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New IT Positions Open Up Opportunities: Part 2

Last time, we discussed how brand new positions are opening up in the IT field every day. And how it's vital to familiarize yourself with these positions if you hope to make yourself as hirable as possible in the current economy. In fact, you may even need to expand your education if you hope to find employment easily.

The fact of the matter is IT is changing. Old positions aren't going by the wayside, but the new positions are gaining prominence. So much so that they're filling up the job boards. You'd be at a serious disadvantage not to further your education at this point.

Cloud Specialist

One position that's cropping up on job boards frequently these days is that of cloud specialist. More and more businesses are using cloud-based data sharing systems that there's a need for a specialist to set up, install, and prepare proper security for these systems. The primary task of these specialists is to design or implement a system that best serves the business without adding complication. Typically, an education in networking is required to excel in this kind of position.

However, you won't just be tasked with creating in-house cloud sharing systems. You'll also need to implement more public services that make it possible for companies to share information with colleagues that don't work in house while still maintaining optimum security. Cloud specialists will need to master the infrastructure of these systems and explain them efficiently to the people that will use it on a daily basis.

Social Media Specialist

Another new position that's popping up a lot in the IT sector is that of social media specialist. More and more companies are recognizing the need to have someone handle their social media implementation and organization. This isn't just about posting status updates. Rather, it's about making full use of social business. Companies are trying to use social media-like tools within their companies to boost employee interaction and productivity. This is why so many social media specialist positions are appearing on job boards. Companies want to find a person to build communities for their businesses that are secure and effective while offering a wide range of features.

IT has become more than just maintaining backend support for companies. It encompasses a wide range of positions that, if you're not keeping up with your education, could leave you behind in the dust.

Jobs - 05/04/2019
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New IT Positions Open Up Opportunities: Part 1

If you're having trouble finding an IT job, part of the problem may be that you're looking in the wrong place. More specifically, you may be limiting your search a bit too much. New information technology positions open up every day with an ever-widening focus. This means you need to expand the terms you use to search for jobs if you want to find the most up-to-date positions.

What follows is the first of a two-part post that offers up several newer IT positions you should consider in your search.

Mobile IT Specialist

The mobile sector of the IT world is practically brand new, which means you need to get in at the ground floor. Companies need specialists in the development, creation, and management of mobile apps, as well as creating security systems for these apps. You'll likely see mobile specialist and architect positions popping up everywhere. This is because companies don't know how to handle these new systems on their own and need the assistance of professionals. However, many IT professionals don't even know the specifics of these technologies. Help yourself get a job by expanding your knowledge to mobile devices and app creation. It's the future of IT development.

Business Architecture Specialist

Nowadays, companies recognize that technology is an essential component to the successful management of a business. It's not just a side project or an auxiliary thing to think about once in a while. How technology is implemented can make or break a company. Because companies now know this, they're looking for IT professionals that specialize in building technological systems that help an entire business function. The position is usually referred to as a business architect and is populating job search boards like crazy right now. Basically, instead of waiting for a company to tell you which system to implement, you'll need to approach a business with a complete plan for making their daily functions work better. The architecture covers every aspect of the company including communication, security, and organization. This kind of architect is a strategist that sits in on the big meetings with company owners and CEOs. Their every effort is to make a business function better.

These are just two of the newest positions populated IT job boards. Next time, we'll discuss two more positions that you need to consider if you wish to get a job in today's IT market.

Jobs - 05/03/2019
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Why Many IT Job Seekers Are Overlooked

Those looking for IT jobs around the country are all experiencing the same problem and that is that they seem to be “unfindable” by IT recruiters.

The first mistake contributing to this is an IT professional believing that it is the recruiter’s job to find them when it is actually the IT pro’s job to make sure they are found. The more help the recruiters get in the search, the faster the IT professional is found.

Use The Internet

The Internet is a very valuable tool in your job search. Upload that resume’ and make sure it is a good one. Use specific keywords within it everywhere you decide to upload it online. You can pour over industry ads, read job descriptions, and study the industry trades to identify the wording that belongs on your resume’. The key to using these keywords is that you need to use them more than once on the resume’. This isn’t the same as repeating sentences on your resume’, which is something you don’t want to do.

Yes, this may seem a little ridiculous, but chances are you are going to be uploading various versions of your resume’ all around the Internet and there are some cases where the keywords will help a recruiter find you. If one person uses a specific keyword once and another uses it twice, the person who used it twice is more likely to rise to the top or be found in a keyword search by the recruiter.

Take it Easy on the Abbreviations and Descriptions

It can be tempting to abbreviate past job titles, but use the abbreviation and the full title too. This goes back to the keyword thing, but it also gets the attention of the recruiter when they are reading through the resume’.

Second, when it comes to your job descriptions, get to the point. If a recruiter sees that every job description on the resume’ is a mile long, they may not be in the mood to read it. If the resume’ hasn’t gotten their attention at the very start so that they want to read the entire thing, long job duty descriptions can play against you. If possible, place job duties in bullet form so that it is easier to read. Recruiters do like bullet points because they can read through them quickly.

Another aspect of job descriptions is when describing past information technology jobs that you have had, you do not have to explain every single problem you had to solve. Again, doing this contributes to very long descriptions. Pick one problem that required a lot of skill to solve and present it in a way that doesn’t say, “I solved this problem and I am so excited about it that I took myself out for ice cream after work.” As proud as you are, it is best to say it in the most formal way possible.

Pretend You Are The Recruiter

Another key to landing one of the lucrative IT positions available is to write your resume’ like you are the recruiter. Look at job boards and ask yourself what you would do? Search for resumes that individuals have uploaded online and determine which keywords you would plug in to get attention. What would you say differently from them that would make you stand out?

When your resume’ stands out through the use of keywords, a clean format, and answers to many of the questions that the recruiter may have about your experience, you are less likely to be skimmed over in the sea of IT career resumes.

Jobs / Resume - 05/25/2016
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Getting Started as an IT Professional: What Do I Need?

Before you can start looking for jobs as an IT professional on your own or through recruiting services, you need to make sure that you're qualified. But what does that mean exactly when information technology takes in a whole host of programming and technical skills?

Honestly, it will depend on the position you're applying for and the company itself. But here are a few basic guidelines to keep in mind when rounding out your IT education.

A Bachelor's Degree

While you may not need a four-year degree to learn a variety of IT programs, you do need one to master the skills required to work in this field. Beyond the technical components, you also need to learn communication skills, both verbal and written, and business skills to ensure you're a competitive force. Not every person that works in the IT field has a computer science degree. Keep that in mind in terms of what companies may be looking for and how you can better market yourself to them.

Secondary Focus

Beyond the bachelor's degree, you may also wish to have a minor or a double major. A computer science degree is a solid choice for an IT professional, but this might not be enough to sell you to specific companies that aren't IT-focused. It's best that you choose a double major or minor that personally interests you and that involves information you wouldn't mind dealing with on a daily basis. For instance, if you're into film, a film minor or double major might prove useful if you want to work for a film institute or database. Just about every kind of company has IT needs, so let this choice be liberating.

Experience

You may be able to skip past some of the education hurdles to getting an IT job if you have relevant on-the-job experience. If you've worked as an IT professional in the past, this will speak volumes in terms of how you're received by a potential hiring company. You may also find that you can bolster your resume by going through certification programs. These programs show that you have received training and passed a test on a variety of different programming languages and software.

When pursing a career in information technology, you need to make sure you have all of your basic credentials in place. It's only then that you can be assured that you're putting your best face forward on your resume and in interviews.

Jobs - 05/23/2016
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Job Hopping Becomes a Trend in the IT Industry

Just two decades ago, people were expected to stay at the same job for many years, regardless of the field they were working in. When the IT field experienced an explosion in the 1990s, it started to make less sense to stay with one company for twenty or thirty years and retire from there, especially when you could jump from Company A to Company B and make thousands of dollars more per year.
As jobs in the IT field have grown and the pay has grown with it, more IT professionals job hop and it is something that is perfectly acceptable. In fact, the fastest way to move up the chain is to switch jobs in order to gain the most experience. In order to do this, there are some things that IT workers must keep in mind:
1. Be selective in where you jump to
While job hopping is almost always about money and added experience, it is best to not jump to the competitor of your current company unless there is good reason. You could be suspected of taking confidential information to them, especially if you are applying for the same level position. If you apply for a higher position, then it will make much more sense to the company you are leaving.
2. Jump forward and not sideways
For some reason, there are some companies in the IT world that are less likely to promote employees from within. Furthermore, someone who has held the same title for years may be considered unskilled since they have not yet moved up or they haven’t acquired new skills with that company. If you’re going to take the jump, jump forward. For instance, it makes more sense for an engineer to apply for a senior engineer position. If you are a manager, apply for a senior manager position at the other company. Even if you are moving simply because the working conditions at your current employee are intolerable, you don’t want to jump sideways; you want to apply for a position that is a step up.
3. Do not hop too much
Hopping is expected in the IT industry nowadays. What they don’t expect is for someone to jump once a year or less. It is not surprising when someone jumps every 18 to 24 months. If you have only been in the field for five years and there are 7 or 8 companies on your resume’, it is important to have a good explanation; otherwise the message to the employer is not one of dependability.
4. Learn something new at every job
Learn something new at every IT position you hold. Learning something new means one more skill on your resume’ that can land you a higher paying job in the future.
5. Don’t jump to a sinking ship
Companies appear and then disappear sometimes. It can sometimes be difficult to tell if a company is doing well or not, so it is best to check their history before hopping over to them. You don’t want to get the job and then be on an unpredictable job search because you were laid off.
So no longer is job hopping considered a bad thing. When your resume’ shows advancement every time you hop, then more companies will want to take advantage of your IT skills.

Jobs / Resume / Salary - 05/22/2016
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How do You Handle a Call from an IT Recruiter?

Chances are you have been waiting on the IT career that will change your life forever, so you want to be prepared when an IT recruiter calls you. It never hurts to talk to them, listen to what they have to say, and explore the opportunity that is being presented to you.

So when you receive that phone call, you want to make sure you follow the steps below:

  1. Go to a quiet room. This means mute the television, shut off the music playing through your computer’s speakers, or simply go to another room if others are in the room with you. No one who wishes to talk business wants to hear loud background noise. Background noise can be a distraction for you and the recruiter. It can interrupt what would be a good conversation and go as far as disqualifying your candidacy. If you are at work, try to find an office or a conference room where you can talk.
  2. Don’t be afraid to ask the recruiter who they are and about the staffing firm they work for. You want to make sure you get their full name and the name of the staffing firm that they work for. Check them out on Linkedin, review their experience, and make sure you are comfortable with who they are. Do they have training in information technology? What makes them so different from other IT recruiters? Do they have certifications? Check out the staffing company’s website as well and see if IT is their niche or if they do work for various industries.
  3. Meet the recruiter’s expectations. Information technology careers are abundant, but the companies needing them want people with skills. Make sure you let the recruiter know how aggressively you have been searching for the right IT career. If your situation is urgent, go ahead and let them know so they can act accordingly.
  4. State your salary requirements. Don’t low ball your salary requirements in hopes that will increase the chances you’ll land an information technology position. The reason is because you want a career and you want to be able to have financial security.
  5. Ask questions about the IT opportunity. While most recruiters won’t give the client’s name during the initial call, that doesn’t mean you can’t ask questions. If the recruiter won’t provide the company name, you can ask about what the company does and their location. There should be no hidden motives other than for you to learn more about this potential future employer. This is how you will know whether or not you are making the right decision if you allow the recruiter to present your resume’ to that company’s hiring manager.
  6. Speak clearly. While talking to the recruiter, make sure every word that comes out of your mouth is clear and articulate. This is your first call with the IT recruiter, so it is your chance to make a very good first impression. Because you’re not meeting face-to-face, your voice and your intelligence is what you have working for you.

By following these six steps, you will be able to increase your odds of establishing a long-term partnership. The relationship that an IT professional has with their IT recruiter is more of a business partnership, as both can work together and prosper over time. This means developing trust on both sides. If you do that, you will find the career that gives you what you want out of an IT position.

Jobs / Technology - 05/22/2015
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The 5 Common Problems Faced by the IT Industry

In the IT industry, it is easy to bring up the names of individuals and companies that have triumphed and made the most of themselves in a highly competitive industry. While there are horror stories out there, there are victories when It professionals play their cards right.

Basically, IT pros have to play the game of “two steps forward and one step back” more than once in the course of their careers, but the rewards can be great with persistence, knowledge, and working with the right companies.

But why such a struggle?

For the IT Professional, they take two steps backward because they trip over their own feet when someone sneaks up the ranks to surpass them. When someone sneaks up on you like that, they can very easily walk all over you and pass you up. They have, perhaps, done such things as continued their education and developed their skills so that they can continue to evolve with the demands.

Here are some other noteworthy IT industry problems that some succumb to and others overcome:

  1. The speed of innovation – There is nothing wrong with technology advancing because that is more or less what makes our world go round. The IT industry is worth more than $2.5 trillion a year around the world and there are attempts in the world of innovation to thwart it, but all that does is make the demand higher.
  2. Some are obsessed more over methodologies and technologies – The focus of the businessperson tends to be a little off in some businesses. Everyone loves a good gadget or a computer program. Many want to have the best of the best, but what that does is cause them to focus on the methods and technologies before they focus on results. This can cause priorities to become somewhat skewed. Sometimes they are convinced that one technology is better than another when it doesn’t produce the results that the “perceived inferior” technology would.
  3. Arrogance – This is a big one because someone who knows a lot about technology could possibly make someone who doesn’t feel stupid. Arrogance doesn’t make anyone strong, but can actually make people want nothing to do with an IT professional who doesn’t put things in layman terms for others. A good IT practitioner can break it down and people will really appreciate that. Even if you do it without realizing it, it is good to be mindful of how things are laid out.
  4. Hype – It can’t be helped – IT is super exciting because of the rate of change in computing power and technologies. It is literally dizzying. The world can’t operate without it. When hype is produced, then IT pros need to be able to deliver on that hype. If it is a world-changing technology, it had better really change the world in some way or any subsequent projects could fail due to disbelief. It is like crying wolf.
  5. Focusing on “now” – We’re always told to live in the present, but not in the IT world. In IT, practitioners have to think about the future or they will get run over in a heartbeat by those who are running full steam ahead toward the future.

For each of these examples, it is probably easy to think of individuals and companies that have triumphed over these particular threats. They fight the threats because they are mindful of their actions and what is happening within the industry. They also know that they can be overtaken by up and coming IT professionals at any moment.

Jobs / Technology - 12/17/2014
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2013 Showed what is Happening in IT Hiring

Days before the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the December jobs report, economists predicted that 200,000 new jobs would be created that month. However, the report showed that there were only 74,000 jobs added in December compared to the over 200,000 that were created in November. This left very little light in the report. However, the unemployment rate dropped to 6.7 percent, which is the lowest number since 2008.

In regards to IT, the year has been assessed as a whole and it showed that 139,000 IT jobs were added in 2013. Many of these jobs were in the Professional and Business Services sector and the numbers showed that, once again, this is a sector that is very high performing. Of the jobs that were added in this sector in December, 5,300 of them were for technical consulting and computer systems design. In November, the number of jobs added in this sector was approximately 35,000 and that brought the average number of jobs added in the sector per month to 53,000.

The number of jobs added showed that there is still a high demand for IT professionals in practically every industry. From technical support to programmers, there is a growing need. As a matter of fact, businesses that did not previously use IT services in any way are now adopting them to help them reach out to their highly technological audiences.

Since 2013 wrapped up, the industry insiders have been looking in-depth at how the labor picture changed over the year. The number of employed Americans grew by 1.4 million people, while the number of unemployed fell by almost 2 million. Many of the jobs were new IT positions that were created to help businesses run more efficiently. However, many job seekers are finding that the market is a little harder than it once was, so they are utilizing new ways to succeed in their job hunts.

So what can IT professionals expect in 2014?
Well, the New Year looks to be a bright one for IT professionals. It appears that 2014 is going to call for more jobs and even higher salaries.
CareerBuilder surveyed over 2,000 HR professionals and hiring managers in November and December of 2013 and they found that 29% had already made plans to hire IT staff in 2014. In regards to expected hiring, IT was the second-highest sector. It was just one percent behind sales.

Geographically, the West is seeing the largest job growth. Twenty-six percent of those in the West who were surveyed said that they had plans to hire additional full-time staff. In the Northeast, that number is 24%; in the Midwest that number is 24%; and in the South that number is 22%.

A promising trend is that job holders and job seekers who wish to diversify their skills will find that many employers are looking to build the perfect employees rather than waiting on them. Nearly half of the companies surveyed said they have intentions to train their employees in areas that they may not have experience so they can “mold” them into what they want.

All in all, all of this adding jobs and “molding” is also going to lead to higher salaries. There are a number of companies experiencing economic expansion and this trickles down to their employees.

Economy / Jobs / Technology - 01/14/2014

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