As an employer who has been in the business longer than almost anyone, I can tell you what I look for.

We try to hire experienced installers but find it almost impossible to find good ones. Most experienced installers have picked up some bad habbits over the years, along with all of their valuable knowledge. I may piss some people off with this comment, but probably 80% of the people who are in this business or work in this industry aren't well qualified. Therefore, it is extremely important that a potential new hire not think that he knows everything and is willing to learn new techniques. I must admit, however, that I am probably a little more particular about the "presentation" of the work than most, but never-the-less I look for neatness of work, especially with an experienced installer.

To do neat-looking work, a tech has to be somewhat organized. More organized techs are usually more efficient with their time. They also have a sense of pride about their work, which is very important to me. What I don't want is a person who doesn't care about quality. If they don't care about quality, then they usually also don't care about taking care of tools, vans, or anything else, let alone the project.

I think it also important to hire a guy who is excited about the technology. I always ask potential employees what they read. I want to hear that they read magazines that pertain to our field. If not, they probably aren't really that interested. Even non-professionals who love this stuff read about it and can't wait to learn about the latest products. If a person just wants to work in this field becuase he thinks he'll make good money, he will probably not be a great tech. Applicants who are excited about the technology "light up" when they start talking about their system, and will probably ask a lot of questions about the systems that we install.

Honesty is another thing that we all look for. A dishonest employee in this business can put you out of business. The equipment was a little too tempting to several employees who have worked for me over the years. The word gets out fast and other companies avoid them like the plague. A criminal record will probably prevent anyone from getting or holding a job in this industry.

Appearance is important. People need to trust us to be in their homes, either alone, or with their wife and kids when they aren't home. If someone looks unclean, like a gang-member, or like an idiot, customers don't feel comfortable. If someone has tatoos, they have to be able to cover them up. Guys who have chosen to have ink on their face or neck are not acceptable looking for this type of work. Even if the client doesn't worry about trusting the tech, they question their good judgement, as would I. The same goes for piercings, I would question the judgement of a guy who has metal sticking out of his face. An earring I wouldn't worry about, as long as it was tasteful, but other facial piercings are unacceptable.

As for hair and clothes, they need to look professional, not like rock stars, professional wreslers, or skin-heads. Leave the super-baggy pants and the long chain at home, along with your skateboard.
Most importantly, good hgygiene- for the body, the hair, and teeth, is critical. Who wants to work with a guy who stinks or looks like he stinks, and what client would want them in their house?

I avoid "winers". That's winers, not winners. If they complain about the last few jobs, they are probably a winer. One winer can spoil the moral of the whole company and the next thing you know everyone is unhappy or develops "entitlementitis".

I look for holes in the resume. If someone can't explain where they've been for a few years it probably not good. I check references to make sure that the dates of employment match what is written.

I usually ask a few technical questions to determine whether a guy is as qualified as he says. Usually they know about half as much as they tell you they do, if even that. Most applicants embellish their experience and qualifications. And they always tell me that they are "a quick leaner". Thats like telling me they have a heartbeat-- everyone thinks that they are a quick learner. If you don't know anything, it's better to find out before than after your hired. If I start a person's pay rate at a higher level than I sould of based on bull-sh-t, they will probably not make it past the first week. I have hired guys who said they didn't know very much and they sometimes turn out okay-- as long as they have a passion for the technology.

Since experienced techs are so hard to find, we often start a guy out from scratch. When, I say from scratch, I mean no working experience. If someone has no knowlege of the product, they have read nothing, and explored nothing, then they have no passion and I have no interest in hiring them.

When I hire a new guy, I will sometimes give him a remote control to take home and play with. A week later I ask him how he set up his own system with remote to see if he took and interest. If he hasn't touched it or tries to feed me a bunch of bull about what he has done, then that tells me that he doesn't have the passion or the initiative and is probably not going work out. Unless the guy shows us some reason to think otherwise, it is best to dump him before he waists any more of our time and money. You can lead a horse to water but can't make him drink, as the old expression goes.

Obviously, by being on this website, you want to learn. Thats a good sign to me. If you were in my city (you're a long way away), I would probably give you a shot as long as you fit all of the other criteria listed above, and as long as you did'nt expect experienced tech wages as a beginner.

I wish you the best of luck. With the demand being what it is, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a beginners position.