For the past several years, most IT professionals could be excused
for thinking more about keeping the jobs they had than finding better
ones. As the dot coms imploded and recession loomed, a career in
technology went from being a sure bet to a chancy proposition. "It's
a tough market out there for everyone, but especially IT," says Seth
Peterson, a systems integration consultant for Langtech, an IT
outsourcer based in San Francisco. "You may have to send out 200
resumes before you get a bite."
But even the best swimmers can't tread water forever, and the same
holds true when it comes to career advancement in the technology
world. Moving up the career ladder may be more difficult in tough
economic times, but it can -- and should be done. The question is,
how?
"Once you're in a company, you can't stop your job search," says
Kathryn Ullrich, president of the Professional Area Network for Women
in Technology and owner of a high-tech executive recruitment
business. In other words, getting ahead means keeping a long-term
career advancement plan in place.
The first thing to do is excel at your current job, but Ullrich and
others recommend a number of other strategies to get noticed by those
who hand out the promotions:
TOOT YOUR OWN HORN. As you tot up career successes, you have to
document them in terms that business people can understand. "I talk
to recruiters every day who say they hate the IT resumes," says Kevin
Donlin, president of Guaranteed Resumes in Edina, Minn. "The reason
is that IT people are very task oriented, and as a result they short
themselves on the results."
So, instead of saying you've cleaned up an Access database, couch
your achievement in a business context. Did the database fix save a
relationship with an important client? Write it down. Did it help
streamline customer service? Quantify how much. "That's the kind of
context people are looking for," says Donlin.
Next, let the right people know. Ullrich recommends sen...
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ding out a
congratulatory message to a project team after the successful
conclusion of a project, cc'ing the CIO or IT manager as well as the
business sponsor. "A lot of times they don't realize all the people
who were involved in a project," she says.
FOLLOW YOUR INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY. It's a Catch 22 -- you can't
advance into the managerial ranks until you have management skills,
and you can't get those skills until you have a managerial job. Dave
Carpe, a career coach and principal at HR consultancy Clew LLC in
Lexington, Mass., recommends using many of the volunteer technical
groups that exist to gain some of that experience. "If you're a sys
admin, it's going to be difficult to moonlight for a consulting
company, but there's nothing to stop you from volunteering at your
local Church or Synagogue, or take part in something larger where you
can lead and influence large groups of people," he says.
For example, there are many open source groups working on myriad
technical projects, or there are groups like the Internet Engineering
Task Force (www.ietf.org), an international community of network
designers, operators, vendors, and researchers that convenes
countless working groups to help build next-generation Internet
architecture.
"Organizing volunteers is amazing," says Carpe. "You really can
develop managerial and leadership skills."
GET THE SOFT SKILLS. "The ability to communicate both written and
orally is many times just as important, if not more so, than IT
skills," says David Willmer, regional manager at Robert Half
International. "It's particularly relevant to IT managers, because IT
and business unit managers are interacting more than ever and will
continue to do so."
He recommends a number of ways to acquire such skills: Find a mentor
within the technology group who excels in those skills for example,
or sign up for some formal training, such as advanced degree
programs.
KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS AND THEIR BUSINESS GOALS. The bottom line of any
company is reaching its business goals, so smart IT folks will make
sure that they are conversant with them, as well as familiar with the
business customers they serve. "IT professionals are often unknown
and are only called upon when problems occur," says Ullrich. "The
most important thing is to make sure people know who you are so you
are seen as a colleague that can offer an array of value to the
company."
TRAIN TO MEET YOUR COMPANY'S LONG-RANGE TECH PLAN. The fact is,
technology is not a static field, and a career in IT means constant
learning. In order to pick the right skills, Ed Denzler, CEO of The
Training Camp, in Philadelphia, recommends that technology employees
synch their skills acquisition to their employers' long-term goals.
"Keep your ear on the rail," he recommends. "If you see a bunch of
Linux servers coming in, you can figure it out. Security is another
no-brainer. Being in the right place at the right time means having
the skills to do the job. And that means planning ahead."
Langtech's Peterson says that technology certifications are a great
way to gain credibility in a certain discipline. "They give you a
great skill set," says Peterson, who is currently getting his MCSE
(Microsoft Certification Systems Engineer) certification. "It helps
you see the all the things behind the scenes that we deal with
everyday -- not to mention that it's a good resume builder."
