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Ask HN: Best way to improve my chances of a support job?

18 points by gaspoweredcat ↗ HN
I have worked in a tech role for several years but my position was somewhat unusual, there was no real chance for progression so i have been applying for support positions. From the few interviews i have had i was told i was more suited to a second line role than a first line due to my technical knowledge.

In my previous role i have worked with all sorts of technology, General IT support, im very capable with linux, windows and android, im a former level 3 mobile repair engineer, i have my CompTIA A+ and a lot of other various skills including CCTV, data recovery and destruction, the list could go on and on, you might say im a jack of all trades and master of a few

However i have now sent over 100 applications and had only 2 face to face interviews which i did not get so i have been wondering what may be the best path to improve my chances of getting a job (preferably with the possibility of training and development) but im not sure what is the best course of action, the possibilities i have come up with do far are these:

Have my CV Professionally rewritten in the hope of getting more callbacks

Complete CompTIA Network + and security +(i have already done the learning for them and can easily pass the practice exams i have access to but it seems that CompTIA certs are worth less than those from the likes of Microsoft or Cisco

Study and take exams for Microsoft MCSA, i should be able to pass these exams relatively easily but thee are around 6 exams in this path which is quite expensive

im not sure which path to take, id love to be able to do all of the above but i cant really afford it so i need to find the most effective way of getting noticed. if anyone has any other ideas id be very grateful

11 comments

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busterarm
What market you're in will influence a lot of how this question should be answered?

Are you somewhere like the southeastern US where a large portion of tech jobs are government or government-supplier contracts? If so, you want to get your certifications to get your foot in the door.

If you're somewhere like NY or SF it will probably have the opposite effect.

JoblessWonder
The good news is that it does sound like you are well qualified for a support position.

If you are being told that you are over-qualified for the positions you might need to "dumb down" your resume a bit. Take out the parts that don't apply directly to support. It might be really amazing that you coded an internal billing system in Pascal but it won't help you land this specific job.

Also, if you are a hard worker and knowledgeable, a good company will quickly promote a Level 1 support person to their appropriate level. Getting in the door via Level 1 support then working your way up is almost always easier than going straight into a more advanced position, since you are competing with internal applicants who likely know their system better than you.

Just my thoughts. Hope the feedback yelps!

jbob2000
Just some general advice, but you should tailor your resume to the job you're applying for. Never submit a general resume that attempts to capture your entire career. That you apply to hundreds of jobs tells me that you aren't making those key adjustments to your resume that will get you noticed.

When I see a resume that lists tons and tons of technologies, I just think it's BS, and frankly, most companies only work with a handful technologies, so listing ones they don't use is just noise.

muzani
I disagree somewhat on tailoring resumes. Resume writing is hard work. I think a resume should show someone's general experience, and the cover letter should highlight relevant ones or minor things that aren't in the resume.
just_visiting
I agree. Listing many skills not needed for the job can be distracting. I always had my sister (H.R. Director) fine tune my resumes. I recommend finding someone that can help you do the same. It also helps avoid making you look like a "jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none". Determine exactly what kind of support a company is looking for, and write your resume for that job.
boabab
My 2 cents is that, even being in tech and having a similar background, I don't understand your "resume" as posted here.

You jump between stating high-level, vague qualifications (General IT support, capable with linux, various other skills) to very specific qualifications that I frankly don't understand in the slightest (level 3 mobile repair engineer, i have my CompTIA A+, including CCTV, data recovery and destruction).

If the cover letters and/or resumes you send out look like this, the people receiving them likely don't understand either. My honest first reaction is that you don't actually understand what you're writing, simply because of how it's been stated.

I recommend writing 1-2 sentences that clearly state your value and then organizing your application to clearly support the image you want to convey - ideally demonstrating mastery over your key skills (described so a layman would understand them) through concrete accomplishments (best) or descriptions of courses you've passed (not ideal).

Good luck! Keep in mind that I'm just a startup Software Engineer who started in tech support (business-to-business) for a mobile tech company; it sounds like I'm in a very different industry, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

twayha22
For a good 2nd level support job:

Forget CompiaTIA. Seriously.

Remove CCTV and phone repair stuff from your resume.

Learn Linux. Go deep. Take a LPI or Linux Foundation certification.

Next (or in parallel) learn cloud computing. Doesn't matter much which one but AWS might get you more attention.

You might want to take the CCNA cert too if your understanding of networks isn't great.

Learn a programming language for automation. Python is a good choice. Golang too. Participate in open source projects if you do that.

For a crappy 2nd level job:

Leave all the low level skills in your resume. They will be looking for that.

Work on what I said above in parallel.

busterarm
> For a good 2nd level support job: > Forget CompTIA. Seriously.

This is bad advice in places like South Carolina and Georgia where your employer is probably going to be a contractor working with GSC, General Dynamics, Raytheon, etc, and your resume simply has to get through that grunt level HR person before anyone will talk to you.

Some of them won't even let you touch their systems without A+ or Network+, as terrible as that is. Having a CCNA/JNCIA is a better alternative. It's changing, but slowly.

It might be worth doing the "worthless" certification just once to get some better work experience. I definitely wouldn't advise anyone refresh that certification ever though. That would be a red flag.

edvoinc
Have you been interacting with the hiring managers directly? Most people don’t know why they’re not getting hired/called for interviews, or how to get “better.” And employers aren't giving any direct feedback due to time restrictions. But hiring managers know they need to get better at telling people what they’re looking for, and we're been working on facilitating that interaction. Exactly why we started Edvo (www.edvo.com) and applied to YC!

Please email me at raaid@edvo.com - We've just started so our current employer network is small but we'll earnestly try to direct you to places or facilitate the interactions with hiring managers so you can know what they’re looking for.

If there's anyone else that feels this pain, please comment/reach out! The more we learn, the better we can be and the more people we can help.

marcc
You mention that you’ve had 2 in-person interviews for 100 applications. How many tech/phone screens did you get? To really give some good advice, it would be good to know if your resume is failing to impress, or if you aren’t succeeding at the phone screen.
mathattack
Two pieces of advice as a former hiring manager:

1) Write a cover letter specific to the job that highlights that you like helping others.

2) Apply to places where you have friends or acquaintances who can pass your resume along. Go to networking events if you just. Weak connections can help just as much as strong ones. Employee referrals make the screening process much easier for HR and Hiring Managers.