Hi all. Been scouring Job sites (in the UK) in the IT sector (particularly Web Developer, though not fussed for first job) but they all seem to want actual work experience! I've yet to find any that don't require any, or will train me on the job. Is there something I'm not doing right or missing? Thanks!
It sucks mate, I've been here and it's hard. Have you looked down an apprenticeship route? I found it a right struggle, can I suggest (if you don't have one already) a portfolio site, that way you can email shed loads of companies in your area with a kind of "hi, give me a job, i can do this" sort of thing. May also be handy to ask them "if you require me to have x yrs experience how do I get it.
My first IT job, I walked into an Internet cafe and volunteered my time (I was out of work and figured it would look good on the CV.) The owner gave me a paid job on the spot. Worked there for a year before becoming a computer technician in a school.
I did a training course similar to A+ The agency I trained with got me an unpaid placement in a school, mostly for experience. after 2 weeks I go offered a job. If you've got free time, it'll look good on your CV. + you get the all important EXPERIENCE I've heard good thiings about this site. http://www.do-it.org.uk/doit/help/howtosearch Select computers as activity and select your area.
Thanks all, some good suggestions there! Will definitely work on getting a decent portfolio. As for the Apprenticeships, I've already sent off application for the 3-4 available in my area (up to 1 hour drive away). However I fear getting an apprenticeship may be hard to due to age (22) and qualifications (college, HND/Foundation). Sounds odd, but it looks like if your over 19 the company running the apprenticeship gets less funding from the government, and if your over 19 and/or have qualifications I have think those without are prioritised before you. However, I do have hope and will keep applying Already good at both Sadly, not through "work" experience... Thanks all!
Look out for junior positions, most of these will suit someone with little to no experience, although admittedly you will start on a fairly low pay scale. How would you rate your own abilities? Would you say you still have a lot to learn? What do you specialise in, frontend or backend development?
I'm not sure if they are still doing it but the job centre did a scheme were they would contribute money to a company to give you a trial, can't recall the exact details but that may be something to look into.
How old are you? A builder friend got asked to take a lad on and the lad gets £30 a week paid by Barnardos or the YMCA or something for doing it.
My ma's an awesome job hunter Ok, I'm a sales assistant and am 22, so whatever. Used to work at Robert Dyas part time when I was in High school, now work at a Dixons. Yeah I know it's irrelevant, but hey, what isn't
22 I've only done a little searching so far, need look further, but when i threw in Junior into the keyword search on job sites, it just got me jobs wanting 6-12 months experience instead of 3 years or whatever My abilities.....I'm not sure I could rate them. To give you an idea, here's a sort of portfolio I put together 2 years ago while at Uni. http://igniseus.com/aboutme_portfolio.htm The site itself (igniseus.com) was hand-coded about 3 years back. In addition to this I have done 2 PHP sites for Uni: 1st - http://igniseus.com/chest_vest_invest/index.php 2nd - http://igniseus.com/ayd/ I also know a tiny bit of ASP.NET, though I'm aiming to start learning it very quickly whilst looking for a job. Thanks
You got a couple broken links/pages on your website, I'd recommend fixing them to round out the professionality of your website http://igniseus.com/forum is dead Problem with http://igniseus.com/gallery.html - reproduce it: 1. Visit http://igniseus.com/gallery.html 2. First click Screenshots, nothing happens 3. Then click Wallpapers, and nothing happens 4. Then click Graphics, which works 5. Then click Wallpapers, which now works 6. Then click Screenshots, and nothing happens I'd recommend you error handle, or permanently remove, dead pages, as that'd be the best practice!
Thanks for pointing those out! Didn't see this coming, should have pointed out that the site hasn't been updated in years and need to update it before posting the link to employers. Besides these flaws I need to fix do you have any opinions on the site(s)? I'm totally crap at art/design, so I wont be offended there, and I'm still comparatively new to all the languages too Thanks
cross browser compatability also, make sure you know your stuff when it comes to that, to help you get the firefox web dev tools. Great help when diagnosing problems. Less helpful when working in PHP but get's the css sorted.
Yeah, Firebug is indispensable for design/CSS. As a general rule, I hate fixed width websites, especially ones so narrow as most users will have absolute minimum 1024x768 res nowadays. If you need design ideas, you can't go far wrong with just googling for "free website template" and taking it from there. I don't have anything online at the moment, although I'm not exactly the world's best designer either
You need to show you are better than the 123456 web devs out there by having a portfolio of really good work. I cant imagine you getting a good job without them wanting to see any of your work. In the meantime try and get a job in customer support at a web dev firm or something, companies like to promote from within as its cheaper and improves morale.
Two of my mates are into web-dev and both landed jobs (with no previous experience) at agencies. It's usually simple work (so previous experience isn't much of a big deal). There are plenty of design/creative agencies around, especially if you're near any big towns or cities. Common misconception - no one cares how flashy your CV site is (if they even bother to look). What matters is what's on the pieces of paper you send in as your application.
