I am still looking for a position in the new york area but I am willing to relocate and I would like to know exactly what an employer looks for when hiring an installer. I want to know exactly and specificly what is needed for a new comer like me so that I can work on it. Also if there is anyone out there willing to put me under there wing and train me I would be very very greatful. If any company decides to contact me PLEASE keep in mind I need training but I am a hard worker and a fast learner and very dedicated and will do whatever it takes and I do have basic experience and will forward my resume. What gets me is that after an employer see's my resume, contacts me, we would have an interview over the phone about what I know, then asks me to come in for a face to face interview then after all of that they tell me they are looking for someone with more experience. If that was the case, after seeing my resume and doing a phone interview they could tell me then I dont qualify instead of waisting both of our times with a face interview so I ask any employer, PLEASE contact me if you are willing to train me or give me some advice. My contact info is [email protected]

This message was edited by rowdog on 11/15/04 21:29 ET.

I sympathize with the waste of time in having interviews that seem like the resumes could have predicted them. Could there be something else in the way?

Is your hair still that amazing color of blue? Is your center of gravity three inches higher than it was last year because of all the earrings, nipple rings, and even tattoo ink above your waist (note the two different words, waist and waste, and note that at some point an employer might care which one you use).

All kiiding aside, and I hope you took it as kidding because you might be feeling desparate, an employer has two weigh options carefully when considering training a person. It could actually seem a bad thing if you are terribly energetic to learn...what if this employer thinks you might work for him for a year, drain him of time learning a trade, then leave to do this work on your own? That is a real and well-founded fear of installation employers.

And okay, you DO need more experience. What are you doing right now? Do you have a job? "Keep your day job," as they say, and see if you can advertise, hell, on craigslist.com or somewhere to pick up a couple of installations so you can put some relelvant work on the resume.

I am with a small company, and when we need someone, we cannot use a person needing training. We need someone who can go out and do a whole job. Assistants can only be hired when there is enough work for the lead guys to be fully employed, and then maybe one helper for two lead guys makes sense. So be sure to interview them over the phone, too: how many people are there in the installation crew? What is the average dollar value of the install (they might not want to tell a beginner; let it go if they don't).

And, as the second paragraph implies, look normal. You have to look okay to send into ANY home in the neighborhoods that he works in. You have to look safe to any bluehair with the money to hire him. In fact, this could be the one thing that kills the possibility once they actually see you.

I'll tell you what I am looking for in an installer first then I'll give some advice. You can take it with a grain of salt but youo asked for it. A good candidate to be an installer would have these attributes.

Appearance:
Short hair (not dyed in anyway, not even frosted on the tips)

No earrings or tattoos (If you have an earring take it out if you have a tattoo cover'em)

Cleanly dressed

(reasoning: If you look like a freak people are usually not comfortable with you in their home. Alot of times the wife is the only one home and you scare her!)

Communication Skills:

Have the ability to speak the english language without saying things like (whass'up, ummmmm, like you know, I'll holler at ya)

Remember when you are in this business you will work for people that have more money than Jesus Christ. They expect certain things in their home. They expect an installer to be polite and courteous. (It's okay to hate them when you get home)

Knowledge:

You need to know everything!!!!!! You cannot not know the answer to a question. (this comes with time, there is no way around it)

Advice:

Depending on your age I would consider applying at a major retailer ( Circuit City, Best Buy, etc.)
This will give you the knowledge of the majority of products. You can learn what the difference between 5.1 and 6.1 is, or for that matter what 5.1 is in the first place. You can learn the proper way to hook up components. You'll have a good grasp of the basics.

Then, you've got something to deal with to an employer. "know sir I can't fish wire to save my life but I can hook up components and program universal remotes, cable management, etc.

An employer would rather hear you can do 1/2 than nothing

I've been hiring for almost 30 years. I've learned that people know how to follow the rules of getting hired mentioned above, and still I have to hire through several people to get one good one.

If they're not lying to my customers, they're lying to me. If they're not lying to me, they are stealing from my customers. If they're not stealing from my customers, they are visiting the tittie bar for an extended lunch. If they're not visiting the tittie bar, they're stealing from me. If they're not stealing from me, they're drinking in the daytime.

My advice, for what it's worth, is where ever you end up, be there. Work for your company, as if it is your own, and you will likely be rewarded in the end.

I would love to have some input into who my company hires. The biggest thing to me is you have to be willing to learn. By that I mean don't be stuck with old habbits, know you know nothing (this might not be true), and work VERY hard. We hired a guy a few years ago that worked with me for three day and quit and then we hired another that quit after two days. How can you know wether you like the job in that time frame (I suppose they might not have liked me, but I'm just too charming). Installers do alot of crappy work before they get to do the fun stuff. I don't know too many people who would crawl face down in an attic for the fun of it.

One more thing, DO NOT curse in peoples' homes. Nothing says class like an owner walking in the room just as you drop the F-bomb.

I appreciate all that you are telling me very much and it is good advise so far and the only thing I did wrong according to you guys is wear an earing on an interview. I also need to know the technical side of what an employer is looking for. The question I get the most is (Do you know how to do a termination?). I need to know things like that because right now the answer is NO! but I am willing to learn and get dirty if that what the job calls for. I will also never disrespect any orginization I work for by drinking or going on extended lunch breaks. Any more adise you give me will not be taken lightly so thank you in advance and thanks to those who replied above.

Well, NY is a long way from Jersey (south shore area). We are always training our staff. We look for positive attitudes, that goes hand and hand with the rest of these replies. We also see if you have the desire. Desire in this industry shows you love what you do, and if you do not love what you do, you need to leave this industry. No employer wants someone who is there only to get a paycheck, they want someone who is hungry and willing to learn and has the desire to succeed, which in turn will help the company succeed.

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.

Rowdog, I like to keep things real simple. Just refer to the Ol' golden rule, i.e. if you were the employer, would you hire you? Think about it real hard, as if you were doing the hiring and looking for "the perfect person", then do everything you can to be that person and you'll do fine.

Thank you again for all of your reply's. I just want to state that I am not in this for the paychech. I love the industry and waht I do no matter how big or small a job. I also like neat work and it makes me feel good when a customer is happy. Also about being neat, I find that you have to cater to the wifes needs and the last thing a woman wants is a sloppy job with a bunch of wires hanging around. Even if i'm not doing in wall I try to make it neat as possible and I practice that in everything I do since I was young and not to mention I live with a woman and the last thing she wanted was a big system that took up alot of space and wires aroung the house. So I wanted my big sounding system and she wanted her cozy living room and lets just say she is very satisfied for a woman not into home theater and I get lots of compliments when people come over and see how I hooked up the living room and her girlfreinds can still sit down and compliment her on how cozy her living room is. And from the reply from Thon, I would hire me and the reason is that no one is perfect, If you have a pasion for what you do no matter what it is, if you put your mind to it, you can do anything.

Here is a true story.
When I was in high school I wanted to be a barber but I did not have the skills compared to profressionals. Some barbershops did not hire me because they saw my work and said they needed someone with more experiance. I never gave up trying and one day a highly established owner of a barbershop saw my persistance and decided to give me a chance even though I did not have the skills needed at the time. In the end, I became his barber, got my license and even afer I no longer wanted to work in a barbershop by choice, I still until this day have people come to my home for hair cuts and I even took many of my fellow barbers customers because they like how I cut hair. So even though I am not perfect in this industry, I have a love and desire to do this as a career and for the rest of my life and as long as I don't give up and keep learning along the way I know one day I will make it and when that day comes I will post it here first.

Having the passion for what you do is the most important thing....looks run a close second.....and showing up early every day is third........Our company can help you learn to make it pretty.....what we cannot do is give someone the "class" it takes to be in theis industry.

Nuff said

Honesty
Shows up for work each day
Good attitude
Willingness to work
Intelligence
any other skills are a bonus
....the rest can be taught.

Rowdog,

I have not hired anyone for Tech positions, but I have done alot of hiring in other fields. here is my $.02. If they are having the interview then they probably have an opening. The fact that they know you have no experience before the interview and then they say that is why they can't hire you after the interview means something. It probably means that something you did or said during the interview made them not hire you. "YOU NEED MORE EXPIENCE" is like your girlfriend telling you "I just wanna be friends" when she dumps you. It is an easier way to tell you "no" than actually saying "Your appearence gives me the creeps" or "You really annoyed me during the interview."

I can tell from your posts that this is important to you. Make sure you are not coming off too needy in the interview. You can sound interested and eager without taking it too far. I know I would be creeped out by somebody telling me over and over it was their dream to wiggle through crawl spaces and eat drywall dust for a living.

Check out all the magazines and websites you can. Aquire every bit of knowledge on your own that is available. Skybird's input was great. Take a job at CC or Best Buy to get knowledge and related experience. Experience in a related job can very easily get you in the door. You don't need to work there long, but make sure you are still working there when you apply for the Tech job. One of the first things I would look for was to see if an applicant is currently employed. It gives the impression you are reliable and want the new job because you like it, not because you only have 2 packs of Ramen Noodles to your name and K-mart turned you down first.

I wish you the best of luck. It's always great to see someone honestly trying to get what they want.

Again, thank you. And this reply goes to follow who03. After reading your reply you made me think. I always wear a suit, my hair cut low, I even got an email from a company that turned me down and they said they enjoyed speaking with me but the president of the company was looking for someone with more residential experience and if anything comes up he would strongly consider me for a jr position. I do wonder if I come on strong but I will watch it next time. I have been to best buy and CC but I have more experience than they do. I do have some experience and I know how to install a low end and high end reciever, mount speakers and projectors and terminate CAT 5 to RJ-45 and I have some networking skills to name a few. I read magazines all the time and I am also learning how to progam and install crestron products on my own in the meantime so I am not just sitting around waiting for someone to show me. Thank you again.

Rowdog, Do you have any money, if so check out the cost of a CEDIA education. Installer certification gives you instant credibility and puts you way above other applicants. Boot camp will give you experience in how to do the job correctly.