# Hello, need advice from professionals!



## Legox70 (Oct 24, 2019)

Hello, newbie here!


I really just need some advice. so bare with the tedious back story.


Back in 2009 I finished my second year of A-Levels and the time came where I to choose where to go to university, I decided against this and instead went for an apprenticeship. I landed on a general IT admin apprenticeship which was great but as 3 months went by and the company had not found me a course to futher my education which led to me just being used for cleaning and daily tasks. Eventually I got put onto a course which was a ITQ level 3, which I believe was really similar to the skill set I had gathered either during my A-Levels or by myself. So the apprenticeship was supposed to last 3 years but after 18 months the company I worked for went bust and they had to close their UK sites, thus making me redundant and jobless. I went back in for more apprenticeships but as i was now over 20 years old they could only get funding for 1 year and was not prepared to put the rest in themselves. 



So as months went on i needed a job and took a retail post while still applying for IT positions, after 6 months of being told i was underqualified I gave up all together and stayed in retail. The money wasn't terrible and the hours where flexible. But now I've come to regret that decision and tried applying for IT positions again but because of the obvious wall of being out of IT for nearly 7 years I'm finding it near impossible to even get an interview. The option of going to university now isn't really one I can do as I have a mortgage that a part time job/ full time study just couldn't support. I've never really left computers behind its a hobby of mine and I enjoy working in the technical world and find any work with computers come easy for me.



So as for the advice I need;
What can I say for a company to just give me a chance to prove myself?

What things could i do differently to possibly grab and interview for a position?
What do people look for on a C.V? 

What could I include in my C.V/ cover letter that can say the years out of IT won't effect my ability?

Is university/ further learning (self funded) my only real option?


Honestly any advice would be appriciated.


Thanks.


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

First step is to consider what kind of IT job you want. Post back and further suggestions will be forthcoming. Some jobs require a BS in Computer Science or similar. Correspondence courses might be your ticket.


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

In my experience as an interviewer, I rarely go by the resume of the individual, Resumes are used to pass the initial gates of screening, post that my assessment of the candidate is based on the technical prowess and the technology exposure.

Keywords you need to know going in, DevOps, Virtualization, Hyper Converged, AI & ML. Read up on some of the key Products within them, steer the conversation towards these and bring them up, you should be able to get some brownie points.


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## Legox70 (Oct 24, 2019)

@Corday, The field I would like to eventually end up being in would be as a Network Specialist but as my time out of the field I would like to hopefully get a support role for the time being. 


@tristar, thanks I will definitley read up and understand those. I have managed to bag an interview tomorrow morning, so hopefully it helps!


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

Most firms require a Bachelors degree for Network Specialist. Some accept an Associate degree with experience. I still would recommend home study from an accredited school.


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