got a job......

Its them or you......

ButcherOfNog

Originally posted by PalerPaul
Its all these people in the IT industry in Ireland who are interviewing people being so cut throat as it gives them a power trip.

Aye sure you're right, shoulda gave all 100 of them a job, even if some of them had obviously done no research into the company or bother to spell check their CV. Oh wait, there were only 2 positions available .. how would you have picked out the ones for interview? The CV is the first thing a company gets from you, if there feck all effort put into it then it ends up in the bin.

These are also the same people who got these IT jobs ten years ago solely as they used a cash register in their local Spar......

I think you're wrong there, 10 years ago, nearly everyone in IT was in it cause they were interested in it.

PalerPaul

You got me wrong. If they do what you said just there, then fair enough, scrap them. But some of the interviews i had in Ireland were horrific. But I wouldnt fault someone for well how do you say it manipulating what they did to apply to a job description. If they dont, they dont get further, if they do at least they have a chance....

The IT market in Ireland is a disgrace, a bloody disgrace.... people work hard at college just to be put down when they go for jobs. No wonder the suicide rate is so high for graduates. Its a disgrace........

PalerPaul

Are you in the UK by any chance, your signature interests me, what does it mean?

ixoy

Originally posted by ButcherOfNog
I think you're wrong there, 10 years ago, nearly everyone in IT was in it cause they were interested in it.

And that's the annoying thing for me. I was always interested in IT. From an early age, I was writing little BASIC programs on my ZX Spectrum. However, when it comes to college suddenly *everyone* wants to do it for the money alone, not the love of the machine itself. Now I can't get a job in the industry, two years on, as they're taken up by a load of folks who just had eyes for the euros :mad:

So I'm stuck up a creek, paddling to nowhere fast. FWIW I'm a technical writer, but it's hardly the position I envisaged for myself (more along the programming lines). Stupid greedy school brats :mad:

damnyanks

Not with the downturn alot arent going for comp courses. I worked open days at the place I go. Maybe 20 people expressed interest in doing the computer course. Thats out of like 7 open days

Gerry

Originally posted by PalerPaul
But some of the interviews i had in Ireland were horrific. But I wouldnt fault someone for well how do you say it manipulating what they did to apply to a job description. If they dont, they dont get further, if they do at least they have a chance....

I'm glad they were horrific. Imagine how bad it would be if you actually knew what you were talking about, but still didn't get the job? People who lie on their cv's to get IT jobs are normally the people who can blag their way through an interview as well. I've enormous respect for any company which gets its engineers to interview candidates ( along with a HR person of course ). Sure, the engineer won't like doing interviews, but at least they may get a semi-useful colleague out of it.
However, I will agree that HR people do get a power buzz out of interviewing people when people are in oversupply.

Originally posted by PalerPaul
The IT market in Ireland is a disgrace, a bloody disgrace.... people work hard at college just to be put down when they go for jobs. No wonder the suicide rate is so high for graduates. Its a disgrace........ [/B]

Sure its a disgrace, because it still has a lot of people who were hired in the boom, who haven't got the slightest interest in their job, and not always enough skill to scrape by in it either. They jumped on the IT bandwagon. Half of my computer science class realises they made a horrible mistake, and are not going to bother to get an I.T. job. More power to them.

Just read ixoys post, agree 100%.

PalerPaul

I agree totally. No other country has this as bad (I stress as bad). I've done computers all my life, and it killed me I couldnt get a job. I know people did it for "the money", but some didnt.

PalerPaul

Also, when I said horrific, I meant something different. I agree with having engineers etc at engineers. What I meant was unprofessional un PC questions that they based your whole interview on. AIB were complete **** to me etc etc. I'm gonna stop now as I could go on for ages......

seamus

I think the problem with the boom is that companies had to suck up people from non-IT disciplines to fill its gaps. Now, after so much money spend getting them up to speed, most of them don't want to leave a decent career to start back on what they originally were trained in.

My brother for example graduated with a degree in Microbiology, but ended up getting a desk job in an IT company. Through constant company-sponsored training and staff turnover, he's now a sysadmin of some description in [insert TLD registry here]. Something I'd like to do in fact.

TBH, I think the people screaming "I can't get a job!", are the ones who expected to land in a comfy, €30,000 a year job straight out of college. IT graduates without experience are only a rung or two above non-trained customer services workers. Anyone who gets €20,000 or more, straight out of college is doing well for themselves.

(And to clarify, yes, I am a CS graduate looking for a job )

Gerry

I don't think I expressed my hatred of people who lie on their cv's properly. Although there is a difference between being able to live up to your claims, even if your cv is a bit jumped up, and being a complete dickhead.

Seamus, afaik theres plenty of well paid jobs in microbiology atm. If he's interested in it that is.

Typedef

Originally posted by damnyanks
Not with the downturn alot arent going for comp courses. I worked open days at the place I go. Maybe 20 people expressed interest in doing the computer course. Thats out of like 7 open days

Impending shortfall in IT staff.


ahh music to my bonus

seamus

Originally posted by Gerry
Seamus, afaik theres plenty of well paid jobs in microbiology atm. If he's interested in it that is.

Sorry, that was part of my point - He loves it so much now he doesn't want to go back to microbiology!

Typedef

Seamus, if you're looking for Sysadmin work, then maybe you should apply to google - Ireland.

I think mainly what companies want is experience, so, your priority has to be getting some of that, even if it means, taking much less money then you should.

And yes, I did that, I could have earned about 3.5-4k more walking into Dell's tech support (since I had experience in Gateway's during the boom), but, I took a whole lot less money to cut my teeth in programming...

I don't look back.[1]



[1]Tech support is the sort of job you recommend to people you don't like.

PalerPaul

Walk away me' boys, walk away me' boys, in the morn, walk away me' boys.............

ixoy

Originally posted by seamus
I think the problem with the boom is that companies had to suck up people from non-IT disciplines to fill its gaps. Now, after so much money spend getting them up to speed, most of them don't want to leave a decent career to start back on what they originally were trained in.

Force them back! I'm more interested than they are!

TBH, I think the people screaming "I can't get a job!", are the ones who expected to land in a comfy, €30,000 a year job straight out of college. IT graduates without experience are only a rung or two above non-trained customer services workers. Anyone who gets €20,000 or more, straight out of college is doing well for themselves.

(And to clarify, yes, I am a CS graduate looking for a job )

Well what pisses me off is that I had a great job when I left college (and yes, euro conversion, it woulda been 30k!!). Then "down turn" and suddenly, before I began, I had no job. At this point all the graduate jobs had been taken up for that year and, by next year, it was too late as I needed some form of job and had to setle for this which is not getting me relevant experience!! :mad:

SantaHoe

Originally posted by Typedef
[1]Tech support is the sort of job you recommend to people you don't like.

LOL
It's one of those jobs you should do - just to have done it.