ITCareerCoach Training - Coaching » job interview http://www.it-career-coach.net How To Take Your Career To The Next Level Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:09:27 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Put Your Blinders On Before You Read This! http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/10/01/put-your-blinders-on-before-you-read-this/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/10/01/put-your-blinders-on-before-you-read-this/#comments Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:15:11 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=3309

Put Your Blinders On Before You Read This!

Put Your Blinders On Before You Read This!

Blinders are useful in potentially distracting situations because they increase one’s ability to focus.

For example, blinders are useful for removing potentially distracting or scary scenes from a horse’s vision.

By preventing the horse from seeing everything in it’s peripheral vision, the rider can better control the horse’s focus or keep it on target.

So, what does “blinders on horses have to do with job descriptions”?

As you go about reading job descriptions and applying to jobs, you may become distracted, discouraged or even depressed by the skills or experience requirements posted on these job descriptions.

The posted requirements posted may overwhelm you, cause you considerable agitation or cause you to lose hope and count yourself out before you even apply for the job!

The solution? Put your job description blinders on …

#1: Give Yourself A Gut Check:

After reading a job description, ask yourself this singular, most important question: “do I have the ability to do this job?“

If the answer to this simple gut check is a yes; go ahead and e-mail your resume, regardless of the skills you seem to be lacking based on the job description!

A lot of the confusion with job descriptions stems from the fact that they are not written by technical folks or their managers but by Human Resources (HR) professionals, recruiters and staffing agencies.

I have had to help out HR professionals and recruiters with the wordings on job descriptions because they couldn’t understand the jobs, tools or careers they were hiring for, which in turn, impaired the clarity of the job description.

Even when technical folks (business analysts, computer programmers, project managers, etc.) write job descriptions, HR folks still extract sections from these, rewrite them based on their understanding before posting the final job description!

Unfortunately, the result is pain, confusion or discouragement for the professionals reading the job description.

#2: Put Your Job Description Blinders On:

So, to read or interpret job descriptions accurately, you must learn how to put filters on sentences, phrases or even entire paragraphs that serve only to discourage or distract you!

Here are some examples of misleading or inaccurate job descriptions:

  1. When a business analyst description specifies a Use Case Modeling tool as a required skill, put your job description blinders on!

    Why?

    Well, if you really understand Use Cases, you can create the document in any reasonable tool, even if you have to learn that Use Case modeling tool on the job.

    Information technology (IT) tools are generally designed to work for their users and not against them.

    So, if you really understand Use Cases, you can learn any new Use Case modeling tool in a reasonably short time and then write Use Case with that tool.

    If you are a qualified business analyst, apply for the job and confidently explain why your knowledge / skill in Use Cases is more important than the knowledge of one Use Case modeling tool versus another.

    What the employer really needs is your ability to write Use Cases and not the knowledge of a specific Use Case tool … that has little or no business value!

  2. When a programming job description specifies Visual Studio 2005 / 2008 / 2010 as a required skill instead of a specific programming language skill (C# or VB.NET), put your programming job description blinders on!

    Why?

    For all practical purposes, if you have good C# or VB.NET programming skills, you also have Visual Studio skills.

    Don’t obsess over the lack of a Visual Studio version posted on the job description because it was probably written by a non-technical person for whom the Visual Studio version number is a big deal!

On a final note, whenever you see a potentially distracting job description, put your blinders on, write up your resume to match the job description and then go ahead email your resume!

Can you think of any distracting, misleading or inaccurate requirements you have come across while reading job descriptions?

If you have, I will be glad to hear more about it …


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]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/10/01/put-your-blinders-on-before-you-read-this/feed/ 0 How to Tap Into Magical Hiring Powers http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/08/18/how-to-tap-into-magical-hiring-powers/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/08/18/how-to-tap-into-magical-hiring-powers/#comments Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:28:09 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=3269

Tapping Into Your Magical Hiring Powers

Tapping Into Your Magical Hiring Powers

As a Career Coach, I come across questions or discussions from job seekers “looking for recruiter who can get them a job“.

From the way these statements are worded, it seems that all it takes for the job seeker to get a job is finding a recruiter with magical hiring powers.

But, is it really true?

Do recruiters have hiring powers and how much of the success or failure of the job search depends on the recruiter’s magical hiring powers?

In this post, I will clarify the recruiter’s role and show you how to tap into the magical hiring powers available to job search candidates!

  1. Recruiters Are Gatekeepers

    Recruiters, staffing agencies or placement services simply screen and then forward resumes to employers / clients.

    A placement service will forward your resume to the client / employer if you have performed jobs in the past related to the job posting.

    If the employer is picky about resumes or complains about the quality / number of job candidates, the staffing / placement service will raise the requirements for submission.

    But keep in mind that recruiters do not exclusivity to job postings in a broad sense because you can always forward your resume to employers, have a staffing agency do it for you or do both.

  2. Recruiters Are Lie Detectors

    Generally speaking, many recruiters in the Information Technology (IT) industry do not have a technical background.

    They have not worked with or used the tools listed on your resume / job posting and cannot really say whether you are qualified or not.

    So, what they do is check your resume to see if it will pass a very basic, unsophisticated lie detector.

    Recruiters want to know such things like: where you have worked, what titles you held and whether you are eligible t work for the client.

    Note: when working with recruiters, take the extra step of convincing them that your resume and background is a good fit, because they may not be able to tell the difference!

  3. Can Staffing Agencies Claim Exclusivity?

    Generally, employers will use multiple staffing agencies and then use their own internal hiring team to narrow the pool of resumes down to a few candidates who would be interviewed or hired.

    An Employer may also decide to be discreet about the hiring process and use only one staffing agency.

    But even in this case, the staffing agency does not make a hiring decision. All the placement service can do for you is forward your resume to the employer.

  4. Who Makes Hiring Decisions?

    In all cases, it’s the employer’s internal hiring team / manager that makes the hiring decision and not the placement / staffing agency.

    Recruiters do not have magical hiring powers and you cannot base your job search on claims of exclusivity by a recruiter.

    Remember that the job search process is a democratic process and that you, the staffing agency and the employer all participate or play active roles in the process.

Discover Magic In A Law Of Numbers

One of the most important laws in the hiring process is the law of numbers.

This law says that “the more resumes you submit and job interviews you take, the greater your chances of getting hired!”

The law of numbers gives you magical hiring powers because the more recruiters, staffing or placement agencies you submit your resume to … the greater are your chances of getting hired.

So, my advice is, don’t look up to recruiters, staffing / placement agencies instead, look-up to yourself by tapping into your own magical hiring powers!


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]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/08/18/how-to-tap-into-magical-hiring-powers/feed/ 1 How To Overcome Lack of References In Resumes or Job Interviews http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/08/07/how-to-overcome-lack-of-references-in-resumes-or-job-interviews/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/08/07/how-to-overcome-lack-of-references-in-resumes-or-job-interviews/#comments Sun, 07 Aug 2011 19:42:22 +0000 mina_g http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=3250

How To Overcome Lack of References

How To Overcome Lack of References


[Ask IT Career Coach] is a Career Advice Column for Information Technology (IT) professionals looking for answers to their most challenging career situations …

Submit questions about your career using the [Ask IT Career Coach] service and I will answer it for you just like I am answering this question …

Here Is A Job Search, Resume & Job Interview Coaching Question

Worked for a private company for 12 years. All 18 other employees quit through time and I was left alone the last two years with the CEO trying to save the company.

I had finally to quit under bad terms. The CEO spoke very highly of my abilities, but I do not dare name him as a reference under the circumstances.

My references are mainly European companies we did business with but no specific individuals.

Any ideas as to how I can address the lack of business references in my resume and interviews?

  • When Are References Needed In The Hiring Process?

    Do you realize that you don’t need to provide references for verification purposes until you actually have a job offer?

    It is kind of putting the horse before the cart to focus on or worry about references before you actually have a job because that is the last step in the hiring process.

    Now, some recruiters and staffing agencies will try and reverse the hiring order by asking for references when you submit a resume!

    You have a few options: You may ask the recruiter to verify the references only after you are given a job offer and you accept it.

    This is important because if you manage to get a few references and then submit your resume to 20 jobs, you don’t want your references to receive 20 phone calls each!

    If you subject your references to that number of phone calls … you are allowing recruiters / staffing agencies to abuse the hiring process and your references will probably feel harassed and ask you to desist from using their names before you even get a job offer.

    So my advice is: treat your few references like they are gold and don’t subject them to unnecessary harassment, abuse or phone calls.

    The other route that you may take with recruiters who ask for references before they offer you a job is to tell them that you will provide that when you have an actual job offer!

  • Don’t Over Think The Reference Process

    From your question, I think that you may be putting an undue burden on yourself and over-thinking the reference and hiring process.

    It used to be that job candidates will include their references in their resume or use a line like … “references available upon request“.

    I would say that is really old school to use that line.

    Don’t mention your references on your resume and don’t even bother to say that you will furnish references upon request because that is just too early in the process.

    There is one exception to this rule. If you are filling an employment application form and you are not using a staffing agency, you may have to include a few references.

    In this situation, I will say that you may include anyone you know professionally.

  • Work Your Professional Contacts

    Do not focus just on managers, include your co-workers and even subordinates in your search for references.

    Join LinkedIn, and take the time to get in touch with every company that you have worked for in your professional life or who you provided services to at any point in time in your career.

    Once you get your contacts sorted out, call and talk to each of them or e-mail them for a reference and you would be surprised how many people will be ready to give you a job reference

    If you work through all your contacts, you will find a few people that will give you references, unless you are an absolute, total jerk … and I know you are not one because jerks don’t hang out at my blog :-)

    I believe that if you work through all your professional contacts, you will find at least three (3) people who will be willing to give you a good reference.

  • Don’t obsess over the quality of your reference.

    If your CEO spoke highly of your abilities, you should used him except if he is standing trial for crime, fraud or something crazy like that.

    If the reason why you are hesitating to use your CEO is that your company went bankrupt or became insolvent and then I will say that you should use him because companies go bankrupt all the time and those same CEOS will be hired to start a new company by another group of shareholders … that is how business gets done!

    So, don’t shut yourself out of the hiring game by taking things too personal.

My final advice is this .. don’t carry the responsibility for the failure of your company around with you.

If your CEO wants to give you a good reference, be very grateful for that because a CEO’s reference carries a lot of weight even in the circumstances that you described as long as your CEO is not facing charges for illegal conduct.

So, that is it my friend … free yourself from all that false responsibility and go get the job you want!


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This post was submitted by mina_g.

]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/08/07/how-to-overcome-lack-of-references-in-resumes-or-job-interviews/feed/ 0 The Survivors Guide To Overcoming Unemployment http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/02/13/the-survivors-guide-to-overcoming-unemployment/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/02/13/the-survivors-guide-to-overcoming-unemployment/#comments Sun, 13 Feb 2011 11:46:02 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=3098

The Survivors Guide To Overcoming Unemployment

The Survivors Guide To Overcoming Unemployment

Several years ago, I had a conversation with a lady who had a computer science degree but was unable to get hired for any type of Information technology (IT) job.

I realized right away, that what she lacked was an understanding of how the IT job / career market works. The sort of information that is generally omitted in schools because no one thinks it is important enough.

So, after she shared her story with me, I did some research and came to the startling conclusion that she was not alone.

I discovered that there was a big gap in our educational system and I am not just talking about schools, but staffing / recruiting / training agencies as well.

The problem was that all the players were in a hurry to make ends meet and no one really cared about the professional whose career or job was at stake.

For example, recruiters / staffing agencies will only work with you when your skills and experience matches that required on a job posting.

They will not think of helping you bridge the gaps in your skills, resume or experience or advancing your career further through coaching and mentoring.

So I started educating people on how to thrive or succeed in the Information Technology (IT) world and as a result this website (www.it-career-coach.net) was born.

Today, I have been giving another unique opportunity to help because a number of you are talking to me about their unemployment situations or asking for my advice or suggestions along those lines.

I want to say, thank you to everyone who has been talking to me about their unemployment situations.

I appreciate the trust you place in me and more importantly, your courage in talking about it!

I am dedicating the “FREE Survivors Guide To Overcoming Unemployment” below to those of you who are out of work..

Please download and read this career guide and learn how to survive unemployment or get productive by earning an income again.

I retain all the copyrights to this career guide. However, you have my permission to distribute it or share it with anyone (friends, strangers, colleagues, etc) or post it anywhere.

Download The Survivors Guide To Overcoming Unemployment Below


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]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2011/02/13/the-survivors-guide-to-overcoming-unemployment/feed/ 2 How To Break The Unemployment Cycle? http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/03/07/how-to-break-the-unemployment-cycle/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/03/07/how-to-break-the-unemployment-cycle/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:50:43 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2863

How To Break The Unemployment Cycle

How To Break The Unemployment Cycle

Sometime ago, Glendal (a project manager on this website) asked me to suggest a solution for the current unemployment crises facing the USA. While still working on an answer to that, the same question was again popped to me in a recent interview with Dice.com.

Since this is a question weighing on the minds of people … Today, it will be my pleasure to answer the question: “How To Solve The Unemployment Crises Facing The United States of America.“.

I will preface my solution by saying that unemployable people will find that their situation results from either not having the right skills or not knowing how to market their skills or both!

Disregarding folks who can’t work because of disability or medical issues, you will find that most people can find work, if they pay enough attention to their skills, hands-on experience or their marketability.

How To Break The Cycle Of Unemployment Facing The USA

The solution to unemployment is embracing a lifestyle of learning new technology. For your career or skills to be marketable, what you know must be tied into a facet of technology that is currently in-demand in your industry.

Why should you care about technology?

Technology in one form or the other creates or eliminates jobs and drives the entire economy forward. When you ride the wave of technology, your career is in-demand and when your skills are behind the technology curve, your employment prospects start to dwindle!

So, one of the biggest challenges facing unemployable people is that their skills are behind the technology curve.

Read about the dependency between modern-day careers and technology in this article titled: “Always Be Learning“.

Here are some pointers or indicators of having skills out of touch with today’s technology.

  • College Band-Aid

    You have a college degree and you think that makes you employable. Or you don’t have a college degree and you think that is the reason why you can’t get a job!

  • The Gold Watch Syndrome

    You are too focused on racking up years of service or retiring with a gold watch at the end of your career.

    Losing your job forces you to face the unpleasant reality that employers don’t care about years of service anymore!

  • Certified Incompetent

    You view certifications as the roadmap to career success and so, you buoy your career up with them.

    Only to lose your job because your employer eventually sees through your certified incompetency.

A long-time ago, having a college degree guaranteed an entry-level job at a great company. Once you were hired, you would stay at that one job and build your nest egg.

Today’s employer hires for sharpness of skills or breadth of experience and not for old-school reasons. And you have a job, only for as long as your skills are in-demand or you stay-ahead of the technology curve!

How To Be Employable

  • #1 – Bridge Technology Gaps by Learning New Skills

    Learn skills that are in-demand by employers.

    Don’t just learn the skills you like or want, develop skills that are actually being posted in real-world job descriptions.

    Don’t wait for employers to lower their requirements and don’t plan on finding work with obsolete skill-sets either.

  • #2 – Stay Ahead Of The Technology Curve By Constantly Updating your Skills

    Plan to update, improve or become an expert at what you do.

    Don’t assume that what you learned 1 year ago is still current … because it’s not.

    If you sharpen your skills constantly, you will become a highly skilled or sought-after technology professional.

    If your skills are sharp, you will be highly employable and in-demand … even as employers compete for your services and not the other way round!

  • #3 – Always Be Learning

    Invest time, money and effort on a continuous basis in your career development.

    Don’t bet on making a one-time investment that will keep you employed for the rest of your life because that is no longer realistic.

    What is realistic is an expectation to “get out of your career … only what you put into it“.

    So, invest money, time and effort into learning new skills or updating skills continuously and you will be sought-after or in-demand in your industry.

  • #4 – Market Your Skills Better

    A number of unemployed people can get jobs if they just learned how to market their skills better.

    If you hate to hear the “marketing word”, here how to market your career without being a shameless promoter!

    • Build Your Brand Or Become A Leader

      Start by doing what you love and then convey your passion at job interviews.

      This last point is important because hiring managers or employers love to hire passionate IT professionals who really care about their skills, their careers or their industry. Because there are so many people that are out to just get a job … your passion will stick out in a crowded job market!

      If you can’t find something that you love, then go into a career that you can eventually become really good at.

      Finally, build a brand around networking with people and solving the problems facing your industry.

      The approach that I’m talking about is explained in an article titled: Become A Leader And Get The Job You Want!

  • #5 – Choose A New IT Career

    Let me wrap up by saying that this post is intended for Information Technology (IT) professionals (business analysts, computer programmers, database professionals, software testers, project managers, etc).

    If you’re not already an IT professional or you need help with evaluating your IT career choices, I suggest that you get a copy of the THE BLUEPRINT – YOUR ROADMAP TO CAREER SUCCESS E-BOOK + WORKBOOK. Starting with the e-book and finishing up with the workbook, you will learn how to make better career choices.

Finally, unemployment is not based on education or age but on how well-aligned your skills are with the current technology. If you choose the right career, improve your skills constantly, and market your career better, your skills or services will always be in-demand.

You Deserve A Good Life … Go Get It :D

Read additional thoughts on employment, job prospects and technology titled: “Always Be Learning“.


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]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/03/07/how-to-break-the-unemployment-cycle/feed/ 0 #4 Success Principle: Preparation and Presentation, Key For Job Interviews http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/12/preparation-presentation-key-job-interviews/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/12/preparation-presentation-key-job-interviews/#comments Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:49:10 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2762

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.

Others cringe at the thought of promoting themselves at job interviews and unfortunately, this works against them!

In a job interview, you will hardly get credit for your skills or experience, if you can’t prove or present it.

For example, if you know the answers to a question but you’re not sharp, detailed or timely enough in your reply … then you are assumed not to know it!

If you know the answers to a question but are slow or hesitant in answering the questions, you are assumed not to know it.

So, to succeed at job interviews, you have to be good at both your preparation and presentation.

Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance

Here are three (3) great techniques that will help you ace your next job interview.

  1. Be Timely: to succeed at your job interviews, don’t start your preparation a week before your interview … start three (3) months ahead of your job interview. That is how to start prepare excellently for your interview.

  2. Be Smart: don’t depend solely on textbooks or videos for your job interview preparation.

    Use practice tests or quizzes!

    Your success at the job interview depends on how correct, comprehensive and timely your answers are.

    If you really want to blow your interviewer away, start preparing with quizzes, several months ahead of the job interview and your quality of preparation will shine through!

  3. Be Confident: answer your interview questions confidently if you want the job!

    If you fail to believe in yourself and that shows through at the job interview, what makes you think that the hiring manager will believe in you?

    If you start preparing three months ahead of your job interview and you use practice tests extensively … then all that remains is to believe in yourself!

So, here they are … three simple but highly effective secrets that guarantee success at job interviews; be timely, smart and confident.

Just follow these three rules to get the job you want!


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]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/12/preparation-presentation-key-job-interviews/feed/ 0 Why Your Resume Gets Tossed http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/12/17/why-your-resume-gets-tossed/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/12/17/why-your-resume-gets-tossed/#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:28:15 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2743

Is Mindless Resume Submission Working?

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?

Why Resumes Get Tossed

  1. Learn It First – Before you start submitting resumes, first learn how to do the job you are applying for.

    Getting the right knowledge and skills does more for your job search because it assures the attention of hiring managers.

    Yet some job seekers assume that they can get the attention of hiring managers by simply re-writing their resume without significantly improving their skills!

    In a real life example, a marketing and sales professional with no real world business analysis knowledge, skills or experience, just keeps rewriting or submitting resumes for business analyst jobs without taking the time to study or learn!

    There is danger when one conditions the mind to act reflexively without thinking.

    Applying for jobs is not meant to be a mindless task that one attempts like an unthinking robot.

    You be the judge of the job prospects of anyone who thinks that “finding a job is just a numbers game“.

  2. Which Comes First Learning Or Doing – learning has always been the forerunner to doing. You always have to learn a career before you can start performing the roles, responsibilities or duties belonging to the career.

    As a basic rule, everyone has to first learn a skill before they can start producing or working with the skill.

    In some careers, the practice of learning before doing is regulated and enforced by law.

    For example, you cannot become a Medical Doctor without going though Medical school and training. And you cannot just assume that you are a Medical Doctor and start submitting your resume for jobs without first learning, studying for and passing medical examinations.

    In information technology careers, the practice of learning before doing is not enforced by laws or exams or any set of IT schools because it is enforced by the Information Technology (IT) employer.

    Employers want to know that you’ve mastered the knowledge, skills and experience needed for the job before you are hired.

    And when you think of the rigorous credentialing, certification and licensing standards applied to other non information technology careers, you will agree that IT employers are not asking for much!

    The good news is that, it is not how you learn new skills, careers or work that matters (self study, books, coaching, training, college is ok) but that you learn it well … in a rigorous, thorough, step by step way!

  3. Learning Comes Before Finding A Job – employers don’t want to re-train new hires. In other words, job postings are written for those who will be productive from day one.

    What this means is that if you are looking for a new job, you need to take the time to learn or master the skills required for the job and not just shop your resume around.

    Posting your resume mindlessly without first learning the required skills is a black hole that either sucks up your time and energy or brands you in a negative light as thoughtless to employers.

  4. Take a Personal Inventory of your Skills – Do yourself a favor during this holiday season.

    Take a personal inventory of the skills required for your job. List all the skills required; (for example: UML, Use Cases, Requirements Management, SQL, Databases) and then rate yourself on a scale of one to ten on each skill.

    Finally, take the time to study, learn and improve on your weak areas because that is one of the best gifts you can give to yourself or your family!

This post discusses why most resumes get tossed by hiring managers. If you have a question or need some help with your career, post it as a comment on this page and we will be glad to answer it for you!


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]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/12/17/why-your-resume-gets-tossed/feed/ 6 Do Business Analysts Need Computer Programmer Skills? http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/08/19/do-business-analysts-need-computer-programmer-skills/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/08/19/do-business-analysts-need-computer-programmer-skills/#comments Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:43:55 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2268

Business Analysts Learn Computer Programming

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”

Bridging The Gap Between Business And Information Technology (IT) Careers

I would like to know if Business analysts are expected to know more about programming.

I attended a job interview last week and the interviewer was hesitant to consider me for the post of business analyst (BA) as i have no coding experience.

Do i need to know about database design, structure etc for me to be a good BA?

All along in my previous projects the database design, architecture and technology were decided by the technical team and DBA’s and i come into the picture as BA only after everything has been finalized.

But i was a Junior (jr.) BA and now im applying for the position of senior BA and people point out my lack of coding experience.

“Here is the answer to the challenges created by business analyst job descriptions which are worded to include programming and database skills”!

  1. Looking from the business analysts (job seekers) perspective, you may be tempted to say NO.

    You may also argue that computer programming tasks should be left ONLY to software developer job descriptions.

  2. Looking from the perspective of employers, recruiters or hiring managers, you may say YES because business analyst job descriptions are just a means to an end!

    For employers or hiring managers, the end is always the same (the job that needs to be done) … and job descriptions are just a means to achieving that!

So, which of these two perspectives (the employers or the job seekers) is the right one?

  1. The employer who only cares about getting work done and will use any job description to achieve that end or …

  2. The business analyst who feels overwhelmed by requirements for computer programming skills on business analyst job descriptions?

To this question correctly, we need to understand the roots of the conflict! So, let’s take a look at the source of gaps between IT Job Descriptions and Business Analyst Careers.

Introducing The IT Business Analyst

  • The Information Technology (IT) Business Analyst Role Is Slowly Coming To Maturity

    As the roles of the computer programmer, database developer and systems analyst matured, the “IT Business Analyst” role evolved to fill analysis and requirements tasks left out of software development roles.

  • The Accidental Business Analyst?

    As software development teams improve their requirements management or software development processes, some computer programmers begin picking up the requirements gathering and analysis tasks left undone by their team members.

    These Accidental Business Analysts are usually computer programmers or systems analysts with strong people, communication, business and requirements management skills who transition into or assume the role of the IT Business Analyst.

Some employers have not achieved a separation between “IT Business Analyst Roles” and “Computer Programmer Roles” in their minds.

For these employers, the distinctions between IT Business Analysts and Computer Programmers are a superficial play on words … hence the business analyst job description written-up to include computer programming languages!

So, back again to the question; “should a business analyst learn computer programming languages or acquire database development skills”?

  • Are You Looking For A Business Analyst Job?

    1. If you’re not looking for a business analyst job then you don’t need to learn computer programming (except if your employer mandates it).

      If you’re really that secure in your current business analyst job and know for a fact that you won’t be looking anytime soon … then you may argue that programming is not for business analysts :-)

    2. If you’re looking for a business analyst job and you want to go the extra mile for prospective employers, then go-ahead and learn some computer programming!

      It’s really the attitude that matters because job descriptions are not intended to be perfect and in the employer’s eyes, they’re just a means to an end.

      Put Yourself In The Employers Shoes for a moment and you will begin to see that it’s not personal. The employer only wants what’s best for the company and if they’re so inclined, you may help them by learning some computer programming!

    Give Employers What They’re Asking For

    I strongly believe that you should give employers what they want instead of wondering about the fairness or correctness of business analyst job descriptions!

    1. Perhaps, you feel overwhelmed by the requirements for computer programming or database skills in business analyst job descriptions.

    2. Or you feel that it’s unfair to expect business analysts to perform programming tasks

    Get a clue, if you’re not the one hiring, then your feelings are irrelevant!

    In today’s competitive job market, you will fare better by addressing the employers concerns because if you don’t, someone else … who is more hungry or desperate than you will!

    Another business analyst who wants to provide the required programing services will get the job you need!


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    ]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/08/19/do-business-analysts-need-computer-programmer-skills/feed/ 21 Did I Mess Up My Career? http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/08/02/did-i-mess-up-my-career-part-2/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/08/02/did-i-mess-up-my-career-part-2/#comments Sun, 02 Aug 2009 23:39:02 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2185

    Ask IT Career Coach

    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”.

    What To Do About making Wrong Career Choices

    I think I did myself well careerwise by reading for a degree that bears no inclination to what I am trying to aspire to in life.

    The programme entitled: Degree in Computing with Management Studies is embeded with C++, COBOL and Report Programme Generator (RPG) courses.

    The final year I underwent a gruelling course in Artificial Intelligence that I haven’t started to utilise in anyway in my career path.

    What I strongly desire is a competence in database management and its integration with records management and design.

    Regards

    Career Transitions Are A Fact Of Life

    Hello,

    I feel your pain because I have been in your shoes – in a similar situation.

    I’ve had to transition career several times from Chemical Engineering to IT Sales to IT Consulting to IT Career Coaching!

    I’m reasonably sure that my last transition is permanent … but that doesn’t mean much because I expect my IT Career Coaching skills to change so much that I would literally be re-inventing myself every year!

    Think about it for a moment. The world around us is constantly changing and we have to remain flexible and adaptable or we become as dead as the DoDo!

    Fact is … “career transitions are a part of life“!

    What I’ve learnt that I would like to share with you is this: “march boldly in the direction of your dreams!“

    Start by forgiving yourself thoroughly.

    Forgiving yourself is really not as easy as it sounds … put some effort into giving yourself a break because you did the best that you could based on the information you had.

    Don’t be too hard on yourself; make sure you take out some time to love on yourself before you do the next big thing.

    Now, having done that, “follow your call wherever it leads without any hesitation“!

    Since your heart is saying that you need to become a database professional, do exactly that!

    “Jump into the water with both feet and don’t be afraid of getting your feet wet”.

    What I mean is: “pursue your dreams fearlessly, follow your heart wherever it leads and don’t be afraid of making mistakes”.

    You owe yourself the pursuit of “life, liberty and love”.

    What Should I Do with My Life?

    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!”

    So, if you find yourself doubting or regretting the choices you’ve made for your career or work, do these:

    1. Do What You Love; Start building your career around what you love or enjoy doing. Be honest with yourself by finding out what type of work fulfills you and doing it.

    2. Discover Your Strengths; Don’t spend your entire career or life building on weaknesses by doing what you don’t love.

      Discover what you excel at doing and then pursue opportunities that align with them.

      Use a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis to reposition your career.

    3. Follow Your Dreams; It’s never too late to discover or follow your dreams, aspirations or happiness.

      Don’t deny yourself the right to pursue life, liberty and happiness because everyone including your dear self, deserves better!

    4. Develop A Positive Mental Attitude; Don’t let past mistakes or career choices hinder you from making better decisions going forward!

      Believe that “you can do better and you will” because “if you think that you can, you can!“

    5. Learn From Past Mistakes; Don’t be reacting to past failures, learn from them!

      We all do the best that we can, based on the information we have. Now, re-invent your career by making better, informed decisions based on your past failures!

    6. Plan to Succeed; Now prepare a step by step plan for transitioning to a your new career!

      Start with a SWOT Analysis that addresses specific issues like “how you will learn new skills” and “how you will gain hands-on experience“.

      You need to plan your career transition because “failing to plan is the same as planning to fail!”

    7. Now, Do What You Love; You’ve learnt from past mistakes and planned a better career transition, now start doing what you love.

      Stick to doing what you love even when it’s tough on your purse or ego.

      Because a day will come when you’ll start reaping the financial and emotional rewards of “Career Nirvana!”

    How To Achieve Career Nirvana

    You’re not alone in making wrong career choices. But you must overcome the past by learning from it and by making better, informed decisions going forward!

    This post answers a question posted by a reader who needs advice on “what to do about making wrong career choices”!

    If you have a question about your career or are facing a challenge, be sure to post it as a comment on this page and I will answer it for you!


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    ]]>     http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/08/02/did-i-mess-up-my-career-part-2/feed/ 5     How Effective Are Resume Writers? http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/07/29/how-effective-are-resume-writers/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/07/29/how-effective-are-resume-writers/#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:01:27 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2117

    Miracle Worker?

    Miracle Worker?

    A Mainframe Programmer who “received zero (0) interest” after hiring someone to rewrite his resume for Microsoft.NET Jobs is wondering why his resume rewriting strategy is not working!

    So, the question is “are resume writers miracle workers or are there situations where hiring professionals to rewrite a resume will not help“?

    Why Would You Hire A Resume Writer?

    Let’s look at some of the reasons why you may want to hire a resume writer:

    1. Career Transitions: you are transitioning to a new career so you hire a resume writer to reposition your resume.

      While a resume rewrite can highlight significant achievements, skills or experience, it may not provide you with the additional skills or hands-on experience required for career transitions.

    2. Employment Gaps: you’re coming back to work after a stay-at-home period so you get your resume updated to cover-up or hide the stay at home period.

      You may be able to hide gaps in employment using a resume rewriting service but that may not help you the job if your stay-at-home period made your skills obsolete.

    3. Hands On Experience: the feedback you’re getting from interviews is that you lack sufficient hands-on experience, so you hire a resume writer to make your resume look better!

      A resume rewriting service is helpful for job postings where you actually have the years of experience required.

      If you don’t already have the required hands-on experience, then paying a service to rewrite your resume is a waste of your hard-earned money!

    Resume Writers Are Not Miracle Workers!

    Hiring someone to rewrite your resume when the feedback you are getting from your job interviews is that you lack the requisite skills or sufficient hands-on experience is a waste of money!

    This is true especially for Information Technology (IT) job postings which typically require cutting-edge skills and strong hands-on experience!

    Rewriting your resume without also acquiring the required hands-on experience and sharp skills, is simply throwing good money after a bad cause! Here is what works with or without a resume rewrite:

    1. Upgrade Your Skills, Get Strong Hands-ON Experience: Employers hire for cutting edge skills and strong hands-on experience. Your time and money will be better spent on “giving employers what they are looking for” in-addition to a resume rewrite :-)

      First Things First! If you’re looking for a Microsoft.NET Job, then first get a thorough knowledge, cutting-edge skills and strong hands-on programming experience in C#, ASP.NET, SQL Server, Visual Studio .NET and Microsoft .NET Framework before worrying about the state of your resume!

    2. Technical Interviews Are For Strong Candidates Only! Employers receive a lot of resumes and they can’t interview everyone, so they focus on the strongest job applicants.

      That means your resume won’t stand-up to that of your competition because you really don’t have the skills or experience or the insight that they poses!

      Even if you’re invited for a job interview you won’t be able to support the claims on your resume with real world examples, cases or situations where you used those skills on a project!

    3. Performance Driven Careers: Employers hire for specific skills like UML, Use Cases, Microsoft.NET ASP.NET, C# because they intend to put those skills to work.

      So, getting hired for skills that you don’t poses is setting yourself up for failure because you won’t be able to perform for your employer who ends up having to fire you!

    Depending on a resume rewrite to get you a job without first acquiring the required skills or hands-on experience is like asking your resume writer to perform a miracle!

    The path to your dream Microsoft .NET IT Job starts with acquiring cutting-edge programming skills and hands-on programming experience.

    You’re practically guaranteed an IT (Microsoft .NET) Job when you have both.


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    ]]>     http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/07/29/how-effective-are-resume-writers/feed/ 15     Did I Mess Up My Career? http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/07/16/did-i-mess-up-my-career/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/07/16/did-i-mess-up-my-career/#comments Thu, 16 Jul 2009 22:40:21 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2064

    Ask IT Career Coach

    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.

    Here is the Reader’s Question:

    I think I did myself well careerwise by reading for a degree that bears no inclination to what I am trying to aspire to in life.

    The programme entitled: Degree in Computing with Management Studies is embeded with C++, COBOL and Report Programme Generator (RPG) courses.

    The final year I underwent a gruelling course in Artificial Intelligence that I haven’t started to utilise in anyway in my career path.

    What I strongly desire is a competence in database management and its integration with records management and design.

    Regards

    Here is my Answer

    Hello,

    I feel your pain because I have been in your shoes – in a similar situation.

    I’ve had to transition career several times from Chemical Engineering to IT Sales to IT Consulting to IT Career Coaching!

    I’m reasonably sure that my last transitiion is permanent … but that doesn’t mean much because I expect my IT Career Coaching skills to change so much that I would literally be re-inventing myself every year!

    Think about it for a moment. The world around us is constantly changing and we have to remain flexible and adaptable or we become as dead as the DoDo!

    Fact is … “career transitions are a part of life“!

    What I’ve learnt that I would like to share with you is this: “march boldly in the direction of your dreams!“

    Start by forgiving yourself thoroughly.

    Forgiving yourself is really not as easy as it sounds … put some effort into giving yourself a break because you did the best that you could based on the information you had.

    Don’t be too hard on yourself, make sure you take out some time to love on yourself before you do the next big thing.

    Now, having done that, “follow your call wherever it leads without any hesitation“!

    Since your heart is saying that you need to become a database professional, do exactly that!

    “Jump into the water with both feet and don’t be afraid of getting your feet wet. “

    What I mean is: “pursue your dreams fearlessly, follow your heart wherever it leads and don’t be afraid of making mistakes”.

    You owe yourself the pursuit of “life, liberty and love”.

    Let me know if I can do anything to help.

    Regards,

    Kingsley Tagbo – Your IT Career Coach

    This post answers a question posted by a reader who needs advice on “what to do about making wrong career choices”!

    If you have any Question about your career, Post IT as a comment on this page and I will be sure to answer it for you!


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    ]]>     http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/07/16/did-i-mess-up-my-career/feed/ 9     Why Can’t I Find A Job? http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/07/13/why-cant-i-find-a-job/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/07/13/why-cant-i-find-a-job/#comments Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:21:11 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2002

    Beat the Recession

    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.

    1. Do You Have a Marketable Skill? Did you assume that because your skills were in-demand a few years ago, they are relevant today?

      The market doesn’t lie! … If your phone isn’t ringing or you aren’t getting job interviews then your skills need to be updated!

      What looks like a minor skill gap to you is a major skill gap to hiring managers because that’s what they’re paying for!

    2. Is Your Resume Killing Your Career? Your resume screams “hire me because I need this job” and says little about what you can do for the employer!

      Get a clue, no-one cares about you until you prove that you care about them!

      Put yourself in the employer’s shoes by re-writing your resume to say: “here is what I can do for you” and you’ll get a job paying surprisingly more than you asked for!

    3. Are You Flying by the Seat of Your Pants? Your failure to plan your job search is the reason why your job search is falling apart!

      Start your job search with a competitive analysis of your strengths and weaknesses in the current job market (SWOT Analysis) and then create a strategic job search plan that addresses your findings!

      Applying for every online job doesn’t work because everyone else is doing the same thing and you must differentiate yourself to succeed.

    4. Do You Suck at Job Interviews? You need to learn “how to interview properly” because something you’re doing is freaking out potential employers!

      Face-to-face or phone interviews are make or break opportunities that can’t be treated casually or left to chance.

      So learn “how to slam dunk job interviews” to improve your job search or get hired fast!

    5. Can You Perform? Prove It! Performers get hired wherever they go!

      Everything about your resume, job interviews or attitude must prove that you’re a performer because that’s what potential employers wants to hear!

      Remember that IT Managers view: your past performance as the best indicator of your future performance.

      So, get your act together and differentiate yourself from the competition. Prove that you’re a job candidate worthy of hire!

    Remember that Employers are still hiring for Information Technology (IT) jobs despite the economy … so, if you can’t find an IT Job, you’re doing something wrong!

    Finding a job doesn’t have to be an emotionally demanding, long-drawn out process. Just learn the process outlined in this series of articles and you will be in-charge of your job search.


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    ]]>     http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/07/13/why-cant-i-find-a-job/feed/ 6     How To Ace Job Interviews Using Practice Tests http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/04/10/ace-job-interviews-using-practice-tests/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/04/10/ace-job-interviews-using-practice-tests/#comments Fri, 10 Apr 2009 21:38:28 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=1348

    How To Boost IT Skills Rapidly Or Get Hired Fast

    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.

    Perhaps, you have been using practice tests only when preparing for certification exams.

    However, practice tests are useful for much more than that.

    Quizzes have proven effective for improving IT skills, retention, recall of information and for acing technical job interviews!

    That is why we use the Quiz Module in our online, video-based training programs to sharpen the skills, improve memory, retention, recall and understanding of our students after they watch our training videos.

    We’ve also incorporated a practice testing software into the Business Analyst Book – Business Analyst Interview Questions and Answers

    Let’s go ahead and review how you may used practice tests to improve your skills or advance your IT career or get an IT job.

    Use Quizzes to Ace IT Job Interviews Or Get An IT Job:

    The more effective preparation for IT job interviews includes using quizzes or practice tests to ask Single Choice, Multiple Choice or Essay Type interview questions.

    This technique is effective for acing IT job interviews because the Quiz software presents the questions to you, rates your answers as correct or incorrect and then displays the correct answer for feedback or correction

    Quizzes or practice tests are also effective for acing job interviews because they closely mimic the question and answer format of IT job interviews.

    In IT job interviews, the interviewer asks a questions and then reviews your answer for correctness, promptness of reply and comprehensiveness. Not displaying these three traits are among the top reasons why IT workers fail to ace their job interviews. The interviewer rated their answers and felt that they where wrong (correctness), slow in coming, (promptness) or not detailed enough (comprehensiveness).

    The good news is that our online video-based training programs include a Quiz Module which helps students prepare for job interviews at no additional costs.

    The Quiz Module asks technical questions in a random order, rates the answer to Single Choice, Multiple Choice or Essay Type Questions, presents the correct answer with an explanation and then grades the student for the entire quiz.

    Use Quizzes to Sharpen Your IT Skills Or Advance Your Career:

    The other major benefit of using practice tests or quizzes in our online training programs, is that practice tests actually improve your ability to remember, recall or understand the information you gain from watching our training videos.

    Repetition in training is the key to skill mastery. To master any new skill you repeat the same set of tasks multiple times until it sinks in and becomes second nature … and that is exactly what our Quiz modules does for you!

    At designated periods in your online, video training program, you will get an invitation to take a Quiz for a number of days.

    While taking the quiz, you will be presented with a number of questions or scenarios repeatedly until the learning concept becomes second nature.

    This feature … only available at select Quiz training programs … is included with your online, video-based training boot camps at no additional cost!

    So, if you are looking for a scientific way to boost your career or advance your skills or ace your job interviews, get our online, video-based training courses or web-based training courses now.

    References

    1. Chan, J.C., McDermott, K.B., & Roediger, H.L. (2007). Retrieval-induced facilitation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 135(4), 553-571

    2. How to Become a More Effective Learner in Tips from Psychology to Improve Learning Effectiveness & Efficiency By Kendra Van Wagner


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    ]]>     http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/04/10/ace-job-interviews-using-practice-tests/feed/ 4     How To Slam Dunk Job Interviews http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/02/05/how-to-slam-dunk-job-interviews/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/02/05/how-to-slam-dunk-job-interviews/#comments Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:30:13 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=841

    How To Slam Dunk Your Next Job Interview

    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!

    The definition of the word “slam dunk” below is from Wikipedia and the rest of the article is my anwer to Chris’s challenge with Job Interviews!

    A slam dunk (or simply a dunk) is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air and manually powers the ball downward through the basket with one or both hands over the rim.

    The term “slam dunk” was coined by Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn and is one of the highest percentage shots one can attempt in basketball.

    50 Ways To Slam Dunk Any Job Interview

    1. Dress appropriately for your job interviews

    2. Never be late for your job interviews

    3. Verify the interviewer’s timezone ahead of your job interview

    4. Verify the location of the interview ahead of time

    5. Print a mapquest or step by step driving direction to the interview location

    6. Before going for the interview, find out more about the culture of the company, what they like in employees or consultants or why they are hiring

    7. Greet the receptionist and other people in the lounge or interview room courteously and with a smile

    8. Research your potential employer using the internet before the interview

    9. Research your potential employer by finding out about their products, services, industry and corporate history

    10. Take samples or proof of your expertise to the interview

    11. Demonstrate to the interviewer how portions or sections of the job posting relate to your resume and skills

    12. Do not negotiate compensation before you get an offer

    13. Do not talk down your current or previous positions

    14. Be prepared to answer the “what are your strengths?” question

    15. Be prepared to answer the “what is your weakness?” question

    16. Be prepared to answer the “do you prefer working in teams or alone?” question

    17. Give the appropriate level of technical detail for each interviewer. A senior business analyst or a tech lead will need detailed technical answers while managers or directors may need concise summaries.

    18. Be prepared to answer the “what is your greatest accomplishment?” question

    19. Be prepared to answer the “why are you looking for a position?” question

    20. Be prepared to answer the “how do you handle stress?” question

    21. Answer each interview question with specifics, examples and illustrations from your career

    22. Answer each interview question quickly, completely and to the point

    23. Answer each interview question and ask your interviewer if you provided enough information

    24. Answer each interview question with confidence, command and authority

    25. Answer each interview question by looking the interviewer in the eye

    26. Answer each interview question by looking briefly at each interviewer in the room and returning back to the originator of the question

    27. Answer each interview question with a smile and a relaxed, calm demeanor

    28. Say you don’t know on interview questions, that you don’t have any idea about

    29. If you interviewer corrects you on your answers, be courteous and thank the interviewer for taking the time to correct your response

    30. Take the phone interview as seriously as a face to face interview because may even get hired on the phone without another face to face

    31. Take you phone interviews in a quiet, distraction free room

    32. Give an alternate phone number to the employer as a backup ahead of your phone interviews

    33. Practice taking phone interviews while standing up or sitting down and then choose the style that works for you

    34. Start your interview preparation a month or more before you take the interview

    35. When preparing for a job interview, first prepare a list of frequently asked questions and answers

    36. Prepare the questions to ask the interviewer about the job position before your interview date

    37. When preparing for job interview, rehearse or practice answering the questions 10 or more times beforehand

    38. When preparing for job interview, rehearse or practice before an audience that will give you immediate feedback

    39. After taking a job interview, let the interviewer know that you really want and care about landing the job

    40. After taking a job interview, ask the interviewer what are the issues that must be tackled immediately and effectively by you, if you are hired

    41. After taking a job interview, ask the interviewer what personal attributes or traits are common among the sucessful employees or consultants

    42. After taking a job interview, ask the interviewer who you will be reporting to if you are hired

    43. After taking a job interview, thank the interviewer for their time and interest in hiring you before leaving the room

    44. After taking a job interview, ask the interviewer for their contact information

    45. After taking a job interview, send a thank you email to your job interviewers when you get home

    46. After taking a job interview, decline to discuss your pay until you get a job offer

    47. After taking a job interview, let the interviewer know that you are flexible when it comes to pay

    48. After taking a job interview, ask the interviewer how long you it will take for them to get back to you

    49. After taking a job interview, prepare a list of the challenging questions you had to answer

    50. After taking a job interview, research, document and rehearse the answers to all the challenging questions you answered


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    ]]>     http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/02/05/how-to-slam-dunk-job-interviews/feed/ 8     How To Land A Good Tech Job http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/02/05/how-to-land-a-good-tech-job/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/02/05/how-to-land-a-good-tech-job/#comments Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:25:22 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=813

    jobs-employment-recession

    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!

    Is College Education Enough?

    College is part of the preparation for the real-world, but if you read my past articles, you will see me say often that college is not real-life.

    What Are The Critical Tech Skills

    There are two critical skills needed to succeed in today’s Information Technology (IT) Job Market:

    1. Your Technical skills

    2. Your Marketing skills

    Let’s look at these skills in detail:

    TECHNICAL SKILLS:

    You need to learn technical skills that are in high-demand by hiring managers. It is not enough to like your skills or to be good at what you do! You need to be passionate about, like or learn tech skills that are in high demand by hiring managers. It may not be apparent to you that you need to update your current skills while you still have a job. But what happens when you lose your job and can’t get job interviews?

    Here is a reality check: If you are very good at what you do and you lose your job and can’t find interviews … then your skills are not in demand and you need to re-invent your career.

    MARKETING SKILLS:

    Some tech professionals are very good at what they do and they may even have technical skills that are in high demand but they committ the sin of not marketing their skills, resume or profile.

    To succeed in the current tech Job Market, you need to start looking at yourself as a business. A business sees marketing as a core vital activity that needs to be performed on a daily basis.

    So change your strategy from marketing your resume when you are out of work to marketing your profile at every opportunity!

    What I have said so far is the background or prelude to what I am about to say next:

    WHAT SKILLS SHOULD YOU LEARN?

    1. SQL / RELATIONAL DATABASES

      I would say that you start updating your skills by learning and becoming an expert at SQL and Relational Databases. I recommend SQL because you can learn or master it in a shorter time than the other skills like business analysis or computer programming or data analysis or software testing or computer networking skills.

      Also by mastering SQL, you have access into other professions including “Data Analysis” or “Business Analysis” or “Computer Programming”. The way it works is that if you are an expert at one thing, then you have proven that you can be an expert at other jobs if given the chance.

    2. HTML / CSS / WEB SKILLS

      Look into mastering HTML, CSS and some web development after you master SQL and then choose a specific software development career path … along the lines of “Data Analysis” or “Business Analysis” or “Computer Programming”

    Whatever skills or career you pursue, remember that:

    You need to master a skill that is in high demand

    You need to market your skills intensively. Don’t assume that your technical mastery alone is enough to get you a job, go sell yourself to hiring managers

    If there is any other question or challenge facing your career, go ahead and challenging career or job questionpost it as a comment on this link and I will address it for you.


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    ]]>     http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/02/05/how-to-land-a-good-tech-job/feed/ 2     Recession Proof Your Career – How to Survive In 2009 http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/01/29/recession-proof-your-career-how-to-survive-in-2009/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/01/29/recession-proof-your-career-how-to-survive-in-2009/#comments Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:34:25 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=685

    recession-economic-downturn

    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.

    If you haven’t been laid off already, there is a real possibility that it may happen to you. It’s time to hunker down and prepare for the worst. The good news is that even in a recession, there are still jobs out there.

    To offer you some hope and prepare you to be successful in the economic downturn, I will be writing a series of articles packed with tips to help you get through the current recession/depression.

    These articles will help you prepare to sail right through to your next position if you’ve been laid off and prepare to not miss a beat if you do get a pink slip.

    In addition, I am scouring the web to bring you the best of what’s been written about surviving the current tough economy.

    Here are two great articles from Robert Scoble chock full of tips for holding on to your job and getting a new one right away if you do get laid off.

    If You Are Laid Off, Here’s How to Socially Network

    What to Do If You’re Laid Off in 2008 recession

    And on a more humorous note:

    7 Essential Steps to Surviving a Post-Layoff Existence

    How To Recession Proof Your Career

    Check out the ‘IT-Career-Coach’ Resume, Job Search and Interview training program that walks you through the process of finding a new job immediately.

    You’ll Learn Step-by-Step

    • How to Run an Accelerated Job Search

    • How to Find Unadvertised Jobs

    • What Employers Want to See on Your Resume

    • How to Be the Best Candidate in a Technical Interview

    • Advanced Techniques that 98% of Job Searchers Don’t Know (This Means You’ll Be Ahead of the Game)

    How the Coaching Works

    • You Get Step By Step Video Training that Shows You How to Get Hired Fast!

    • Your Resume and Cover Letter are Reviewed to Ensure They Match the Positions You’re Applying For.

    • You are Coached on How To Be the Top Candidate by Selling Yourself During Your Technical Interviews.


    Click here for more information


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    ]]>     http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/01/29/recession-proof-your-career-how-to-survive-in-2009/feed/ 2     Recession Proof Your Career – Eat Lunch With Co-Workers http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/01/29/recession-proof-your-career-eat-lunch-with-your-team/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/01/29/recession-proof-your-career-eat-lunch-with-your-team/#comments Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:47:54 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=676

    business-lunch

    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.

    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.

    By networking within your company, you will pick up on the organizational culture within your company. You’ll learn about job openings within the company and in other teams, organizational changes, information on mergers and sales, new technology strategies and software purchases.

    7 Ways to Build Your Network and Get in Loop at Work

    1. Go to Lunch with Your Team: Invite a co-worker out to lunch, or join other co-workers who regularly go to lunch together. The relaxed atmosphere at lunch is a great place to pick on tidbits about what people are working on.

    2. Attend Company Functions: Company parties are great places to strike up friendships with people in other departments and find out what’s interesting on their teams.

    3. Read Company Newsletters and Reports, Research Industry News: Read about the organizational changes and industry trends that may affect you or bring about new opportunities.

    4. Help Others: Look for opportunities to do someone a favor within and outside your team. You’ll need to have started talking to others, first. As you begin to get information, find ways to solve problems. If your boss mentions that the higher ups plan to move to another software platform, do some research for her to help her impress her bosses.

    5. Stay in Touch With Ex Co-Workers: When you leave a company, or someone leaves your company, ask for their contact information. Stay in touch. Send a card at Christmas. You never know when you’ll need a job reference or a job referral.

    6. Tell or Teach People What You Know: Share the information you have. Give tips, ideas and suggestions to others. Giving is a great way to get in the loop.

    7. Ask Questions: Become curious about what’s going on in the workplace. As questions about the direction your company is moving in. Your performance review is a good time to ask your boss the same questions he asks you: Where do you see this team going in five years? What goals do you hope to achieve this year?

    As you begin to interact regularly with people on the job, you will find that you are slowly building a network of people who like and rely on you, thus expanding your options for moving ahead in your career.

    How To Recession Proof Your Career

    Check out the ‘IT-Career-Coach’ Resume, Job Search and Interview training program that walks you through the process of finding a new job immediately.

    You’ll Learn Step-by-Step

    • How to Run an Accelerated Job Search

    • How to Find Unadvertised Jobs

    • What Employers Want to See on Your Resume

    • How to Be the Best Candidate in a Technical Interview

    • Advanced Techniques that 98% of Job Searchers Don’t Know (This Means You’ll Be Ahead of the Game)

    How the Coaching Works

    • You Get Step By Step Video Training that Shows You How to Get Hired Fast!

    • Your Resume and Cover Letter are Reviewed to Ensure They Match the Positions You’re Applying For.

    • You are Coached on How To Be the Top Candidate by Selling Yourself During Your Technical Interviews.


    Click here for more information


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    ]]>     http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/01/29/recession-proof-your-career-eat-lunch-with-your-team/feed/ 0     Recession Proof Your Career – 7 Signs a Pink Slip is Coming http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/01/28/recession-proof-your-career-7-signs-a-pink-slip-is-coming/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/01/28/recession-proof-your-career-7-signs-a-pink-slip-is-coming/#comments Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:50:36 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=647

    Pink Slip

    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.

    While it is always difficult for a manager to let an employee go, sometimes it is an opportunity for them to weed out those people who have been dragging the team performance down. If you’ve had trouble with your manager or co-workers in the past, that’s a sure sign that you may be one of the first to go.

    Other times, there’s no good reason for you to be chosen as the sacrificial lamb. You’ve worked hard and been a team player; however, you still get the boot. There are signs that can give you a heads up that this may happen.

    Here are the warnings that you are being considered for a layoff:

    1. Your workload suddenly becomes very light. If there are no new projects coming your way, it may be a sign that your employer plans to let you go.

    2. You have consistently been an underperformer on the job. You miss deadlines and your work is under par. Your lack of energy or application of commitment and creativity to the tasks your team faces will make you a sure pick for a layoff. If you’ve been hovering around the fringes of productivity, this is the time to do a 180 degree turn and start contributing in major ways to your team. Get to work early, stay late, stop surfing the web during work hours. Go over and beyond the call of duty. You may just save your job.

    3. You don’t get along with your co-workers or with your boss. In a downturn, your manager is more likely to keep his or her favorites around. It’s just the way life is. Most organizations value a team player over a star player. If you’ve had problems in your interactions with co-workers in the past, this is a good time to patch up. Reach out and be likeable.

    4. Your manager starts to micro-manage you. He requests status updates on all of your projects and tasks. In this case, you may be scheduled for a layoff and your manager is trying to get a handle of what’s on your plate.

    5. You only perform one task or one function for your company. You need to evaluate how much value you are creating for your company. The junior business analyst who only works on documentation is less valuable to an employer than the mid-level business analyst who interacts with the customers, gathers requirements and performs requirements analysis. Make yourself indispensable to your employer by gaining new skills fast. Find out the functions needed in your area that you currently don’t have the skills for and read a book, go for training or get certified.

    6. Your boss gets laid off. This usually happens when a company plans to get rid of a division or department altogether. I heard from an in-house software developer for an IT staffing company whose boss got laid off. She was kept on to complete her project and was laid off the day after she wrote the last line of code. Keep your eyes and ears open and start working on your resume and job search plans if you see any hints that your company is cost-cutting.

    7. Your company or company division gets sold or merged with another. Mergers and division sales always create an at-risk situation for jobs. The new company may choose to replace all the employees from the former company with their own people. If your company is in the middle of a merger or sale, try to find out as much as you can about the terms of the deal. Either way, get your resume ready to find a new job if you need to.
    How To Recession Proof Your Career

    Check out the ‘IT-Career-Coach’ Resume, Job Search and Interview training program that walks you through the process of finding a new job immediately.

    You’ll Learn Step-by-Step

    • How to Run an Accelerated Job Search

    • How to Find Unadvertised Jobs

    • What Employers Want to See on Your Resume

    • How to Be the Best Candidate in a Technical Interview

    • Advanced Techniques that 98% of Job Searchers Don’t Know (This Means You’ll Be Ahead of the Game)

    How the Coaching Works

    • You Get Step By Step Video Training that Shows You How to Get Hired Fast!

    • Your Resume and Cover Letter are Reviewed to Ensure They Match the Positions You’re Applying For.

    • You are Coached on How To Be the Top Candidate by Selling Yourself During Your Technical Interviews.


    Click here for more information


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    ]]>     http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/01/28/recession-proof-your-career-7-signs-a-pink-slip-is-coming/feed/ 0     How To Beat The 2009 Recession By Improving Your Skills – Top Predictions http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/01/26/how-to-beat-recessions-by-improving-skills-top-2009-predictions/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/01/26/how-to-beat-recessions-by-improving-skills-top-2009-predictions/#comments Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:12:16 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=632

    jobs-employment-recession

    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

    • 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 …

    • Saul Carliner, Graduate Program in Educational Technology, Concordia University, Canada: … as organizations try to stretch their learning budgets in hard times, e-learning will become an attractive option …

    • Roger Schank, John Evans Professor Emeritus of Computer Science, Psychology, and Education, Northwestern University; CEO Socratic Arts: … A ruined economy will demand trained workers and college degrees will matter less than real abilities. Schools will have to offer to train students to do actual jobs, and they will do this online. … Real education, according to the second president of the United States, John Adams, “…is about learning to live and learning to make a living” an idea that got lost between the late 1700s and today. High schools and universities have simply failed to teach what needs to be taught. This will change in 2009.

    • Richard C. Larson, Founder and Director, MIT LINC-Learning International Networks Consortium, USA : … this will open opportunities for new technology-enabled educational innovations in which the repetitive routine lecturing, administrative and related repetitive tasks are replaced with e-learning options, and the teachers-though fewer in number-will have more opportunities to serve as student mentors. This combination of personal mentoring plus tailored e-learning environments for students could-if we are imaginative-will usher in an age of personalized learning analogous to the movement toward personalized health care.

    • Inge de Waard, eLearning advisor, Ignatia Webs, Belgium : … In the past, the budget of training departments got cut when an economic crisis erupted, but this time investing in learning will make or break companies and organizations. The world is evolving from an industrial age into a knowledge age, so content will become key in 2009. Social media use will increase because it saves money as it keeps knowledge in a central place (quick retrievability, international access,…) …

    • Matt Bovell, Vell Group, USA: … there are three reasons why e-learning will continue to grow in 2009: (1) The economy is tanking. More and more companies will be attempting to achieve cost savings using e-learning technologies. (2) As students attempt to make better use of their time and money, they will continue to avail themselves of e-learning opportunities. (3) As more and more companies try to establish a reputation for being eco-friendly, they will use e-learning as part of their green initiatives.

    • Peter Parker, Owner, EPCoT Systems Ltd and Management Consulting Consultant, UK : … see the current credit crunch as a time when more money is spent on training. The reasons are: (1) Good companies (particularly in the financial sector) use training as part of an exit package. Hence, as people are released, budgets are provided for the release packages and some of this is spent on training. (2) Individuals want to distinguish themselves from the market. This means they have to spend money on training to provide that differentiation. Many training companies see this time as challenging, but not a time to expect a large decrease in training revenue.

    Note this prediction by Roger Schank, John Evans Professor Emeritus of Computer Science, Psychology, and Education, Northwestern University; CEO Socratic Arts:

    … a ruined economy will demand trained workers and college degrees will matter less than real abilities. Schools will have to offer to train students to do actual jobs, and they will do this online. … Real education, according to the second president of the United States, John Adams, “…is about learning to live and learning to make a living” an idea that got lost between the late 1700s and today. High schools and universities have simply failed to teach what needs to be taught. This will change in 2009.

    Editor’s Note

    In the next set of articles that we will be posting the step-by-step tools, techniques and strategies for beating the 2009 recession. Stay tuned.

    Your Opinion?

    Do you have any opinion about this article? … post it as a comment below … do you have any topics that need to be covered in the recession set of articles? …. post it as a comment below.


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    ]]>     http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/01/26/how-to-beat-recessions-by-improving-skills-top-2009-predictions/feed/ 0     How To Get Computer Programming Experience http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/01/21/how-to-get-computer-programming-experience/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/01/21/how-to-get-computer-programming-experience/#comments Wed, 21 Jan 2009 13:00:34 +0000 ITCareerCoach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=555

    Be Wise ... Get Experience

    Be Wise ... Get Experience

    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.

    How To Get Computer Programming Job Experience

    Now, you know that raw, hands on computer programming experience is valued above programming degrees, job titles or programming certifications, here are tips on how to increase your programming experience.

    • Open Source Projects

      there are various open source projects that you can join and contribute code to. Before you join an open source project, take some time to learn the code, use the application, get to know the team members and become familiar with the code review or code commit processes.

    • Non Profits

      you may get programming experience by helping a non-profit organization that needs with building a database, a website or a software application.

      Be sure to let the non-profit organization know that you are doing the job to get more programming experience.

      You need to be truthful and upfront about your level of expertise or you may run into problems by taking on more than you can handle.

      When you committee to working for a non-profit organization, you may be required to work at the pace of other senior, more experienced team members.

      Also, the non-profit may be racing towards meeting some important deadlines.

      So, even if you are offering free help, the non-profit organization needs to understand that you may introduce additional delays to the timetable.

      If this is not acceptable then you and the non-profit organization are not a good match.

    • Personal Use Software Applications

      You may get computer programming experience by building a software application that provides some services or benefit to you.

      For example, an employee I managed built a price watching software applications in his spare time.

      The application was a web crawler that would go to specific websites and monitor the bids and prices of products he was interested in.

      You can get some really cool programming experience that way because you are your own customer, you are not going to stress yourself over deadlines and you understand the needs you are trying to meet.

      The downside is that software development managers do not rank this type of programming experience as high as that gained by working for non-profit organizations or open source projects

    • Professional Computer Programming Experience

      You may get computer programming experience from a professional software development organization.

      This involves having a software development company assign programming projects to you, review your code and mentor, coach or train you on your weak spots.

      This method is preferred because hiring managers value programming experience derived from professional mentors above those from self study or non profits or other sources of programming experience.

      The reason is that a professional software developer can critique your code or database design while you or a non-profit may not review or critique your own code.

    How to get professional software development experience

    The Software Developer Boot Camp provides you with professional software development experience.

    You are given hands on, practical, real world projects to work on.

    Your computer programming code or database design assignments are reviewed by course instructors and you are given feedback that helps you correct your weak spots.

    You are assigned additional projects as you progress along the course and as you complete your training, you build up your portfolio and programming experience.

    What Next After Getting Programming Experience?

    If you don’t already have a programming job, you need to make the best efforts towards putting together a professional computer programmer resume, sending out your resume to hiring managers and preparing rigorously for your technical interviews.

    If you gain relevant, real world programming experience, prepare a resume that highlights your programming experience and contact a lot of hiring managers, you will secure technical programming interviews.

    All you need to at the technical interview is to put your best foot forward and get the job you want!

    The Demand For Computer Programmers In A Recession

    The demand for software development professionals is high inspite of the state of the economy.

    I receive unsolicited job postings for SQL programmers, business analysts or computer programmers all the time.

    Remember that computer programming skills are still in-demand even with the state of the job market.

    So make sure you do not hesitate to improve your real world, hands on, computer programming experience.


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