Acquiring More Certifications
It was in February of this year that I acquired my last certificate, which was the CompTIA A+. Since than, I have dedicated most of my time to building out Windows Server environments, Hyper-V configurations, and nested VM’s using VMware. I have also spent time studying Microsoft Azure AI solutions, as well as studying to acquire another certificate. This certificate was the Microsoft Azure AZ900, it represents a fundamental understanding of the operation and implementation instances for Microsoft Azure. This was a vital certificate for me to achieve as it will get me one step closer to achieving my next major goal of being a proficient cloud engineer.
Endless Applications
The other task I have spent most of my time performing the last 5 months has been curating my resume and sending out applications to any position that has become available locally. This process has unfortunately been pretty demoralizing as I have only been able to move into an interview with two companies and neither moving onto the next stage after the interview. With an average of about 20 applications per week covering platforms such as LinkedIn, Indeed ,Zip Recruiter, and Career Builder it has been difficult to keep sending out applications and not even getting a response 75% of the time. None the less I still send out applications daily if there are positions I have not already applied to available. I am hoping that by adding more certificates to my resume I will be able to land at least some more interviews in the near future.
Interviews
Since I began applying for positions, mainly desktop support roles, I have been able to land an interview with two different companies. The first was an energy company located in downtown Denver and the second a entertainment management company in the mountains. A major disappointment about both interviews is that they both felt like they went great. Both had requested me to set up a time for a second interview but, neither followed through onto the next interview. I found out later that they had selected another applicant but, was still disappointing to get that far and come out with nothing. I am hopeful that by adding more certificates to my resume I will be able to move further into the hiring process with more organizations.
Next Steps
My plan going forward is to continue acquiring more certificates. Starting with a fundamental certificate in VMware, then putting a lot of effort into getting the CompTIA Network+ which should take a bit longer of a study time. I will continue applying for positions that become available from the various platforms I mentioned earlier. I am also going to start looking for local MSP’s and going to the physical location to see if showing up in person can increase the odds of me getting hired. I may have to consider making changes to my resume if in another month I still have not made any progress. I will hopefully be able o provide a positive update in the near future.