IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net How To Put Your Career in Overdrive! Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:44:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 38.631451-90.214154http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/http://www.it-career-coach.nethttp://feeds.feedburner.com/BecomeAProgrammer.3.gifHow To Improve Your Skills Or Become An ExpertBecomeAProgrammerhttp://feedburner.google.comYour Guide to Top Paying Jobs in High Demand Careers Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BecomeAProgrammer/~3/JABBwP61kI4/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/02/09/programming-interviews-exposed-secrets-to-landing-your-next-job/#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:50:32 +0000 Ask IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2779 how to: ace technical interviews and land jobs

how to: ace technical interviews and land jobs

This question was submitted by Vijay who needs advice on “how to ace programming interviews and land the next job!“

If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering Vijay’s questions below!

Question: How To Impress Hiring Manager at Programming Interviews

Here is the question submitted by Vijay:

On my last job I was given a technical test to write nested SQL queries.

I did not write the nested SQL query in one statement rather I created a temp table and then later join the results.

Even though the rest of the interview went ok and was able to answer other technical questions on face to face interview.

I am looking for an entry level job and I have been practicing my programming skill in C#/ASP.net and SQL queries, but in the last interview I missed the nested query question and I am thinking that it is because of this that am not selected.

So how should some one impress the hiring manager if they have not performed well on the written technical questions.

How can somebody cover the weakness in one skill while other skills are stronger and impress the hiring manager.

Thanks

Vijay

Answer: Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job

Knowing how to ace technical interviews is important because it determines whether you land the next job or not.

With this in mind, here is some advice on how to ace your next technical interview or get a job.

  1. Self Confidence at Programming Interviews: failing to get one technical / programming question is usually not enough to fail you at the interview.

    The real reason is that you lost confidence after missing one (1) technical question and the hiring manager noticed that!

    It may not be realistic to expect that you will pass all your technical questions. What you need to do, is to continue in a self assured or confident manner as that signals that you know what you are doing!

    For more information, read this post titled: “Fear And Self Confidence In Programming Interviews“.

  2. Kaizen Principle Applied To Programming Interviews: there is a Japanese quality improvement term known as Kaizen.

    Kaizen practitioners achieve significant results through small, incremental improvements.

    What this means for you is that, you can land the next computer programmer job making incremental improvements in your performance at the job interview!

    Bringing it home, you should make a note of all your weak technical skills like nested sql queries and then practice and improve on it before your next programming job interview.

    Also, you should keep a journal of all the questions that find challenging at job interviews and then research, practice and improve on them.

  3. How To Impress Hiring Managers: note that it is hard to impress the hiring manager if you fail to perform at the job interview.

    So, a better question to ask may be: how do I impress the hiring manager at a programmer job interview?

    If you really want to impress the hiring manager, start your preparing for technical interviews really early … before you have to take them!

    Why? … Because making significant improvements in skill level takes time. So, it cannot be treated like you are ordering fast food or buying soda from a vending machine!

    So start preparing intensively for your programming job interview really early and you will have the knowledge needed to impress hiring managers!

This post is one in a series dedicated to answering questions submitted by readers.

If you have a burning question or challenging situation in your career … be sure to post it as a comment on this page and we will take care of it for you!

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Business Analysts Learning Computer Programming

Business Analysts Learning Computer Programming

I have been talking to a number of software developers, interested in changing roles to business analysis. If you are one of those software developers, then this post is written to show you how to switch careers from software development :-)

There seems to be some bias against switching roles to business analysis from software development. It’s a subtle form of discrimination from folks who stereotype all software developers as nerds with poor presentation and communication skills!

But is that really true? Are you poorly suited for a business analysis role just because you’re a software developer?

On the contrary, software developers can make good business analysts and I will dedicate the rest of this post to debunking this myth … just as I have done with several urban legends on this blog :-)

There are several reasons why a software developer like you would be interested in changing careers to business analysis and some of these could be:

  1. The Junior Programmer: you are new to computer programming and you are not enjoying it. Hence you wonder if you will be better suited for business analysis

  2. The Experienced Software Developer: you have learned all you can about software development and would like to start a new, challenging career in business analysis.

  3. The Accidental Business Analyst: you take on the roles of a business analyst at your company and you want to get formal recognition as a business analyst for your efforts.

  4. The Soft Skilled Developer: based on your communication, presentation or analysis skills, you feel that you will make a good business analyst.

  5. The Competent Developer: you are seen as being highly competent or responsible by your manager and because of that, you have been tasked with additional business analysis responsibilities..

Whatever the reasons for changing roles to business analysis, you are in for some good news … you are wanted by the job market!

Contrary to what you may think, having a formal software development background can actually prove to be a bonus or an advantage and here are some of the reasons why:

  • Right Background: IT business analysts are required to have a good understanding of the software development life cycle.

    Your background in software development can be used to fulfill that requirement easily.

  • Better Fit: IT managers need business analysts who can understand developers and talk with them at the system level.

    That means having enough technical knowledge to create UML diagrams or entity relationship models or even help translate business requirements into technical specifications.

  • Reduce Risk: IT shops need business analysts with a technical or systems background so that they won’t be at a lost in a challenging or complex software development project.

    When managers undertake a complex software development process, they want to reduce risk by hiring business analysts who can bridge the gap between the software development team and business because of their software developer background.

So, having a software development background puts you at an advantage in such situations.

Can you Market Yourself: The good news is that your software developer background does not have to count against you at the job interview and that is where this article becomes quite helpful!

First, you have to be sure of the value you will bring to your job if you are hired as a business analyst. Next, you have to convey that value clearly to the hiring manager!

So, using this article as reference, elicit all the reasons why hiring you will be helpful and then work on how to convey that to your hiring manager.

Now you’ve learnt how to switch from a traditional software developer role to a business analyst role … it is time to take action!

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]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/02/02/can-developers-make-good-business-analysts/feed/ 0 http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/02/02/can-developers-make-good-business-analysts/ What Career Is Right For Me? http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BecomeAProgrammer/~3/dEMoUWcZ2cw/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/02/01/what-career-is-right-for-me/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:55:00 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2771
Choose The Right Career

Choose Right!


If you are looking to start a new information technology career, you may be wondering about how to choose the right career.

This post helps you answer that question.

After reading this post, feel free to ask a question or discuss the topic by posting your opinion or comments.

  1. What do you love to do? start off by reviewing all the productive things that you love to do and then compile a list of careers from them.

    For example, if you like repairing electronic hardware, you may consider becoming a hardware or network support specialist or if you like writing, you may consider becoming a technical writer or a business analyst.

  2. What do you have some background or experience in?: review your previous working experience or background for skills that you ca re-use in a new IT careers.

    For example, if you have a background in marketing and sales, you may consider becoming a technical recruiter and if you have a background in programming electrical circuits you may consider going into computer programming.

  3. What are you interested in doing? you may develop a list of careers based on what you already know about information technology.

    For example, you may may be interested in becoming a web designer because you are interested in designing flashy or artistic websites or websites.

    While in college, I realized that I had a desire to connect and relate to people.

    I was the kind of person that would sit through and listen to someone’s sad or happy story … so I knew later on, when the opportunity presented itself that I was really interested in becoming a career coach!

  4. Research Job Postings: Job postings on Dice.com, Monster.com, CareerBuilder.NET and other job boards come with a description of each job.

    Using careful, methodical research and analysis, you can categorize these job postings and document the requirements, skill level, technologies or environments for each job.

    Finally, you can review and choose the types of careers that seem interesting based on your research of current demand for skill sets.

  5. SWOT Analysis : you can use a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis to determine the suitability of one career option versus another.

    For example, you can use a SWOT Analysis to compare your suitability for a business analyst job versus your suitability for a computer programming job.

    A SWOT Analysis also helps because it serves as a reality check and it helps you review the assumptions for choosing one career over another.

  6. Consider The Market Demand: you can research a list of jobs and use the information about the demand for each job, salary or compensation and career prospects to determine the attractiveness of each career path.

    This method may suit you, if you are driven or motivated by compensation.

    Also considering the demand for your skills apart from the compensation provides you with better on the future prospects of the career.

    It is a mistake to consider the pay, salary or compensation for a career without considering the market demand for the career because the two things are not the same!

  7. Consider The Learning Curve: how easily you learn, understand or apply information in a new career is a direct result of your suitability for the career.

    For example, if you choose to become a business analyst and you find it hard to study, understand and recall business analysis topics, then you may be going into the wrong profession!

    same thing with being a computer programmer … I have met folks that have computer science degrees from 4 year colleges … yet they can’t read a programming book out of pure self interest or by themselves!

This post addresses the challenge of picking or choosing the right information technology career.

If you have a question or a challenge about this, you may post it as a comment on this page or send it in using our contact form!

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Master Complex SQL Queries

Master Complex SQL Queries

Many database professionals have a hard time writing complex, complicated or advanced SQL queries for the following reasons.

In a healthcare database project that I consulted on, I had to write fairly complicated and efficient SQL queries for physicians at several practices because of their specialized reporting requirements.

The real problem was not the complexity of the physicians database but it’s poor suitability to the physicians reporting needs.

Based on experience gathered from consulting on several database or data analysis projects, I have observed that writing complex or complicated SQL queries, may prove challenging because of the following:

  • Quick and Dirty Database Design: you inherited a bad relational database design and because of that, it takes a number of complex or fairly complicated SQL queries to get answers out of your data.

    For some reason, the database was developed without sufficient thought or planning, limiting the organization’s ability to access its data!

  • Over Normalized Database: you created a perfectly normalized textbook database but now, you need a large number of table joins to access the operational data needed by your organization on a regular basis.

  • Changing Reporting Requirements: the data reporting needs of your organization has grown but your database design has not changed.

    For some reason, you cannot update your database design, so you resort to tasking your database with complex or complicated SQL query statements in a bid to extract answers that it’s not originally designed to report.

  • Complex Data Reporting Requirements: The data reporting requirements of your organization are truly complex and it will typically take a complex amount of SQL query statements to get at your data regardless of how well one designs the relational database.

  • Poor Reporting Requirements: In some cases, complicated SQL queries are written because the data is not well known or understood.

    This is fairly common when SQL queries are written against a large relational data model without understanding the data or relationships between tables in the data model.

    This may also happen when a database developer joins several tables in complex subqueries without realizing that the information could be retrieved from a smaller set of tables.

  • Basic SQL Writing Skills: database developers unaware of the limitations of their SQL query writing skills, may attempt to write SQL queries beyond their skill level.

    This may happen when you are tasked with writing complicated SQL queries without adequate training.

    For example, business analysts, computer programmers or reporting analysts write SQL queries even though that may not be part of their primary functions!

Writing SQL Queries can get complex or complicated if you don’t fully understand what you are dealing with.

To succeed, you need a good understanding of your data, good requirements, strong relational database design as well as strong SQL query writing skills.

Don’t settle for anything less than a clear understanding of your challenge and a strong set of skills for dealing with it!

If you are facing the challenge of writing complex or complicated sql queries, consider a SQL Training Program like the SQLBootCamp where you are taken step by step through the entire SQL Query Writing process … starting from creating a normalized relational databases to writing basic or advanced sql queries!

Just so, you know, SQLBootCamp Online Training can help you Get Started Writing Complex Or Efficient SQL Queries.

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Making Things Happen by Scott Berkun

Making Things Happen

Scott Berkun, a former Microsoft Program Manager shares his views about becoming a project manager in an interesting blog post.

His views are startingly similar to the views posted on our website.

Notice Scott does not start with a long list of educational requirements or certifications for aspiring project managers but with something that you have heard me talk a lot about … hands-on experience!

Scott’s Advice for Aspiring Project Managers:

  • WORK ON A PROJECT.

  • Go make something …

  • Grab a friend and build a website, or a blog, or something. Anything …

  • Build a house. Build a couch. Make a movie …

  • Volunteer your Project Management (PM) skills wherever you can in return for a reference …

  • According to Scott; the best way to market yourself is to get experience, as there is nothing more dangerous for the world than someone who wants to be a project manager but has never managed a project in their life.

Scott is an independent author and public speaker for hire.

His work as a writer and public speaker has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, Wired magazine, and on National Public Radio.

Scott has taught at the University of Washington, blogs for Harvard Business, and has appeared as an innovation expert on CNBC and MSNBC.

I recommend that you click here to read Scott Berkun’s answer to the question: “Should I Become A Project Manager?”

After reading Scott’s post, do this:

  • Advice for College Students: get some hands-on experience before you graduate. Don’t expect your educational qualifications alone to open doors.

  • Advice for Career Changers: Look for opportunities to build hands-on experience. Get your feet into the door at all costs. Click here to learn more about building hands-on experience

  • Advice for IT Professionals: Don’t get complacent by neglecting to buildup hands-on experience. Ask your manager or boss for opportunities to work on challenging, experience building projects. That is one good way to secure your job or your career!

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]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/11/how-to-become-a-project-manager-work-on-a-project/feed/ 0 http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/11/how-to-become-a-project-manager-work-on-a-project/ Giving Effective Feedback to IT Professionals http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BecomeAProgrammer/~3/vT8Sk8QxIuk/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/10/giving-effective-feedback-to-it-professionals/#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 03:06:42 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2756 We Give Feedback!

We Give Feedback!

One of the challenges of self teaching, self learning, CBT courses or traditional class room training is the lack of personalized, one on one performance review or feedback.

Training courses where both instructors and trainees can post or respond to questions are few and far in between.

This is the case even when you pay thousands of dollars for traditional class room training!

This is because training providers typically have an in-flexible curriculum and a set amount of training time to communicate their message!

  • Restricted Training Time: In traditional training courses, you have to learn all the information in a few days.

    Though the trainers may answer a couple of questions daily, they cannot take questions from everyone and also hope to cover their entire training curriculum by the end of the week!

    The good news is: we don’t have the restraints of an inflexible training curriculum or a set training time :-)

    You can login to our Web-Based Learning Management System and post questions or discussions on your own time and our course instructors can answer them on their own time.

    Our course instructors are not trying to rush you through the entire training curriculum in a week, so they can afford to engage your questions on a one to one, personalized basis!

  • College Tutoring: In traditional colleges, instructors get to know their students personally and they review student assignments before assigning grades.

    We have adopted the same learning process in our web-based, online learning management system.

    Each of your hands-on assignments are reviewed by a live, human course instructor before they are graded!

    In our web-based, online learning management system, the instructor may choose to post a discussion, comment or review of your assignment … just for you and not for anyone else.

    • Why Do We Incorporate Feedback In Training?

    So, the question is: knowing that feedback is expensive and time intensive, why do we still choose to include it in our training … at no additional cost?

    • We Make Training Interactive: we believe that more interactive training makes for a better experience.

      We emulate the learning that happens in the real world, where you are always receiving feedback from your bosses, co-workers, customers or friends.

    • We Make Training Effective: we believe that personalized, one on one training makes for better learning … especially in the information technology industry.

      Passive learning like the type you find in a lot of CBT (computer based training) or even information technology text books are usually too boring or tedious to be effective.

    • We Make Training Useful: we believe that IT professionals need more real-world feedback during training … before using their skills on the job!

      It is usually better to receive feedback in training because that is the only time when you are 100% certain that you can ask for feedback and improve or act on it without any adverse consequences!

    This post discusses how we make our online, web-based training more effective, interactive and useful by incorporating one on one personalized feedback or performance reviews.

    If you have any questions about our courses or online training services, be sure to contact us and we will answer it for you!

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    ]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/10/giving-effective-feedback-to-it-professionals/feed/ 0 http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/10/giving-effective-feedback-to-it-professionals/ #3 Success Principle: When It Comes To Experience, Beggars Can’t Be Choosers http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BecomeAProgrammer/~3/anxjHiAu7nk/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/07/3-success-principle-when-it-comes-to-experience-beggars-cant-be-choosers/#comments Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:17:52 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2753
    Beggars Can't Be Choosers

    Beggars Can't Be Choosers

    One of the bigger issues facing IT professionals is: “the challenge of building experience“.

    This challenge exists because employers still require experience for hiring, even when you need their jobs to build experience!

    It’s the classic Catch-22: “chicken or egg which came first challenge” that may be solved through internships or full-time jobs.

    However, internships are getting increasingly competitive (Read More …) and employers are still insisting on handson experience before making job offers.

    Why Internships Are Hard To Get

    For a while, internships helped provide the missing handson experience to IT professionals learning new skills or transitioning careers.

    Now internships are hard to come by because employers are refusing the burden of hiring or managing interns. And here is the reason why:

    1. Productivity: interns need to be managed by experienced employees meaning that productive time will be lost to employers.

      Productive time is lost when experienced workers have to show interns the ropes, supervise or assign work to them.

    2. Risk: employers are unwilling to invest in interns because they are more likely to fail at completing their assigned tasks or duties.

      There is also the added risk of redoing the work done by interns when it fails to meet expectations!

    3. Money: employers hesitate to pay interns because there aren’t sure of the immediate economic benefits and they refuse to hire unpaid interns because unpaid interns also cost money and time to supervise or train!

    How To Build Experience From Scratch … Without A Job

    The challenge facing those that fixate on getting experience through internship programs or full time jobs is that of becoming stumped … when they can’t get either.

    Really, when it comes to getting experience, the key is to stay flexible, creative or open minded because full-time jobs and internship programs are getting harder to come by.

    How To Build Experience From Scratch By Keeping An Open Mind

    • Focus on Smaller Projects: don’t fixate on finding big projects because you are more unlikely to get big project exposure with little or no experience.

      Start with smaller projects first, because that is where your current background, skills or experience is likely to be needed or appreciated.

    • Build Up Experience Gradually: don’t expect to get a ton of experience in a short time. Instead, spread your efforts at building experience over a longer period of time.

      Overtime, the cumulative effect of all your project based work will begin to show and you will be rewarded for your hard work.

    • Don’t Fixate on Money: don’t be too picky about your income when you’re still building up your experience because the ticket to getting paid more money is more experience!

      Start by building your experience first and then work towards a better compensation afterwards!

    • Don’t Think Too Highly of Yourself: don’t be looking down on smaller projects because you’re thinking they’re beneath you and don’t be fretting over the size of your role, task or opportunity either!

      Always put your best foot forward and build up your experience at every turn. Because that is how to ensure that you qualify for bigger projects or even a full time job!

    • Stay Flexible, Creative and Open Minded: be on the lookout for experience building opportunities that don’t fall under traditional internship or full-time jobs.

      For example, you may signup for unpaid, volunteer work or start your own consulting business (yes, you can consult on almost any subject) or register for Hands On IT Career Training (click here for more information)

    Expect that you will always be learning new skills or transitioning careers because of the constantly changing face of technology.

    Understand that staying open minded will help you discover more ways to build handson experience without a job or an internship program.

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    ]]> http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/07/3-success-principle-when-it-comes-to-experience-beggars-cant-be-choosers/feed/ 1 http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/07/3-success-principle-when-it-comes-to-experience-beggars-cant-be-choosers/ #2 Success Principle: Learn How To Self Study Effectively http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BecomeAProgrammer/~3/CDryy6A3sRs/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/05/learn-how-to-self-study-effectively/#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:23:18 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2748

    Jack Reacher Gone Tomorrow

    Jack Reacher

    This series is devoted to the principles required for success in Information Technology (IT) careers.

    Technology is always changing so IT professionals have to stay ahead of the technology curve or risk losing their jobs or careers!
    So you have to constantly update your skills through self study, coaching or training.

    This post discusses how you can stay ahead of the technology curve using self study.

    Contrary to what you may think, self study requires a considerable investment of time, money and effort.

    If you are not aware of this, you may plan to upgrade your skills through self study and only come to a realization of this truth … say after a year or a longer passage of time.

    Not to worry, because this post will help you prepare a more effective self study plan.

    Why An Effective Study Plan Is Needed

    In the IT Industry, approaching self study as if it’s an easy, inexpensive or a quick solution is a recipe for disaster!

    Studying information technology books requires considerable personal effort or discipline because tech books are typically not easy to read, follow or understand.

    Even when you have a lot of personal discipline, it is still hard to say that you have actually learnt a new skill … because you are accountable to no one else but yourself!

    While in College, I discovered that self study is more challenging than it looks. Since I was interested in transitioning to a tech career, I started studying some recommended computer science textbooks .

    Unfortunately, the books were written in a boring, tedious, technical style and after a while, I abandoned my self study plan out of frustration at my slow pace of progress!

    The sad part is that today, many tech books are still written in the same boring, tedious, technical style, which makes is hard for beginners to follow.

    Here is the problem; If you work in an office with other IT professionals like project managers or business analysts, you may look at how they use skills like UML in solving business problems and say to yourself: “I bet that I can learn UML easily by myself”.

    Having decided that, you may then shop at Amazon.com or any bookstore for some text books on how to learn UML.

    Six months later, you may have abandoned your self study plan because the UML text books were hard to read or understand. You will have lost the time, money and effort you invested in your self study plan or find yourself unable to use UML effectively on the job!

    The point is; to succeed at updating your skills, you have to realize that self study is not cheap or easy!

    Realizing that self study requires hard work, diligence or careful planning will help you succeed by preparing you for challenges.

    Why Self Study Is Harder Than You Think

    Reading a novel like the Jack Reacher series is one thing. Studying through a tech textbook on Cloud Computing or Heuristics Design or any tech topic is another!

    Why is that you ask? Because Novels or works of fiction like; Jack Reacher – Gone Tomorrow are like the adrenaline packed Fox.com 24 TV show (starring Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer) on paperback … they are written to entertain, thrill and please you.

    Tech text books on the other hand are written to inform, and the authors do not care if it comes across as dry, abstract or boring!

    To succeed at self study plans, you have to plan for prepare ahead for the challenges. So, here is what you need to know about self study;

    1. Self Study can be boring: It is like having a conversation with yourself, which you can only do for so long.

      Self Study can become boring because tech textbooks are usually not written in a friendly, conversational or easy to follow style.

    2. Self Study is not an accountable process: You can skip the topics you don’t like or understand even when they are useful.

      The danger is with ignoring or skipping hard to understand but important subjects or focusing on easy to read but unimportant topics!

      That is why when you tell a manager or co-worker that you learnt a skill through self study, you may be asked to prove it.

    3. Self Study is not always goal oriented: because it is like driving a car in a foreign country without a roadmap.

      You may buy a good textbook, read it through and yet find yourself unable to retain, recall or reuse that learning at your workplace!

    4. Self Study is not always effective: you may think that you understand a topic, only to fail at answering questions based on the same topic at a job interview!

    5. Self Study is really not cheap: on the contrary, you lose time and money when you fail to qualify for job or employment opportunities because your self study plan is ineffective!

    6. Self Study is not easy: if you are reading a fiction book or a novel like the Jack Reacher Series by Lee Child, you will probably have a good time.

      On the other hand, if you are reading a technical, career or skill oriented book, you may not have a good time because it is written in an abstract, boring or technical style!

    7. Self Study costs more time: because you are not accountable to anyone, you may start studying because you need a job and then stop studying immediately you find one.

      Studying in fits and starts will hurt your career because of its lack of consistency!

    Learn How To Study Effectively

    Self Study is not the cheap, easy or quick path to upgrading your skills.

    Knowing this, here is how to really improve your chances of success using self study plans.

    • Make Self Study Accountable: become accountable to someone other than yourself.

    • Make Self Study Effective: become effective by learning how to retain or recall new facts.

    • Make Self Study Goal Oriented: ensure that your learning results in new skills or the ability to perform new tasks.

    • Make Self Study Practical: incorporate hands-on assignments or exercises in your self study plans.

    • Make Self Study Objective: include some objective feedback using practice tests or quizzes. Click here to learn more about using practice tests or quizzes.

    Assuming that self study is easy, cheap or effective is a recipe for disaster, because it is none of these.

    To succeed, be accountabe to someone, be goal oriented and learn the secrets of effective study skills.

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    ]]>     http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/05/learn-how-to-self-study-effectively/feed/ 0 http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/05/learn-how-to-self-study-effectively/     Harvard Business Review: How To Get A Job Without Experience http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BecomeAProgrammer/~3/wC3SPCk5pac/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/02/harvard-business-review-how-to-get-a-job-without-experience/#comments Sat, 02 Jan 2010 18:31:24 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2746

    Finding Jobs for College Graduates

    Jobs for College Graduates

    Whether you’re launching your career or trying to change its direction, you can get around the Catch-22 issue (“You can’t get a job without experience, and you can’t get experience without a job.”) with humility.

    The solution is to get some humility because today’s shifting job market requires everyone incuding young job seekers and older workers with years of experience to continously reinvent their careers in order to stay marketable in a competitive global economy.

    The lesson is that careers, skills and workplace environments will continute to transition and there is nothing we can do about that because what is marketable and in-demand today may not be wanted tomorrow.

    However, we can succeed if we learn how to transition our skills or careers with humility.

    In an interesting post on Harvard Business Review, Larry Stybel (co-founder of the global career management firm Stybel Peabody Lincolnshire and Executive in Residence at the Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk University) writes on how staying humble helped him transition his career and become a business consultant.

    In reading about Larry’s career transition, you will see that he did not just:

    1. Keep sending resumes out hoping that he will get lucky

    2. Ignore or hope to beat the requirement for experience

    Larry, offered his skills for nothing in exchange for getting the required hands-on experience in his industry.

    He humbly offered his skills for nothing by working two days a week for two months, in exchange for experience.

    His advice: “You’re too proud to offer your services at no charge? Get over it. If you choose the right opportunity, you’ll gain industry or functional experience that has immeasurable value – and will ultimately lead to a real paycheck.”

    Click here to read Larry’s Post: How To Overcome the Catch 22 Dilemna

    After reading the post, here are some exercises that will help you overcome the Catch 22 Dilemna

    1. List companies that have good ideas in your industry and need help with executing them

    2. List how much personal time you can invest on helping others achieve their goals

    3. List the skills that you will offer to executives, companies or employers in excange for hands-on experience

    4. Take action by approaching the companies or executives that you listed and offering your time for paid or non-paid work in exchange for hands-on experience

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    ]]>     http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/02/harvard-business-review-how-to-get-a-job-without-experience/feed/ 0 http://www.it-career-coach.net/2010/01/02/harvard-business-review-how-to-get-a-job-without-experience/     Why Your Resume Gets Tossed http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BecomeAProgrammer/~3/uU0cfq3Yuzc/ http://www.it-career-coach.net/2009/12/17/why-your-resume-gets-tossed/#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:28:15 +0000 IT Career Coach http://www.it-career-coach.net/?p=2743
    Is Mindless Resume Submission Working?

    Is Mindless Resume Submission Working?


    Finding a job is just a numbers game, so submitting my resume to several job postings will get me hired … says a business analyst!

    This is the mindset of some IT job seekers who approach the business of finding a job as if it is purely a numbers game.

    But is a successful job search simply a numbers game or is there more to getting a job than that?

    Why Resumes Get Tossed

    1. Learn It First – Before you start submitting resumes, first learn how to do the job you are applying for.

      Getting the right knowledge and skills does more for your job search because it assures the attention of hiring managers.

      Yet some job seekers assume that they can get the attention of hiring managers by simply re-writing their resume without significantly improving their skills!

      In a real life example, a marketing and sales professional with no real world business analysis knowledge, skills or experience, just keeps rewriting or submitting resumes for business analyst jobs without taking the time to study or learn!

      There is danger when one conditions the mind to act reflexively without thinking.

      Applying for jobs is not meant to be a mindless task that one attempts like an unthinking robot.

      You be the judge of the job prospects of anyone who thinks that “finding a job is just a numbers game“.

    2. Which Comes First Learning Or Doing – learning has always been the forerunner to doing. You always have to learn a career before you can start performing the roles, responsibilities or duties belonging to the career.

      As a basic rule, everyone has to first learn a skill before they can start producing or working with the skill.

      In some careers, the practice of learning before doing is regulated and enforced by law.

      For example, you cannot become a Medical Doctor without going though Medical school and training. And you cannot just assume that you are a Medical Doctor and start submitting your resume for jobs without first learning, studying for and passing medical examinations.

      In information technology careers, the practice of learning before doing is not enforced by laws or exams or any set of IT schools because it is enforced by the Information Technology (IT) employer.

      Employers want to know that you’ve mastered the knowledge, skills and experience needed for the job before you are hired.

      And when you think of the rigorous credentialing, certification and licensing standards applied to other non information technology careers, you will agree that IT employers are not asking for much!

      The good news is that, it is not how you learn new skills, careers or work that matters (self study, books, coaching, training, college is ok) but that you learn it well … in a rigorous, thorough, step by step way!

    3. Learning Comes Before Finding A Job – employers don’t want to re-train new hires. In other words, job postings are written for those who will be productive from day one.

      What this means is that if you are looking for a new job, you need to take the time to learn or master the skills required for the job and not just shop your resume around.

      Posting your resume mindlessly without first learning the required skills is a black hole that either sucks up your time and energy or brands you in a negative light as thoughtless to employers.

    4. Take a Personal Inventory of your Skills – Do yourself a favor during this holiday season.

      Take a personal inventory of the skills required for your job. List all the skills required; (for example: UML, Use Cases, Requirements Management, SQL, Databases) and then rate yourself on a scale of one to ten on each skill.

      Finally, take the time to study, learn and improve on your weak areas because that is one of the best gifts you can give to yourself or your family!

    This post discusses why most resumes get tossed by hiring managers. If you have a question or need some help with your career, post it as a comment on this page and we will be glad to answer it for you!

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