We're glad to hear you've applied to work here! If you weren't picked, it may not be because we didn't like your resume. Currently, we're only hiring from a select few states (AZ, CA, IN, NY, OR, TN, TX, WA). While a desirable candidate will cause us to branch out, it's very possible there was another candidate in one of those states.
As for what it takes to work here, there are a two big things that really make you stand out.
1) Being an existing customer (or at least familiar with our offerings, website and control panel)
2) Being active in our communities. No one stands out more then those who are active in our IRC channel and forums
There are a bunch of things you could do to more yourself more appealing, such as certifications and degrees, but not having those things won't necessarily hurt you, at least not here. As a customer support rep you will be exposed to so many different environments it'd be impossible to be certified in all of them (unless you're a robot named John). What we want to see out of our reps is someone who is Intelligent, motivated, and an extremely quick learner. You need to be able to pick up information fast and retain it forever. One minute you're diagnosing why this Garry's Mod server won't start, then the next you're mitigating a DDoS attack for a customer.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't pursue any degrees/certifications, as they can help you immensely, but don't feel that not having them completes removes you from the race
If you do pursue some stuff I'd recommend looking at the CCNA (comparable to the Network+), but it's a bit more respected. You can also try enrolling in your local community college and taking a few basic I.T courses just pad the resume. Personally, this is what I'm working through now. I'm taking a packet analysis course, will be pursuing the CCNA then moving onto some sort of security certification. After that I'll likely pursue some Microsoft certs.
Also, don't get discouraged. When I applied to work at NFO I wasn't even out of high school! I knew nothing about hardware/networking, had no resume/certs, and the only game I was skilled in was COD4, but I kept learning, ended up volunteering here for 6 months and was finally hired. That was over five years ago, and now I practically own the place (I completely made that last part up).
