I would like to work in IT but have no "on the job" experience. What is the best thing to do? I have almost completed Cert 4 of Information Systems, Mutimedia and Internet studies at Tafe.

With response to your query about the next step in your career it is important to acknowledge there are hundreds of people in a similar situation to you. Hence the important factor is to then get yourself additional experience which will make your resume stand out from the other ’newly qualified’ applicants. Any kind of work experience will help you do this, if you have any contacts in the industry or family in the industry and you can do any kind of work shadowing or even just get to help between lecture’s then at least you’ll be able to say to potential employers that you have an proper understanding of the Multimedia/Design (or whatever path you follow) commercial environment rather than just a theoretical one.

In terms of applying for your first career step, once you have a little commercial experience, about 6 weeks before your course finishes it would be a good idea to get together a list of relevant companies to contact, agencies or consultancies like ours also sometimes have entry roles but it is best to look in your local paper e.g. The Age for Melbourne and the Australian for any trainee/entry level roles. Also contact your target companies directly by writing to the Human Resources Manager, they will often keep details on file in case they have a requirement.

Bridee