Avoiding Common Mistakes that could Hurt your IT Career
With the amount of technology jobs increasing day after day, it is important to be able to excel in this industry. IT staffing firms are seeing that everyday people are trying to break into the field and take over positions in order to further their career and make a name for themselves. Your IT career can be challenging and competitive, but as long as you avoid making costly and common mistakes, you’ll have a solid chance at making it to where you want to go. These mistakes include everything from the way you focus on your current position, to how you are striving to better your overall career.
As an IT professional, you should be thinking about everything from the start. Before your first job you should have thought about where you wanted to be in a few years, if you didn’t then now is your time to start. Having a plan and backing it up is extremely crucial to your success. You need goals that you look to on a constant basis in order to motivate you for the success you desire.
IT staffing firms have seen three common mistake trends when IT professionals come to them and talk about what kind of position they’re looking for next. Here are three mistakes that you should avoid throughout your entire IT career:
Acting like you know it all
With the constant advances in technology it is impossible for someone to genuinely know everything about the IT industry. Many professionals try to be good at every facet of the industry, meaning that they don’t focus on building their expertise on specific facets of the industry, and they are instead all over the place.
For many companies quality is more beneficial than quantity. They prefer to have someone that is extremely knowledgeable and talented at specific skill sets, rather than have someone that seems too scattered, therefore not knowing enough about the certain skills the company is looking for.
While having an array of skills can be beneficial to your IT career and garner you some attention by employers, focusing and becoming an expert at certain aspects can make you a true benefit to a company. IT staffing firms recommend to get certified, commit to going through training and attend conferences to be able to absorb as much information about a certain niche of the industry.
Thinking that all you need is to be good at technical skills
Clearly you need to have the right technical skills to make it in the tech world, but IT staffing firms are noticing that job seekers are lacking in other aspects that would be necessary for positions. The IT industry calls for a substantial amount of team work and if you aren’t able to clearly communicate with your team, your work will not be beneficial.
Having great interpersonal skills and possessing the ability to be both a leader and a follower makes you a solid asset to your technology team. You should also be willing to be both the teach and the student. Taking and giving constructive criticism respectfully will help you generate a positive relationship with your team. This will help you in the future when you’re looking for recommendations and you’ll always have a solid group of professional connections.
Forgetting about your accomplishments
Unfortunately, it is common for IT staffing firms to come across résumés or professional profiles that don’t show all of their experience and skills. Even if you are content with your current position, keeping track of what you accomplish, especially ones that end up improving your company’s success, site traffic, production, etc. is essential. Include anything that you’ve done that has made a substantial difference any company would love to have, including an idea that decreased cost or increased revenue. This not only will help you grow in the IT industry and be recognized by high profile employers, but also if you are happy with your position but looking for a raise, you can show them how much you have meant to the company’s success.
Avoiding common mistakes among other members of the IT industry will make you stand out. Being a team player, someone that is willing to learn and looking out for yourself and your future, will help you grow and end up where you want to be in your career.
Contact InfoVision, a highly regarded IT staffing firm, for more tips and information about your IT career!