“I am in a situation where I have studied communication, got a distinction for my final year … its been 3 yrs and I have landed in so many unrelated jobs that I beginning to think that I will never work in communications … how can I get there and not be paid a beginners salary??”

This was my answer:

If you don’t want to get a beginner’s salary, don’t act like a beginner. Let’s cover the unrelated work experiences… Now the reason you’ve been working in unrelated fields is to get some LIFE experience right? (if it isn’t, it is now). You wanted to see how other industries worked and discover if communications was the RIGHT thing for YOU and… here’s the key… whether it was RIGHT FOR YOUR EMPLOYER TOO!!!.

You don’t want to be some “wet behind the ears” university or college graduate begging for a job in communications… You realize that communications is an ASSET to business and you feel NOW that you are ready to be an asset to not only your employer but your employer’s customers too. Do you see where I’m coming from?

Now, the money thing can be handled in two ways…

Negotiate in the interview for a pay increase when you reach certain targets or time period. For example, you could ask for a wage review in 6 months to revise your pay because you don’t want to work for $X – you’d ideally want $Y… This means you’d work at a lower rate to reduce some of the risk for the employer in exchange for them taking a chance on employing you. If at the end of X months they don’t give you the raise find out why and if the reason’s not good enough, you can quit because you have experience now… Or,
Establish the money UP FRONT in your application. “I am looking for a starting salary of $X… a fun work environment with lots of trees and ample parking and some crazy people to creatively grow your business. If you can offer this I would love to talk.” For anyone who has read my book they will know exactly where I am coming from with this and how to use it… you may be thinking: “I’m not saying anything like that, I’ll never get a job!” But there IS a way to say it and still not blow your chances of getting a job.

But I digress… There is only upside here… Let me explain:

Someone can meet your requirements and you get an interview or job… SUCCESS!
You are not desperate… you have supported yourself for 3 years outside of the communications industry.
Every rejection you get will be coming from businesses that you probably don’t want to work in… assuming that you want lots of trees, crazy people and ample parking, etc.

Face it… there are so many bored employees working in jobs they hate, do you really want to be one of those or do you want a creative, fun work environment? I know what I would choose.

by Acland Brierty

SHAMELESS PLUG: Job Secrets Revealed will teach you how to read between the lines of any ‘situations vacant’ ad to work out how to best pitch your application, regardless of whether you meet their up-front skills or experience requirements.

Probably one of the most frustrating experiences is not being able to break into the job market that you are always interested in, – the Information Technology (IT). There are several things you can do to gain some experience to break into IT.

The first thing to do is to get your hands dirty and set up your own IT lab at home. Most of IT skills can be learned by yourself with a computer and a few software applications from free download on the web. Setting up your home IT lab will force you learn the real thing and will increase your own self confidence.

To setup your home IT lab, you need to select, setup, and possibly upgrade the computer hardware, configure operating systems; install routers, cables, and connect to the internet, install printers and external drives; select, download, and install software tools and databases. Just play around with your lab, that’s already quite some experience.

After you’ve gained some experience with your home IT lab, you are ready to go out…

Contact friends that have small businesses or offices where you can provide services. If you have some experience in Windows, LAN network, web design, Microsoft Office, etc, volunteer to come in and help. If you establish your credibility as an expert, they might ask you to train the staff and administer their small network. A small group of these accounts can net you some good part-time experience fill some good stuff in your resume.

Try doing some volunteer work. Check with neighborhood grade schools and high schools to see whether they have any volunteer work for you. Churches and other nonprofit groups might be anxious to have your assistance and willing to write letters of recommendation for you.

An old adage says, “What you know is not as important as who you know.” To get to know people in IT, you must start to network next.

Attend Microsoft TechNet or other IT vendor sponsored seminars in your area and network with people you meet there. Pass out business cards, talk about your experience, and express your interest in obtaining an IT position.

Visit computer shows or computer swap meets and network with the people you meet there. Pass out more business cards.

Visit large computer stores in your area and hang out near the computer books and magazines. When you see someone looking at books in your area of expertise, strike up a conversation and give them a business card.

Computer stores have peak needs for PC assemblers and will consider part-timers or interns for this work. Personally visit all the stores in your area with more business cards.

Visit training centers in the area and volunteer to help them with their room setups for classes.

Locate the nearest user groups in your area and attend regularly. Hand out more business cards. Check the web for user groups that might interest you and put you in contact with other IT pros.

There are many openings in IT but some positions are never publicly advertised. Part of the key is getting your name out in as many places as possible. That’s why the business cards are a good idea. Even if you don’t have a full time IT job or out of the field, you may still print your business card giving yourself an IT job title such as PC Technician, Network Administrator, Software Developer, Database Analyst, IT Consultant, etc. Getting your name out there might be valuable not only to help you get some experience, but to help you land a well-paid full-time position in the future.

Steps

1. Survey the field. The first thing you need to think about is exactly what kind of job in computing you want. Each job has its own special requirements, so you should assess your own skills and then decide which job might be best for you. Please see Types of Computing Jobs below for an overview of the most common types of computer jobs.

2. Play. Sit down in front of the computer and just play and experiment. This is a great way to learn new programs, but isn’t the best way to learn how to configure an operating system or write programs. At the very least, you’ll become comfortable with computers by doing this.

3. Find a Mentor. You probably know someone who knows more about computers than you do. Learn from them. Once their knowledge is used up, find someone even more knowledgeable to learn from. Soon, you’ll be the expert, and people will start coming to you!

4. Buy a Book. These days, there are books that teach you just about anything to do with computers, from the basics all the way through advanced programming. The “Dummies” books can help you get your feet wet if you’re just starting out, but won’t help you for long. See the Tips for further reading.

5. Get On the Job Training. If you already have a computer-related job (but want a better one), find someone at work you can learn from, or take on new projects where you can learn as you go along. It will be hard at first, but the more you learn, the better your skills will become, and you’ll become eligible for promotions or for better jobs at other companies.

6. Take a Course. This is the most obvious approach, and yet many in the industry have long careers in computing in any of the jobs above without any formal training. Still, not all computer skills are easy to teach yourself, and as more and more students graduate with degrees in computer science, the competition will make it harder for the self-trained to land the best jobs. A degree, certificate course, or specialized certification such as an MCSE will greatly improve the odds.

7. Get Your Foot in the Door. Once you have the skills you need to get a job, you still have the hardest part ahead of you – getting hired. Since your resume probably doesn’t reflect computer work experience, you’ll need to add a “Skills” section that lists all of the skills you’ve acquired. You might also want to mention something about computers in an “Interests” or “Hobbies” section. Make sure your resume looks extremely professional. You’re submitting it to folks who use a word processor to write their grocery list – you don’t want to give them something you threw together on an old ribbon typewriter.

8. Network. Find out where the computer guys (or girls) hang out. You’ll be surprised how much info you can get just talking to people in the field. And you might also find that it’s not your cup of tea. Most people that WORK in computing don’t fit the stereotype. There are a lot of game players in the industry, but there are very few high paying jobs that allow you to play all day. It is a real career that requires a LOT of work.

Types of Computing Jobs

Data Entry – This is a job just about anyone can get. Basically, you take information from a piece of paper and use it to fill out a form on the computer.

Secretarial/Administrative – This position involves some basic office skills. Not only must you understand the basics of using your computer and a few applications, but you’ll probably also be expected to take dictation, answer phones, type letters, and keep things organized. In terms of computer skills, you should know how to use word processing, accounting, and spreadsheet programs at the very least.

Power User – Not so much a position as a status of being an extremely proficient user of (typically) Microsoft Office or similar tools. Advanced users of these tools become familar with the basics of computer programming through starting with Excel macros or Access database programming. One can become very valuable to a small business by learning such skills, and even start to consult with other small businesses at rates typically starting around $50 an hour.

Customer Service/Telesales – These positions usually place a higher emphasis on phone skills than computer skills, but you should know at least the basics of how to use your computer.

Technical Support – Most companies consider technical support to be an entry-level computer job. You are expected to know the operating systems on which the product you’ll support will run, and you’ll also need to know the basics of any programs that product might interact with. The good news is that the company will teach you what you need to know about their products – you just need to learn everything else. Success in technical support requires good problem-solving skills and a great deal of attention to detail.

Software Quality Assurance (SQA) Engineer – You need to know as much as the best technical support personnel. You need to be a problem solver, a detective, and sometimes even a Customer Service representative. You’ll also need some basic programming skills, since more and more companies are beginning to rely on automated testing. The best SQA engineers understand a little (or a lot) about every aspect of computers, from building them to using them to programming them.

Software Engineer (Programmer) – Some programmers can get away with knowing very little outside of programming. For example, a programmer doesn’t necessarily need to know anything about the Internet (unless he’s writing Internet programs), doesn’t need to know how to install a modem or hard drive, and doesn’t even need to know which hole the keyboard plug goes into. (On the other hand, to get a job at a top software shop such as Microsoft or Google, you’ll need a degree in computer science and detailed understanding of the field.) What they do need to know is the language in which they’ll be programming. They also should know database fundamentals and (if programming for Windows) the Windows API. Knowing more than one programming language is very helpful. Understanding many of the basic fundamentals of computer science (e.g. linked lists, arrays, pointers, object oriented programming) will be essential in demonstrating your proficiency.

Database administrator/programmer – Database specialists are often software engineers, but not all software engineers work with databases, and some database specialists do not have high formality software engineering or computer science training, having come in via support-oriented career paths which can lead into database administration. DBAs are highly compensated and command considerable influence in typical corporate IT settings. Some DBAs get started by programming Access databases, move to SQL Server, and then to Oracle, through pursuing applied, product-specific certifications. Once a DBA, one can then move into data architecture and systems analysis.

MIS/Network Administration/User Support – MIS (Management of Information Systems) is responsible for making sure that a company’s network of computers is working properly at all times. This includes everything from showing the users how to send an e-mail to upgrading or repairing the computers to managing network resources such as file servers, network printers, and Internet firewalls. For user support positions, you need to be an expert at the operating systems in use by computers on the network and the network itself. You also need to know the fundamentals of hardware repair, the Internet, and the applications in use on the network. Network administrators need to know all of that plus how to set up network hardware, cabling, and network resources. Larger companies prefer their MIS personnel to have (or at least be pursuing) special certifications that prove they know their stuff.

Technical Writer – To be a technical writer, you must understand computer basics and the product about which you’re writing. You also need to know the programs you’ll be using for your writing, such as word processors, desktop publishing programs, web languages such as HTML, and Windows Help-authoring tools. You’ll also need to be a good writer (or trick people into thinking you are).

Medicine/Diagnostic Imaging – There are lots of new jobs for computer literate people in Medicine. CT, PET, and MRI scanners all run complex software that should be operated by people with good computer skills.

Tips

• Business skills and communications skills are highly valued by employers. Programmers who can communicate effectively both verbally and in writing have an edge in the job market. Those who have a business skills, especially an MBA, are also more desirable to employers.
• Learn as many operating systems as you can. With the growing markets in Macintosh and Linux and an apparent shortage of professionals in these areas, being knowledgable in multiple operating systems in addition to Windows can give you an edge in the technical job market.
• A good all-around computer tutorial is The Secret Guide to Computers by Russ Walter. Like the “Dummies” series, it’s good for getting your feet wet, but rather than a fair amount about one particular topic, it includes a smaller amount about just about any computer topic, from buying a computer all the way through the basics of programming in several different languages. If you’re teaching yourself how to be a software engineer, check out the “Teach Yourself ____ in 21 Days” series by Sams Publishing, “___ – How to Program” by Deitel & Deitel, or the “No Experience Required” series by Sybex. There is also a book by O’Reilly Publishing for just about every topic in computing, and that’s what the professionals have on their desks at work (even if they have a secret stash of “Dummies” books at home).
• Most offices use Microsoft Word and Excel, but some still use WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3. For accounting, most smaller businesses today use Quickbooks. Find out what they use at the office in which you wish to work, and make sure you know how to use that software.
• Right now the hot languages for programmers to know are Visual Basic (easy), PHP and MySQL (medium), C/C++(hard), and Java/C# (almost as hard as C++). The languages of choice change every so often, though, so be careful not to put all of your eggs in one basket.
• It really helps to know someone on the inside. If a resume is submitted by an employee for a friend, most companies will conduct an interview as a courtesy, even if the resume doesn’t quite meet their qualification requirements. In the interview, you can show them what you know. Be prepared, though – they may quiz you. Be careful not to put something on your resume unless you’re actually competent in it.
• College is great for getting a job of any type. It’s the best investment you’ll ever make.
• The best bet if you don’t have a 4 year degree is to go to a junior college. Most have certificate programs in PC Support/Help Desk or Lan/Networking or Programming. The curriculum from these programs are essentially what you would get if you attended a 4 year college and got a degree in computer science but the certificate program leaves out the unrelated classes such as Math, Science, English etc. This is a great way to get a good educational background in IT and best part is, is that its cheaper than a technical school.
• A great way to learn HTML is to join wikiHow! When you edit, you will often use it, and you will learn lots of shortcuts and get great ideas.

Warnings

• Once you’re hired, it doesn’t end there. Keep learning new skills constantly. Once you think you’ve learned enough, you might as well apply for unemployment. This industry is always evolving. If you don’t evolve with it, you’ll be replaced by someone who will.
• Most careers involving computers require that you use a PC, so if you learn on a Mac, you may have a problem.

Info source: WikiHow

http://www.wikihow.com/Get-a-Job-in-Computers

This of course led to layoffs, and hundreds of thousands of highly- qualified, once highly-sought-after high tech professionals now found themselves back in the job market. And that has been the problem. If ever there is a glut of overqualified candidates in any job market, it is in the IT/Technical/Telecom market.

Clearly, in such a tough job market, it’s essential that candidates find a way to stand out from the crowd and make their accomplishments and skills more dynamic to employers. We have various specialized techniques to achieve success for our IT clients, but there are several key issues that IT candidates can solve on their own.

* Don’t overdo the details! *

The number one problem we see from clients who send in their IT resumes is that they’ve put way too much information in. And the information they have put in is often redundant, or not that important.

IT professionals obviously tend to operate in project, contract and problem solving/solutions environments. Thus, their resumes tend to be nothing more than lists: they list every project they’ve ever done; they list ever software/hardware system/tool they’ve ever used; they tend not to list the tangible accomplishments that their work achieved.

If your resume is 4-5 pages, I don’t care what industry you’re in, you’re making a mistake. We often get 4-5 page IT resumes because people try to list everything they’ve done since the day they were born. Don’t get me wrong; showing comprehensive knowledge and experience is good. But remember, it’s not the quantity of information; it’s the quality that counts. Even if you have loads of experience, you need to organize it in an effective way.

Think about it from the reader’s point of view. What if you had two candidates who were equally qualified? One has a two-page resume that effectively and dynamically presents her qualifications in an organized and eye-catching way. The other resume is 5 pages long and is just a list of projects, often with the same information repeated on each project. Which resume do you think you’d read? Which do you think would make the better impact?

The key for IT resumes is to show you can get results. Think about it: everyone has training; everyone has certifications; most people have several years of various project experience. Listing skills is one thing. You should always put a comprehensive skill list at the top of your resume so they know what you’re qualified to do. But showing that you can get results is more important. A company wants to see that hiring you will make an impact on their bottom line or their efficiency of operations.

Here are some key tips for IT resumes:

- Show results. Things like “Reduced network downtime by 35%.” “Increased sales database efficiency by 21%, resulting in a 63% increase in sales.” If you don’t have tangible numbers to quote, summarizing major projects is good. “Migrated user call center to new location, setting up infrastructure and initiating service with 0% loss of service. Completed project on-time and under budget.”

- Don’t list every little thing. Don’t list the minutia like “Utilized spectrometers to realign X switches with Y routing tools.” Is it really important to list how you did it? Showing that you did it is more important. Don’t make the reader hunt for you achievements in a sea of technical name-dropping.

- If you have a solid skills list at the beginning of your resume, there is no need to list each and every hardware/software/language/tool/ system/protocol that you used, or are familiar with, every time, on every project. Believe me, it gets extremely redundant to read the same things on every job you list. The only exception to this is if the task you did matters to the job you’re applying for. Obviously, if you are applying for a job working with Cisco servers, you’ll want to show that you programmed in Cisco environments.

All and all, remember that you need to make your resume efficient, and eye-catching. If your resume can show you’re qualified, without coming to as many pages as long as War and Peace, then you’re doing a great deal to improve the likelihood that the resume will be read.

Owen Michaels is a Network Coordinators at ResumeWriters.com, the largest network of independently contracted resume writers on the internet. Owen manages a sub-network of Certified Professional Resume Writers for the company, who specialize in IT and tech-related resumes.

by Owen Michaels

Below is an excerpt from her resumé.

———————————
OBJECTIVE: Secure a position with a well established firm and utilize my knowledge and skills of Information Technology to allow the company, as well as myself to a productive working relationship.

EXPERIENCE:
8/2001 – Present Tempae University Athletic Department Moordock, LA
Tempae Athletic Fund Research Perform research for the Athletic Director of Tempae University. Compile recordings of alumni financial contributions. Assist in computer operations
6/1999 – 8/1999 Cat’s Whiskers, Pasadena, LA
Maintained a safe environment for patrons in security position. Monitored safety within the perimeter of the club.
5/1996 – 8/1996 MAR-SEP Aviation Supply, Los Angeles, CA
Developed Database and worked in telemarketing. Assistant to Vice President of Sales

EDUCATION
1997-2002 Tempae University Moordock, LA
B. S. Computer Information Systems, Minor: Business Major GPA 2.7
COURSE STUDIES Computer: C,C++, HTML, Internet Publishing, Database Admin, SDLC, Client/Server Dev, Word, Flash, FrontPage, Excel, System analyst+design, Windows 98/00, Sql, Networking. Business: Finance, Accounting, Management, Marketing

——————-

This is a fairly typical resumé of an applicant still making a start in an industry. If you’re in a similar situation, you need to understand how VITAL it is to not simply list out your skills and experiences and HOPE that an employer can somehow interpret it and magically work out what it is that you can do for them. To be blunt – they WON’T!

The thing you need to bear in mind that when you apply for a job, the best way to get the employer’s attention is to start talking ‘their language’ and to start focusing on THEM – not you. To help you understand this – here’s a simple test to see whether your application is too focused on YOU.

Count up the number of times you use the words ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘my’ in your application and the number of times you use the words ‘you’, ‘your’ and ‘yours’. If you don’t have 4-5 times as many ‘you’, ‘your’ and ‘yours’ than ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘my’s, then your application is focusing too much on you and not enough on the employer – and for that simple reason, it will look like everyone else’s application.

Obviously, this is something you don’t want. So having said that – let’s tackle this person’s objective statement. If you can get your objective right, you’ll have a good idea of how to handle the rest of your application and resumé. Try to learn from this example the kind of things you should be doing to your own objective or mission statement if you use one.

Their objective: “Secure a position with a well established firm and utilize my knowledge and skills of Information Technology to allow the company, as well as myself to a productive working relationship.”

The first thing you notice is that the objective is all focused on the applicant, and what THE APPLICANT wants to get out the job. The employer is already on to the next application.

What about customizing the resumé based on each application and giving an objective that will actually excite an employer?

I’ve come up with a very, very general objective (because obviously I can’t know what positions you’re applying for…) Even though it’s very general, make sure to note that it’s still focused on the employer and THEIR needs, not on you and your needs. Consequently even this very general objective will get more attention than any self-serving, me-focused objective that everyone writes.

If you can customize the objective based on the company you’re applying to, what the company does, how it does it, and the kind of position you’d like, then you’re really onto something.

Revised objective: I realize how vital motivated and happy staff are to the long-term success of your business. My passion is turning every one of my ‘staff’ into ‘customer service managers’ who feel more ownership of the business and actually take responsibility for solving the customer’s problems. So if you want to turn your customers into raving fans who tell their friends and family about your business, then I’m your next [position title].

Just to reiterate – I’m not suggesting you use this objective (unless you really like it of course.) I’m suggesting you study the way it shifts the focus from YOU to THEM. This is the key that will get you the job you want.

by Murray Gray

Dear Manager,

As you know, it is not hard to hire a Software Developer – it is hard to hire a good one. You don’t want just a person with several years of C++, Java or Internet development. Most importantly you need a Software Developer who can:

- Respect your clients because they are paying his salary after all

- Use his problem solving, analytical and communication skills to increase customer satisfaction

- Help other team members with their problems improving the quality of product
Save your time by ability to work independently;

- Save your company money being a self-motivated quick learner and training himself new cutting edge development tools

- Take responsibility by realizing the price of his mistakes as well as his achievements for the company
Show initiative and have new ideas increasing your company profits.

Where to find him? Fortunately, I can offer you a solution for this problem. As you can see from my attached resumé, I have an extensive experience in all stages of software life cycle where I used all these qualities along with technical skills such as C++, Java, HTML, SQL and other.

More than that: I handled multiple projects in a wide range of areas such as bank technologies, business, science, statistics and computer training, so I can bring my wealth of knowledge into your business.

Why I am interested in your company? As a new homeowner (only a year old!) I have learned a lot about Real Estate and Mortgages and I was fascinated with this subject. Working with my mortgage broker I had a chance to see your system at work and was really impressed with it. Your open architecture B2B Network sounds very appealing to me because I am interested in Internet technology very much. Frankly, it would be very exciting to be a part of your dynamic growing company, reach my full potential and contribute my knowledge and expertise to your success. I would like to discuss your goals and objectives and how I can help you with them. Please call me at (NNN) NNN-NNNN to arrange the interview. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

While not a bad cover letter, it just needs a little something extra to set it apart from other applicants.

As you can see above, the writer of the letter mentions they are a customer of the business and they had some good ideas for marketing. This is the ‘gem’ we wanted to bring to the top.

Here’s what we suggested they do instead:

I think I have some ideas that can help your software deliver a steady stream of “ready, willing and able to buy” customers to your clients’ businesses…
and I should know as I am one of your clients.

Dear Sir,

I have learned a lot about real estate mortgages having worked closely with my mortgage broker. In fact I had the chance to see your system at work and was very impressed with it… more than that – I am a home owner because of it.

Your Open Architecture B2B Network sounds very appealing to me as I have ideas and the skills that could skyrocket your strategy and help your brokers turn more inquiries into sales. If you are looking for a programmer with good ideas that shares your dreams and is a FAN of your product then I would love to meet with you to see how I can fit in.

My resumé lists the skills I can bring to your company. I would love a chance to talk to you to show you my ideas and the other things my resumé doesn’t cover. I am so excited by what you have done so far and hope we can meet soon.

Yours truly,

Hopefully, this applicant will now get the interview because the employer would be intrigued to hear their suggestions on how to improve the business.

If you’re thinking that this is too hard to do yourself, think back to how many times you’ve had thoughts like “this business really needs to ….”, or “this business would be perfect if only they would ….” about companies you’ve just done business with.

by Murray Gray

Making a career roadmap can be beneficial at any stage of the game for IT professionals. No matter you’ve just broken into the IT world, re-entered workplace, or perhaps been hanging around in IT for decades, career roadmap can prove to be an powerful tool to success.

Career roadmap helps you stay on track and navigate through difficult situations such as changing jobs, switching fields, layoffs, outsource, re-organizations, mergers and acquisitions. It also helps you deal with the advent of new technology and its impact on your career.

To develop an effective IT career roadmap, you need to analyze your background, assess your intellectual assets, evaluate your experience with the industries and workplaces, identify your short term and long term goals, and document your plan and strategy to reach the goals. Your roadmap should contain the following aspects:

1. Set a Goal:
Decide want you want to accomplish in the future. One year, five years, whatever makes sense for you. Make a career goal in the aspect of financial objective, professional achievement, and self-satisfaction.

2. Select a Route:
Choose the best route to reach your goal. Find out if it is better for you to go through technical route, management route, or a kind of both. Consider both your ability and interest.

3. Find Your Spot:
Find a spot that you can fit in and focus on it. It is a special area, i.e., database, network, security, J2EE, ASP, web services, XML, where you could become a specialist. Choose the spot that is of your interest, meets your experience profile, and has growth potentials in IT industry.

4. Build Skill Inventory:
Check out what skills and experiences you have, what skills are required on your spot , and what you are missing. Identifying your strengths and weaknesses; Build skill inventory to maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.

5. Clear the Path:
Remove any obstacle that blocks your way to success. If common issues such as time management and peer communication had negatively affected your career growth in the past, you need to improve yourself on them.

6. Identify Your Market:
Decide which industries you want to serve – banking, health care, manufacture, or no preference; Find out what type of companies you want to work with – small startup, Fortune 500, Non-profit, government agencies. Look for opportunities in your market.

7. Positioning and Selling:
Position yourself in the industry – Do you want to be a permanent employee, contractor, high-paid temp worker, or independent consultant? What kind of position is the most appealing for you? Market yourself accordingly and sell your strengths.

8. Make a Action Plan:
Do whatever necessary to reach the goal. Have a plan for actions – getting certified, self-training, studying tech books, learning from co-workers, enhancing skills, gaining experience from project, asking for more important role, switching spot, changing jobs, etc.

IT world is changing so rapidly that IT professionals who hope to do well are those who have an idea about where they are going and how they are going to get there. It is dangers for you to make career decisions without a real strategy behind them. Occasionally you’ll get lucky and hit the target. Most often you won’t. IT is a jungle where you get lost easily.

After you have developed your IT career roadmap, it is the most important to follow it and execute the plan. Along your career journey, you should often stop and take a look at where you are on your roadmap. You may need to re-adjust your plan according to changing conditions.

YES, even in economic downturn, you CAN. IT is the most open market with diversified workforce and great growth potentials. If you are interested in IT, and know how to break in, you’ll do well in your career no matter what background you are from. In fact, over 60% of IT professionals come from non computer science background, and obviously, ALL of them started without IT experience.

So, in this case, what can you do to get the job? You just need three things -

(1) Some basic IT skills,

(3) Self-made experience, and

(3) A solid IT resume.

Of course there are soft materials such as attitude, desire, inspiration that are all important and would be very help.

Obtaining Skills

You don’t have to have a computer degree, but you do need to have some IT skills to start and get the job done. You must convince recruiters and hiring managers that you are capable and trainable in IT field. To get IT skills, you need to train yourself. There are tons of free or almost free resources you can use for self-training, but you need a plan and time to do it.

You can build the latest IT skills from knowledge and information which are always overloaded in IT industry. Here are a few practical approaches you can take:

1. Read technical books online and offline. There are at least ten books available for each IT topic and sub-topic. A lot of them are for beginners. Pick up one of your interest and start to read.

2. Take free online tutorials. All IT vendors provide tutorials with sample code and instructions. A lot of tutorials are also provided by third parties. They are all free. Use them to learn a specific skill, such as programming, database, web design, etc.

3. Go to top IT vendors’ websites to get knowledge for their systems and products. These vendors offer excellent online knowledgebase. For instance, if you want to get java skill, just go to Sun’s website, you’ll find any Java related information you need, from installation, coding, to creating complicated Java components.

4. Study manuals and documentations, most of them are available free online from vendors. Nothing would give you more detailed and accurate knowledge than the manuals and documentations by the product’s vendor. For instance, if you plan to build skills on Oracle database, you need to get the full set documentation from Oracle website. It’s free and everything is covered.

5. Join user groups and mailing lists for a specific area. You’ll get all sorts of tips and tactics there, and you can ask questions. That will speed up your process in gaining latest IT skills.

6. Take online training courses, a lot of them are free. These courses may be offered by vendors or training companies. Some of courses are designed for IT certifications. They usually give you the first course for free. Online registration may be required.

7. Subscribe technical based ezines and newsletters. As always, they are free. you get them delivered to your email box with the latest information about technologies and development trends on systems, tools, and platforms.

8. Subscribe IT magazines. They are free from publishers and vendors. For instance, you can have a free copy of Oracle Magazine which covers DBA skills, PL/SQL coding, database tuning, and a lot more.

9. Go to technical seminars in your local area. These seminars are organized or sponsored by IT vendors to offer new product overview and brief training. You don’t get in-depth skills from them, but it is a quick way to get basic concepts and directions on a technology, and it is a good opportunity to meet people and build your career network.

10. Download trail software tools to play and gain hands-on experience. That’s the most important. In fact, a lot of trail versions are fully functional, and a lot of software systems are fully free for developers to use. Playing them and using them personally would make no difference from actually working on paid projects to gain experience.

Self-Made Experience

Even though you don’t have a full time job in IT field, you can still make real, practical, and countable IT experience by yourself. your self-made experience would be served for two purposes: (1) prove the skills that you claim to have; (2) provide credible materials for your resume to land the job. You’ll find practical tips on self-make experience in the following paragraphs.

1. Using whatever the resources you’ve already have. If you have a Windows PC, you can start to work on Windows system administration issues. If you have Microsoft Office installed, you can use Access to experience SQL and database technology. You can learn to write HTML and design a website. All you need to get started is a test editor like Notepad.

2. Programming experience is the most wanted, and is the easiest one to obtain. All you need is a PC and a compiler tool that you can get for free. for instance, to get Java programming experience, you can download Java SDK from Sun’s website, install it, code, compile, and run!

3. Database experience is essential in IT. To have some, you can play with Microsoft Access if you have it installed in your PC. You can download a free database system called MySQL to learn SQL and database structures.

4. If you are a college student or graduate student, you’ll take some courses that require group projects. If you have to do a project as part of the course work, try to put some programming and database tasks into the design so you can make it a IT project.

5. If you work on engineering or administration projects in your job, think of that if you can use some computer skills and knowledge to help your task. Can you use a desktop database to assist data collection? Can you build a web page for presentation? Anything as small as this would be a good experience.

6. As every career mentor recommended, you can offer volunteer work for non-profit organizations such as churches and charity associations. Create a website for them; build a membership database; setup the computer network, etc. That’s a good opportunity to build close-to-real-work experience.

7. Get internship with IT or consulting companies and participate in their IT projects, even if it is unpaid. There are enough information online regarding how to get an internship.

8. Build a software – a shareware or freeware. for instance, You can write a mortgage calculation software, or a card collection management system. You can submit your software to website such as download.com and let people download and use them. A lot of technical books come with example codes of small applications that you can start with. You should count this type of small work as big accomplishment.

Create a Solid Resume

Your resume is the stone you throw to knock the door and break in. Make it a strong, solid, and powerful one. Put a lot of IT stuff in. You say IT stuff? Without a degree and no experience, where to get these IT stuff? Easy, make some. Here let me give the following power tips:

1. Learn only the hottest IT skills – Java, .NET, database, CISCO network, TCP/IP, etc. Go to a local bookstore, find books on these topics, read the first three chapters. If you can make yourself understand the technical concepts and feel confident to implement the technologies in work, you should list these skills in the “Sills Summary/Inventory” section in your resume.

2. Show your IT work and experience with organizations where you offered volunteer work. Describe your accomplishment in the resume. You don’t have to emphasize that it is unpaid, part time, small, volunteer.

3. Describe the project and the work you did in internship. Focus on the technology and your accomplishment, instead of the internship itself.

4. If you developed a shareware software, list it and describe it as an experience in your resume. Be proud of it even if it is small.

5. Take one or two free online training classes and list them in the ‘Education and Training’ section in your resume.

6. If you obtained skills and knowledge through self-study, say so in the ‘Education and Training’ section in the resume. For instance, “Microsoft SQLServer 2000 Database Administration – Self-training”. Since you don’t have a IT related college degree, you need a little bit more material in the ‘Education’ section to make your resume IT balanced.

7. Join an IT professional association and list it under ‘Professional Activities’ section in the resume. For instance, ‘Member of Association of Information Technology Professionals ‘. Look for ‘IT Professional Associations’ in this website for more information. The membership is NOT free, but it does show you are serious in IT career.

8. Try to get one IT certification so you can list it in the ‘Education’ section in the résumé, i.e., ‘Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)’. Take one of Microsoft exams or Sun’s Java programming exam, they both require only one passed exam to give you the certification.

If you followed some of the tips listed above, you should have had a solid resume with strong IT muscles. You are in a good shape to land the job. The next thing is about self-empowerment in job interview. I’ll discuss interview strategies next week in another article.

Solid networking skills.

But what sort of picture does that paint in your mind? Just someone with good networking skills… the same as all the other I.T. people applying for the job. What sort of picture does this next phrase paint?

Sleeves-rolled-up networking skills.

It paints the pictures of a hard-working, been-there-done-that, confident and experienced networking professional. But, and here’s the key, the ‘sleeves rolled up’ phrase says all the above in just 5 words not 12.

If you can use these sorts of everyday phrases to better describe your skills or experience, then do it. It makes your application (and therefore you) sound more down-to-earth and helps you say great things about your skills etc. without you sounding like an ego-maniac. For example:

I would love to be your new admin assistant. In my last job I was valued for my ability to take on more work, work under pressure and everyone would come to me to help them out with all sorts of tasks.

The picture that comes to my mind is this person is a “Go To” person. If you want or need something, this person has their finger on the pulse of the company and can get things done. An objective like this comes to mind:

Objective: To be the “Go to person” in your organization freeing up time and resources for other departments to increase sales and reduce costs. Using my ESP-like abilities to anticipate team and customer needs before they arise and sleeves-rolled-up clerical and admin abilities that allow me to do the work of 2 admin assistants.

See how simple English and some simple phrases can say GREAT things about you without coming right out and blatantly saying those things?

Making it easy for people to understand your skills:

One of the biggest problems I see in I.T., Engineering and other specialized or scientific applications is the applicants rattle off their qualifications, programming languages etc. and expect the poor H.R. person or employer to be able to decipher these things into something that ‘fits’ what they’re looking for.

Once again, some simple English can paint a better picture than a paragraph of gobbledeegook.

We can turn:

Microsoft MCSE and Novell NetWare CNE
Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Novell NetWare management experience
Into something more meaningful by giving the skill a description and then talking about it in plain English:

Networking: I’m a computer ‘therapist’. I make computers talk to each other even though they absolutely refused to do so in the past. My experience in Microsoft MCSE and Novell NetWare CNE will help you reduce downtime, improve communications for your people and your customers.

The example above still gives the employer the technical information that may be important to the job posting but wraps it up in some fancy packaging that says… I make computers TALK to each other.

Let me stay with the I.T. examples for a minute and create an image of a powerful web developer/programmer in an objective statement for a resume:

Objective: To create ‘kick butt’ applications and GUI’s that elegantly solve your company’s toughest IT problems and make them so easy to use, a 4-year old could use them. Using my extensive skills in:

‘Kick butt’ paints… powerful, and the ‘4 year-old’ paints… easy to use.

One important aspect to using this strategy is that it allows you to put something in your letter most other applicants won’t have… your PERSONALITY!

Here’s a winning letter that readers have adapted to really make them stand out from the crowd in countless different industries:

I am a dynamic figure, often seen analyzing networks and helping my colleagues. I have been known to remodel LANs on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient. I manage time very well.

On a business trip to Brazil, using only a Cisco 2500 and CAT5 wire, I once single-handedly wired ten small offices in the Amazon Basin . I like to trouble shoot IP problems and Frame Networks. When I’m bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. On Wednesdays, evenings, I repair electrical appliances free of charge for the elderly.

I am an abstract network artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless troubleshooter. I don’t perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail from my fellow workers. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. I use to bat .400 in Little League. Children and co-workers trust me.

I can hurl AUI connectors at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read the whole Cisco.com web page in one day and still had time to calculate the cost of a whole corporate network in US dollars. I know the exact location of every router in a network. I have performed a major data center move in 1993. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on business trip in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery.

I work hard, enjoy doing a job well, am loyal, am dedicated, and my bills are all paid.

I worked with doctors who have performed open-heart surgery, and I once shook President Ford’s hand, Lastly I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to work for you and support your network.

You won’t see too many cover letters like that which is exactly my point. This cover letter paints a picture of someone who is good at what they do, a little out of the ordinary and, more importantly, a FUN person… so it nearly always goes straight to the top of the INTERVIEW pile. Meanwhile all the other applications are fighting it out for interviews by trying to show how they have great skills and experience… and as you know, most of those skills and experiences are about the same.

A Word of Warning: Some readers have copied the above example and have forgotten they also need the personality to ‘back up’ the letter in an interview… I submit the example above to show you not to be afraid to put some of YOUR personality in your cover letters and resumes.

Using Numbers to paint a picture:

I’m going to cover this more in the Resume section but it’s worth noting here for your cover letter too.

It’s a good idea to give an employer a small taste of your resume in your cover letter. There are all sorts of ways of doing this you can bullet point some highlights of your skills or experiences, or talk about them the whole way through your letter. One of the easiest ways to give an employer an idea of how you ‘fit’ into their organization is to use some numbers to describe:

Some of your past achievements or results
The size of your company, department or work-load
The following example is for someone who had simply completed an internship and was now looking for full-time employment but lacked real experience. Here is her original paragraph showing an outline of her skills:

XXXXX
Internship Summer, 2001
PR/Marketing Intern…PressRelease writing…Research…Event Planning…Media Relations….Office Support.

Here’s how we turned that boring list of skills into something more powerful simply by adding some numbers and describing the pervious employer a bit more:

XXXXX
Internship Summer, 2001
With over 1 million members and revenues in excess of $500 million with an ad budget of $2.5 million, XXXXX ironically generates most of it’s marketing through Public Relations. As an intern there, I worked on:

PR/Marketing: wrote press releases and analysed marketing data to better target the media that gave us the best conversion rates of enquiries into sales.
Event Management: Organised large seminars and trade show displays as part of our customer acquisition process.
Media Relations: Worked with Print, Radio and TV to get Free publicity in the key market segments identified by our data analysis.

So with some simple numbers to describe the size of the company and more of a description of what she did in her internship, the applicant was able to paint a better picture of herself and landed a full time job after about 8 months of searching with no success.

In summary, use words, phrases and numbers that paint a better picture of who and what you are. This will make you stand out from the crowd and help get your application to the top of the list.

by Acland Brierty

SHAMELESS PLUG: Job Secrets Revealed will teach you how to read between the lines of any ‘situations vacant’ ad to work out how to best pitch your application, regardless of whether you meet their up-front skills or experience requirements.

I’m serious. I want you to do this because I want you to experience what an employer goes through when reading applications for any vacancies.

Now, you may be thinking to yourself that you’re not going to read anything 150 times, because you’ll be reading the SAME thing over and over again! And that’s exactly the point. Plus or minus 10%, most applications for a job are identical. Just the names and dates are a little different.

Essentially they all say the same things… “I’m good with people,” “I’m willing to learn.” Additionally, most applicants will have roughly the same skills because most people only apply for jobs they think have the skills to do.

How can I say this? At our office in Australia, we see hundreds of applications every week, and unfortunately, they all look the same – except for a few. And it’s these few that we call in for an interview.

Think about that. If you were an employer, do you want an employee that is simply one of the crowd or do you want someone that STANDS OUT from the crowd?

I could tell you right now how your application probably starts:

“I’m writing an application for the position advertised in….”

Or maybe you’re more creative…

“Your ad in Saturday’s paper really excited me….”

As we’ve mentioned in previous newsletters, the reason why your application probably looks like every other application is you learned how to write applications at school or college along with every other student. Now it’s time to consider a different approach – following are some examples of highly successful application openings which resulted in interviews.

“5 key areas where I can help you increase your sales.” (Salesperson for music store)

“I want you to imagine your customers loading their cars with plants by the bootfull… and what’s more they vow to come back for more.” (Assistant at a plant nursery)

“Genius for hire.” (Short-term programmer position)

The point here is you want to start your letters with a powerful opening that makes the employer sit up and take notice. Remember that an employer is only interested in what you can do for them.

You could be excused for thinking that these openings are over the top, but I can assure you that if you begin to use the language of your employer, your application will immediately become 150 times more exciting to an employer.

by Acland Brierty

Acland’s book, Job Secrets Revealed includes many before and after examples of applications and cover letters showing how readers have taken their me-too applications and made them instantly more exciting. You’ll be able to copy from them and use their phrasing when you have the book!