Finding your first job in the industry is often made easier if you're offered a Job Placement Assistance facility. Having said that, occasionally people are too impressed with this facility, as it's relatively easy for any focused and well taught person to land work in the IT environment - as there is such a shortage of qualified personnel.

Advice and support about getting interviews and your CV may be available (if it isn't, consult one of our sites). Ensure you work on your old CV right away - don't leave it till you pass the exams! It's possible that you won't have even taken your exams when you will get your initial junior support role; but this is not possible unless you've posted your CV on job sites. The top companies to help you land that job are generally local IT focused employment agencies. Because they only get paid when they place you, they'll work that much harder to get a result.

Certainly ensure you don't invest a great deal of time on your training course, then call a halt and leave it in the hands of the gods to sort out your employment. Get off your backside and start looking for yourself. Put the same focus into landing the right position as it took to get qualified.

It's likely that you're a practical sort of person - a 'hands-on' type. Typically, the world of book-reading and classrooms is something you'll make yourself do if you have to, but you'd hate it. So look for on-screen interactive learning packages if you'd really rather not use books. Research has always verified that connecting physically with our study, is proven to produce longer-lasting and deeper memory retention.

Programs are now found in the form of CD and DVD ROM's, so everything is learned directly from your own PC. Through video streaming, you can watch instructors demonstrating how something is done, with some practice time to follow - in a virtual lab environment. It makes sense to see examples of the courseware provided before you make your decision. The minimum you should expect would be videoed instructor demonstrations and interactive modules with audio-visual elements.

Often, companies will only use training that is purely available online; while you can get away with this much of the time, consider what happens when you don't have access to the internet or you get slow speeds and down-time etc. It's much safer to rely on DVD or CD discs which removes the issue entirely.

Always expect the most up to date Microsoft (or Cisco, CompTIA etc.) accredited exam simulation and preparation packages. Because a lot of examining boards for IT tend to be American, you need to become familiar with their phraseology. It isn't good enough simply understanding random questions - it's essential that you can cope with them in the proper exam format. For many reasons, it's very crucial to make sure you are completely prepared for your commercial exam before embarking on it. Practicing 'mock' exams will help to boost your attitude and will save a lot of money on wasted exam attempts.

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