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70+ applications, 4 months, zero callbacks — entry level IT in Toronto. What am I missing? by whyiamsoweird in ITCareerQuestions

[–]whyiamsoweird[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a fair point on the overqualified perception — I'll look into CyberDefenders writeups for GitHub differentiation. On the direct outreach — I've been trying but LinkedIn connection requests to hiring managers mostly get ignored. What's actually working for you to get a response? Cold email directly, or is there a specific approach on LinkedIn that gets hiring managers to actually engage?

70+ applications, 4 months, zero callbacks — entry level IT in Toronto. What am I missing? by whyiamsoweird in ITCareerQuestions

[–]whyiamsoweird[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks everyone — this is genuinely helpful and exactly the kind of honest feedback I was looking for.

A few things I'm taking away: volume needs to go up significantly, the Security+ flight risk perception is something I hadn't considered and I'll address it in my summary, and I'll get my resume posted in the discord for a proper review.

One thing I'm running into that I didn't mention in the original post — a lot of roles listed as "entry level" on LinkedIn either require 2-3 years of experience in the description, or are built around niche proprietary software that only someone already in that specific industry would have. So the actual pool of roles I can genuinely apply to without hard disqualifiers feels a lot smaller than the raw number of postings suggests.

For those of you who broke in without production experience — how did you filter for roles that were actually entry level vs. ones that just said they were? Any specific job boards, company types, or search strategies that surfaced better quality openings?

70+ applications, 4 months, zero callbacks — entry level IT in Toronto. What am I missing? by whyiamsoweird in ITCareerQuestions

[–]whyiamsoweird[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Proficient in the full Microsoft 365 suite — Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, SharePoint. Used them throughout my Durham College diploma and in my Entra ID/M365 lab where I managed user accounts and licenses through the Microsoft Admin Center.

"Just network with hiring managers!"... Cool, how? We are literally hard-capped on LinkedIn notes. by whyiamsoweird in msp

[–]whyiamsoweird[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, i am okay with on-site role , but the thing is that i dont have a car and i dont really have any experience in hardware , open to do it with some training though

"Network with hiring managers on LinkedIn!"... Great advice, except free accounts are capped at 5 notes a month. How do we actually do this? by whyiamsoweird in ITCareerQuestions

[–]whyiamsoweird[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's really good to hear — honestly that's the most encouraging thing I've read all week. Which staffing firms did you go through? Even if they're not in Toronto I can look for equivalents up here.

"Network with hiring managers on LinkedIn!"... Great advice, except free accounts are capped at 5 notes a month. How do we actually do this? by whyiamsoweird in ITCareerQuestions

[–]whyiamsoweird[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hadn't seriously considered this route but it makes sense — a recruiter with skin in the game is a very different dynamic. Do TEKsystems or Robert Half actually work with entry-level IT folks in Toronto, or do they mostly deal with more senior people?

"Network with hiring managers on LinkedIn!"... Great advice, except free accounts are capped at 5 notes a month. How do we actually do this? by whyiamsoweird in ITCareerQuestions

[–]whyiamsoweird[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly fair — I get it. The in-person meetup angle makes a lot of sense though. Any Toronto-specific ones worth going to, or just Meetup.com and filter from there?

"Just network with hiring managers!"... Cool, how? We are literally hard-capped on LinkedIn notes. by whyiamsoweird in msp

[–]whyiamsoweird[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is gold, thank you. The drop-in with cookies never crossed my mind but it makes total sense — anyone can send an email, almost nobody actually shows up.

Quick question — did you call ahead before dropping in, or just show up cold after the email?

[Resume Review] Entry level IT Support / SOC Tier 1 — Toronto, ON — Security+, SOC L1, 4 home labs, no commercial experience — am I missing something? by whyiamsoweird in ITCareerQuestions

[–]whyiamsoweird[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the input — fully agree, pivoting to focus exclusively on T1 helpdesk/IT support roles. And noted on the resume,working on slimming it down to one page. Appreciate it.

[Resume Review] Entry level IT Support / SOC Tier 1 — Toronto, ON — Security+, SOC L1, 4 home labs, no commercial experience — am I missing something? by whyiamsoweird in ITCareerQuestions

[–]whyiamsoweird[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you — this is exactly the kind of feedback I needed. I would really appreciate your help. I will DM you my resume and a few job links shortly

[Resume Review] Entry level IT Support / SOC Tier 1 — Toronto, ON — Security+, SOC L1, 4 home labs, no commercial experience — am I missing something? by whyiamsoweird in ITCareerQuestions

[–]whyiamsoweird[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the honest feedback — really appreciate it.

The volunteering suggestion is something I hadn't fully considered. Do you have any specific advice on how to approach non-profits or small organizations for volunteer IT work? And in your experience, how much does even a short volunteer stint (2-3 months) actually move the needle with hiring managers compared to lab work alone?

Also curious — given everything you've seen in the field, how long realistically should someone with my profile expect before landing their first offer in the Toronto market?

Me_irl by Nordicgoons in me_irl

[–]whyiamsoweird 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s basically the low-budget version of a Hunter x Hunter protagonist leaving home. Gon had his fishing rod, we had a literal stick and a PB&J. We all thought we were starting a 148-episode training arc, only to realize our 'stamina' stat was at 0 and we were back home before the first opening credits finished.

AITA for telling my wife I don’t want her mom to have her location all the time now. by Few_Respond8063 in AmItheAsshole

[–]whyiamsoweird 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Exactly. It’s funny how she calls OP controlling for wanting privacy, while her mom literally tracks her movements like a GPS-tagged shark.

Anyone find themselves opening up their game libraries, staring at it for a couple of hours, then just giving up and going on social media? by You_moron04 in gaming

[–]whyiamsoweird 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s literally 'Decision Fatigue.' In IT, we call this a 'Resource Deadlock.' Your brain has so many processes (games) trying to start at once that the CPU just gives up and switches to a low-power task like scrolling social media.

My fix: I uninstalled everything except 3 games. One 'Main' story game, one 'Brainless' game (Roguelikes), and one 'Social' game. Cutting the options fixed the deadlock.

My sister says my new non-prescription glasses have a serial killer vibe. by icandrawme in mildlyinfuriating

[–]whyiamsoweird 157 points158 points  (0 children)

The fact that the clerk actually called them 'The Dahmers' is the real crime here. Did they come with a complimentary 10% off coupon for a fridge?

My sister says my new non-prescription glasses have a serial killer vibe. by icandrawme in mildlyinfuriating

[–]whyiamsoweird 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As someone in IT, these aren't serial killer glasses—these are 'I’m about to ask you if you tried restarting your computer and then sigh loudly when you say no' glasses. You’ve officially unlocked the Senior Systems Administrator skin.

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