How do we, the self-taught people, get past CVs and interviews?

[foozball3000]

I'm applying as a junior programmer to a company that I really want to work for,
but they require a Degree/diploma in Information Technology/Informatics/Development. I only have a Microsoft SQL DBI Qualification, and I haven't written my MCSD.Net exams yet. But I have the skills that they need as I have a vast knowledge base, and can code skillfully in quite a few languages and possessing a lot of other skills/knowledge that a degree/diploma won't teach you.

How do you get past that?

 

[Viper25]

Maybe demo some of your projects or programs during the interview?

 

[foozball3000]

Maybe demo some of your projects or programs during the interview?

I was thinking down the same line. But, in that case, won't it make more sense to have your own website, where you can demo your skills more effectively?

 

[icyrus]

A good portfolio of relevant work is worth more than any lines on a CV.

 

[tco21]

You've got to get into the interview first.

 

[foozball3000]

You've got to get into the interview first.

Jip. That's the big problem.

 

[Viper25]

I was thinking down the same line. But, in that case, won't it make more sense to have your own website, where you can demo your skills more effectively?

Yup, that will be even more impressive...

 

[tco21]

Jip. That's the big problem.

Do your homework, find out the contact details of the HR manager or the person that manages the department you're looking to work in, and impress them on the phone. It's a pre-interview interview.

 

[dequadin]

This is one of the reasons I've been thinking about starting a .NET Coding Blog, you get double benefits. Firstly for your CV and secondly you're giving back to the community that taught you...

 

[FarligOpptreden]

This is one of the reasons I've been thinking about starting a .NET Coding Blog, you get double benefits. Firstly for your CV and secondly you're giving back to the community that taught you...

Like www.acidrazor.com? I've also though of doing something in that line, but I just don't have the time to manage a blog at the moment. Day-job, freelancing, wife and 2 dogs don't allow it...

 

[Keeper]

Just write the tests then man, Veroland claims he knows people who have passed the MCSD & MCSE tests with about 10 hours PC experience.

 

[tco21]

They're expensive aren't they?

 

[FarligOpptreden]

They're expensive aren't they?

Around R700 - R800 per exam. You can register at Thompson's Prometric for a "second shot" exam, so you get a free rewrite if you fail.

 

[Keeper]

Around R700 - R800 per exam. You can register at Thompson's Prometric for a "second shot" exam, so you get a free rewrite if you fail.

wow that's a pretty good price

 

[FarligOpptreden]

wow that's a pretty good price

I got my last exam pretty cheap as well, because Microsoft was running some promotion... I ended up paying just over R400 for the exam and got a second shot as well. Not that I needed it, seeing as I got 100% for the exam...

(as Veroland mentioned, it's not that difficult to pass the MCAD / MCSD / MCTS exams. the knowledge base questions are all over the net)

 

[Keeper]

i'm sorry, but i can't believe that - People who have only spent less than a day in front of a computer their entire lives have a hard time learning a few shortcuts like copy/paste and knowing the difference between a browser and a search engine, nevermind being able to write 6 MCSE exams.

besides, aren't these adaptive tests we're talking about?

IMO it is undermining all the smart guys on mybb who HAVE done these tests, by saying any idiot that has hardly touched a computer can do them

 

[FarligOpptreden]

I think Veroland's statement had just a smidget of hyperbole in it, but the fact really is that you can write these exams without actually knowing what you're doing. Yes, there are guys / gals out there who write and pass the exams based purely on their knowledge of the particular domain, but I'm willing to bet that most people out there just study the question banks and hope for the best. I've heard numerous people confessing that they passed the exam because they studied the question banks. Obviously, it helps if you know WHY your chosen answer is the correct one...

 

[dequadin]

Like www.acidrazor.com? I've also though of doing something in that line, but I just don't have the time to manage a blog at the moment. Day-job, freelancing, wife and 2 dogs don't allow it...

lol no not like that ;p More like this or this

With more in depth C#/.NET topics, or stuff that I struggled to get to work and there's not a lot of info on the internets. Not just you standard "here's how TreeView works" blog, which there are hundreds of articles covering already.

 

[FarligOpptreden]

lol no not like that ;p More like this or this

With more in depth C#/.NET topics, or stuff that I struggled to get to work and there's not a lot of info on the internets. Not just you standard "here's how TreeView works" blog, which there are hundreds of articles covering already.

Yeah, a good example of stuff that I struggled with in which I spent HOURS searching for solutions that even Google couldn't properly yield results to, were custom HTTP Handlers for URL Rewriting in .NET 2.0 and automatically loading CLR assemblies in SQL Server without using VS to simply "right-click, Deploy". I managed to build a scalable HTTP Handler in the end, as well as integrate a SQL script to our installer / upgrade package which will load the necessary CLR assemblies in the database... I realized that many people had similar trouble in both accounts, but there was no single solution on the internet. My final solution was a bit of a "spoeg-en-plak" episode resulting from numerous resources...

 

[Amida]

I think Veroland's statement had just a smidget of hyperbole in it, but the fact really is that you can write these exams without actually knowing what you're doing. Yes, there are guys / gals out there who write and pass the exams based purely on their knowledge of the particular domain, but I'm willing to bet that most people out there just study the question banks and hope for the best. I've heard numerous people confessing that they passed the exam because they studied the question banks. Obviously, it helps if you know WHY your chosen answer is the correct one...

You'll just get caught out at the interview stage so it's really pointless.