| Once you've gotten the elusive CCNA certificate, | | | | are a multinational corporation, chances are they use |
| what's the next step? I'm supposing that you have | | | | BGP routing in between their offices. For a LAN |
| studied hard for the certification with the objective of | | | | environment, the commonly used routing protocols are |
| finally getting that elusive networking job, or maybe | | | | OSPF and EIGRP. Revise your technical knowledge in |
| that promotion or parallel transfer into a specialized | | | | the required areas before going for the interview, or |
| networking position. Here are 3 tips to improve your | | | | ask somebody already working there to give you a |
| chances for a CCNA job. | | | | summary of what technology is in use there. Take |
| | | | note that some of this information might be considered |
| 1. Hands-on networks lab and troubleshooting | | | | a business secret. But if they are unwilling to share this |
| experience - There are probably a few hundred | | | | information, do not force them, or you might jeopardize |
| thousand CCNA certified professionals today. What's | | | | any chances of future employment. |
| going to put you apart from the rest of them is | | | | 3. Support Model - Many large corporations make use |
| practical hands on experience. In the past, the only | | | | of the ITIL support model for their IT support. Do make |
| way to get such experience would be to already be in | | | | it a point to read up on this. Many employers place |
| a networking related CCNA career, or to buy | | | | much emphasis on how you would react in a "real life" |
| expensive equipment to practice. Using real Cisco | | | | network support situation. For example, if a customer |
| equipment for your CCNA lab is still an excellent idea, | | | | or client calls and reports that he cannot connect, what |
| of course, however, there are many simulators and | | | | would you do first? What if "network slowness" is |
| emulators which do just the job (in particular the | | | | reported? What would you check, and who would you |
| dynamips simulator which actually simulates the real | | | | call? Such interview questions usually incorporate both |
| Cisco IOS). | | | | technical skills (see point 1) as well as the knowledge |
| 2. Networking Technology - Knowing what technology | | | | of a good IT/networks support process. Depending on |
| your potential employer is going to use is an excellent | | | | the nature of the job (first line support, higher tier |
| idea. Do they only use exclusively Cisco networking | | | | support, or purely deployment), the "correct answer" |
| equipment? How many offices do they have? If they | | | | might be very different. |