3852_Navigating_v1_2010

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Navigating YourIT Career

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2 The Secret to a Successul IT Job Hunt

4 Top 10 Networking Tips or the IT Proessional

6 Four Trends Every IT Hiring Manager Needs to Know

8 The Mainrames Youthul Injection

10 Where Will the IT Jobs Be in 2010?

Contents

This content was adapted from Internet.coms Datamation, CIO Update, and ServerWatch Web sitesContributors: Esther Shein, Sue Bergamo, Dave Willmer, Edward Joyce, and Michael Horowitz

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Navigating Your IT Career

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2 Navigating Your IT Career, an Internet.com IT Management eBook. 2010, Internet.com, a division of QuinStreet, IncBack to Contents


D

uring a time when the number o applicants

or most IT jobs has more than doubled, can-

didates need to work harder than ever to set

themselves apart rom the pack.

Career coaches and counselors says the biggest mistake

IT workers make when applying or a job is not ocus-

ing on results rom past jobs,

but rather, a laundry list o skills

theyve acquired. They say this is

not the time to be shy; highlight

your achievements and how you

helped the business.

Applicants tend to have all thetechnical lingo and that theyve

been exposed to this and that,

but they dont talk about their

experiences, says Frank Cullen,

president o The Cullen Group, a

career management rm based

in Boston. They talk about pro-

grams theyve worked with rather

than the real value they will bring to the company.

Another mistake is having a resum that is too brie. Mak-ing your resum t into one page doesnt work in the IT

industry, maintains Kingsley Tagbo, an IT career coach with

IT Career Boot Camp by Exacticity Inc.

You have to get into detail about your technical skills, since

people are looking or skill sets and will compare your re-

sum to someone elses, says Tagbo, in OSallon, Mo. IT is

a skills-crazy industry and the person who details every

skill or a sotware developers position, will get more no-

tice because o the relevant detail being provided.

Make sure the resum is readable and has white space,advises Mario DiCioccio, an executive and personal coach

based in Narberth, Pa. How ar back in time you go de-

pends on your experience level and how that experience

has changed over time.

Theres a designation that you

go back 10 years, he says. The

more standard thing is to include

less and less about jobs over time

because they become less impor

tant the urther back you go.

Networking during a job search

is crucial, DiCioccio adds. Its a

tough environment out there now

and one o the best ways to iden-

tiy opportunities and explore

how to make career changes is to

learn how to ... use your network

Talk to people about the ideal job youre looking or and

ask i they know anyone who does that whose brain you

could pick. He says people like to help, but i they senseyou are needy or desperate they tend to shy away because

theyre araid youll badger someone.

Prior to going in to the interview, research the company

Go online, nd out about their business, the products they

make and the department youd be working or, Tagbo

says. Once youve landed the interview, prove youre good

at communicating with people and will be a team player.

The Secret to a SuccessfulIT Job Hunt

By Esther Shein

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I the company youre applying with is small, however, back

o rom talking about being a team player and more about

your ability to get things done, so be sure to understand

the context o the interview, he says. I possible, show

proo o your work. Bring samples on a CD and explain

your contributions to a project.

Also be sure to talk specics: the increased eciencies,

better customer turnaround time, increased revenue and

reduced costs that a system you worked on had or a busi-

ness unit, etc., suggests Cullen.

I nd that most technical people talk about technical

stu, and people are more interested in hearing about the

impact on the company, he says.

DiCioccio says there are essentially ve things people need

to do during the job search process. The rst is to improve

their summary on their resum, using the right adjectives

and capturing whats special about them that a prospec-

tive employer needs to know. Summaries are oten dry and

actual, DiCioccio says.

Its a time to really refect and be orthright about what

is good and special about you, he says. When I workwith people I look or adjectives that describe them, not a

laundry list that describes what theyve done. Thats more

important than 10 years o experience with an operating

system.

DiCioccio says he looks or the results o those 10 years o

experience. Do you now call yoursel an expert? I thats

the case, then say Expert with Linux with 10 years o ex-

perience. I youre not an expert, maybe say Extensive

experience with application implementation with a Linux

orientation.

Like Cullen, DiCiccio advises that instead o rehashing re-

sponsibilities, highlight the work perormed instead. For

example, a resum might say the candidate designed a

business intelligence system and developed code and did

an implementation.

I Im working with someone, I try to put in a smaller sec-

tion o responsibilities, then underneath that, a bulleted lis

with accomplishments. That way, he says, youre ocusing

more on the business resultsdid the project come in and

on time? Did you save the company money? There are re

sults that saved the company money because o your work

he says.

Organize Your ThoughtsDiCioccio says many people arent comortable being

interviewed so he spends time working with clients on a

structure or organizing their responses. This includes a

review o the persons background. Think about the job

youre being called in to interview or and what are thebig things in your background someone is likely to ask you

about, he says.

You may want to have a list o things you want to have

discussed so use a structure to make sure everything is

addressed, such as explaining the situation you worked

in, the tasks you perormed and then results. A suggested

phrase: Because o the tasks I per ormed, we remained in

budget. We delivered on time. We captured 50 errors in

testing, says DiCioccio. That way, the candidate ties it al

together and emphasizes what he or she did.

In mock interviews Cullen does with his clients, he asks

questions about what are the candidates weaknesses and

challenges. In the nal analysis, the interviewer is going to

ask three questions: Can you do the job; do you want to

do the job and are you really motivated; and lastly, do you

t in? The latter is critical or IT people because they tend

to be introverted, Cullen says, and the candidate needs to

let a little o their personality come out.

Tagbo concurs, saying that No one wants to hire someone who doesnt sound condent.

When discussing your strengths, make sure to emphasize

that you get along with everyone. Cullen says thats an un-

usual response or an IT person, and he or she needs to

make sure that that comes across. Oten IT people dont

think about that as much as wowing someone with thei

technical experience and its a lot more than that.

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R

ecently, in speaking with a group o executives

who are in transition, I asked a question about

how each person approached networking. While

there were many similarities, to my surprise therewere also varying degrees o doubt about what worked

and what didnt. The conclusion was that networking is

more o a learned skill than a science and should be ap-

proached as an opportunity to interact with others _ with

the hope that these interactions will eventually lead to a

new position.

Networking Rule No. 1:

Always believe in yourself.

As a CIO, Ive personally had

many proessionals requestmy assistance nding a new

position. It is surprising that,

as proessionals, we are con-

dent in our ability to hold and

unction at a job but as soon

as someone becomes unem-

ployed how quickly they star t

to disbelieve in their accom-

plishments and their ability to land a new role.

The longer a person is on the job market, the worse thissel-deeating cycle becomes. Losing a job is a signicant

change in anyones lie, and it is only natural to grieve the

loss and ear the unknown. Getting yoursel entrenched in

a job search is one sure way to pull yoursel out o the dol-

drums o being unemployed. Ive met with CEOs, COOs,

CIOs, VPs, and individual contributors and can attest that

everyone goes through the same turmoil while looking or

new opportunities.

Networking Rule No. 2: Have a plan. Its easy to say that a

plan is needed, but ormulating one is not always easy. For

some people, starting a job search is easy and the pros

pects o meeting new people seem adventurous. For oth-ers, the search may be considered absolutely torturous.

Start by asking yoursel how comortable you are with

meeting new people. Next make a list o target companies

current opportunities, people, and networking events in

your area. Determine how a

the search will reach: are you

willing to relocate or is stay-

ing local a must have criteria?

Next, divide the list by three

sections: low stress eortmedium stress eort, and

high stress eorts. Examples

o these categories could be

Low Stress: Reach out to peers

amily, and riends.

Medium Stress: Research tar

get companies and send in a

resum.

High Stress: Seek out unknown individuals through networking

groups, social networking sites, and cold calling.

I you are someone who dreads the thought o meeting

new people, then start with low stress eorts to begin a

search. Let everyone that you know, including other unem-

ployed people, that you are looking or another opportu

nity. Push yoursel to move into a higher stress category

and keep on networking.

Top 10 Networking Tipsfor the IT Professional

By Sue Bergamo

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your results, your online presence, i you will. Ask your-

sel i its the presence that youd like to have. I you are

blogging, are the blogs appropriate? Have you written any

articles within your industry? Its important to keep your In-

ternet presence up to date. And remember, a proessiona

image is one way to land a new job.

Networking Rule No. 8: Dont ever stop networking. Ev

erywhere that you go, everyone that you touch may know

someone who has an opening. Use every conversation as

a way to gain another name to contact. In no time, youl

have established a considerable network. Every month o

two reach out to the people in your network and remind

them that you are still on the market. Eventually, peoplewill begin to contact you regarding openings.

Ive had conversations with individuals that have said things

like Once I have an interview, I stop and wait or an an-

swer or Ive reached out to several headhunters, but no

one has called me back. In both o these instances, the

answer is the same dont stop networking. Dont wait

or someone to get back to you. Every candidate needs to

keep on top o the market, the openings, and the players

Networking should be considered a ull-time job.

Networking Rule No. 9: There is never enough touch

points. In searching or a position, in addition or striving

or ace-to-ace interviews, networking calls and meetings

should be a part o your overall plan. It is not unreasonable

to have 25 to 100 touch points per weekwith people in

and outside o your network. Remember, the benets that

are reaped rom networking are directly aligned to the e-

ort that you put into the process.

Networking Rule No. 10: The longer the search lasts,

the harder it becomes to keep the faith. Candidatesneed to continuously push themselves to stay abreast o

the market and to continue to have condence in their abil-

ity to land a new position. Seek out others in the same po-

sition and youll nd it is helpul to have the empathy and

support o others who can clearly understand what you are

going through.

Best o luck to you in your search.

Networking Rule No. 3: Create and practice a 30-sec-

ond speech. This speech will be replayed over and over,

so its important to have the salient points o your career

on the tip o the tongue. The speech represents skills and

talents and describes the type o company and culture that

you are looking or. It is surprising how many people fub

on this rule. An adjunct rule is to always say the speech

with condence and smile, smile, smile (using both acial

expressions and your voice).

Networking Rule No. 4: Ask for additional contact

names. The one key rule o networking is that or every

person that you speak with, try to obtain one or two new

names to contact. This increases your network and, ater a

ew attempts, will become second nature to you.

Networking Rule No. 5: Its OK to post your resum on

a job board. Recruiters and HR personnel will look at job

boards and nd candidates that meet a positions criteria.

Remember to reresh your resum oten to continue to re-

mind the recruiters that you are still out there. Another rule

o thumb is that i you are not receiving any call backs on

your resum, consider having a trusted colleague critique

the document and provide you with solid eedback.

Networking Rule No. 6: Social networking is your friend.

As you gain more condence in your networking abilities,

branch out to new areas. Networking sites such as Twit-

ter, Facebook, and LinkedIn should be considered key in

your search eorts. These sites have eatures to search or

jobs, companies, and or people. While some people have

posted their desire/need or a new position on these sites,

Im not sure this tactic actually shortens your job search. It

may even seem desperate to potential employers.

LinkedIn is a tool that recruiters and HR representativesuse on a daily basis. Candidates can search or people,

jobs, and the right individual to network with rom within

a company. Dont underestimate the importance o having

a LinkedIn prole and in using your network to nd a new

position.

Networking Rule No. 7: Review your Internet presence.

This important step looks at how you are seen on the Inter-

net. Try using Google to search or your name then review

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A

t 10 percent unemployment, the job market re-

mains a major topic o conversation around the

country. Yet there are some emerging employ-

ment trends that may not have gained muchattention but are valuable or executives to understand.

Robert Hal International and CareerBuilder issued the

2009 Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations

(EDGE) Report in the all o 2009, and it provided an over-

view o the hiring en-

vironment, as well as

a glimpse o what the

post-recession stang

landscape will look like.

There are our key nd-

ings CIOs must be

aware o:

1. Hiring is HardWith so many people in

the job market, it would

seem that employers

would have the upper

hand and nd recruit-

ment to be quick andeasy. However, managers surveyed said it takes them rom

4.5 to 14.4 weeks to ll a vacancy, depending on the posi-

tion the same amount o time as it did in 2008. A shortage

o qualied applicants was noted as the top hiring chal-

lenge. While organizations may receive an overwhelming

number o responses to any job ads they post, an average

o 44 percent o resums are rom unqualied candidates.

To attract the right applicants, rms should take a diversi

ed approach to recruitment. Reerrals can be a useul too

or learning o qualied candidates, so managers should

spread the word about job openings to their employeesand outside networks. Job ads placed in industry publica

tions and on targeted Web sites also may yield applications

rom the right proessionals. In addition, it might be ben-

ecial to partner with a recruiter. These individuals can use

their extensive local networks to identiy skilled individuals

who are not currently

job hunting but who

might be open to leav

ing or a good opportu-

nity, as well as help you

narrow down the list opotential hires.

2. EmployersAre Mixing It UpWhen it comes to hiring

companies arent nec

essarily ocusing exclu

sively on ull-time addi

tions. While 53 percen

o managers said they

plan to recruit ull-time

sta in the next 12 months, 40 percent said they intend

to bring in contract, temporary, or project proessionals

About the same percentage said they will hire part-time

workers. (Multiple responses were allowed.)

Four Trends Every ITHiring Manager Needs to Know

By Dave Willmer

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This varied approach allows organizations some fexibility,

which is ideal during uncertain times. Firms can quickly

adjust stang levels to accommodate new demands by

using interim proessionals, while protecting core ull-time

and part-time sta rom layos should those demands

subside.

3. Workers Are Waiting to Change JobsEven i you arent hiring, personnel issues should be a high

priority. While 9 out o 10 workers said they are satised

with their current work situations, nearly hal (45 percent)

said they plan to change employers, careers, or industries

when the economy recovers. I you are not taking steps to

ensure your best employees remain with your rm whentheyre presented with other opportunities, now is the

time.

Managers and workers surveyed agreed that providing

more money is the top method or retaining employees.

In act, 28 percent o workers said they plan to ask their

bosses or a raise or promotion once the recovery is under

way. Better benets and perks are also valuable retention

tools.

4. Tech Will Be Key in a TurnaroundCIOs will be pleasantly surprised to learn that IT is expect

ed to be a top area or change in the coming years. Whenmanagers were asked which departments will add posi-

tions rst when theres an economic turnaround, technol-

ogy ranked rst. Workers also believe IT investments wil

increase once business conditions improve. When asked

which perks they expect their employers to provide o

enhance when the economy gets better, technology up

grades came in rst.

While no one can predict when the business climate wil

accelerate and to what degree, companies that stay on

top o trends and make the right adjustments will have acompetitive advantage when things turn around. Theyl

be in a stronger position to attract and retain talent and

adjust personnel levels and budgets quickly to meet

demands.

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Last spring, one o my co-workers went to col-

lege campuses to recruit prospective young

mainramers. Young mainramers? Isnt that an

oxymoron?

My co-worker, Tim, explained that our company, a major

sotware vendor, is seeing its mainrame workorce rapidlyapproaching the age o retirement. Tim said IBM and most

other rms whose businesses depend on mainrames are

also dealing with this industry-wide problem.

Since the 1980s, PCs and

UNIX machines were sup-

posed to have taken over the

computing world, relegating

mainrames to the scrap heap

alongside rotary-dial tele-

phones, suitcase-size boomboxes, and Plymouth Reliants.

Indeed, most mainrames rom

that era have been consigned

to the scrap heap only to be

replaced by bigger and aster

mainrames.

Today, the number o main-

rames is estimated to be 10,000. Since 2000, the process-

ing power o mainrames has quadrupled in terms o MIPS.

According to IBM, the top 25 world banks run mainrames,80 percent o the worlds corporate data resides or origi-

nates on mainrames, and 71 percent o global Fortune

500 companies are mainrame clients.

And what about those applications that were supposed to

have been migrated o mainrames?

As one mainrame veteran put it, We started sun-setting

some o our mainrame systems so long ago, the suns ris-

ing again!

While reports o the death o the mainrame are greatly

exaggerated, to quote Mark Twain, the same cannot be

said about the mainrame workorce, whose average ageis measured in minutes rom retirement.

To replenish the thinning ranks o the 3270-keyboard jock-

eys, companies have started

recruiting young talent to be

trained in the technology o

the mainrame. Theyre count

ing on an Inter-Generationa

Transer o Exper tise rom old

mainramers to young main

ramers beore the sun sets onthose old mainramers.

I caught up with one o these

young developers to get a

sense o what enticed a new

college graduate to cast his lot

with the venerable mainrame

Francisco Esqueda graduated rom The Pennsylvania State

University with a computer engineering degree in May

2009. His education included development languages likeRuby, Java, and HTML, among other technologies, and he

honed his skills with summer internships working with Web

applications and PCs.

Although he had no real concept o what developing or

the mainrame was like, he accepted a position as a main-

rame developer.

The Mainframes Youthful InjectionBy Edward Joyce

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My mother had reservations at rst, he admitted. She

was shocked to see that I would be working with the same

languages and tools that she had started with in her ca-

reer: Assembler language, REXX, JCL, ISPF. She was wor-

ried that working with that stu would be a career dead

end.

Francisco comes rom a amily where conversations about

bits and bytes were as much a part o dinner as bread and

butter-or as much a part o dinner as Apple and spam (to

keep the prose computer-related).

His mother retired in 2000 ater a 25-year career in IT, dur-

ing which she became CIO o a large oil company. His a-

ther, a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, is an associate dean

at the The Pennsylvania State University, Berks campus.

His older sister and brother are also degreed electrical

engineers.

According to Francisco, his mother would have never pre-

dicted that the mainrame stu that she let behind 10

years ago would be the oundation o his budding career.

She changed her mind ater she researched it, he con-

tinued. She learned that companies are still committedto the mainrame, and there were new initiatives. And she

liked the training program I was oered.

Francisco completed a two-month training program that

covered the z/OS operating system, Assembler language,

DB2 database, VSAM le structure, and CICS (kicks to

those in the know), among other topics.

How is the 22-year-old Francisco, a child o the cell phone-

toting, Facebook-connected, point-and-click generation

with no exposure to mainrames prior to June handlingmouse-less keyboards with 24 PF keys, dataset allocation,

and core dumps?

The interace is not good, its cryptic, he said. It takes a

while to get the hang o it.

On the plus side, he sees the low overhead o the interace

as an advantage. You dont have to wait or some IDE

to load. The mainrame is really ast. And with Assembler

language, you have complete control over the eciency o

your programs.

As ar as he knows, Francisco was the only Penn State com

puter engineering graduate o the 2009 class to take a job

working with mainrames. Most o his ellow graduates

ended up working in Web-centric systems. Ater gradu-

ation he joined 20 other recruits, most o them recent

graduates, in the mainrame sotware engineering training

program o a large sotware vendor.

Did Francisco eel compelled to take the mainrame job

because o the state o the economy? In other words, was

the mainrame job the only show in town?

I had two other oers, he explained. One was working

on a UNIX Web server but I liked the training program and

the idea o working or a sotware company.

Several companies that depend on mainrames obvious-

ly think training young mainramers can help resolve the

mainrame skills shortage. Francisco seems to agree with

them, and is apparently convinced that theres a uture in

working with the platorm o big iron. In September he

returned to his alma mater, Penn State. He went there to

recruit young mainramers.

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Anyone who looked or a new position in 2009

aced some pretty sti competition. Although

the situation isnt expected to improve dra-

matically or job seekers in 2010, some early

signs point to slightly better prospects. A net 3 percent o

CIOs surveyed or the most recent Robert Hal Technology

IT Hiring Index and Skills Report anticipate adding IT stain the rst quarter o 2010. Thats the strongest orecast

since the rst quarter o 2009. Technology proessionals

with experience in high-

demand areas will have

the best chance o land-

ing one o these new

jobs.

I youre planning to look

or a new position in

2010, here are some othe hot jobs and grow-

ing industries oering

the best prospects:

Hot IT JobsLast year, IT proession-

als with experience and

skills in networking and

security were in demand, and this should remain the case

through 2010. Developers and support personnel will also

prove valuable to employers in the coming year. Follow-

ing are some specic positions CIOs will likely be looking

to ll:

Network administrator: Networks have become more

complex, and the requirements placed on them have in-

creased but its more crucial than ever that they unc-

tion at a high level, at all times. CIOs interviewed or the

Hiring Indexsaid that its most challenging to nd IT pro-

essionals with networking skills, such as cloud comput-

ing, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and Sotware as

a Service (SaaS).

Information systems security manager: New threats are

constantly emerging, putting the condentiality, integrityand availability o a companys inormation at risk. Orga-

nizations o all sizes and in all industries need IT proes-

sionals who can protect

them rom internal and

external breaches.

Applications develop

er and Web developer

Companies are always

looking or ways to max-

imize the eectivenesso key applications, but

its especially importan

when theyre trying to

cut costs and increase

eciencies. Developers

who can write and im-

prove the applications

that help a company ob-

tain new customers or allow employees to interact more

eectively are in demand. Those with strong Web unc-

tionality and social media skills are particularly valued.

Systems engineer: As companies begin to put new tech-

nologies into practice, systems engineers will be needed

to develop and maintain technical inrastructure, as wel

as hardware and sotware components, or various IT

projects.

Where Will the IT Jobs Be in 2010?By Michael Horowitz & Dave Willmer

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11 Na igating Yo IT Ca ee an Inte net com IT Management eBook 2010 Inte net com a di ision of Q inSt eet IncB k t C t t


Database developer: Organizations are looking to save

money through better database management, and some

will be seeking developers who can create and maintain

cost-ecient databases. Practitioners with strong SQL

skills are highly valued.

Help desk and desktop support: Providing support to

customers and end users, who oten ace a sharp learn-

ing curve when working with new technologies, remains a

critical part o doing business. As companies deploy new

systems and programs in 2010, the need or skilled sup-

port personnel will remain steady.

Growing IndustriesAs the economy rebounds, some sectors will see an in-creased need or IT proessionals. The wholesale and retail

industries, or example, both oresee hiring gains in the

rst quarter that are well above the national average, ac-

cording to the Hiring Index. Also, U.S. government stimu-

lus unding is expected to boost IT spending in certain

industries.

Following are some o the aster-growing sectors with a

need or technology proessionals:

Healthcare: The governments push or the adoption o

electronic medical records should create opportunities or

IT proessionals in hospitals, doctors oces, and other

healthcare acilities. The aging population and the need

or constant technology upgrades should urther uel job

growth in the industry.

Education: Rising enrollment in higher learning institu

tions (due in part to job losses) and greater demand or

e-learning programs will likely mean more IT jobs and in-

creased spending on technology initiatives in the educa-

tion sector.

Financial services: Many nancial services rms are ocus-

ing on meeting new reorm and compliance requirements

resulting rom the global economic crisis. This should

generate investments and hiring in technology by these

companies.

Always in Demand

The coming year wont be easy or job seekers. But thingswill likely get better as the decade unolds: The Bureau o

Labor Statistics predicts that computer and mathematica

occupations will add 785,700 new jobs by 2018, and, as a

group, they will grow more than twice as ast as the aver-

age or all occupations.

No matter what kind o job youre pursuing, some qualities

will always be in demand. Its more important than ever to

exhibit strong communication and leadership skills, as wel

as a proven ability to collaborate with other departments

given that IT has become more integrated with other areaso most organizations. I you can show that you have mul

tiple skill sets, even better; companies place a high value

on IT proessionals who can wear many hats and take on

new responsibilities as priorities change. Cultivate these

skills, and youll have a competitive edge in the job market

in 2010 and beyond.

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3852_Navigating_v1_2010