How can an aspiring ServiceNow professional get a job without professional experience?

[Community Alums]

I began my ServiceNow career journey during a 12-month boot camp where I was trained to become a ServiceNow developer. I earned my ITIL Foundation in ITSM and ServiceNow CSA certifications during the boot camp. I was accepted into their paid apprenticeship program sponsored by one of their partners which led to my full-time role with that company. Once I got hired, I was placed on a project that was not ServiceNow, but instead, my job was more focused on telecommunications which I hated.  I got laid off from the company after two years. I have been applying for ServiceNow roles for several months. No company ever gave me the time or day when it comes to submitting applications and resumes. I had no luck with a career coach. My only experience in ServiceNow was the boot camp and the apprenticeship. I'm tired of wasting my time and energy looking for roles while no one is taking me seriously. What can I do to get my foot in the door?

[LJ86]

Education in general seems to be the most mis-sold "product" in the world. It's like selling false hopes and/or convincing people that they won't get anywhere professionally if they don't pay for the degree/course/certificate, etc., while the truth is that all employers want experience, not certifications. The latter can add extra value if you have experience in the first place, but otherwise are quite useless.

However, to defend ServiceNow on this front, it needs to be noted that they do recommend having 6 months of related professional experience before taking any of the certifications.

[BradHutch]

Currently educating myself on the ServiceNow platform and reading all the material available regarding career opportunities prior to taking the dive into the career. In response to your last statement. If ServiceNow does indeed recommend having 6 months of related professional experience before taking any of the certifications, how exactly are you supposed to get this experience? If people can't even get entry level experience with the certs, how are they supposed to get it without the certs? 

In my mind, and a lot of industries including healthcare are doing this, but the market is setting itself up failure. These businesses want to bring someone in with experience but only pay them as entry level. So they make a requirement to have X amount years of experience. This in turn blocks new people from getting the opportunity to come in and build on their skills they've managed to get without a job in the field (through certs, PDI, etc.). 

[susanwinters]

What was the name of the bootcamp? Do they still exist?

[Community Alums]

Yes. It’s called New Apprenticeship. They have some great programs. 

[LJ86]

I assume we're all talking about the US market here? I think it might be more difficult for you guys over there for at least 2 reasons:

1) ServiceNow market is much bigger and more mature, so there's plenty of experienced professionals for companies to choose from,

2) Your "entry-level" salaries seem to be higher than even the senior ones in most of the world, so no surprise US companies can easily attract very experienced talent from overseas even for the "entry-level" roles.

It's (still) different here in the UK, because the market is still growing and it's possible to get a ServiceNow job without any prior experience/knowledge/awareness of ServiceNow. We're talking about a $30k salary though. As such, I can't imagine anyone after a ServiceNow boot-camp and/or with certifications looking for an entry-level job here for years. However, the climate may already be changing - I remember until early last year most ServiceNow job ads asked for a year or 2 of experience, and now the vast majority expect 3+ years... so perhaps when the market stops growing it will be impossible to get a proper entry-level role here as well.