Military to IT and the HR woes...I recently retired (still under 40 though) from the military in a similar field, got my degree in Information Systems Management, and am trying to break my way into the IT industry as a BPA. I never thought it would be as difficult as it is turning out to be. I have tried pretty much every angle of resume writing, with the exception of copying and pasting the text from the job posting into the middle of my resume, and have not made it past the HR screening for 99% of the positions I have applied for. When I actually do get through to talk to a human, I am always in the top two or three candidates. I am sure if I was in the geographic area of the places I was interviewing for, I would have been the selected individual, but I can't fly around the US interviewing for jobs every week. I am at a loss as to why my resumes never make it through HR screening. I get plenty of calls from IT headhunters, but never get any consideration from HR offices. I understand the risks (older than 35, out-of-state, limited direct experience with specific systems...), but do not understand why I have not had more luck with the 107 resumes I have sent out over the past four months.
There continues to be a big misconception that there are lots of IT jobs out there. The reality is that on average across the country there is currently a glut of IT workers and engineers. Sure there may be some jobs in hot spots where tech companies are concentrated, but over all there are not as many jobs as people think there are. One way we know there are not is that the first law of supply and demand says if there is a shortage salaries go up. Currently salaries in tech and engineering have stagnated at best. gumbyfly, Can you give us a bit more information about your background.
Thanks for the info BigBoss... Most of my complaining is just that - lots of 'why me' . I definitely understand that there are more IT people seeking jobs than IT jobs needing people (especially in Tallahassee where I am at). It is just frustrating to have to work this hard to get past the HR screening process. Here is a bit more information about my background: 1. What exactly did you do in the military? I was in military intelligence as my primary job skill, however, as with most military folks I did everything necessary to make my section successful. I would report to pretty much every assignment and see outdated computer equipment, and people who did not understand the full scope of their responsibilities in the realm of processing information. At six of my last eight assignments (since 1995), I would report to an assignment and start conducting informal analysis on the procedures and systems within the office I was assigned and reengineer what needed to be done to improve the capabilities of that unit. I was even assigned as a consultant to help others improve their section operations for two years ('99-'01). While it was not the formal SDLC, it incorporated all aspects of it from analysis to end-user training and documentation. I usually summarize this as between three and four years experience, as it was not my primary role in the military. 2. Where did you get your degree? University of Maryland University College in Okinawa, Japan (aka - night school for about 14 years). I completed all of the IT-specific curriculum between 2002 and 2006. 3. Do you have specific IT experience? Besides the experience mentioned in the military paragraph above, I worked for a Fortune 500 IT consulting company in Tallahassee for eight short months. I was hired specifically to work on a medical insurance project as the lead BPA, which I did from the proposal acceptance through the beginning of the conceptual design phase. I was moved to assist another project for a few weeks, and then helped the Network Services team draft about six documents for their initial operational start-up. I was laid off along with 20% of the company due to state budget cuts, since the state is the number one employer and source of revenue in Tallahassee and for the company I worked with. I also performed a lot of system and network administrator functions while in the military. A lot of the systems we had were proprietary, and did not include any type of support when we would take the systems into the fray, so we had to be our own systems admin team most of the time. 4. Do you have specific BPA experience? The experience listed above in #3... 5. What IT skills do you have? I have zero certifications, which is most likely my number one detractor. I have, however, been working towards a Network+ / MCSA certification, and could pass the PMI/PMP certification exam (was registered to take it prior to getting the BPA job last January, but did not take it). I am also a rookie .NET programmer, and managed my own job-related website for about seven years. I know that technology experience is key in this field, but my not being intimately familiar with an AS400 database, the medical field, or the insurance field did not prevent me from being a successful BPA on a project to reengineer an AS400 system and processes for a medical insurance company. I have always felt that the term "analyst" lends itself to a lot of intangibles that can't necessarily be accurately measured. Just my opinion, but I have trained military analysts for 18 years, and some have it... Some don't.
In one of my jobs I was unfortunately located near our HR staff.I listened to their reasoning day in and day out, most of the time Ijust laughed to myself at the ridiculous reasons HR used to hire or nothire candidates. In almost all cases, they were looking for someonelike themselves, outgoing, fun loving, somewhat career focused and notterribly bright. The people they did not seem to like very much, wereserious, goal focused people. You know like the military, where work ispretty straight forward, get mission, work on mission, completemission, move on to next mission. My advice would be to either find someone in the company and bypass HRif at all possible, or if this is not possible tell a joke or just actsomewhat like them. In every job I have gotten, I just went around theHR group. Hope this helps and good luck. Christian I guess I will always be one of those people that HR folks don't like then. I know there are two schools of thought about urgency and efficiency in the workplace, but I would rather be a 'type A' worker than one who will eventually get around to it. I know it is not too American these days to expect an honest day's work for an honest day's pay... As I am switching from a military-based occupation to a completely different industry, I am at a stage that will most likely require me to work my way up - which I am not opposed to. This is especially apparent, as I have no contacts on the inside, and would have to get extremely lucky to run into someone I could use as a contact in the IT field here in Talahassee. I appreciate the advice.
"I know it is not too American these days to expect an honest day's work for an honest day's pay..." I would suggest you check your attitude at the door. In the military the government takes care of your medical, dental, vision, food, housing, travel, etc. without one having to lift a finger. A lot of people are not going to put up with an attitude like yours when they know how you lived and worked in a cocoon for all those years. Wow! I am not sure what you read into that BigBoss, but it was not a personal attack. I also do not know how much military experience you personally have, but I assure you that the 'cocoon' you are describing does not exist. Every person in the military deals with all of those life-issues (medical, dental, vision, food, housing, travel, etc.) exactly the same as people working at civilian jobs do. The military has corporate medical and dental plans which soldiers pay for, subtracts pay from those soldiers who live in government housing, and subtracts pay for government rations consumed. I know of no civilian organization (besides those contract organizations that support the military and paramilitary organizations like the police and fire departments) that requires its employees to be able to react to anything without a second's hesitation, and perform well regardless of the time or environment. I am sure if it was a 'cocoon', the military would not have such a difficult time recruiting and retaining people. I don't intend to drag this out, as you don't know me, and I do not know you (mainly because your profile is blank). I can only assume that you misinterpreted my statement as a personal attack on you, which you felt obligated to return. | |
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