Average annual compensation for software developers and system engineers in the USA is around $104,500. A career in the IT sector not only offers a handsome salary and tremendous learning opportunities but it also provides a global exposure. The demand for digital tools and services is growing across all industries in the USA which is driving the growth in employment in Information Technology sector.  There is no better time than today to build a sound career in the IT industry!

Here are your 5 Steps to Landing a Job in the IT Industry

1.) Learn a Programming Language

To develop a career in the IT sector, you need to learn a programming language or a particular IT skill. Join an online course and gain mastery over any programming language or related skill set. Check out the applications and specialized software programs that are powered by the language you are learning. Try to work on as many real word projects as possible.  Practice rigorously, and build a robust portfolio. The portfolio will be extremely useful in showing your skills to potential employers.

2.) Get Certified

Not all programming languages have official certification exams. However, for some languages such as Java SE 8 programming, etc. you have the option to get certified by an authorized body. Taking advantage of certifications to advance your career in the IT sector is a smart move. Get certified by the appropriate widely recognized body. While the certification may not be entirely necessary, it will help you gain more credibility in your area of expertise and set you apart from other similarly qualified applicants.

3.) Write a Focused Resume

You need to invest significant time in developing a resume that represents your skills and accomplishments. Don’t copy the buzzwords from the internet. Prepare a short resume (1-2 pages) with all relevant details. It must be tailor-made for the job you are applying. This means it should have only the pertinent information related to the position you are applying for. By creating job customized resumes, you will increase your chances of getting that all important first interview.

4.) Expand your Network

Make an impressive LinkedIn profile and add relevant connections on a regular basis. Use a professional profile photo and complete the employment section with updated information. Use the right keywords that reflect your personality traits and professional skill sets. Engage with industry professionals and develop genuine relationships on the platform. Ask your classmates, current and former colleagues for a recommendation on LinkedIn. Remember that a majority of recruiters go through candidates’ LinkedIn profiles before calling them for the interview. Thus, an excellent LinkedIn profile can contribute significantly to your career’s success.

5.) Prepare for the Interview

An interview may last for 30 minutes or more. However, almost a third of interviewers know within the first 90 seconds whether they are going to hire you or not. That means, your first impression not only counts but impacts the selection process significantly. Thus, work on your personality and do everything that boosts your confidence. Pay close attention to your  outfit and personal hygiene. If the interview is on the phone, be aware of background noise and any speaking habits that hurt your credibility (“uhhh…”, “like…like…like”, speaking too fast, etc.)

Before appearing for the interview, brush-up your knowledge about the company and make sure to have a list of relevant questions pertaining to the job in question. During the interview, maintain a direct eye contact with the interviewer. Crack a smile when you are feeling less confident and speak assertively. Recruiters don’t hire people who are not sure about their expertise. Thus, stay positive and be confident during the entire interview process.

The Bottom Line…

Being prepared for the role you want and the company you’re interviewing for is crucial.   Be ready to work hard and become an expert in your field. Enroll for advanced online IT courses to keep your knowledge updated. Remember that to be successful in the technology industry, you need to learn new things continuously so that you can add value to the business from the start and all the way through your career.

This week in Network World there is a great article on Datacenter Transformation.  The rapid transitions occurring require people to really understand (1) the basics of data center equipment, from power to cooling to IT, (2) the impact of changes on energy efficiency, cost, and data center uptime, and (3) what can be done to facilitate and manage these changes.  Dave Cole has consolidated more than 20 years of experience into 18 hours of training that will allow you to understand how a data center works and specific steps you can take to improve energy efficiency, reduce costs, and improve operational efficiency in the data center.  Everyone from a new data center manager  to experienced professionals will benefit from this training.

2011 is the latest version of ISO/IEC 20000 standard set dealing with IT Service Management. GogoTraining offers the Foundation and the Associate courses which provide an excellent basis for companies to implement and use IT Service Management according to the internationally accepted ISO/IEC 20000 standard. The programs developed by EXIN supplements the essence of ITIL® with the quality- and consistency- thinking of the ISO approach, and also adds role-based thinking to it. The EXIN IT Service Management qualification is an extremely practical exam program. With an ITSM certificate, you can show that you are able do a professional job of IT service management. Get a fresh start in 2013 – check out these courses on GogoTraining.

Revenge of the nerds?!

A report ranking the best jobs in 2013 is chock full of IT roles, with database administrator, systems analyst, software developer and Web developer achieving rare air.

According to the recent U.S. News and World Report findings, reported on recently in InfoWorld, those positions took up nearly half the “top ten” spots on the list. Computer programmer, IT manager and systems administrator roles cracked the top 25.

The ranking of 100 jobs was based on the hiring demand using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics findings and scored out through salary, job prospects, growth potential and other factors.

Though these factors don’t universally grade out at the high end for each and every IT job on the list (for example, IT manager roles rank high for stress level, but also top out on potential with a projected 18 percent employment growth rate in the next decade), the “in-your-face” presence of so many IT roles among the upper echelon of this list signals that, indeed, techies are in high demand these days.

Are you behind in newer technologies, or need a fresh career in IT? Look at GogoTraining’s curriculum offerings. Training can move your career in new directions.

Source: CompTIA IT Career Blog

Whether you’re an active job seeker in the ever-changing IT industry or an entrenched veteran in need of new challenges, your New Year’s resolutions are ready-made.

A clear takeaway from the recent article in CIO.com offering career resolutions is all IT pros need to evolve along with the industry. As organizations gear up to add staff in an IT job market expected to hit the ground running in the year to come, your organized competitors for those jobs are already doing much of the following:

• Expand your sphere of influence to understand the big-picture business side of the industry you target
• Chart out a career map which includes a skills analysis, plan to bridge skills gaps and network of peers and mentors
• Build a current, dynamic personal website to market your “brand”
• Keep on top of your social profile by searching for yourself to see what comes up, much like your prospective hiring manager would
• Proper interview follow-up can pay under-appreciated dividends
• Get out of the comfort zone with new classes, seminars and industry introductions

Check out GogoTraining’s expansive list of video based courses and try something new – shake it up!

Source: CompTIA IT Careers Blog

Are you old enough to remember when the IT department was made up of mainframe computers, and users had to file requests for reports they wanted? The IT department had “kingdom” control over information. The penetration of PCs into that arena caused a huge paradigm shift, as control shifted from the IT department to the user. With that came a new set of business rules, and the first signs of computer security as we know it today. Mind you, the mainframe never left the scene; its functionality shifted to tasks that were best suited for that environment instead of the overly dynamic environment of the user request. But the PC forever changed the way information is commmunicated within organizations. And here we are again looking down the long barrel of another shift – this one caused by multiple technologies, the Cloud and smart mobile devices.

The Cloud is the source of the shift up, but not because it’s new exciting technology; this technology has been around for a long time. We just haven’t needed it till now. As companies handle increasingly large amounts of data and face the hard economics of enlarging data centers and adding servers, the Cloud is starting to look “mighty fine” as an alternative. Company IT departments are grappling with security and privacy issues. Security plays an important role but is in the best interest of the supplier to have the latest security measures since this is the number one concern of clients. Privacy is currently being handled through authentication involving limited to full access based on usernames and passwords, and job roles defined around that. There are many ramifications including impact or shift to jobs, and will become evident as the trend continues.

Smart phones and tablets are causing a shift out for IT, as more and more employees are conducting business from these devices, and the devices are achieving networking and computing abilities similar to the PC. Security and privacy as in the Cloud, have bubbled up to the surface as the key concerns. As organizations adopt their use for their employees, concerns with security have increased with such things as information-stealing applications.  The variety of phones and operating systems also poses a challenge for organizational support, along with the additional training needed. Business rules are popping up to deal with such issues as what information should and shouldn’t be stored on the device; who owns the information that is stored, how frequently the syncing of that data occurs and many others.

Here we go again….

Source: Intel.com, Intel’s Vision of the Ongoing Shift to Cloud Computing white paper.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com, Cloud Computing Concerns, Jonathan Strickland

http://www.spsm-workshop.org, 2nd Annual ACM CCS Workshop on Security and Privacy in Smartphones and Mobile Devices (SPSM)

It’s been a hard year for corporate executives. Not only have they faced the challenges of moving their companies forward in a trickle-growth economy, they have also had to manage this forward move with less staff, less budget and more dispersed employee locations. Many are suffering under the stress of these responsibilities, and an extended vacation would be a welcome break.  Breaks of this nature can create havoc without the right team to step in temporarily at the helm. We have the perfect candidates to to consider.

As Chief Executive Officer, let me introduce Max Shepherd. Mr. Shepherd has an extensive background in managing tough situations. He held the CEO position at ASPCA for many years,and brought them to prominence in their field through his innovative marketing and barking expertise. He has also earned his bones in staff management. His hallmark is managing his underlings as he would his own family, and through Human Resources, is known for an organization that is very protective of employee rights and abilities.

Mr. Shepherd works closely with his right-hand man, Rob Malmut. Mr. Malmut has been working with Mr. Shepherd for over 10 years and provides a complimentary set of skills that enable the team to create a successful working dynamic and environment in which seniors managers thrive. Prior to working with Mr. Shepherd, Mr. Malmut was responsible for IT Security and the Press Room at the Iditarod in Alaska, and provided assistance with grant writing to the Alaska State government. He is known for his succinct communication style and rough but steady manner.

Mr. Shepherd’s team includes Director of Information Technology, John Mutt. Mr. Mutt has worked with Mr. Shepherd for the last 7 years and bring a great deal of varied experience to the team. Prior to working with Mr. Shepherd, Mr. Mutt worked for Petco, a pet products and food retailer, and was responsible for revolutionizing the web site purchasing capabilities. He also worked at Fancy Feast creating and maintaining their IT systems but left because of philosophical differences. While Mr. Mutt has a quiet, and seemingly insecure countenance,  he is a great asset to the team and very effective in his role.

Mr. Shepherd also brings with him a very capable manager of finance Timothy Boxer. Mr. Boxer has worked with Mr. Shepherd for 4 years and has a strong international background in finance. In his last position, he was Chief Financial Officer for Hanes. Through diligent oversight of the budget and restructuring of debt, he enabled Hanes to step into an offer with Fruit of the Loom. Prior to this position, he managed the financial consulting division of Devereau, Oberlin and Gossinger, (D.O.G. Consultants), an international consulting firm that held many contracts in Europe and the Middle East.

Mr. Shepherd and his team are ready to be of service to your organization. They can be contacted at 877-546-4446 or by email, info@gogotraining.com.

Sources: http://nickvt.blogspot.com/2012/05/dogs-office-environment.html

While many are actively seeking work, there are locations around the country where work is actively seeking employees. Location plays an important role – some very small and quaint towns may find it hard due to lack of dining and entertainment sources to attract and expensive tourist locations may find it challenging because of housing and food costs. So how do you manage?

CIO Magazine’s Martha Heller offers advice to look within your organization with these ideas:

• Consider technologies that can reduce the number of hours your staff spend on a particular task. A task like syncing calendars can be made easier and less time consuming by taking advantage of wireless options.
• Grow the IT resources you need. A little retraining can go a long way and is much more cost effective than the hiring process and additional salary.
• Make sure your people are as skilled and knowledgeable as possible. Heller sited an example where a company certified their project managers in PMP and significantly increased their project completion success rate.
• Develop leaders from within your retained knowledge base so they can become resources for newer staff.
• Pair senior staff with newer staff as a means of passing the internal knowledge base. It provides the senior member with the opportunity to see process and the organization through newer eyes and provide the junior member with the seasoned resource and experience.
• Customize on-site training to take advantage of the instructor resource coming to your facility. Courses can be customized from content specifically targeted to what your organization needs to learn to hands-on exercises that mirror current and actual projects.

On the job mentoring and training are certainly key factors in maximizing current staff when hiring exactly what you need is not an option.

Source: Martha Heller is the author of the upcoming book The CIO Paradox and she is president of Heller Search Associates, a CIO and senior IT executive recruiting firm.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Let’s start with turning that acronym back into words: Data Center Infrastructure Management. So what is this, and why are we hearing more and more about it?

Wikipedia defines it like this: Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) is an emerging (2012) new form of data center management which extends the more traditional systems and network management approaches to now include the physical and asset-level components. iTracs defines it as “…a relatively young term that represents an emerging class of IT physical infrastructure solutions…”.

So what’s making DCIM such a hot commodity? Management is craving for information on the tens of thousands of data assets under their supervision. An iTracs article put it this way: “They need to be able to see, understand, manage, and optimize the myriad of complex interrelationships that drive the modern data center – one of the most complex entities on earth. They need holistic information and visibility into the entire IT infrastructure, information that that is instantly meaningful and actionable. (Fragmented device-level data is no longer of much use to them.)”

iTracs further described what DCIM can do for an organization:

• Locate, visualize, and manage all of their physical assets within an integrated “single pane” view of the entire infrastructure
• Automate the commissioning of new equipment, reducing the need for error-prone, time-consuming manual tasks like walking the floor to confirm what can go where
• Automate capacity planning with unparalleled forecasting capabilities, including the use of “what if” scenarios
• Reduce energy consumption, energy costs, and carbon footprint – save the planet while you’re saving potentially mlllions
• Align IT to the needs of the business – and maintain that alignment, no matter how radically those business requirements may change and grow

Data Center Journal provides a solid list of options for software:

1. APC by Schneider Electric StruxureWare for Data Centers
2. iTracs Converged Physical Infrastructure Management
3. Emerson Network Power Trellis
4. Nlyte Suite
5. Rackwise Data Center Manager

Companies are now more able to plan and manage their systems better with this improved infrastructure approach, and of course there are decreased costs which are always a good thing. So if this is something you’ve been thinking about, now’s the time to learn as much as you can about it and implement a plan.

Resources:

http://wikipedia.com

http://www.itracs.com/what-is-data-center-infrastructure-management/

http://www.datacenterjournal.com/it/data-center-infrastructure-software-whats-out-there/#!prettyPhoto

Last week, we brought you the top 5 technologies that companies will be implementing in 2013 based on the Computer World survey results.  So now we’ll look at rest of the “hot” jobs that the Computer World survey identified:

1. Cloud & SaaS – Companies are getting on board fast with cloud-computing, especially as they try to keep up in other areas where there may be limited cost cutting opportunities. Cloud offers the ability to cut costs and keep services. Architecture, configuration and security are the hot jobs in Cloud.  It’s newer companion is SaaS (that’s software as a service, not to be confused with SAS, Serial Attached SCSI).  Computer World results show that 25% of the hiring companies plan to hire in this area.
2. Virtualization – Everyone’s doing it! Especially since there have been some improvements made. Administration and Security continue to remain the top jobs within this, along with VMware Certified Professional – Datacenter Virtualization certification.
3. Networking – Networking is still a strong demand area in spite of Cloud becoming its own little niche area. Computer Word states, “There will always be demand for skilled and experienced network administrators and engineers, regardless of the economy and other external conditions.” Cisco skill sets are top of the heap along with the ability to convert non-virtual networks to the virtual environment.
4. Mobile Apps & Device Management – More and more businesses are taking advantage of marketing and communicating through mobile devices so this makes it to Computer World’s top 10 list. Having skills in this ever changing technology area is a decided plus, with iOS 5 and Android programming skills being at the top of the heap, along with security.
5. Data Center – Data Center jobs are hot, in spite of showing up in the 10th position. This area has been overlooked in the past years as being of significant importance, and now many companies are looking to placed skilled data center professionals into these positions. Hottest jobs are forecasted to be in the sever/data center operations, systems integration, and database management.

And remember: ALL jobs involve talking to people, so if that isn’t your strong suit, we recommend getting suited up in that area. Taking courses in interviewing, communicating effectively, and  managing small teams will go a long way to getting and keeping a position.

Happy hunting!