Ricky Martin’s Blog

Well with all the doom and gloom about the economy all around the world, are people who need jobs actually finding any?

I heard many stories over the past few months that there are millions of people loosing there jobs in many different sectors all over the world, with the financial crisis and bank collapses in the news is anyone safe?

Then on the other side of the coin you also hear the stories about companies that are hiring and other that are in a shortage of qualified staff. What can you believe?

I have several friends who had lost their jobs recently, and a few that left willingly to take care of personal matters, now the ones who lost their jobs had some idea that it was coming but it was still a blow to them none the less, at this time 1 of them has managed to find a new job, but he had to relocate almost across the country. I don’t think that everyone would be so willing to do that.

the other friend of mine was in a higher position when he was let go, at a certain level you could say where jobs like that don’t open up every day, now he managed to get a package on leaving from his employer that would hold him over for a while. but without knowing how long it might be before finding a job you really have to wonder. He is somewhat fortunate that his wife is still working and they have at least one steady income. Even with that though they can’t last forever on the one income, and with the job market as it is right now, things are not looking promising. he had asked for any help I could provide so I figured I could put something out here at the same time.

The one thing I would suggest as most good recruiters will tell you is make your resume/CV stand out, The other would be to reach out to all your contacts both personal and professional, you never know where there could be an opening that you might be a match for and your contact may just get something from you and think you would be a good fit or know someone that is looking and your name may come up. This has happened to me in the past, I have been lucky especially when looking for a job, it usually happens that you get a call or e-mail from a unlikely source especially if you put yourself out there and reach out to the people you know.

Also I would suggest you post your resume/CV on as many Job websites as you can, chances are you will get a hit on at least 1 of them maybe more, and especially in this economic climate you want to be seen, so even if a company is advertising on multiple job boards if they see your resume/CV pop up on all of them that may be a good sign that you are a fit or at least a qualified candidate.

One other suggestion I would use is to do some research into the companies you would be interested in working for a good website I found is Fortune Magazine, They have an excellent page on the best 100 companies to work for as well as a list of the companies that are hiring even in the current economic climate.

Hope this helps anyone that is looking if so please let me know?

OK, as I have been writing of late I am looking into getting my certifications up to date, as we are suppose to be doing it through work, I am a little weary of getting started on the MCSE, I have finished one of the books, and was getting ready to schedule the exam, but there is a possibility that I may be in the next round of training with work, so I decided to hold off on that for the moment.

I have decided then to go for the CCNA instead as in terms of value it probably makes more sense, and is in higher demand. The CCNA can be done in one or two exams depending on your preference. I am going for the one exam approach. I think it makes the most sense and is the most cost effective option. the exam itself is only about $150. That being said one exam and your certified as opposed to the MCSE which is about 7 exams to get your full certification.

I started reading the material on the 26th of January, and my plan is to take the exam by the 24th of February. So roughly a month time frame to get up to speed and prepared for the exam. From the resources I have found the exam itself is between 55-60 questions and there is a 110 minutes to complete the exam. You need to score an 85% or better to have passed.

Now I am not completely new to Cisco, I have worked with them in the past but it has been about 4 years since I have had to work on a router or switch. I did take the course through the Cisco academy about 6 years ago at McGill University in Montreal. I passed the course, but never got around to taking the exam. So in essence it is kind of a refresher, as I probably know most of the stuff just have remember how to do it again.

as part of tools I have gotten I am currently reading the “CCNA : Cisco Certified Network Associate Study Guide (Exam 640-802) , 6th Edition” by Todd Lammle. I am also using Dynamips Cisco Router simulator to practice as it simulates almost exactly the router environment as it uses actual Cisco IOS.
I will keep up my progress and list things I have found along this adventure, hopefully by the end of it I can say I am officially a CCNA? we’ll have to wait and see.