How To Boost IT Skills Rapidly Or Get Hired Fast
Learning a skill is one thing … knowing how to market, a skill a completely different thing!
That is why for example, some qualified business analysts fail to get a job that other less experienced business analysts succeed in getting.
Don’t assume that because you know a skill through self study, formal education or training, you can just go out and get a job … because there is more to finding a job than that!
Some people are really good at selling themselves … even when they know little about the subject at hand.
Beggars Can't Be Choosers
One of the bigger issues facing IT professionals is: “the challenge of building experience“.
This challenge exists because employers still require experience for hiring, even when you need their jobs to build experience!
It’s the classic Catch-22: “chicken or egg which came first challenge” that may be solved through internships or full-time jobs.
However, internships are getting increasingly competitive (Read More …) and employers are still insisting on handson experience before making job offers.
Why Internships Are Hard To Get
For a while, internships helped provide the missing handson experience to IT professionals learning new skills or transitioning careers.
Is Mindless Resume Submission Working?
Finding a job is just a numbers game, so submitting my resume to several job postings will get me hired … says a business analyst!
This is the mindset of some IT job seekers who approach the business of finding a job as if it is purely a numbers game.
But is a successful job search simply a numbers game or is there more to getting a job than that?
How To Change Careers
You are brave, if you are considering leaving your career. Most people make themselves stay at jobs or careers they hate because they are afraid of the unknown.
However, knowing the difference between leaving a job and leaving a career can make your transition smooth and easy or painful to say the least.
You change careers when you are in the wrong profession or you are in a career that you’re not suited for. And, you do not change careers simply because you are unhappy at work!
starving artist wolfgang amadeus mozart
This article is one in a series on creating or establishing your personal brand and becoming a leader in your industry.
While creating your personal brand is not easy, the benefits speak for themselves; other professionals begin to seek you out, ask for your assistance or offer you compensation in exchange for your help, services or advice.
Creativity is sometimes frowned upon in the workplace because you are expected to follow orders!
Perhaps you’ve neglected using your creative forces in the past because it forces others to think or so that you can keep your head down and stop others from following you!
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756 – 1791
Have you ever heard of “The Starving Artist”? It’s an often used cliché that describes talented, skilled or creative folks like writers, painters, musicians or others who starve while doing what they love.
The idea behind the Starving Artist is “an individual who works for pennies and then dies broke doing what he or she loves”.
Some of history’s renowned or talented artists like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Vivaldi and Van Gogh lived in poverty, misery or debt because their society didn’t care for or reward them.
Business Analysts Learn Computer Programming
Are database development, computer programming, data analysis or web development required skills for Business Analysts?
Perhaps you’ve seen, heard about or applied for jobs asking for a broad or seemingly impossible range of skill sets?
Like those job descriptions for business analysts requiring computer programming skills or those for PMP Certified Project Managers with 5 years of software development experience!
This post addresses “how to bridge the gap between business analyst skills and unfair job descriptions written-up by Information Technology (IT) departments”
Ask IT Career Coach
Po Bronson, author of “What Should I Do with My Life?” listened to more than 900 people who dared to be honest with themselves about their line of work or careers!
In the end, he discovered that it comes down to a simple gut check: “You either love what you do or you don’t.“
With that in mind, here’s question posted by a reader who needs advice on “what to do about making wrong career choices”.
Top Paying Skills in High Demand
So, the question is, “How Do You Gain Hands-On Experience For Microsoft.NET Corporate Programmer Jobs Outside Regular, Full-Time Employment?“
How To Get An Entry Level Corporate Programming Job
You can transition from a Mainframe to a Microsoft.NET Software Developer Career in phases which allows you to achieve career success in manageable steps or phases.
Ask IT Career Coach
This question was posted by a reader who needs advice on “what to do about making wrong career choices”.
If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering this reader’s question below!
Please, send this post to your friends using the “Tell a Friend” Button button below. You earn points or cash each time you refer an article to your friends using the Tell a Friend Button.
Ask IT Career Coach
This question was posted by a reader who wants to overcome obstacles posed by employment gaps in an Oracle Programming Career!
Please, send this post to your friends using the “Tell a Friend” Button button below. You earn points or cash each time you refer an article to your friends using the Tell a Friend Button.
If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering this reader’s question below!
Beat the Recession
You’ve got a
college degree, a
good looking resume and an
impressive listing of Information Technology (IT) skills but can’t seem to find an IT
job.
Finding a Job doesn’t have to be a traumatic, nerve racking or frustrating experience filled with rejection, fear and pain!
Just follow this article series to find out what’s wrong or get back in control of YOUR job search.
Top Paying Skills in High Demand
Read How to Protect Your IT Career or Gain In-Demand IT Skills or Critical Hands-ON Experience Sought After By IT Managers …
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You Can Enroll for IT Training Easily
- You can enroll for training at anytime because our training is provided online through videos, a web based training software and live course instructors who help you gain critical hands-on project experience
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Our Training Software Helps You Manage Your Study Time
- You can enroll for one or more training programs at the same time because our web-based training software manages, schedules or keeps tracks of your progress on each training course
How To Boost IT Skills Rapidly Or Get Hired Fast
I discovered the power of practice tests in 1999 after I aced a job interview test with a score in the mid-nineties and got hired fast!
Over the next few months, I mastered how to boost my skills rapidly using the technique that I will share with you in the rest of this article.
Research has shown that practice tests or quizzes improve your retention, recall or understanding.
Research that studies how people learn skills effectively also demonstrates that students who study and take quizzes have better long-term recall than their colleagues who study without taking quizzes.
As hiring managers are cutting costs and reducing staff size they are also hiring hiring professionals with a broader range of skills
As workers are laid off, the lucky ones left behind are asked to work longer hours or work on a broader range of tasks
IT Managers are now hiring for a broader range of skill sets. Business Analysts are being asked to perform light programming jobs and software developers are being asked to perform light business analysis tasks
On of my readers needs help with putting together his career advancement plan. I posted the information I provided to him below. If you have any question about this or about your career, post it as comment at the end of the post and I would answer it for you.
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Set a SMART Goal
Begin by creating a comprehensive end to end career roadmap or plan.
Your career roadmap needs to include a SMART goal (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely goal) That means that you need to define an end objective (for example, mastering business analysis or learning computer programming or improving your software testing skills) and a timeline for achieving it.
The article you are just about to read is based on a question posted by one of my subscribers who wants to know “how to put together a compelling ASP.NET programmer resume from watching ASP.NET software developer videos“
Let me begin by saying that you cannot put together a compelling resume just by watching ASP.NET Videos … you will have to get some hands on programming experience.
The key thing that hiring managers are looking for on your resume is not your programming certifications or your degrees or computer science education but your hands on programming experience. After that then they may consider the other things (training, certification, degrees, education, qualifications, etc.)
How To Slam Dunk Your Next Job Interview
This post is an answer to a question asked by Chris who is attending his tenth (10) job interview. You may click here to read the original question or add your own question or comment to the discussion.
The original post is a No Holds Barred Discussion on challenges, problems or issues facing my readers. If you have a Burning Question or Challenge you need help with, be sure to add your question to that page and i will answer it fully just as I am answering Tom’s question below!
This post is an answer to a question asked by Tom Moore about how To Get A Good IT Job. You may click here to read the original question or add your own question or comment to the discussion.
The original post is a No Holds Barred Discussion on challenges, problems or issues facing my readers. If you have a Burning Question or Challenge you need help with, be sure to add your question to that page and i will answer it fully just as I am answering Tom’s question below!
It’s not news anymore. We are officially in a recession and people are being laid off everywhere. At first, it looked like the IT sector was going to come through this relatively unscathed, but that is no longer the case. Microsoft, IBM and Intel all announced job cuts this week.
In 2008, the US economy shed 1.2 million jobs. 10% of those jobs were Information Technology jobs. As of December, over 100,000 IT jobs had been lost and it doesn’t look like the situation is going to get better any time soon.
The current economy makes it a bad time to be isolated at work. Many job cuts are being announced every single day, making it critical that you build your network of co-workers, colleagues and acquaintances up to provide a safety net if your job situation is ever in jeopardy.
You Need People and You Need Information
Are you missing out in information at the office that could be critical to your career? You may be a hard working employee who eats lunch at your desk and prefers reading another IT book to attending company parties.
However, knowledge is power. Networking within your company prevents you from being the one who is always the last to know about major changes that may impact you, your team or the organization.
Pink Slip
Being laid off usually comes as a shock to most people that it happens to. This is even more the case if your company does not make a public announcement of its intentions to cut jobs.
However, the layoff decision is rarely made the morning you get your pink slip. Managers are often given weeks within which to select the people who will be laid off from their teams.
2009 is proving to be a big year for online learning as more tech professionals enroll in web based, video based, distance learning programs to improve their skills and employment prospects.
I have compiled some predictions from learning experts, coaches, trainers, educators and training providers published in the eLearn Magazine
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Allison Rossett, San Diego State University, USA: … today, in these harsh economic times, there is pressure to reduce costs. Technology is favored over registrations in hotels and hours in classrooms away from customers and clients …
In the computer programming industry, experience is King.
Real world, hands on, practical programming experience is valued more than computer programming certifications, software development diplomas or even programming job titles.
What you know is much more important than how you obtained the knowledge!
The next time you read a computer programming job description and you feel overwhelmed by the list of degrees or certifications required, just remember that the job market for computer programmers is not really that formal.
Learning and improving your business analysis skills is a must. Sometimes you can get so caught up in your current business analyst job that you miss the boat on new skills in the industry. Browsing and reading job descriptions can help you create a career development plan that keeps you on the leading edge of the business analysis industry.
Employment Job Search
A good way to find out what employers are saying they are looking for in a business analyst is to browse job descriptions. Unfortunately, you will quickly find out that many online job descriptions are very vague. Reading some of them, it would be hard for a business analyst to gauge his or her skill level against the requirements of the job description.
Creating a Business Requirements Document is Not the Mark of a Business Analyst
Here is an excerpt from one particularly bad business analyst job description I found:
In 2009, there will be technology changes that business analysts, software developers and database developers should note for the purpose of advancing their careers. Social Media and Agile Development are two of the major trends that IT workers would do well to utilize in the year 2009.
2009 Tech Predictions
Happy New Year!! Here are some technology predictions for 2009 that are worth a read for software developers, business analysts and database developers who want to position themselves for success in 2009:
1. Pay attention to Social Media says CapGemini:
“2009 will be the year when use of social networking tools within companies will be the talk of the town. Yes, it has been around for a while but to be honest, nothing much has really happened apart from that Serena Software uses Facebook internally.
If the possibility of spending 4 or more years in college studying computer science is remote for you then breaking the degree barrier or knowing how to get a software developer job without a college degree will be helpful to you. So here is how to begin a computer programming career when college just isn’t an option.
While it may be easier to find a programming job with a college degree in computer science, a large percentage of computer programmers either don’t have a degree in computer science, or a college degree at all. The secret to success is to gain technical skills and real-world experience that makes you as good or even better than someone who only has a computer science degree.
The job market for computer programmers has virtually exploded in the last ten years, and appears set for strong growth for the foreseeable future. I would like to show you what is driving up the demand for computer programmers, especially today7.
Inspite of outsourced Information Technology jobs, there is a net positive increase in staffing for computer programming jobs, because the fundamental demand for hi-tech skills based on the US economy is quite strong.
Expectations for the current job market
A recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive found that:
Hi,
Do you want to learn the C++ programming language or become a C/C++ computer programmer?
Have you ever asked this question? which programming language is the most complex and challenging?? and received the answer C++?
If you answered yes, you are not alone. About 13 years ago, I asked my mentors in computer programming which programming language is the hardest, toughest, most difficult to learn? And got the reply C++. I asked the question because I badly wanted to become a successful programmer. So, I reasoned that if I could prove myself by conquering the hardest programming language, my success in computer programming would be guaranteed.
I am taking more questions on computer programmer careers in today’s tutorial.
If you have questions you need answered, email it to me or post it as a comment to this article. Here are the questions I am replying to:
- I am interested in learning more about the program that will help you get a job fast
- How long does it take to learn programming?
- How can I learn programming fast?
- Is it hard to get a programming job?
The answers to these questions are hidden in the amazing short story I am about to tell you next.
I am answering questions on computer programmer careers. This tutorial or guide is about how to get an entry-level computer programmer job as a beginner programmer or computer science student.
Here is the question:
Dear Mr. Tagbo,
Now that the spring has finally arrived, I am ready to search for programming jobs available for college students. So far I have mastered the fundamental concepts of programming such as function: Subprocedures, Arrays, and Classes.
I feel competent enough to pursue a career in Programming as well as Mathematics. Please send me an e-mail regarding the availability of programming jobs.
Why do some careers pay significantly higher salaries than other careers? And what do top paid professionals including doctors, lawyers and computer programmers have in common that makes them earn significantly higher income than other lower-paid professionsals?
The one thing that top paying careers have in common, are skills that fetch top dollars in the marketplace. Simply stated, how much you earn after a hard day’s work is determined by the market value of your career.
What do you know about low paid jobs, Kingsley? You are a contract programmer with a decade of skills and experience aren’t you?
Beginning computer programming can be difficult.
Even after getting hired beginner computer programmers may get the short end of the stick in matters ranging from compensation, training, and exposure to high profile projects and clients, peer respect, choice of technology, pecking order, holiday time and benefits.
There are several reasons why beginner programmers find it hard to get programming jobs or harder to find good career positions even after they are hired. Here are a few:
In my University years I observed two groups of students.
The first group was ultra-focused on their studies. They attended all their lectures, turned in assingments on time and fraternized exclusively with smart or smarter students.
The second group paid attention to their studies. In addition, they had part-time jobs and projects working for local companies. They cared more about how their studies impacted their world and not just the academia. Sometimes, they were at the top of their class and sometimes they weren’t.
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For the next 3 days, you can have this book for a fraction of the full price.
I’ve been discussing how beginner (novice, entry-level or junior) computer programmers can break-through to high paying computer programming jobs with just a little real world experience.
Do you realize this is how I became a computer programmer? Yes, I landed a break-through $76,000/yr. contract programming job within 6 months of beginning my professional computer programming career in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.
Unfortunately, some of my readers still find this hard to believe. I receive questions all the time pointing out why one can not succeed in contract or full-time computer programming this easily. If you are a skeptic, your contrary arguments usually falls into one of these:
Your resume drives your compensation, your marketability and the effectiveness of your job search. Without much ado, here are the rules of engagement for writing highly effective killer resumes for Information Technology jobs that gets you on the fast track to career nirvana.
One page resumes are out!
The rule of cramming your skills, experience and accomplishment on one page is dead. Include as much detail as necessary to secure an interview or a job offer. Your personal information is irrelevant!
Skip the section on your hobbies including the references to martial arts, chess, marathon, etc. Nobody really cares. Just answer the question, can you do the job?
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