Dealing with informal experience on resume

manpreet Best Answer 3 years ago

I have a very broad IT skillset and I would say that I am very good at what I do. When it comes to a technology that I have not used I just learn it by messing with it, Googling it, or by consulting the documentation. I've been looking at DICE lately and the requirements are very specific:

 "X years working with VMWare"
 "Y years working as a senior Windows Administrator supporting Exchange"
 "Z years working with INSERT_BRAND_NAME NAS technologies"

Formally for the past few years I've worked as a Linux admin, mostly in the web sector. I have touched Windows a few times (adding users\fixing GP\installing software) at my jobs however I am mostly a Linux admin.

I have been using Windows for 10+ years. I have recovered from all kinds of corruption and nastiness. I know how to set up AD. I have set up mock environments with replication. Windows is very "point and click". Most Linux concepts about things such as DNS apply to Windows.

Same goes with virtualization. I have not touched VMWare day in and day out specifically for Y years however I have worked with other software in the web sector. I know about partitioning resources. I use VMWare at home and can spin up a VM with my eyes closed. ESXi is very good software as well. It is all point and click and can be learned in an hour. If you don't know something, Google does.

I feel however as the HR powers that be are rejecting my resume because I don't have things like documented Windows experience. All they know is the requirements say "Y years Windows experience" and this guy has few Windows "projects" so trash.

I want to do something else other than Linux but I feel pigeonholed by my resume. How can I deal with this?