Ok--just my $.02 here also--but 1 thing u might consider is to blog on
a specific topic in which you want to get hired. I've read about folks
who didn't have the creds, but their passion showed thru so clearly in
their content that they got hired. 1 shining example I can think of
right off the top is Brian Krebs. He's 1 of the most famous bloggers
on security, but his background is actually journalism. He's taught
himself much about the technical aspects of security, as well as
teaming up w/some high-powered tech folks, & has basically become an
icon in the field, intersecting journalism w/technology to spot &
report on emerging malware trends, etc.
Connect w/those on social media w/whom you wish to establish a
relationship, comment intelligently on their blog posts/tweets, etc.,
offer to help them if u can, &, when the time is right, & you're sure
that your post idea is a good fit for their blog, ask if u can guest
post for them, giving them an idea of what u intend to write. If they
say "yeah", then you've connected w/their audience, which is likely
far larger than yours. Don't post the article u intend to write for
them to your blog first--most bloggers want content to be exclusive to
their blog. U can then present employers with links to such materials,
thereby demonstrating both written communications skills & a knowledge
of the subject.
On 11/2/13, Katherine Moss
I'm wondering too, since I have a slight issue with the menus in VMware Workstation, but otherwise, things are fine. It's just that the menubar titles aren't actually read. Kind of odd, but you know how things work.
-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:59 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist
Hi Ryan,
Interesting and good points made. Which spesific inaccessible version / produkt of VMware are you talking about? I am asking because of my earlyer post this week concerning accessibility of vmware.
Thanks in advance, Vincent.
On 11/2/2013 1:46 AM, Ryan Shugart wrote:
Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan
-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist
The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.
-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist
My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.
Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.
That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.
Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.
On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:
-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist
Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness
du
ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.
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