Job Search Question

I was wondering if some my fellow IT heads could give me some advice. I recently graduated for college in the summer with a degree in Computer Information Systems. I have been looking for a damn job for 6 months now. I've tried every avenue possible; networking, job searches on internet, temp agencies, school career center, walk-ins, etc. I have been been rejected 134 times in 6 months with the same line," You lack the experience," in 100 different ways of saying it. They all have said my resume is excellent and I have excellent IT skills but I have no job experience. Even when I tried to get an internship in school they said I didn't have the experience; go figure. Does anyone have any advice as to how you can get your foot in the door if you are a IT grad with superb skills but no experience?

 

Start low and work your way up. Sucks for money but the experience pays off in the long run. I imagine you could find side work or contract work to supplement the regular income. Mind you, I am not IT but I would think that the same principles apply for most trades. Worst case scenario you try to get into your local government..good credentials.

 

starting low is one of the only ways to go. I started out as a pc tech.. believe it or not, it's probably a good job to start out with. I would shoot for what is easily attainable for now, see if you work an angle while you're in that job and keep sending out updated resume's for those desired jobs. In 2 years I had a manager spot at a hospital..network admin,desktop support.. heck I was the only one there. It's rough out there becuase the market is quite saturated so you have to show how you can benefit the company more than the other guy.

 

Yep, there are a lot of unemployed people with a lot of experience out there. That's the way it is nowadays.

Only two way to do it. Either "start off low", as stated, or start your own business. As the Director of a few personal companies, I call tell ya, neither is easy.

 

hey bro I was in the exact same boat 3 months ago. I graduated from a good college, had excellent grades, interviewed VERY well, and couldn't get jobs because I didn't have the "experience"... it was very frustrating and a damper on my self esteem.... you bust your ass in college only to find out you need prior experience + the degree to get the particular job....

I mainly used Monster.com and Yahoo Hot Jobs to apply... in restrospect not the best idea because I was specifically looking for a Criminal Justice related job and there aren't many postings on there.... I finally landed a well paying job with Liberty Mutual... I applied to them like 6 months before hearing from them.... unfortunately I don't particularly like my new job all that much (although my coworkers are great)...

My next plan is to network with some of my former college professors... Many of them were police chiefs, and I also know the daughter of the police chief of my former hometown.... I plan on moving back up to North Jersey (from Maryland)... I'm about to write 2 former teachers, my internship coordinator at Rutgers (i never did one), and my friend's father and ask them for advice on where to look for Criminal Justice related jobs, if they can't directly refer me to anyone... I figure people like that in those positions would have a lot of contacts and know better than anyone, where I should look...

Just keep your head up.... I value each job I've had, no matter how short the duration was, because it's help make me a more versatile person and helped me improve various skills...

it's depressing though... i'm the type of person who would rather make less money and love what they do, than the type of person who would rather make more money and not care that they hate what they do... I just want a job I'm happy about doing and don't want to have to stress anymore over the whole business...

 

Whoa! a geek who is wanting to be a camo dude!