How on earth do you get a job in IT ?

[Rosaluxemberg]

DD is struggling to get her first job post graduating a few months ago. Studied Computing. Is looking for a very junior role like first line support desk, certainly not a graduate one. Every single advert asks for prior IT experience. Just seen one now which says is suitable for ‘someone who’s completed an apprenticeship or got a bit of experience’.
She sadly doesn’t have any kind of prior work experience despite applying for multiple jobs whilst at uni. She’s decided to do some voluntary work in the meantime but feeling very down. Any advice would be welcome. Are things really that bleak in IT ? She’d actually apply for an apprenticeship if she could but she’s pretty sure that’s not possible.

I think things are very bleak in the job market full stop despite the government keep telling us that there are thousands of unfilled vacancies. My student ds has not been able to find any part time work at all.

I’d still encourage her to apply OP. Her degree will make her CV stand out I’m sure and I know a few companies that hire graduates for 1st line support roles without prior experience and give them training on the job. I know of one who is hiring at the moment so feel free to PM me and I’ll send you the job advert. And good luck to your DD, I’m sure she will find a good role soon ❤️

Is she seeing things like ‘suitable for someone with experience or an apprenticeship’ and just not applying? Or applying and being turned down for lack of experience?

Think it’s a hard space atm, where I work has just made IT and systems people redundant

@DownThePubWithStevieNicks Many of the adverts have long lists of duties which directly involve customer experience. She hasn’t had experience of diagnostic support for example. Presumably this is where an apprenticeship would provide that.
Yes she can code etc but office IT work is very different !

hmm. She’s only recently graduated and it’s really a shame she doesn’t have any work experience allied to her dgegree.

is first line IT the right target?? Is she aiming high enough and does she have a good degree class from a good uni? Sometimes it’s canny to enter a very large company just to get in the door, and then move sideways —before going off to work for yourself eventually—

I’d encourage her to apply for things anyway, and think through how to demonstrate the requirements with the experience she does have. Did she do any extra-curriculars?

A job ad is usually a description of the ideal candidate but sometimes as a recruiter you have to take the best that applies!

She can exploit any work experience at all I’d think. Doesn’t have to be IT help desk. Good IT help desk people have several key skills which have nothing to do with actual tech skills including:

confidence
persobability
hyoerfocus and extreme diligence when fixing errors: dealing with these in a mature and honest way.

She has a very good degree but frankly from a poor uni (last minute application, initially wanted to do an apprenticeship ironically). She’s not looking for graduate jobs as she’s quiet and unassuming socially awkward tbh… Certainly not one of those stellar candidates you hear about. She’s now wondering if it was the right kind of degree to do - it’s in ‘computing’ rather than ‘computer science’.

Thanks ! Personability and keen eye for detail I would say are strong points.
She’s actually got the opportunity to do some volunteering at the local library using digital skills. Helping visitors with IT probs, filling in on line forms with them, that kind of thing. Hopefully that could help..

I am not an IT person but could it be that your dd is on paper overqualified for the jobs she is applying for? If those junior roles are normally filled by non-grads, the employer sees she has a computing degree and wrongly assume she is a flight risk, because they will waste time training her when she will leave the moment she can find a grad job.

Can she try applying for grad roles and see if she gets more interest?

Those things will be invaluable. They show she is employable and good with people. She should leverage that to the max!

Tell her to just apply for the jobs. I work in IT and it's a well known fact that most job advertisements aren't written by someone with a clue. Loads of entry level jobs say that you need 5 years experience but anyone with 5 years experience is not going to be going for those jobs because they would be working at a higher level.

There are a few infamous IT job descriptions that show how bad it gets. There was one asking for 8 years experience using a code that had only been invented in the previous 5 years and the one where they wanted skills in a particular tool but the recruiter told the applicant he didn't understand the tool well enough for this job - the guy had only been the person who invented it! As long as it's an entry level job it's worth giving applying a crack. Good luck!

Get her to do voluntary work in a company she’s keen to work in.

She needs to be proactive. If she's a decent coder I would suggest applying for junior programming roles. It's surprisingly hard to get out of support once you're in it.

I suggest she chooses the language she wants to work in and starts doing projects to show off her skills.

She’s actually got the opportunity to do some volunteering at the local library using digital skills. Helping visitors with IT probs, filling in on line forms with them, that kind of thing.

this would be an excellent way opportunity to get a bit more experience.

It is also worth maybe doing some basic entry courses & certification on cloud technologies if not covered already. Microsoft azure az900 & AWS cloud practitioner (course material online). Security is another good one as well.

If she is a coder then IT support is a bad place to apply. Different skill set.

Apply for code jobs. Get into women in IT communities

Tell her to look for jobs in solutioning, developer roles, does she have any power platform skills, as a PP says brush up on azure and power apps and she'll get a job. Lots of opportunities at the moment in low-code developing

Look at local authority jobs - mine always has IT type jobs going both for help desk type stuff (for staff not the general public) or for keeping the VAST public facing website, staff intranet and various council IT systems working.

Great advice here Thanks so much

Why is she looking at first line it support jobs when she's a coder? Surely she should be looking for junior programming/developer roles?

look at indeed and Efinancial careers.

Also topjobs I think from memory had a specialism in tech.

maybe even civil service?

look for tech recruitment companies in your area. They may get requests for grads here and there.

Take any job in the civil service and then once in network and apply for internal jobs

I'm in IT although not sure how long for as we are being replaced by cheaper resources offshore, even though our wages haven't increased inline with inflation over the years, so I'm not sure how much difference there is between a graduate and a 'mid' (outside London) wage wise. Job market seems to be quite stagnant as far as I can tell right now, but maybe that's just my impression in the area I work in.

Hi,
I also wonder if she’s over qualified. I’ve never hired a CS graduate into a 1st line Helpdesk role as usually they’re coming in through vocational or apprenticeship routes.
I would do two things:

• ask any professional IT person who has hired several+ graduates to check the CV to make sure she’s selling herself. The current fashion for putting a personal statement at the top is a good one here as no-one reads cover emails or letters. For example “Jane has completed a CS degree from Y having focused on programming/data/AI/whatever in her final year project. She is seeking an entry level programming/data analyst role where she gain experience of blah blah (depends on the role she’s applying for).”
• Consider joining open source or building her hackerrank profile. It’s good for her CV and can get her noticed too by employers.

It’s not an easy time in IT but it’s easier for graduates or junior IT than at more senior levels.