In recent years, the IT industry has grown significantly to become one of the biggest employers. With IT applications expanding to all sectors, the number of jobs in this industry keeps increasing as more and more companies establish fully-fledged IT departments.
There are many benefits of getting a job in the IT industry. First, the great pay packages and benefits that the industry offers employees. The other benefit is the numerous growth opportunities that the industry offers.
Even so, getting a good, well-paying job in the IT industry isn’t as easy as it sounds. To successfully secure such as job, you need to prepare well by getting a tech degree or finding ways to leverage your unique skills.
If you want to work in the IT industry, here are some useful tips you may apply:
1. Understand The Kind Of Jobs In the IT Industry
With IT services being applied in different sectors, companies are increasingly looking for reputable service providers, like shipshapeit.com, or capable in-house employees to run their IT departments and fill various IT-related positions.
This has created numerous IT jobs that range from sector-specific IT systems, like health and finance industries, to network management and social media management in government entities and corporates.
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This variety presents unique opportunities for individuals who have IT backgrounds to specialize in areas that they’re most comfortable in.
Additionally, IT professionals can choose the kind of positions they wish to hold in a given sector. For instance, in healthcare, employees can decide to work in the electronic health records area or take up a position in the hospital billing system.
Since job requirements vary, knowing how you want to work and which area you want to work in can go a long way in helping you succeed in job interviews and prepare for a future IT career.
2. Align Your Work Experience To The IT Industry
If you decide to get a job in the IT industry, you’ll need to evaluate your past experience and align it to the job requirements in the industry. In most cases, the skills or requirements that are listed on IT job postings are largely technical.
Even so, are continually seeking to hire staff who have soft skills and other kinds of transferable skills to take up IT jobs.
By taking time to carefully evaluate the previous roles that you’ve held through the lens of the IT job that you’re seeking, you’ll quickly find a treasure of relevant experience.
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For instance, if you’re looking for an entry-level IT position, such as working as a help desk assistant, being able to handle customer services, having good communication, and the needed ability to work with Microsoft Office can give your resume a significant boost, highlighting you as the ideal candidate for the job.
The best way to showcase your experience is to customize a new resume that highlights the relevant experience that fits the IT role that you’re looking for. Remember, employers will most likely look at your LinkedIn profile during the recruitment process.
As such, use the new resume to revise your profile to ensure that it reflects what you have on your resume.
Also, take time to craft a cover letter that highlights your previous experience and the value you bring to the IT job. If your desire is to shift to the IT industry from a different industry, explain why you’ve decided to do so. All this information will enable you to pique the interest of recruiters in the IT industry.
3. Get Relevant Certifications
One of the easiest ways to get a job in the IT industry is to be certified for a certain skill or area. While earning a degree in IT can take between one year and four years, studying for a certification only takes a few weeks.
Fortunately, there are numerous entry-level certifications that you can choose to get. These include ITIL, Network+, CompTIA A+, and Security+. Getting one or several of these certifications will enable you to create a solid foundation for IT jobs in the cybersecurity and networking space.
The reason why certifications are a must-have in the IT industry is the fact that they demonstrate your skills level to potential employers. If you don’t have the kind of experience that employers are looking for, certifications are a great way of bridging that gap.
There are IT roles that place applicants who have the right certifications much higher than those who have no certifications or limited certifications.
Better still, having IT certifications creates more opportunities for entry-level applicants. This gives you a wider pool of IT jobs to choose from, as opposed to settling on the first job that comes your way.
To get an IT certification, you can opt for self-study, hands-on training, or an in-person study model, and then take a certification exam.
If you have minimal or no IT experience, consider taking an expert-taught course that has real experiences. This will enable you to ask questions and develop a deeper understanding of the topic.
If your experience in the IT industry is minimal, another learning technique that you could embrace is to take a hands-on course where you can actually interact with the technology that you’ll be using on the job that you’re seeking.
4. Leverage Any Degree Outside IT
When you’re searching for any job, you want to ensure that the requirements of that job are properly aligned with what you studied in your first degree.
If your degree isn’t in an IT field, you may have numerous questions on whether it’s still relevant to the IT role that you may be seeking as you prepare your application.
In reality, there’s no need to worry about this matter because there are numerous employers in the tech space that are more inclined to hiring applicants simply because they’ve earned a degree.
Instead of paying too much attention to how taking your degree costs you funds and time, shift your energy towards exploring how the knowledge you have would be applicable in the IT industry.
For instance, if you hold a degree in literature, you’ll be able to take a more creative approach to solve problems and even have superior communication and writing skills.
Likewise, a person who holds a degree in philosophy will have the strength to understand logic much deeply and a unique way of approaching challenges.
With the IT industry evolving rapidly in recent years, the demand for people who bring unique perspectives drawn from different backgrounds is on the rise. By demonstrating that your degree is a valuable asset, you’ll position yourself in a much advantageous position compared to other applicants who only have experience in tech or computers.
5. Build Relevant IT Skills And Experience
The IT industry is broad. As such, there are numerous skills that you can develop to improve your resume. From learning how to use WordPress and using various social media platforms to become a pro in customer service software, having relevant IT skills can give you an edge over other applicants during your hunt for an IT job.
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The best thing about developing IT skills is that you don’t have to join a formal course in a reputable learning institution. You can leverage the wide range of free online resources, like YouTube videos, to learn new skills and even sharpen existing ones that you may already have.
In addition to acquiring IT skills, consider building relevant experience in your area of specialization. The best way to do this is to volunteer in local businesses or charities. For instance, you can volunteer to provide tech support or take help desk calls in a charity or business to hone your IT skills.
As you develop your IT skills, consider becoming a techie by learning IT development. Familiarize yourself with HTML. Learn how to use JavaScript, which is one of the foundational internet languages. Learn how to use other operating systems besides Windows.
You can easily do this by installing an operating system, such as Linux, on your computer. Whatever you do, immerse yourself in computer language and the techie aspects of the internet by building websites and writing programs using the IT knowledge and skills that you have. Doing so enables you to create a portfolio of sample work that you can showcase during job interviews.
6. Be Willing To Begin With Entry-Level Jobs
As you search for a job in the IT industry, it can be demoralizing to think that you’re starting all over again compared to the position you were holding in the other industry. For instance, you may have worked as an advanced professional or manager in the industry that you’re coming from.
The easiest way to address this problem is to set your mind on starting off by taking entry-level IT jobs.
The beauty of embracing such jobs is the fact that you get to gain valuable experience when working at the bottom of the ladder. This alone will allow you to grow and prepare you for taking up more challenging roles in the IT industry.
The pay for such a position shouldn’t worry you because, in IT, the earning potential is limited by the amount of work you invest in. Even so, you can climb up the pay ladder within a few years if you get strategic certification such as cybersecurity certification.
With such certification, you’ll be able to work as a cybersecurity analyst, which is an IT job that pays a minimum of $65,000 per year.
As such, your earning potential is largely dependent on your readiness to invest in extra learning in order to master your craft. Getting an IT degree and a few certifications can give you a head start in the industry, enabling you to grow significantly.
Narrowing your education and certification to a specific IT niche is a reflection of the commitment you have to the industry–an aspect that places you ahead of other applicants. Taking this move also prepares you to take on more advanced roles in the future.
7. Be Open To Networking
Networking is an extremely powerful tool when it comes to searching for jobs. When seeking to fill a position, most employers prefer to get someone based on recommendations that are provided by individuals they trust, as opposed to interviewing and picking a person from a pool of strangers.
To build strategic connections, consider using professional networking platforms, like LinkedIn, to reach individuals who are well connected in the tech world.
Start by sending a post to let your connections know that you’re searching for a job in the IT industry. You may even proceed to ask your social media connections whether they’re aware of companies that are seeking to fill IT-related positions.
If you manage to get the right connection, you’ll have a huge advantage over your competition. This may be the chance you need to spark your growth in an IT career.
In addition to using LinkedIn, consider leveraging Twitter and Facebook to search for IT jobs.
Through these platforms, you can discuss your interests in the IT industry to build rapport with different people, allowing them to know more about you. Expand your social network to Q&A sites where you can showcase your IT knowledge and skills by answering IT-related questions.
By doing this, you get a chance to build trust with other people. Though these social media interactions may appear simple, they can easily turn into the meaningful leads that you need to get a job in the IT industry.
Final Thoughts
It’s possible to get a job in the IT industry regardless if you have experience or seeking to work in the industry for the first time after trying jobs in other industries.
Advancements in tech and its application across sectors have made IT an industry that has the highest number of jobs.
But this doesn’t make getting an IT job a walk in the park. Despite the high number of jobs in the industry, you’ll need to prepare well if you want to secure an IT job. You can do this by applying the tips discussed above.