How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?
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btw, when i did do the A+, the test was so outdated at the time (asking about 8 and 16 bit isa, eisa, mca, etc) that some of our very capable younger techs found it more like a history exam and had to go learn things they would probably never have to see or use again unless they worked in a museum. i seriously hope they have improved it.
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Fundamentally the A+ only has value as an entry point into the IT industry. It is too expensive and provides little value as learning tool for it to be comparable to other certifications. However, it is perceived to be a usable filter point for businesses hiring entry level people into non programming IT positions. Whether or not it is a good filter point is not really the point. The fact is that the marketplace has this perception, and for an individual seeking to enter into the IT field without other education, experience, or interpersonal connection is immediately at a disadvantage.
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I know how to settle this once and for all. Let's create a resume of someone that scott would envision being qualified for helpdesk with no certs and submit to job postings. See if we get any bites
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@irj said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
I know how to settle this once and for all. Let's create a resume of someone that scott would envision being qualified for helpdesk with no certs and submit to job postings. See if we get any bites
Well A+ isn't the cert for helpdesk IMO.
There are much better certs for that, like OS specific certs for the OSs he'll be supporting. I'd go the Windows 10 cert route, with Net+ if there isn't anything better he can do with his time and money to get an entry level help desk role.
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@emad-r said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@dbeato said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
Sometimes is used to filter positions but the truth is that having experience is what counts a lot.
When I hired an IT assistant recently, everything I asked was about Home Lab, and what was it, and what are the VMs stored on it.
Afterwards conversation drags along, on what VMs, network type of them, and their role ...etc, I would not care less about Certs
Yes, which is why IT people get it, any other department hiring doesn’t usually get it and go by what certifications you have. I got to tell that this isn’t an IT issues , it happens on other careers.
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Just got this in my inbox...
Hi,
.
I hope this message finds you well. I'm reaching out with an immediate opening for an experienced Helpdesk professional. I'm looking for someone that's CompTIA A+ certified and available to start working ASAP. I'd love to chat with you about your professional background and career goals to see if this could be a fit.
.
Are you available to talk today or tomorrow? What's the best number for me to call? If you're interested please email your resume to @.**.
.
I look forward to connecting.
.
Best,Sooo..... Looks like some do require the A+ after all ^_^
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@tim_g said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
Just got this in my inbox...
Hi,
.
I hope this message finds you well. I'm reaching out with an immediate opening for an experienced Helpdesk professional. I'm looking for someone that's CompTIA A+ certified and available to start working ASAP. I'd love to chat with you about your professional background and career goals to see if this could be a fit.
.
Are you available to talk today or tomorrow? What's the best number for me to call? If you're interested please email your resume to @.**.
.
I look forward to connecting.
.
Best,Sooo..... Looks like some do require the A+ after all ^_^
Yeah, that doesn't mean that though. We know it is listed on tons of jobs. what we don't know is if it is actually required or, as HR departments have told us, that "required" essentially never means required but just a way to gauge rough skills. And we don't know if it is primarily required for real jobs or fake ones.
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@scottalanmiller said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@tim_g said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
Just got this in my inbox...
Hi,
.
I hope this message finds you well. I'm reaching out with an immediate opening for an experienced Helpdesk professional. I'm looking for someone that's CompTIA A+ certified and available to start working ASAP. I'd love to chat with you about your professional background and career goals to see if this could be a fit.
.
Are you available to talk today or tomorrow? What's the best number for me to call? If you're interested please email your resume to @.**.
.
I look forward to connecting.
.
Best,Sooo..... Looks like some do require the A+ after all ^_^
Yeah, that doesn't mean that though. We know it is listed on tons of jobs. what we don't know is if it is actually required or, as HR departments have told us, that "required" essentially never means required but just a way to gauge rough skills. And we don't know if it is primarily required for real jobs or fake ones.
I should reply to it just to see how it plays out, and say I don't have my A+ (which I do since like 2005 or something) but give my actual experience. Or something...
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@tim_g said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@scottalanmiller said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@tim_g said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
Just got this in my inbox...
Hi,
.
I hope this message finds you well. I'm reaching out with an immediate opening for an experienced Helpdesk professional. I'm looking for someone that's CompTIA A+ certified and available to start working ASAP. I'd love to chat with you about your professional background and career goals to see if this could be a fit.
.
Are you available to talk today or tomorrow? What's the best number for me to call? If you're interested please email your resume to @.**.
.
I look forward to connecting.
.
Best,Sooo..... Looks like some do require the A+ after all ^_^
Yeah, that doesn't mean that though. We know it is listed on tons of jobs. what we don't know is if it is actually required or, as HR departments have told us, that "required" essentially never means required but just a way to gauge rough skills. And we don't know if it is primarily required for real jobs or fake ones.
I should reply to it just to see how it plays out, and say I don't have my A+ (which I do since like 2005 or something) but give my actual experience.
Exactly. Now, likely, they will be like haha.... we could never afford you. But that's not the same as requiring the A+
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@scottalanmiller said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@tim_g said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
Just got this in my inbox...
Hi,
.
I hope this message finds you well. I'm reaching out with an immediate opening for an experienced Helpdesk professional. I'm looking for someone that's CompTIA A+ certified and available to start working ASAP. I'd love to chat with you about your professional background and career goals to see if this could be a fit.
.
Are you available to talk today or tomorrow? What's the best number for me to call? If you're interested please email your resume to @.**.
.
I look forward to connecting.
.
Best,Sooo..... Looks like some do require the A+ after all ^_^
Yeah, that doesn't mean that though. We know it is listed on tons of jobs. what we don't know is if it is actually required or, as HR departments have told us, that "required" essentially never means required but just a way to gauge rough skills. And we don't know if it is primarily required for real jobs or fake ones.
Your statements in this thread are confusing me. It sounds like you said that people don't use the A+ as a requirement. Now you're stating that even though it is listed as a requirement that HR departments don't use those requirements because of...anecdotal evidence? You have previously refused anecdotal evidence in similar situations. In addition, many of your earlier statements both in this thread and comparable ones have used many absolute statements regarding the usefulness of A+, but now you're stating that you don't know one way or another. Care to clarify any of that?
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@kelly said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@scottalanmiller said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@tim_g said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
Just got this in my inbox...
Hi,
.
I hope this message finds you well. I'm reaching out with an immediate opening for an experienced Helpdesk professional. I'm looking for someone that's CompTIA A+ certified and available to start working ASAP. I'd love to chat with you about your professional background and career goals to see if this could be a fit.
.
Are you available to talk today or tomorrow? What's the best number for me to call? If you're interested please email your resume to @.**.
.
I look forward to connecting.
.
Best,Sooo..... Looks like some do require the A+ after all ^_^
Yeah, that doesn't mean that though. We know it is listed on tons of jobs. what we don't know is if it is actually required or, as HR departments have told us, that "required" essentially never means required but just a way to gauge rough skills. And we don't know if it is primarily required for real jobs or fake ones.
Your statements in this thread are confusing me. It sounds like you said that people don't use the A+ as a requirement. Now you're stating that even though it is listed as a requirement that HR departments don't use those requirements because of...anecdotal evidence?
I've always said this. It's well known that in most fields and IT specifically that IT "requirements" are not required. Not only does nearly everyone you will ever meet in IT see this first hand, and everyone working on the hiring side know this, but this was told to me by one of the big five staffing firms in the US that people are misunderstanding what requirements means in job listings.
It's just a suggestion, most people listing requirements have no idea that some people actually think that those exact things are actually required.
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@scottalanmiller said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@kelly said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@scottalanmiller said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@tim_g said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
Just got this in my inbox...
Hi,
.
I hope this message finds you well. I'm reaching out with an immediate opening for an experienced Helpdesk professional. I'm looking for someone that's CompTIA A+ certified and available to start working ASAP. I'd love to chat with you about your professional background and career goals to see if this could be a fit.
.
Are you available to talk today or tomorrow? What's the best number for me to call? If you're interested please email your resume to @.**.
.
I look forward to connecting.
.
Best,Sooo..... Looks like some do require the A+ after all ^_^
Yeah, that doesn't mean that though. We know it is listed on tons of jobs. what we don't know is if it is actually required or, as HR departments have told us, that "required" essentially never means required but just a way to gauge rough skills. And we don't know if it is primarily required for real jobs or fake ones.
Your statements in this thread are confusing me. It sounds like you said that people don't use the A+ as a requirement. Now you're stating that even though it is listed as a requirement that HR departments don't use those requirements because of...anecdotal evidence?
I've always said this. It's well known that in most fields and IT specifically that IT "requirements" are not required. Not only does nearly everyone you will ever meet in IT see this first hand, and everyone working on the hiring side know this, but this was told to me by one of the big five staffing firms in the US that people are misunderstanding what requirements means in job listings.
It's just a suggestion, most people listing requirements have no idea that some people actually think that those exact things are actually required.
Have you heard this specifically about the A+ or about requirements in general? What would you call it if an item is used as a filter but is not considered a hard requirement by the hiring party?
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@kelly said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
You have previously refused anecdotal evidence in similar situations. In addition, many of your earlier statements both in this thread and comparable ones have used many absolute statements regarding the usefulness of A+, but now you're stating that you don't know one way or another. Care to clarify any of that?
Video uploading.
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@kelly said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@scottalanmiller said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@kelly said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@scottalanmiller said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@tim_g said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
Just got this in my inbox...
Hi,
.
I hope this message finds you well. I'm reaching out with an immediate opening for an experienced Helpdesk professional. I'm looking for someone that's CompTIA A+ certified and available to start working ASAP. I'd love to chat with you about your professional background and career goals to see if this could be a fit.
.
Are you available to talk today or tomorrow? What's the best number for me to call? If you're interested please email your resume to @.**.
.
I look forward to connecting.
.
Best,Sooo..... Looks like some do require the A+ after all ^_^
Yeah, that doesn't mean that though. We know it is listed on tons of jobs. what we don't know is if it is actually required or, as HR departments have told us, that "required" essentially never means required but just a way to gauge rough skills. And we don't know if it is primarily required for real jobs or fake ones.
Your statements in this thread are confusing me. It sounds like you said that people don't use the A+ as a requirement. Now you're stating that even though it is listed as a requirement that HR departments don't use those requirements because of...anecdotal evidence?
I've always said this. It's well known that in most fields and IT specifically that IT "requirements" are not required. Not only does nearly everyone you will ever meet in IT see this first hand, and everyone working on the hiring side know this, but this was told to me by one of the big five staffing firms in the US that people are misunderstanding what requirements means in job listings.
It's just a suggestion, most people listing requirements have no idea that some people actually think that those exact things are actually required.
Have you heard this specifically about the A+ or about requirements in general? What would you call it if an item is used as a filter but is not considered a hard requirement by the hiring party?
Everything, definitely not just the A+. College degrees and "years of experience" are the two biggest. To the point that for things like degrees I've been told that there is an industry standard for "experience years" to replace "degree levels" that is used across the Fortune 500.
A filter is definitely a requirement. Filters are, I believe, almost completely a myth. SMBs certainly don't use them, I've never heard of an enterprise that does. Everyone talks about them, but they would be invisible, how would anyone really know if they exist or not unless they worked on the HR system and knew that they were in use and had no bypasses? I feel like they are an urban legend. Sure, someone has written one, but I'm not sure any appreciable number of companies have them.
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First video from my Android phone.
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@scottalanmiller said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@kelly said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@scottalanmiller said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@kelly said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@scottalanmiller said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
@tim_g said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
Just got this in my inbox...
Hi,
.
I hope this message finds you well. I'm reaching out with an immediate opening for an experienced Helpdesk professional. I'm looking for someone that's CompTIA A+ certified and available to start working ASAP. I'd love to chat with you about your professional background and career goals to see if this could be a fit.
.
Are you available to talk today or tomorrow? What's the best number for me to call? If you're interested please email your resume to @.**.
.
I look forward to connecting.
.
Best,Sooo..... Looks like some do require the A+ after all ^_^
Yeah, that doesn't mean that though. We know it is listed on tons of jobs. what we don't know is if it is actually required or, as HR departments have told us, that "required" essentially never means required but just a way to gauge rough skills. And we don't know if it is primarily required for real jobs or fake ones.
Your statements in this thread are confusing me. It sounds like you said that people don't use the A+ as a requirement. Now you're stating that even though it is listed as a requirement that HR departments don't use those requirements because of...anecdotal evidence?
I've always said this. It's well known that in most fields and IT specifically that IT "requirements" are not required. Not only does nearly everyone you will ever meet in IT see this first hand, and everyone working on the hiring side know this, but this was told to me by one of the big five staffing firms in the US that people are misunderstanding what requirements means in job listings.
It's just a suggestion, most people listing requirements have no idea that some people actually think that those exact things are actually required.
Have you heard this specifically about the A+ or about requirements in general? What would you call it if an item is used as a filter but is not considered a hard requirement by the hiring party?
Everything, definitely not just the A+. College degrees and "years of experience" are the two biggest. To the point that for things like degrees I've been told that there is an industry standard for "experience years" to replace "degree levels" that is used across the Fortune 500.
A filter is definitely a requirement. Filters are, I believe, almost completely a myth. SMBs certainly don't use them, I've never heard of an enterprise that does. Everyone talks about them, but they would be invisible, how would anyone really know if they exist or not unless they worked on the HR system and knew that they were in use and had no bypasses? I feel like they are an urban legend. Sure, someone has written one, but I'm not sure any appreciable number of companies have them.
Perhaps some do have a software filter. It would actually make sense in some contexts. If I'm hiring for a job with high turn over with a field based application system it would be logical to discard based on certain criteria. Why wade through 500 resumes when you are only going to hire someone who meets a specific criteria? In my own hiring I've used mental filters to speed up my evaluations of resumes, out of area, no relevant skills, poorly written resume/application, etc. The discussion that spawned this one was focused on someone with no experience and no connections. For the types of jobs that they will be applying for, most hiring managers will have to apply some methodology to reduce the number of applications that they have to parse. The A+ is an easy one, and is used frequently.
I'm guessing you're going to dismiss this statement, but I do know of what area that uses filters heavily, and the A+ is a very common filter: government.
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@kelly said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
I'm guessing you're going to dismiss this statement, but I do know of what area that uses filters heavily, and the A+ is a very common filter: government.
I actually beat you to that one by mentioning that gov't does that in the video
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@kelly said in How Much and Long Does the A+ Typically Influence IT Hiring?:
The discussion that spawned this one was focused on someone with no experience and no connections. For the types of jobs that they will be applying for, most hiring managers will have to apply some methodology to reduce the number of applications that they have to parse. The A+ is an easy one, and is used frequently.
I'm not sure if this is true. If you are thinking of call centers, that I would agree. But I think that we're talking about a much broader set of target jobs, if I understand correctly. Jobs like SMB IT junior, or financial industry help desk, or other entry level non-call center position I think are going to be soft on requirements.
Especially for a candidate like this. His strength is in being outside the norm. He should leverage that and exploit it, rather than try to overcome it, IMHO.
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