IT Certifications vs. College Degrees: What’s the Way to Go?

Ask ten different experts and you’ll get strong support for both sides of this topic. Choosing between an IT Certification or College Degree comes down to what specifically are you interested in doing within the IT career field? If you are focused on a very narrow specialty, certifications can provide the job specific, hands on training that you need to get on track quickly. If you wish to explore a broader view of IT, degrees are, of course, a great learning experience.

The ideal, if you have the opportunity, is to do both because the two combined help each other and give your resume a competitive edge. IT certifications are always a great starting point, especially in the early stages of your career.  Showing that you have mastered specific IT skills helps get a foot in job doors and puts you in good standing against people with more experience. You can always opt to add a degree as you progress. You may even be able to get your company to sponsor you to get a degree.

If you can only do one – go for the IT certifications. It’s a less time and less money approach to getting solid credentials for specific jobs.

Check out our COO, Sonia Petkewich, talking up IT certifications vs. degrees on Technology Review Show.

Taurean Consulting Group provides access to top in-demand online training and certification courses to help you advance your technology and professional career. Browse our courses here. We are currently running a special thru December 31, 2016: Use Promo Code MACK2016 at checkout for 70% off of all our courses.

Get in touch with any questions or if you’d like to discuss a personalized career strategy with a Taurean IT Career Specialist.

The Soft Skills Important to Hiring Managers Today

The term Soft Skills is increasingly popping up in hiring circles as well as fast becoming the go-to decider for choosing one candidate over another. What are Soft skills? How do they differ from the job-relevant capabilities, or namely hard skills that have traditionally reinforced the strength of a candidate for a given position?

Soft skills refer to those skills that demonstrate how you approach your work, particularly your ability to self-manage, handle emotions and people under pressure. No matter how elevated the hard skill expertise you have developed, your long-term career and leadership success can really hinge on your ability to master these important so-called soft skills.

Here are 5 essential soft skills that can help take your career to new levels:

1.    Work Ethic / Positive Attitude

It’s important to exude a positive attitude toward maintaining high standards in the workplace. Show that you take pride in your work, get to work and meetings on time, and manage your time efficiently. Show that you are resilient and can easily adapt to change, and that you can be counted on to get the job done as well as provide constructive support as part of a team. When you demonstrate that you care about the quality of every aspect of your work you distinguish your value to the company.

2.    Communication

Communication skills are on the top priority list for any company.  The ability to write and speak articulately in business situations is essential in developing and maintaining strong interpersonal relationships. Strong communication is also the key to standing out to management and facilitating your personal growth and success. 

3.    Confidence

When you align a positive mindset and work ethic with confidence you’ll soon see the benefits. Exuding confidence increases your visibility within the workplace and convinces management that you can run successful projects, teams and meetings as well as make good decisions for the company. It’s also the winning ticket to the promotion, new role and salary increase that you’ve set your sights on.

4.    Problem Solving

Creative and innovative problem solving is highly valued in the workplace. Big or small, if you can analyze, assess and provide successful solutions to business challenges, you immediately boost your personal worth within the company.

5.    Conflict Resolution

Managing conflict resolution in a positive way is a critical skill if you plan to move    up in your career. This requires the ability to influence, persuade, negotiate and resolve interpersonal conflicts both in the best interest of the company and the   relationships of the people involved.

Important for Job Candidates

If you don’t feel strong in any of these skills, make it your focus to learn. The time and investment in doing what it takes to improve in these areas will pay off greatly. Soft skills will not only help increase your work performance and build solid relationships, they can help take you all the way to the top of your career goals.

Important for Hiring Managers

The most important thing for hiring managers is to establish upfront what is the one most important thing that makes you believe that the employee is:

·      Invested In Their Job

·      Eager To Work

·      Committed To Get Things Done

Using this approach can help uncover which soft skills are priorities not only for any given position but also to ensure productive working relationships within the workplace culture.

The Importance Of Networking When You Have A Job

Networking tends to be the first point of thought if we find ourselves out of a job. Or it’s that piece of advice we’re given when starting out on our career path. Yet making the most out of networking when you have a job can be one of the most important investments of your time you’ll make. Networking doesn’t just help you find opportunities when you’re out of work, it can be vital to helping advance your career when you have a job. So don’t sit quietly at your desk all day long. Get up, get out and talk to people!

Build A Network Before You Need It

Simply put, networking increases your value at any stage of your career. Look to build your network and connections both within your company as well as outside the office within your industry circles. Being connected to a strong group of people allows you to increase your knowledge, learn new skills, and tap into useful resources. Importantly, you’ll have more direct access to new job opportunities or internal promotions with increased salary.

When you attend new events or start a new job, make an effort to meet new people. It can feel awkward at times yet the long term ROI on developing a wide network of relationships can be priceless. Imagine the next time you need a new position or job; you pick up the phone and get a referral to walk you through the door to a new opportunity. That definitely beats trying to stand out in a pile of resumes.

Give. Don’t Just Expect to Get

Don’t make your networking strategy a frantic pursuit of attending every industry event, picking up as many business cards as possible, and tossing them in a drawer until you need them. Nurture your network by being authentic in how you participate within your community. Find out what you have in common with people and how you can contribute to their personal success or the success of important projects.

One big point – enjoy networking and even have fun! Don’t think of it as an inconvenience that eats up your time; something that you feel forced to do only when you need something. Put the same attention and time to it as you would a valuable investment. Because that’s exactly what it is.

If you live in the Las Vegas or Nashville areas and would like to join us at some of our networking events, please contact kim@taureanconsulting.net (Nashville) or Sonia@taureanconsulting.net (Las Vegas).

Get In The Driver’s Seat of Your IT Career and Get Certified This Summer

Just in case you’re up in the air about if it’s worth your time and money to get a technical certification. We’ll make it easy for you - it is. Not only can it add value to your resume and credentials, help place you in the high salary brackets, it can also give you an advantage in an interview process or get a promotion.

Representing tech hiring managers and HR directors, we have come to know the standout influences for selecting one candidate over equally competent candidates vying for the same position. More and more, certifications have become a requisite for many tech positions. That means resumes without these credentials are immediately passed by.

So if you want to launch your tech career or even make it through the door of your favorite tech company or startup, make it a priority to start studying this summer and get certified. It shows employers that you’re serious about your career growth and that you’ve already invested the time and money in maximizing your professional knowledge and skills. Online certifications are also a great way to refresh or strengthen your skills, learn something new and even break into a new field.

High demand certifications include:

·       CompTIA A+

·       Network+

·       Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)

·       Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

·       Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE)

At Taurean Consulting, when we recommend a candidate we want to make sure that nothing stands in the way of them landing the job. Equally, we want to make sure that employers are getting the most highly qualified talent. This has been the motivation for providing access to easy and affordable online certification programs that can help enhance the skillset of candidates both pre and post placement. By helping candidates strengthen their qualifications, we are not only providing opportunity for them to develop an immediate advantage for that role but also for their continued growth. This win-win approach is what really makes the difference in how we do business managing the best interests of both client employers and professional talent that we represent.

We currently offer over 150 courses including those mentioned above and many more.

Get in touch if you have questions relating to which certifications should be your focus based on the path or position you are seeking. Or if you’d like to discuss how we can help you develop a total career strategy for your continued growth. http://www.taureanconsulting.net/contact-us.html