Will I Get a Job?

Hey 'y'all. Im new to this forum and will take part in all corners. Will I ever get a job in the West Midlands area?

Im a 24yr old male Jamaica who is married to a British citizens. My past job was employed as an serior computer/mac technician. The thing is, I do not have any qualifications. I was exposed to:

• MS Server Installation & troubleshooting
• Mac Repairs
• Mac Server Installation & troubleshooting
• Printer repairs
• Windows PC/Laptop repairs
• Data recovery
• Data backup with softwares
• Basic Linux administration
• help desk experience
• PC builts
• Cat5e cabling & testing
• TCP/IP LAN and WAN
• IT Administration
• etc

My job was based on a field technician role where I went customers site such as banks, churches, schools and small business organizations. I cant do anything else except administrating computers; i love it. I am a lover of multitaking because I get things done faster that way. My only qualifications are, in CXC (Caribbean Examination Council): Math, Physics, IT, English Language, Technician Drawing and Electronics. It is same as what the UK called GCSE.

Is there a company that will hire a Jamaica like me? I do have the right to live and work in the UK.

I don't know the West Midlands (or the East Midlands for that matter!)

Fact is you have got a shed load of experience and so long as you have a posative approach, you will get work.

(Just don't send you mortgage payments to me in the mean-while!)

Seriously, my daughter lost her job two weeks ago and was hired again after three days, closer to home, more money, better prospects.

Why?

She wanted it.

Self belief and a posative attitude will prevail.

Good luck.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Polski

I don't know the West Midlands (or the East Midlands for that matter!)

Fact is you have got a shed load of experience and so long as you have a posative approach, you will get work.

(Just don't send you mortgage payments to me in the mean-while!)

Seriously, my daughter lost her job two weeks ago and was hired again after three days, closer to home, more money, better prospects.

Why?

She wanted it.

Self belief and a posative attitude will prevail.

Good luck.

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Thanks for the reading. Im getting depressed. Its been from January since I have been applying for jobs. I guess its because of the recession going on. But i will hold the faith.

don't panic.

IF you have only been looking since january, what are we now end of feb, 2 months that's no time in the scheme of things - certainly too soon to give up hope.....the important thing is to keep filling in those application forms and attending those interviews.

Thats what ppl say. But Im at home, on my laptop not doing nothing much. Is boring.:bored:

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Originally Posted by IT_Master

Thats what ppl say. But Im at home, on my laptop not doing nothing much. Is boring.:bored:

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Why not start putting yourself out there to small companies. Offer services in the meantime, working from home.

Maybe personal computer repairs at a good rate - might not be a full time income but surely better than nothing?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IT_Master

Thats what ppl say. But Im at home, on my laptop not doing nothing much. Is boring.:bored:

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Try and get in touch with some recruitment agencies near you, and job hunt constantly. Read classifieds in papers, search online, and look in the local jobseekers office whenever you get the chance.

Last time I was on a serious job hunt (I was headhunted for my current one) I applied for an average of six a day, for three months. Its depressing, and disheartening, but eventually it should pay off.

Thats true you know. I used to had my own business card back home and I did well. The thing is I dont know life in the UK that much. A bit shy lol.

Why not get a few more qualifications while you are waiting for free as well.

Free Online Learning, Interactive Courses for All | ALISON

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ninjabeaver

Why not get a few more qualifications while you are waiting for free as well.

Free Online Learning, Interactive Courses for All | ALISON

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FREE?? Ok ill go check it out.

When I left the Army in 1997, after 23 years service. I felt the panic you are feeling now. Probably far more so as I had a family and mortgage to service.

I was living in Suffolk, but my "Home town" was in Bedfordshire and I felt a little lost.

I sat reading the local paper at my uncles and saw a job at Capita (SIMS) as an IT support engineer (9k - school leaver). I applied for it, for interview practice.

I had been to interviews at schools in Ipswich, twice eight of us had sat around nervously fidgiting.

Twice the Headteacher had walked on and greeted the favoured candidate like a long lost brother! I felt sick.

I got an interview at Capita for a better joband got that. Moved to their office in Essex, then got this job when Suffolk took on SIMS.

Don't sit at home and mope. Get out and have a coffee in a Costa's somewhere and sit read a book (from your original post, you must love reading!)

If it is finacially viable, go swimming. Jog if you can. The exhaution will help you sleep.

Is your CV up to scratch? Do you get interviews?

I am not sure of the legalities of it, but investigate any avenue to get your foot into the door of a possible emplyee.

Tailor your CV to the post you are applying for, some people may feel you will want to move on soon to a better job, given your list of qualifications and experience.

Being over-qualified can harm you as much as being under qualified.

You mentioned your ethinc background. Frankly, if I can get you to work on time and do a fairs days work and make my customers smile, you could be from Mars for all I care. And given the diversity of work forces I have been in in IT in the last ten years, many would agree.

Judging from some of the pictures on here, some may well be! Just kidding guys!

Yeah, it's nothing to big, but I think the European Computer License and some other are on there that are computer related. Lots of other things like Health and Safety and stuff.

Have a trawl through it. It will burn some free time up though.

Don't forget to clean the house, DIY, repairs and make sure the dinner is on to score points from the other half. ;)

While job hunting in Canada, dropped off 120 CV's door to door around the town where I lived.

-25c and a foot of snow, in trainers!

Not one reply.

What would I do different? Where decent boots!

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Originally Posted by Hightower

Maybe personal computer repairs at a good rate

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Might be something to be said for that idea, actually - people might not want to buy a new machine at the moment, but would spen a couple of hundred on a bit of an upgrade / sort out.

--
David Hicks

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Originally Posted by IT_Master

Thats what ppl say. But Im at home, on my laptop not doing nothing much. Is boring.:bored:

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SO you are out of work, at home, on your laptop, doing "nothing much".

I wonder how motivated you really are?

Why are you not at home, on your laptop, doing SOMETHING?

I was in your situation a few years ago. I'd worked for 'box shifting' IT companies. Swapping out keyboards, printers and monitors.

I got made redundant. I used the time I was out of work to learn new skills, taught myself a shed load of stuff about PC maintenance, everything you could ever want to know about Windows (at that time) and then some.

I got interviews because I studied how to write a good CV, and when I finally got a job I was going for, I was able to demonstrate competence in the skills they were looking for. That job led me to promotion within the company and I ended up 'running' the European Helpdesk until we were amalgamated with a bigger competitor at which point I found myself out of work again, albeit with a decent payoff from the company.

This time I took up government training opportunities in business management with a view to running my own company.

6 months later, I signed up my first business client on a maintenance contract for his 3 estate agent branches. I sold my business 5 years later for a variety of reasons, and now, through choice, work as an IT Technician in a College.

Sorry, but you have no-one to blame for your boredom but yourself. If you know all there is to know about your particular skill set, learn something else. Web development, Network security, Linux ... the govt is going to be pushing Open Source over the next couple of years, there's your opportunity. Take it.