ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT?

SIGN IN

Executive Jobs UK | Recruiters Click Here >

HOME HOW IT WORKS SUCCESS STORIES JOB SEARCH CAREER ADVICE

Search Jobs Location

25 mi SEARCH

Career Advice Home >> Job Search > 8 Essential IT Skills to Improve Your
Career Advice Technology Job Search Article Search
Search
From Marc Cenedella Job Search
JULY 9, 2012 8 Essential IT Skills to Improve Your Technology Job
Search
Sometimes the career Editors' Choice
advice business is about Staying current in the technology and IT certifications is just the start.
OCTOBER 11, 2010 Get to Work on Your Summer Job
finding what works and
By Debra Donston-Miller Search
sticking with it. This week's
By Andrew Klappholz JUNE 26, 2012
newsletter is about the Tweet
Recommend 1
best question for you to ask in
interviews. 13 Ways Your Resume Can Say 'I'm
FILED UNDER: IT Management and Project Management, Unprofessional'
Read more
Certifications, IT Consulting/Services, TechnologyLadder, By Lisa Vaas MARCH 26, 2010
See more newsletters from Marc Professional Development.
What to Wear to Summer Job
Interviews
A career in Information Technology By Nina Myers JULY 6, 2009
HOT TOPICS
requires skills previous generations of IT
Anxiety, Depression and the Job executives ignored or scorned. (People
Is Relocation Right for You?
skills? What are those?) The modern IT
By Andrew Klappholz FEBRUARY 28, 2012
Search executive must be a master of the
technology he manages plus the
Working With Recruiters business lines it supports. What follows Successful Career Planning and
are the eight essential skills, provided by Management
Interview Questions and tech pros themselves, that executives By Rebecca Rapple JUNE 12, 2012
must demonstrate to advance in an IT
Answers career. Join TheLadders Now
Age and Your Job Search 1. Technical savvy There's no getting around the fact that IT stands
for "information technology." Your experience must show a proven First Name
Cover Letters track record of leveraging technology to increase performance,
productivity and competitive edge. But technical savvy is nothing
without ... Last Name
CATEGORIES 2. Business acumen Hiring managers are looking for people who
can integrate knowledge of technology with knowledge of
Marc's Newsletters business. Technology no longer just supports business it drives Email
it. The decisions made around technology, and the ability to identify
Success Stories new products and services that will take an organization to the next (ex: name@sample.com)
level, are among the most important made at almost all
News & Advice Your Function
organizations.
3. Communications skills Have you ever seen the "Saturday Night
Select Your Function... 6
Live" skit where Jimmy Fallon plays Nick Burns, an IT help desk Zipcode
TOPICS
employee who revels in making end-users feel like idiots? It's
c Non US
d
e
f
g
satire, of course, but there's always a kernel of truth to satire. It
Resume
can't hurt to ensure that you are in no way falling into the "IT guy"
Total Current Compensation
stereotype, especially as you are looking to move up in the
Personal Branding --Select-- 6
industry. Ask trusted colleagues among your organization for
Job Search feedback on your communications skills, and take their Password
constructive criticism to heart.
Networking 4. The ability to speak multiple languages Along the same lines as
(ex: Min. 6 characters: Use letters
No. 3, it's important to be fluent in the languages (and different
and digits / special characters.)
Interviewing dialects) of technology, business, your organization's industry and
end-user concerns. JOIN NOW
Salary 5. Project management skills Hiring managers want to see that you
have been successful at project management. It's not enough to
know your stuff; you have to know about everyone else's stuff and Reader Favorites
be able to manage the various technologies, business
applications, skills and personalities involved in a project. 10 Good Ways to 'Tell Me About
6. Certifications While Yourself'
certifications are not high on By Scott Ginsberg JULY 26, 2010
the lists of the experts who Career Advice from
spoke with TheLadders, if TheLadders Walk Out of Your Job Interview in a
you do list your certifications, l Tips to Help You Ace the
Blaze of Glory
you have to also be able to Phone Screen By Scott Ginsberg JULY 13, 2009
articulate how you have
l My proven question for
applied them. "Im not a fan How Not to Follow Up After a Job
getting the job
of certifications by Interview
themselves," said Robert l Translating Military
Experience to a Civilian By Lisa Vaas SEPTEMBER 13, 2010
Rosen, CIO of the National
Institute of Arthritis and Resume
Musculoskeletal and Skin l Why your critics don't
The 24-Step Modern Resume
Diseases. "We sometimes count By Lisa Vaas SEPTEMBER 6, 2010
use them as a filter, but we
put lots more weight on How to Handle 'You're
 experience. I've seen too Overqualified' in Interviews
many certificate holders that couldnt apply that knowledge." By Robin Ryan SEPTEMBER 15, 2008
7. A curious mind Hiring managers are looking for people who are
always looking at how things work and how to make them better. "I
found some of the greatest people have the attribute of frequently
saying, 'I wonder why it did that?' and then finding out why," Rosen
said.
8. Flexibility and foresight The rate of technological change is
staggering, and employers require IT pros who are able to not only
adapt to that change but to be out in front of it.

Debra Donston-Miller covers work-life issues and difficult job-search situations

for TheLadders.

A Woman's Guide to Successful Salary Bye-bye!

Negotiation

Finance Jobs HR Jobs Law Jobs Marketing Jobs Operations Jobs Sales Jobs Technology Jobs

About TheLadders | Contact | TheLadders Blog | Work at TheLadders | Help | Site Map | Publisher Tools | Privacy | Terms of Use Connect with TheLadders
Affiliates | Jobs | Job Directory | Top Companies | Resume Services | Career Line News | Executive Jobs UK Copyright 2012 TheLadders