Just got told I'm gone in 60 days. Any Detroit Oppo folks know of an IT opening here?

"MrCrash" (MrCrash)
10/03/2014 at 16:02 • Filed to: None

Just got done meeting with my boss, and was told I'm gone in 60 days. I know there are a few Oppo folks from the Detroit area. Anyone know of a place hiring IT people?

DISCUSSION (45)

Nibbles > MrCrash
10/03/2014 at 16:04

Balls, sorry to hear this. Always a pain in the ass trying to find new employment

If you were in Denver I could get you set up in a heartbeat, unfortunately I have zero contacts in Detroit :(

Manuél Ferrari > MrCrash
10/03/2014 at 16:09

You should move to the Bay Area. Everyone with IT skills gets $150K/year minimum there!

treesmakewater > Manuél Ferrari
10/03/2014 at 16:10

but then you have to live in the bay area.

treesmakewater > MrCrash
10/03/2014 at 16:11

Sorry to hear that, hopefully 60 days is enough to find another job in the same field.

Manuél Ferrari > treesmakewater
10/03/2014 at 16:11

I like it there... It is expensive. But you can tough it out in the cheapest rental you can find until you're able to work remote for that company or find another job that lets you work remotely.

treesmakewater > Manuél Ferrari
10/03/2014 at 16:16

As much as I do not like the bay area, I may be there in a few years myself. Rental of what?

DipodomysDeserti > treesmakewater
10/03/2014 at 16:17

The dude's in Detroit.

Manuél Ferrari > treesmakewater
10/03/2014 at 16:20

Apartment. Too expensive to buy a house there...

Not all of the Bay Area is the same. Different spots have different feels. You might find a spot that you dislike less.

fink stinger > MrCrash
10/03/2014 at 16:20

Sorry to hear that. A buddy of mine from your area also got downsized a few weeks ago. Some of us are getting into the 'very experienced' category, which means good pay but not much security.

Move to Pittsburgh? Tech is alive and strong here.

treesmakewater > DipodomysDeserti
10/03/2014 at 16:20

I'll admit Detroit does not seem very good either.

pdx107 > MrCrash
10/03/2014 at 16:21

Check Ricoh and CDK Global, both have stuff in/around Detroit area

treesmakewater > Manuél Ferrari
10/03/2014 at 16:22

im sure that for $150K I could deal with something non ideal. Next semester u decide what section of computer science to focus on :s

Manuél Ferrari > treesmakewater
10/03/2014 at 16:26

And that's just the starting point. There are software engineers making in excess of $250K a year there.

Textured Soy Protein > MrCrash
10/03/2014 at 16:41

I'm a career services director at a tech college. My job is getting people jobs.

What kind of IT work do you do specifically?

I know job searching is a pain in the ass, but if you really kill it you should be able to line something up for yourself by the time your current job ends. At least you've got a couple of months to devote to your search.

Your project this weekend should be to polish up the old resume, post it on Monster, Career Builder, Dice, Indeed, SimplyHired, SoloGig, and ZipRecruiter.

Look up staffing firms that place people in IT in your area. The big nationally-known staffing firms include Teksystems, Adecco, Manpower, and Robert Half. I'm sure they have offices near you, and I'd wager there are tons of local Detroit staffing firms as well. These places may have contract jobs rather than permanent employee positions, but hey if you need a job quickly you should consider all options. Don't just apply online through one of their postings, find the phone number to the office, call in, say "I do blah blah blah IT work, I'm being laid off in 60 days, and I'd like to speak to a recruiter please." They will take your call.

Make it your goal to apply to a minimum of 10 new jobs a week. It's a numbers game. The majority of jobs you apply to will not respond to your resume even if you're totally qualified. They get too many resume submissions to even review all of them, they have not enough HR people, and they just don't have the time to send out "no thanks" emails to people who they haven't first selected for a phone interview.

Hope this helps!

lone_liberal > MrCrash
10/03/2014 at 16:55

That sucks, but keep your chin up. I lost my IT job a couple of years ago and found a much better one shortly after. If it takes a little time then you have the opportunity to update your skills.

Too many M's > Manuél Ferrari
10/03/2014 at 16:58

Rusto, you do IT?

Pinkslip > MrCrash
10/03/2014 at 17:02

I'm curious- Did you happen to see any possible warning signs before you got laid off? Like an email encouraging the staff to take vacation time...

MrCrash > Textured Soy Protein
10/03/2014 at 17:04

Thanks for taking the time to write all that out. It is a huge help! I've been at the current place for almost 7 years, so I'm a little rusty at job hunting. A friend has pointed me towards Dice and Monster. I'll be sure to check out the rest tonight when I get home.

Previously I was the systems administrator for a small office. I covered everything from access points to the Xerox copier they HAD to have. We were purchased, and I was transitioned into a primarily customer support role. I've tried to keep up with technologies, but I'm sure having my last "tech" role be 3 years back isn't doing me any favors. At this point, I'm guessing I'd be aiming at getting back in at either entry level or just above. If you are really curious, I can go into detail on what I know and what I've done. Maybe I'm pointing myself in the wrong direction.

I'm going to keep what you said about the numbers game and calling in mind. I applied to a couple positions a couple weeks back when I started seeing signs of bad things to come, but either I got no response or they didn't work out. I'm glad you specifically mentioned Robert Half. I saw a listing for them and meant to follow up, but forgot.

Again, thanks for the guidance. It really means a lot, and is very helpful!

MrCrash > pdx107
10/03/2014 at 17:05

Thanks for the tip. I'll check them both out!

Manuél Ferrari > Too many M's
10/03/2014 at 17:06

I do a little bit of everything at work. I never learned how to code. But at one point or another I've done sys admin, product management, IT management, etc.

MrCrash > lone_liberal
10/03/2014 at 17:07

I'm hoping to have it work out that way. Things were getting rough here as-is, so this isn't exactly surprising. I just hope the next place is a bit lower on the stress levels.

MrCrash > fink stinger
10/03/2014 at 17:09

I wish I could. Just bought a house less than a year ago. Hoping to stick in the area, but it sounds like everywhere else has tech jobs now.

treesmakewater > Manuél Ferrari
10/03/2014 at 17:11

i know java and ruby currently. My programing classes start next semester

MrCrash > Manuél Ferrari
10/03/2014 at 17:11

Tempting. If things don't pan out here, it might be time to drive out west.

treesmakewater > Manuél Ferrari
10/03/2014 at 17:12

i don't see myself being a software engineer. I like networking and hardware the most. I would like to try some reverse engineering though (seems interesting)

MrCrash > Pinkslip
10/03/2014 at 17:14

I've been seeing some of our customers leaving for other vendors, and my boss started asking what the job market was like up here (he's based out of Indiana along with most of the company). I took that as my sign to find out for myself. They are very careful to keep what they say limited to the group as a whole, so if others are having the same conversation, no one is saying.

lone_liberal > MrCrash
10/03/2014 at 17:15

Exactly. My new job doesn't pay any more than the last place but the work environment is a thousand times better.

Manuél Ferrari > treesmakewater
10/03/2014 at 17:18

Add Python and PHP and you'll be rich for sure!

Manuél Ferrari > MrCrash
10/03/2014 at 17:19

LOTS of good driving roads in Nor Cal

I'm in So Cal. Wish I was up there. The weather is nicer up there too.

Manuél Ferrari > Too many M's
10/03/2014 at 17:19

What about you?

Too many M's > Manuél Ferrari
10/03/2014 at 17:24

Nice, I used to do small tactical comms then switched to sys ad and VSAT SATCOM. Project management is fun but I like radiating myself too much.

Manuél Ferrari > Too many M's
10/03/2014 at 17:31

Nice. I used to do sys admin back in the old days. Win NT 4 server and Win 2000 desktops. Fun times!

pdx107 > MrCrash
10/03/2014 at 17:31

Welcome. CDK was formerly ADP Dealer Services.

Too many M's > MrCrash
10/03/2014 at 17:37

When I move from Germany the West Coast is definitely on my list of places to go. Too many opportunities there to not look into.

Textured Soy Protein > MrCrash
10/03/2014 at 17:41

Was this customer support stuff tech-related at all? If it was sorta kinda tech related, try to think of specific ways that it was tech related, and be sure to highlight those specific things. Both in your resume and when describing the position.

Also, I should point out, the only places you want to call in are staffing companies. Not companies doing their own hiring.

Staffing companies always want candidates to submit to their clients and will be happy to talk to you. Staffing companies post a bunch of jobs, but those are all jobs they're trying to fill at their clients. You apply, your resume comes in through the firehose of resumes the staffing company receives for all the jobs they've got posted (I used to work at staffing companies—we got hundreds of resumes a day), a recruiter searches through that massive pile of resumes, maybe they find yours and call you, they get you ready to submit to their clients, and then send your resume over to the client.

treesmakewater > Manuél Ferrari
10/03/2014 at 18:25

ive heard python is similar to java. I planned on learning php, but I also want to learn C (just want to give it a try)

MrCrash > Textured Soy Protein
10/03/2014 at 20:45

It was. I was supporting customers on an e-learning system, and handled desktop and server troubleshooting and qa testing as part of it. I was told it might be a good idea to take the "application and customer management" perspective, and look at a project management role as well. Not sure if I want to go that direction, but it could be a good backup option.

Good call on the calling side. I was always told to never call a company unless told to or it's a last resort. I assumed things hadn't changed, but I'm glad you clarified just in case I did something stupid.

Manuél Ferrari > treesmakewater
10/03/2014 at 21:07

Bummer. Software engineers make more money than system guys. UNLESS you become a badass systems guru who can manage a ton of infrastructure. Then you'll make a ton

Manuél Ferrari > treesmakewater
10/03/2014 at 21:08

Python is supposed to be pretty easy to learn once you know Java. Java is the hardest to get really good at. PHP is easy.

C is supposed to be a biatch to learn

treesmakewater > Manuél Ferrari
10/03/2014 at 21:24

i need to touch up on java (I haven't touched it in 2 years). I was very good at automation using java for example. I've heard that C is hard, but I'm willing to give it a shot

treesmakewater > Manuél Ferrari
10/03/2014 at 21:26

who says I'm not already a badass? XD. I haven't decided yet, but networking and hardware is more likely

Manuél Ferrari > treesmakewater
10/03/2014 at 21:28

Haha true!

Textured Soy Protein > MrCrash
10/03/2014 at 23:48

From what you're describing, I wouldn't necessarily say your last tech role was 3 years ago. You might be doing more support stuff than hands-on but it's still tech.

I would maybe just put two different sections on your resume, like such (I'm using sample company names and dates, correct them accordingly):

ABC Company , Detroit, MI, October 2007 - present
Current Title , October 2011 - present
- Support customers on (whatever the name of the e-learning system is) e-learning system
- Desktop & server troubleshooting (mention specific hardware & software)
- QA testing (also go into detail on what you were testing, techniques and tools used, automated or manual, etc)
System Administrator , October 2007 - October 2011
- everything from access points to xerox copier (and you can fill in the detail here too)

As for things you should apply to, there's lots of support-y jobs that aren't necessarily entry level. For example this Tier II Help Desk Specialist job would be about the lowest level I'd target, since you've got a good amount of experience.

Anyway, I just did a quick search on Indeed for 'network support' and found all these jobs:

https://jobs-ahis.icims.com/jobs/8402/netw…

http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobseeker/jobs…

http://jobs.transcanada.com/job/Troy-Inter…

http://jobs.lorventech.com/private/myjobs…

http://jobview.monster.com/Windows-Networ…

https://jacobsexternal-jacobstechnology.icims.com/jobs/18371/com…

https://career4.successfactors.com/career?company…

https://riis.applicantpro.com/jobs/l/73721-2…

Monster & Careerbuilder are ok to post your resume on but there's a lot of crap jobs on there as well.

I'd start with Indeed, SimplyHired, Dice, DetroitJobNetwork, and SoloGig. That should give you plenty of things to apply for.

Indeed & SimplyHired search other job boards, so usually if there's anything decent on Monster or Careerbuilder, you'll find them through Indeed and SimplyHired.

MrCrash > Textured Soy Protein
10/07/2014 at 16:59

Thanks again for all your help with this. I put in for a bunch of positions to start, and have already made it through a phone interview and received a request for an in-person interview. I'm not sure this position is the one for me (was warned right away that management is crazy, and they used the time since my last "full" tech position as a reason why they would offer me a lower salary), but at least the interview experience can't hurt. Oddly enough, one of the positions you linked to is for a customer I currently work with frequently. The HR folks here say there isn't a conflict of interest in applying, so I'll be pursuing that as well.

Textured Soy Protein > MrCrash
10/07/2014 at 17:56

Great, good luck with the interviews and hopefully something works out soon!