The Oracle Knows All – The Oracle Sees All.
Your situation is a common one. People think they are going to pass the CCNA and then a magic portal will suddenly open out of which will pour job and contract offers. The reality is that passing the CCNA is the first step. Now you must use the CCNA study time you put aside to implement your job application plan.
First, work out what sort of role you want, for what sort of company, what pay rate and which location.
Second, get a list of all the companies who have a network support team (or who need one) and who are within the area you wish to work. Call the human resources team and ask about job applications and also get the name of the IT manager.
Third, call the IT manager and very briefly introduce yourself. Tell him you have written a list of companies you are considering working for and his is very high on your list. Arrange an appointment to come over for a chat to discuss their network and how you can contribute with your Cisco skills. Do not bring up any lack of experience or anything else negative about you or your skill set.
Fourth, keep repeating this process. Under no circumstances are you to stop until you have done the above 100 times. There is a huge shortfall in qualified network engineers all over the world and there is definately a demand for CCNA engineers.
Lastly, please ignore anyone who tells you that you cannot find work unless you have six months experience. If that was the case how would anybody ever get a job in IT? They weren’t born with the experience. We had a student come on our CCNA boot camp course in the UK a couple of months ago. He had just moved over from Africa with his wife and two young children. He had no experience and hadn’t even passed the CCNA exam yet. He did the CCNA boot camp and then applied for job after job. After his fifth interview he was offered a job as part of a network support team.
