With the start of the new year it is time for new years resolutions. High on your list should be improving your professional skill sets. Learning a new skill or improving on an existing skill will benefit you for years to come. One of the least expensive ways to improve and increase your skills is to read good books on the subject.
Some of you may be job hunting or at risk of losing your job during these tough economic times. Adding to your skill sets will make you a more appealing candidate. Perhaps you are looking to move up in your organization. Improving your skills will allow you to demonstrate your value to the organization and open new doors of opportunity.
First you should determine what skills you want to develop. There is no sense in wasting time or money on a skill that will not benefit you. Do you need to improve your presentation skills (who doesn’t)? Would you benefit from becoming more productive? Do you need to work on your interpersonal skills? Examine your job or a job you want and determine what skills you need to develop.
Here are some suggestions of best selling books to help you improve your skills.
What is AITP? AITP offers opportunities for Information Technology (IT) leadership and education through partnerships with industry, government and academia. AITP provides quality IT related education, information on relevant IT issues and forums for networking with experienced peers and other IT professionals.
Research has proven that membership in professional organizations offer advantages to IT professionals. The opportunities for networking and learning to improve your skill sets will enhance your career.
Join an elite network of Information Technology professionals, educators, and students dedicated to continuing education, professional growth, leadership, and the exploration of issues that face the IT industry.
Access the highest quality IT educational opportunities and forums for networking with experienced professionals and those new to our field. Additional benefits are provided by the AITP through our strategic partnerships with top businesses and affiliate organizations dedicated to helping us achieve our mission of connecting our members with an unsurpassed level of resources and education.
While many U.S. job seekers are struggling to find employment, and workers can attest that it’s a tough economy to work in, industry experts say that certain sectors – like information technology (IT) – are experiencing growth and moving along this economic rollercoaster headstrong.
According to the 2009 Robert Half International Salary Guide, information technology (IT) is one of the few bright spots in the job market, and remains relatively low in unemployment ranks (less than 2 percent), which can be attributed to the proliferation of new technology and the need for professionals to support new technological initiatives.
According to an Employment Projections Report for 2006–2016 from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the IT industry is among the top in projected wage and salary employment growth. The report projected computer software engineers would see a 44 percent employment growth; and network systems and data communications analysts would see a 53 percent employment growth.
During these troubled times IT Management is challenged to cut cost while expanding services. EMA addresses some of these issues in their recently announced free Webinars for December.
These include launching a Configuration Management System, doing more with less and why Quality of Experience is on the rise.
Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) (www.enterprisemanagement.com), a leading IT management research and consulting firm, today announced it will host a number of free Webinars focused on IT management during the month of December 2008.
The EMA Webinars set for December include:
Safari Books Online has added the official Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) to its digital library service. This expands their titles focused on IT Service Management, Infrastructure and Development and Operations.
Safari Books Online, the leading provider of on-demand digital libraries for technology and business professionals, today announced the extension of its collection to include the official Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) book series, which provides guidelines, processes and best practices for managing information technology infrastructure, development and operations.
The new Version 3 ITIL series provides customers with a detailed description of important IT practices and includes comprehensive check lists, tasks and procedures that can be tailored to any IT organization. The books are published by The Stationery Office (TSO) on behalf of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), a United Kingdom Government office that is part of HM Treasury.
IT Governance has launched a U.S. version of their online shopping web site. IT Governance specializes in books and tools in the areas such as Best Practice, Business Continuity, Compliance, Corporate Governance, IT Governance, Information Security, ITIL, Project Management and Risk Management.
The new web site, www.itgovernanceUSA.com, will be a one-stop-shop service delivering highly relevant knowledge, tools and advice to help IT leaders adopt best practice. It extends the capabilities of the existing IT Governance www.27001.com site but also leverages existing distribution facilities to support the sale and delivery of a select range of products for IT governance, risk management and compliance.
Despite a downturn in the economy research by Robert Half International shows some bright spots in the IT industry. With shortages of qualified candidates to fill critical positions, IT professionals with the right training and credentials will still be in demand in 2009.
“Companies highly value employees who can identify cost efficiencies, develop long-range business strategies and maximize the use of technology,” said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International. “Adding to the competition for those with specialized skills is a growing reluctance on the part of many professionals to leave secure employment situations in an unpredictable economy. This has made it a challenge for hiring managers to attract these workers.”
The report points out that while other sectors are seeing increases in unemployment, the IT sector has a relatively low unemployment rate. New technologies and Web 2.0 initiatives and helping drive the demand for certain IT skill sets.
CAI’s IT Metrics and Productivity Institute has launched an online library of recorded, educational lectures that will teach CIO’s and senior IT practitioners around the world how to leverage best practices to compete in the global marketplace while dramatically improving the productivity and quality of their software development and maintenance organizations.
The “Software Best Practices” online library will include lectures by over 50 of the world’s leading industry experts including Capers Jones, author of 14 software management books and Chief Scientist Emeritus of Software Productivity Research, Ed Yourdon, author of “Decline and Fall of the American Programmer,” David Garmus, author and former President of the International Function Point User’s Group, Peter Hill, President of the International Software Benchmarking Standards Group, Dr. Robert Charette, world renowned software risk management expert, and Paul Strassmann, former CIO for the US Department of Defense. You can review the complete list of presenters by visiting http://www.itmpi.org/webinars.
The best thing you can do to enhance your IT career is stay up to date on training and get certifications. A lot of work done in IT today is project work. Adding project management skills to your skill sets will greatly enhance your worth and your ability to contribute to your company.
The top five project management skills an IT professional should look at to add to their toolbox include:
PMP - Project Management Institute’s Project Management Professional
Individuals who hold PMI’s PMP credential demonstrate a proficient level of project management leadership skills, and as a result are able to command salaries that exceed those of their non-credentialed counterparts. To be eligible for a PMP credential, you must meet specific guidelines that objectively measure experience, education and professional knowledge.
For more information about PMP certification visit the Project Management Institute web site.
Are you looking to move up in your organization or move on to a better job? Improving your skill set will benefit you in both situations. There are many skills valued by managers, but which skills do they find most valuable?
Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com recently surveyed 3169 hiring managers. One of the results of this survey identified the skills hiring managers look for most often.
Most Desired Skills
Hiring managers often use electronic scanners to rank candidates using keywords to search resumes. The terms employers search for most often are:
- problem-solving and decision-making skills (50 percent)
- oral and written communications (44 percent)
- customer service or retention (34 percent)
- performance and productivity improvement (32 percent)
- leadership (30 percent)
- technology (27 percent)
- team-building (26 percent)
- project management (20 percent)
- bilingual (14 percent)
