Certification Magazine - January 2008 - (Page 23)

tifications for entry-level positions. These include CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, Wireless# from CWNP and various desktop credentials available from Microsoft. The other intermediate and higherend certifications, like the Microsoft Certified Information Technology Professional or Cisco Certified Network Professional, should really only be attained when you achieve the required industry experience. your professionalism starts with demonstrating it by how you dress and speak in interviews. It’s shown through your writing ability in a cover letter and proven through your references. You can also demonstrate your professionalism by joining an IT association like the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) or the British Computer Society (check your country for its own version). However, just joining a professional association is not enough; you have to adhere to the code of conduct that each association sets down. By joining these associations, you are also helping them achieve their goals of getting the IT profession recognized alongside other professions like law, medicine, accounting and engineering. This is what will separate you from the amateurs of IT who give IT professionals a bad name. Soft Skills Within and without the IT profession, businesspeople have realized that while the skill to implement an information technology solution is important, it cannot be the sole asset that today’s professional pos- Soft skills are a big requirement in the IT ﬁeld, allowing IT professionals to navigate upward in an organization. Check CertScope to read more than 120 CertMag articles and link to 70 Web sites covering the topic in depth. Determination Although you will hear of some people getting their first job in IT straightaway, the majority of people have to wait weeks, months or sometimes even years to get their first break. Remember, you are trying to enter a competitive and skilled area, so patience is a virtue. Learn from your setbacks, and turn those negative rejections into positive criticisms that you can use to better yourself. If you find that after several months you don’t get a call back for submitted resumes, you may want to work with a resume writer who will be able to assist you in targeting your past experience in other industries and the specific things that HR managers in the information technology field are looking for. Always remember that the toughest part of building a career in information technology is getting those first and second positions to build your experience. Your determination, expressed through your commitment to building yourself through academics, certifications and professional memberships, as well as your tenacity at pursuing a position, will pay dividends toward helping you make that tricky transition into the information technology field. 8 Wayne Anderson is a highly certified instructional consultant and the certification lead for Avanade, a global Microsoft consultancy. Ken Wagner is an IT network manager and parttime IT lecturer in the United Kingdom. He has lived in the United States, Asia and Europe. You can contact them both at editor@certmag.com. sesses. For the modern professional, the technical skill to build and implement a solution or to support a user needs to be balanced with the ability to relate to people around you. While information skills can be gained through study and focused training, there is only so much tutoring that an organization can do with an individual in the soft skills area. This is yet another area where your previous experience may be a significant asset in targeting your first or second IT opportunity. Some of the candidates you are competing against may be from a high school or college background and will not have had the same opportunity you may have had in your previous career to work on confidence, responsibility, integrity, self-management and teamwork. Employees in the IT department need to be able to interact with people at all different levels, in any environment, both in providing a service as well as advancing their careers to the next level. Professionalism Professionalism is established both by validating your ability to act as a professional and by your specific capacity to operate in the IT industry. Proving January 2008 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE 23 http://www.CertMag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Certification Magazine - January 2008

Certification - January 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Data Stream Tech Careers Academic Connection Dear Techie Virtual Village Making the IT Leap: How to Move Into the Industry Inside Certification Phoning It In: Telecommuting Systems and Networks Engineer Interface Band of Brothers: Why You Should Join an IT Association Ad Index Endtag

Certification Magazine - January 2008

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