IT jobs - location and suggestions

getk

Friends,

I've following MSE newsletters, but read-only for forums till now..
Wanted to get opinion about IT jobs nearby london
I've got 2 years of IT experience (java technologies). I've enrolled in most of the important job-sites..
1. monster
2. jobserve
3. efiancialcareers
4. cv-library
5. reeds
6. Others - aston carter, IT job board, computer futures etc

Here are some points:
a. As per these job-sites, there are 100,000 jobs available and applied for atleast 400 jobs.
b. Profile matched atleast 1000 jobs,
c. got calls from agents say around 20-30
d. Interview stage or CV screened only 2

I'm very disappointed and feeling that I'm lacking skills.
Also I'm thinking, are these jobs just fake or really existing.??

Worries apart, I wanted to get opinion from fellow members of anyone who faced such situation with 2 years exp and for an IT job. I'm close to london, but still not able to strike an interview.
I'm not sure if any kind of relocation would help or studying a course would do?
suggestions would be very helpful.

cheers
K

consumers_revenge

hi,

just my 2 pence worth.

been in your situation and 2 years isnt long TBH.

qualifications seems to open more doors if you havent got anything?

get a few MS exams, ITIL etc under your belt. exams are about a £100 and you can get the self paced stuff DVD, MS books ( yes they do really work!! ) for les than a £100 too.

I used http://www.learnkey.com/ , www.cbtnuggets.com then signed up for the exams.

Ignore the classroom based ones IMHO as they cost a fortune. you will probably learn less than seeing/doing it yourself.

HTH

FurryPaws

I work in IT as a developer and agree with Consumers_Revenge.

2 years is not long enough to be looking for another job. If I were you I would be doing self paced exams.

Speaking generally, employers also look at your employment history to gauge other factors. Compare your 2 years with a person applying for same job who has been with their company 5+ years. The longer you are with a company before moving shows dedication, commitment, and loyalty. If you can add this with showing enthusiasm to learn and gain further qualifications in your own time then this speaks volumes.

Strider590

getk wrote: »

I'm very disappointed and feeling that I'm lacking skills.
Also I'm thinking, are these jobs just fake or really existing.??

Yes LOTS of job ad's are fake, if it's via an agency and seems too good to be true, then it almost certainly is!
It's just agencies trying to fill their books.... They then contact you and get you to travel to them, which costs you money and is in my opinion just a waste of time.
The more people they have on book, the better the chance of getting more clients to use them.

Some of them even sell your details to 3rd party advertising companies!

They advertise jobs that were filled years previous, I did on several occasions investigate and find out what company the jobs were with and called them myself only to be met with the reply that the position had been filled years ago.... One even asked me which agency was advertising the job and sounded quite angry about it!

I avoid most agencies like the plague, i'd go so far as to call them scum!

There are a few which I would use, Randstad was for example one of those which seemed to have genuine jobs, every time I applied for one of their jobs I got an interview and they called me every few weeks with new vacancies.

Gordon_Hose

IT is swamped with highly qualified and experienced people. 2 years is a drop in the ocean in terms of on the job experience.

richard734

20+ years in IT here - in the last 15, everyone of my jobs has comve via Jobserve.
Learn how to use the search functions and be specific about what you apply for.
Be realistic, you have no idea how many people with 18 months experience try and get in a for a senior developer or managers job - then get upset because no one ever calls them back and they dont get interviews
ITIL is worth its weight in gold, but make sure it is a relevent course if you are not going up to Expert level. No point doing the service strategy as your only module if you plan to work in Operations.
Good luck

getk

First of all .. thanks for all of you for giving advice.. Have put individual thanks to all of you..

Agree, 2 years is drop in ocean..

Very good advice regarding the training course.
Heard of ITIL, but i thought its mostly related to service management, process etc rt? I was planning to do technical cert .. but as you said many companies look for ITIL and MS certs..

Anyone know how much is ITIL cert cost is? I checked via google, but its all going to pearsons but not showing value..
Also any link to get the prices of the certifications?

Thanks in advance

FurryPaws

Try www.2test.com this should take yo to the Prometric website and from there you can select type of qualification you want to study (eg. Microsoft) and your location for nearest test centre.

If you were to do night courses they are generally around £180 per classroom taught 12 week course, this often includes exam fees. Microsoft exams usually only cost about £40 each if you self study.

I'm not sure how much ITIL course is, I was fortunate enough to be put through foundation level by my previous employer...

FurryPaws

Ok I did a simple google. You say you are in London and there appears to be plenty of test centres for ITIL training there. Foundation course in the region of £450.Here is an example http://www.theknowledgeacademy.com/training-calendar/itil-training/london

getk

FurryPaws wrote: »

Ok I did a simple google. You say you are in London and there appears to be plenty of test centres for ITIL training there. Foundation course in the region of £450.Here is an example

Hi mate, sorry I was looking just the exam costs. (not including the training)

charlesworth82

don't assume he meant male when saying mate