IT Career

An IT Career may sound like an attractive proposition, however it's worth being aware of what you're letting yourself in for. You will see many very highly paid IT or computer jobs knocking around that companies cannot fill, but there's usually a reason why it's highly paid, and also why it's currently unfilled.

My IT Career, I think I can therefore I can ...

When approaching an employer at interview time, be aware that this attitude is probably the most prevalent reason for not hiring.. If you say you can learn something, employers are often prepared to take a risk. If on the other hand you claim feats you can't achieve, as soon as you're called on ONE point and found to be lacking , the jig is up.

What they don't know I don't know, can't hurt my IT Career ...

If you're fortunate enough to come through an Interview process as the top candidate and are offered the position, then  one of the following will apply;

• Spot on - you can do exactly what they think you can do
• Understated - you can do 'way more' than they are expecting of you
• Overstated - they're going to ask you to do things you can't (yet?)

From a life / pressure point of view, decide before you walk into an interview which category you'd like to be in if you get the job. If you are looking at taking a position for the long term, "spot on" is fine, but if you are looking for a position and aiming for relatively rapid promotion, you really want to be in the "understated" category.

If you're aiming at the Overstated category (for the salary maybe)? then bear in mind you're likely to have a high pressure learning curve to contend with, AND there's always the possibility that you may not last three months.

Why is three months an issue? Well .. when you go for your "next" interview, the interviewer is going to want to know "what happened", and unless you can be really creative "I couldn't do the job" isn't going to impress them. Bear in mind they're going to be more interested in a reference from the 3-month  employer than that the previous <n> year employer.

An <X> Qualification will "make" my IT Career ...

No, it won't. What you can do will "make" your career, having the bit of paper may (or may not) help you obtain the position you want. These days qualifications are becoming less and less valuable as they're dumbed down by more and more people becoming "qualified". In addition, qualifications are becoming relatively generic with regards to the skills usually required to do a specific job.

Having a CCNA for example is very useful in a Cisco environment, however having the bit of paper will (a) cost you (b) give you a lot of 'theoretical' knowledge and (c) not train you to do much that doesn't involve a box with the word "Cisco" on the front.

RHCE, great, but unless the employer has taken the examination himself, how is he going to assess he usefulness of the qualification in the context of the job.

So, use letters and qualifications to help you get an interview, when you're in the Interview, forget your qualifications and revert to what you know.

My IT Career will reward me handsomely ...

Well, it may or it may not, depending on which sector of the business you get into and how good at it you are.

On the top shelf you'll find good programmers and problem solvers.

On the next shelf down you'll find people with specialised maintenance knowledge prepared to be on call or to work long hours.

Down again and you'll find web designers, incidental programmers / scripters and on-site computer / network engineers.

Then in the bottom drawer you'll find people who're either not old enough to be convincing, who've not learnt anything specific to a high enough level to be useful on their own, and the IT helpdesk crowd.

For a scarily accurate comic portrayal of what it's really like in the bottom drawer, take a look at the Channel 4 series, "the IT crowd".

My IT Career will let me work from home ...

Possibly, but it's still not that common. It's not something you're going to get to do unless you already have a lot of experience, know the job inside out, and are trusted implicitly by your manager.

My IT Career will let me name my own price ...

No it won't. The figure listed on the advert is the amount they're going to pay unless you are *really* overqualified for the position .. in which case they're going to look at you and wonder how long it will be before you get so bored at working below your true potential.

By all means angle for the upper end of the scale, but never try to barter for a salary higher than the one advertised. If you think you're the best candidate, and that they really want you, but you want more money, let them offer you the job,  turn it down because something else has "popped up" which is the same but for money money - then leave it in their court to offer you more.

My IT Career will give me flexible working hours ...

Almost certainly, at least to some extent. The trade-off however is that your employer is likely to want the same in return. If you are working on server maintenance for example and the server goes down at 10pm, and it's an important server, there is probably a strong managerial desire not to have the server still down at 9am the following morning.

You're not selling me ...

Correct, this is not a promotional text, it's designed to help both employers and job seekers alike. The last thing an employer needs it a new employee with unrealistic aspirations or non-existent skills. The last thing you need is to be stuck in a position you hate.

Once you're there you really want to be there for a minimum of 6-12 months unless you want an unsightly scar on your CV, so it's worth thinking carefully before jumping.

My IT Career Checklist

Consider this before applying for a job, and if offered the job, before accepting it;

• Is it initially going to pay what I need it to ?
  
• Do I have the level of skills required to match my aspirations re; promotion ?
• Are the benefits being offered going to suit me in the medium term ?
• Can I *really* do the job ?
• Am I leaving scope to impress the employer if hired ?
• Do I want to do as much work as the employer is likely to ask me to ?
• Can I stick it for at least 6 months irrespective of whether I like it ?
• Is this something I really *want* to do ?

Who are you and why are you talking such bollocks?

Good question, I'd be asking the same.

I have over 25 years experience of working in the IT sector with 3000 + interviews and 300+ hirings under my belt.

(and a dismissal rate that is also in three digits)

You might like to say (or might like to think) I'm wrong, on the other hand  it wouldn't be that extraordinary if you found me on the other site of the table when arriving at your next interview.