That’s the common question I get asked almost every day when speaking to graduates venturing into roles in IT. And it’s difficult because every job wants someone who has experience and when you’re a grad, well that’s kind of difficult, because that’s the whole point of you being a grad – you don’t have on the job experience.
So, how do you get around this problem?
I think fundamentally there are 3 key ways.
Emphasize the skills you have gained in the course that you have done
This is important. I am not talking about you outlining the curriculum or detailing the material for the course that you did. That alone is not good enough. What you need to do is be articulate at outlining exactly what you did and what skills you learned as part of that course and how you implemented them.
So if you installed Windows 2012 from scratch, say that. Give us the correct product name and version number (Windows Server 2012) and even that it was part of a project that you completed, and what you accomplished by doing that. For example:
- Installed Windows 2012 Server from bare metal, setting it up as a Domain Controller and File and Print server.
- Installed Exchange Server 2013 and integrated it with the Domain Controller, exposed it to the internet and confirmed email flowed on a live domain.
By outlining what you can do because of the course that you did helps to prove to an employer that you didn’t just do a course and get a pass mark but you actually picked up skills that are transferrable to a commercial environment.
Up next:
- Part 2: Make sure you have an awesome home lab setup.
- Part 3: Make your resume look the absolute best it can be.
Meanwhile, book your appointment with me here for IT career advice or check out the IT roles I’m filling in here.
