1 – Keep A Positive Attitude

Having a positive attitude at work is a good way to improve your career. Being positive at work makes the team around you work better (nobody likes to work with negative people!). It also makes you look like a better worker to your manager – it seems like you’re happy to be there and happy about contributing to the team and the organisation. It makes it easier for others to work with you, which is also a valuable trait.

2 – Arrive Before Your Scheduled Start Time

Most IT positions have a scheduled start time – the time when you should arrive at work to start your day. This can vary for each position. Sometimes you need to start by 9AM, sometimes 8AM, sometimes 10AM is accepted. One way to send a good impression is to actually arrive to work and be ready to work before the scheduled start time. This shows you’re eager and ready to work. Try to arrive before this time and be ready to work – which excludes getting a coffee and reading the newspaper. It’s not compulsory, but it’s something that’s recommended.

3 – Don’t Take A Long Lunch

Most of us working in the IT industry get an allocated lunch break. This could be half an hour, a full hour, or anywhere in between. It’s expected you take a certain amount of time for a lunch break – to eat lunch, run some errands, and other things. This could be within a certain window of the day (e.g. half an hour between 12 and 2) or a set time (lunch between 1 and 2). In either case, try to keep your lunch breaks within the set times and don’t make them too long. A long lunch break every now and then would be OK, if you have an appointment or need to run a few errands (just tell your manager about it). However, doing this every day may be a concern – it sends a bad impression to your team and your manager.

4 – Don’t Drink Alcohol During Lunch

Sometimes when you go out for lunch, with friends or coworkers, it can be tempting to have a drink with your lunch, such as a beer or a glass of wine. This is especially true at special lunches like project completions or staff farewells. This is more of a personal decision, depending on the situation and your approach to alcohol, but I would suggest not drinking alcohol during your lunch break. It can put you off for the rest of the day, making you less effective at work.

5 – Take Personal Calls Away From Your Desk

A lot of us get personal calls at work. These could be friends, partners, or anything else that we have going on outside work such as insurance companies or real estate agents. If they’re not work related, they come under the category of “personal calls”. They are your business, and it’s better to receive and make these calls away from your desk. Your coworkers don’t need to – and probably don’t want to – hear the conversations you have with these people. Your manager also doesn’t need to hear these calls either.

If you need to make a personal call, go for a walk away from your desk. If you receive a personal call, take it and walk away from your desk. It provides less of a distraction to others and sends the impression you’re separating work and personal lives.

6 – Don’t Surf The Internet When You’re Meant To Be Working

Working in IT means we spend a lot of time at the computer. It can be tempting to start browsing your favourite websites, or doing some personal research, while you’re at work. Try to keep it within your lunch break, as it’s part of your personal time. Other people may be able to see you browsing other sites and it sends the impression that you’re not there to work and aren’t being productive – your team members and managers may get this impression.

7 – Wear Clean And Ironed Clothes

A big part of being a good worker is keeping a professional image. This is noticed by other workers and your manager – the more professional and neat you look, the better impression it sends. You don’t need to dress immaculately every day, it’s just advisable to wear clean clothes every day. Also, try to make sure your clothes are ironed, if this is relevant. If you wear a collared shirt, this should be ironed as creases show. If you need to wear a polo shirt, then maybe it doesn’t need to be ironed. As long as it looks presentable and neat, it should be OK.

8 – Make Sure Your Hair Is Neat

Another part of your professional image is your hair. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman, your hair should be presented neatly. Hairstyles don’t matter as much (it’s a personal preference), but whatever you do, it should be need. Make sure it’s not scruffy and doesn’t look like you just got out of bed. Use a hairbrush, some hair product, whatever you need to make it look presentable.

9 – Wear Appropriate Shoes

The shoes you wear to work are important. It might seem like it’s not noticed, but other people do take note of them. Some styles of shoes are acceptable to wear at work, and others aren’t. Have a think about the shoes you wear to work. Do they present a good image? Do they fit the uniform and culture of the workplace? Wearing runners may not fit your organisation if the requirement is suit or dress shoes. You may be able to wear casual shoes or other kinds of shoes if they are suitable – this depends on your workplace.

10 – Use Keyboard Shortcuts

Most of us IT workers spend a lot of time on the computer. As a result, we’ve come to learn a few ways of making our jobs easier. One of these is keyboard shortcuts. Most applications have keyboard shortcuts, that let us perform tasks quicker than using the mouse. It’s a good idea to learn and start using keyboard shortcuts. It makes it look like you’re capable at doing your job, and makes you look more efficient. It can also save you time once you learn them and incorporate them into your daily work.

11 – Focus On Your Work While At Work

While you’re at work, you’re getting paid for contributing to your employer and your team. Getting distracted from your work by external factors doesn’t help your team. It also means you’re not as productive as you could be. Try to keep your focus on your work while on the job – you’ll get better results from it.

12 – Arrive At Meetings On Time

Meetings are a part of life for many of us. Groups are gathered to discuss a certain topic and arrive at an outcome. Meetings are scheduled to start at a certain time, and it’s a good idea to arrive on time to them. It shows you are considerate of other people’s time and you’re interested in achieving the outcome that is needed from the meeting.

13 – Take Notes When You Go To Meetings

When you go to meetings, it’s helpful to take notes on the topics that are being discussed. It’s usually up to the person who called the meeting to send out the discussion points and actions after the meeting, but if you’re there as well, taking your own notes can be helpful to remember what was discussed and any other key points.

14 – Choose The Right Communication Method

With the improvements in technology recently, there are a lot of methods that we can use for communicating with others. Emails, phone calls, face to face, SMS, instant messaging, and video calls are examples of communication methods. Each one of them has their pros and cons. Using an appropriate communication method for each situation is a good way to improve the way you do work.

15 – Answer Your Phone In A Professional Manner

Whether you have a personal mobile phone, a work mobile phone, or a phone at your desk, you should answer it in a professional manner. Come up with a greeting that suits you, and is appropriate for people you haven’t met and people who may be more senior in the organisation than you are. A greeting such as “Hello, John speaking” is more appropriate than just a simple “Hello”.

16 – Use A Signature On All Emails

The signature feature of an email is a helpful but often misused area of communication. It should be used to communicate your personal details – name, position, and contact information. Make sure you have one set up in your email provider, and that it is attached to all emails you send. This not only saves you time with ending your emails, it makes it easier for others to contact you.

Ensure you signature is appropriate as well – don’t put large images or funny quotes in there, they don’t achieve anything.

17 – Give Appropriate Names To Your Files

You will probably work with a lot of files in your role. Many of them will be stored on your hard drive or in another document storage area. This might seem self explanatory, but it’s a good idea to give names to your files that make them easy to find and identify. This will help you in the future when looking for a certain file, and also makes them easily identifiable to others when sharing them around.

18 – Don’t Write Long Emails

The email is a common form of communication, but it’s also commonly abused. A lot of the time, emails are written to others that are quite lengthy. It might seem like a good idea to explain everything or put a lot of information in an email, but a lot of the time it is better suited to another form of communication. Try to keep emails shorter and to the point – nobody likes to read a long email. If information needs to be communicated, it might be easier to mention it in person or discuss over the phone.

19 – Think Of Different Ways To Solve Problems

A lot of the work we do in IT is about problem solving. A problem exists with a system, a hardware setup, a business process or a configuration, and it’s up to us to solve it. At first, it might seem easier to go with the first solution that you think of. Try to take some time to come up with alternative solutions, different ways to solve the problem. Discuss them with other people in your team. The best solution may not be the most obvious one, and others can give you ideas on how to solve the problem in a better way.

20 – Think Of Improvements To Current Processes And Systems

One of the main roles of an IT professional is to make improvements to current processes and systems. These improvements are usually devised by the business or by the client, and the IT professionals are the ones that carry out the work. In many cases, due to our technical knowledge and experience, we may be able to come up with other ways to improve processes that others haven’t thought of. This can be due to a fresh look at a current system, or the fact that they may not know that certain things are possible. Coming up with new ways to improve things is a great benefit to a company.

21 – Put Your Phone On Silent

Mobile phones are important to us in this day and age. They form a big part of our lives and our communication with others. They can also be quite a distraction to others, especially when your phone rings and your ringtone is heard around the office. In an effort to reduce the distraction to others, it’s a good idea to put your phone onto silent or vibrate mode during work hours. If it’s near you, you’ll be able to see it when it rings. It won’t distract others nearly as much if they can’t hear the ringtone – and it will be appreciated.

22 – Don’t Joke All The Time

Being friendly and positive around the office is a good thing. Making jokes is a good part of doing this, if you have the ability to make people laugh. However, try not to overuse it. Making too many jokes at work will send the impression you don’t take your work seriously and aren’t doing a good job. It’s good to have a balance, so if you like making jokes in your social life, try to dial it back a bit while at work.

23 – Google Any Issues You Have

We come up against a lot of issues on the job, due to the technical nature of our roles. Creating, debugging, installing, configuring, removing and updating systems or software can be quite difficult at times, and issues can arise when doing this. A good thing to do when you have an issue is to perform a Google search on it, if you’re able to put it into words. There’s a good chance you’re not the first person to have this issue, and a search can often lead you to the solution to the issue. It doesn’t work for all problems, but it can work effectively for many of them.

24 – Prioritise Your Work

A lot of the time, us IT professionals have more work than we can handle. Some of our work gets “lost” or put on hold while we tackle newer tasks. In cases like this, it’s a good idea to set priorities for our work. Speak to your manager, your coworker, and the people who give you the work to determine which is more important. If you’re not sure, your manager should be able to provide some guidance. It helps you be more effective at work and make the right contribution to the company.

25 – Keep The Big Picture In Mind

When at work and doing your day-to-day activities, it can be easy to get caught up in the details. Sometimes it can help to step back and think of the bigger picture. This can help you realise why you’re doing what you’re doing, can help you focus and get motivated, and help you make decisions on what to do and how to do things. IT is supposed to support the business to let them do what they do, so we should be keeping that in mind when we do our work.

26 – Set Goals For Your Career

A great way to enhance your career is to set some goals. Career goals can be short term (less than a year), medium term (one to three years) or long term (more than three years). This can help you define where you’re going and how to get there. Have a think about what you want to achieve in each of these timelines, and what steps you’re going to take to achieve them. It can motivate you in your job and your career.

27 – Create A Task List For Each Day

Writing down what you need to do is a good way to stay productive. Keeping this list updated is important – make a list of what you need to get done for each day to be clear on what needs to be done. You can do this in the morning, or the night before, so when you start your day you have a list of the few things that have to be done. Work your way down this list and you should feel like you’ve had a more productive day.

28 – Make Yourself Known To Other Teams

In some companies, especially the larger ones, it can be hard to get to know other people who work in other teams. A good way of improving your image at work is to make yourself known to other teams. If you see someone you don’t know around the office, say hello to them and get to know them, share what work you do and what team you’re in. If they need to work with you in the future, it will be easier as they know who you are and what you do.

29 – Sign Up For LinkedIn

I’ve mentioned this a few times in older posts, but signing up for the professional networking site LinkedIn is a great way to improve your career. It lets you connect with other professionals, such as current and past coworkers, which is good for finding new roles and helping the role you have at the moment. You can specify your skills and experience, similar to a resume, and it contributes to your overall professional image.

30 – Look Into Getting A Certification

Certifications are a big part of working in the IT industry. Some fields place more relevance and emphasis on them than others – networking, security and administration have a lot of certifications, where as development and testing don’t have as many. They are still important though, as they recognise your knowledge and allow you to learn new things. Think about getting a certification in your chosen field to help advance your career and help you stand out from the others.

31 – Take Initiative To Get Things Done

A lot of the work that we have is given to us by other people, and a lot of the time it isn’t clear what we need to do to get it done. It’s a good idea to take some initiative and find out more information or make some progress in the work you need to do, without having to ask for the next step from your manager. Your manager shouldn’t need to step you through what needs to be done each time – take some of the load off them and try to get it done yourself. Your manager will appreciate it.

32 – Know How To Use Your Computer Very Well

As we work in IT, we should know how to use a computer better than others. Keyboard shortcuts, common tools, different functions inside common applications and how to do certain tasks should be some of the things that we know. Not only does it send a good impression to others, it means we’re able to help out other people who may not know how to do certain things. Knowing how to do certain tasks in Microsoft Word or how to set up your desktop wallpaper settings are just some of the things you can do to help others who don’t know how to do it.

33 – Leave Personal Problems At Home

All of us have things going on outside of our work life. Some of these things may not be going as well as we like, eventuating in personal problems for us. As hard as it can be, try to keep your focus on work while at work and keep the personal problems outside of the office. It sends a better impression to your manager and coworkers if you’re able to handle them. If it’s something more serious, have a quiet word to your manager and mention you’re trying not to let it impact your work.

34 – Maintain A Good Work/Life Balance

It can be tempting sometimes to work more hours than normal, or take your work home with you. This can happen if you really enjoy your job or if you have a lot of work to do. While this may be required occasionally due to project deadlines or other similar cases, making a regular habit of it isn’t usually a good idea. We all need to have a mental break from the work that we do, in order to enjoy the nights and weekends and get into the things we do outside of work. Keeping a healthy balance between your work life and personal life is a good thing to consider.

35 – Don’t Be Afraid To Ask Stupid Questions

Gathering information and working out how to do certain tasks is a big part of our roles in the IT industry. A lot of the time, we need to be able to ask questions to other people. In my opinion, there is no such thing as a “stupid” question. If asking a question helps you avoid a mistake or helps you get something done, it’s a good question. Don’t be afraid to ask questions that you may have asked before, or that may seem stupid, if you’re not sure. It’s better to be sure of the answer than to take a guess and make a mistake.

36 – Work Out How You Spend Your Time

Sometimes the work day can just drag on, and sometimes it can go quickly without you realising it, and you feel like you haven’t got any work done. In cases like this, it can be helpful to look back and work out how your day was spent. Did you have a lot of meetings to go to? Did you have some long phone calls? Did you need to drive to other sites? All of these activities can subtract from the time you have to do your actual work.

37 – Share Good Resources And Websites With Team

While we’re doing our jobs and getting things done, we can sometimes come across helpful resources than make our jobs easier. These could be articles on certain topics, web-based tools or applications to download, any of which can be useful. If you’ve gotten some benefit from them, there’s a good chance others will as well. Share these resources with other team members – whether they use them or not, it’s a good gesture and shows you’re making attempts to improve the way your team works.

38 – Don’t Send Forwards Around The Office

Sending helpful resources to team members is a good thing, but sending “forwards” around the office isn’t such a good idea. These “forwards” are usually funny jokes, stories, or images, that can be entertaining to some people. However, just because you find them funny, it doesn’t mean other people will. It can also be distracting to other people, which doesn’t really help out the team, so overall, it’s not recommended that you do this.

39 – Follow Up With Others

Some of the work that you do requires input or decisions from others. The first step you take might be to ask them for some input or to send something to them. A lot of the time, they forget about it or don’t get a chance to do it. Just because you’ve sent it to them, it doesn’t mean they will always get back to you. Follow up with the other person – call them, speak to them, or email them, to find out what the status is with what you asked them about. This can help get things done faster and removes any confusion about who needs to do the work.

40 – Be Friendly To Others, Even If You Don’t Work With Them

A part of being professional in the office is being friendly with other people. This applies to all people, even the ones you don’t work directly with. This could be people in other teams, other departments, or even service staff like receptionists, delivery people or cleaners. Showing respect and friendliness to others will send a good impression and make you seem like someone who is good to work with.

41 – Don’t Gossip Around The Office

It can be tempting in some situations to gossip about other people – speak about people when they are not there, whether it is about work related issues or not. Try not to get involved in this if other people are doing it – it isn’t very productive. Also, try not to instigate any gossip discussions either. Speaking about others when they are not there is fine, but if there are any issues with other people or team members, it’s better to handle them rather than speak negatively about them to others.

42 – Let People Know When You Will Have Things Done By – Under Promise, Over Deliver

One of the best tips I’ve heard is the concept of “under promise, over deliver”. This involves letting people know when you will have something done by, often in a longer time that it will take. This means when you do get it done, it’s sooner than when they were expecting it, which makes you look good. It is also important that the work is good quality. Doing more work, by going above and beyond what they have asked for, is also a good way to improve this and send a good impression to the person who you’re helping.

43 – Help Out Your Team Members

Being able to work in a team is an important part of being an IT professional. Sometimes your team members will need help with the work they are doing. It’s a good idea to help them out, if they ask for it. You can also offer to help them out if they seem like they are under pressure and could use an extra hand. They will be grateful for this and your manager will appreciate it as well.

44 – Don’t Whine About Other Team Members

This point is similar to gossiping about others, but is more focused on your direct team and the work that they do. If you have issues with what other people in your team are doing (or what they aren’t doing), try not to complain about them to other team members. This can cause other problems and can divide the team. If you have an issue with another team member, mention it to your manager in a private conversation and they can take the appropriate action.

45 – Bring Solutions Along With Problems When Reporting Them

When you have a problem with something you’re working on, or something that has happened, it’s a good idea to report it to your manager. Something that can help this process is to try to bring along a solution with the problem. Mentioning the problem, along with a possible solution, can be easier to discuss with your manager. If you don’t have a solution, mention some options for things that can be done, or at least give an update on what is happening. Any of these will be appreciated by your manager, and are more helpful than just mentioning the problem.

46 – Ask Other Team Members For Help

One of the advantages of working in a team is the ability to utilise other team members’ skills and experiences. If you run into a problem or have difficulty with something that you’re doing, don’t be afraid to ask others for help. You can speak to other team members, or to your manager, if you’re stuck on something and are unable to proceed. They will hopefully be happy to help , and will make the team perform better if you’re not stuck.

47 – Say Good Morning And Goodbye To Co-workers

This is a simple tip, but saying good morning to people when you arrive at work is an easy way to be friendly and positive around others. Even if they don’t say good morning back all the time, the fact you said it and acknowledged them is important. Similarly, saying goodbye when you leave is advisable and makes you seem more friendly.

48 – Reduce Interruptions To Co-workers

A good way of making sure your team works as efficiently as possible is to reduce the distractions that they are affected by. You can do this by not playing music at your computer, putting your phone on silent, not speaking loudly on the phone, and just being considerate overall when working near other people. If other people are distracted by some of the things that you do, it doesn’t give a good impression of you and doesn’t make the team work as well as it could.

49 – Think Twice About Who You CC On Emails

Emails are easy ways to send information to others, but can be misused. The use of the To and CC fields is often done inappropriately, meaning emails are sent to people who don’t need to see them. A lot of the time, people fill up the CC field with anyone who they know that may be involved in the subject. There is almost always more people involved on an email that need to be. The only people that should be in the To field are the people that the email is addressed to, and the CC field should only contain people who are directly involved or impacted by an email. Keeping the list small helps to reduce inbox clutter.

50 – Know Your Manager’s Goals

A good way to improve the way you work and to help get things done is to be aware of your manager’s goals. They will have goals and targets that they have created and that have been provided to them by their managers. This should drive the work that you do. If you help to achieve your manager’s goals, such as reducing system defects or meeting deadlines, it makes them look good to their managers, and they will be grateful for it.

I hope you’ve found these tips helpful. Do you have any other tips for IT professionals? Share them in the comment section below!

Speak To Your Manager As Soon As You Can

The first thing you should to when you’re under pressure for a deadline is to speak to your manager. This could be your team leader, project manager, or any other kind of manager that you work under and that is responsible for your work.

A lot of the time they will already be aware of the workload you’re under, but it’s still good to point it out. Speak to them, let them know the kind of workload that you have. This can help, even if they already know. They will refrain from giving you more work (most of the time, anyway), and will be aware of your concerns. Pressure from deadlines is only temporary – you can often have the time back at a later date, depending on your company.

Work Out Your Priorities

Another way to handle deadlines is to work out your priorities on the project. Have a look at the work you need to do, and see what the most important things are. This often can’t be changed, as it’s determined by the project scope and the project team, but there may be things that you think are important but aren’t actually that important.

For example, you might have been formatting a certain output file manually in a specific way before sending it to another person. It might be able to be stopped if it isn’t that important for the success of the project.

This is also related to speaking to your manager – see if there’s a way you can get some guidance on some of the tasks you’re working on.

Determine How You Can Be More Efficient

There are ways to improve our work with most of the things we do by being more efficient. This can be done in a number of ways, but it comes down to looking at what you’re doing now and finding ways for it to take less of your time.

A good way of doing this is to eliminate tasks altogether. If you’re doing something that doesn’t need to be done, then you may be able to stop doing it. This will save a lot of time and could have a minimal impact on your actual project.

Another way of improving efficiency is to automate what is currently being done manually. Even if it takes only a few seconds or a few minutes to do, if it can be automated, it’s often worth doing. I get several emails each day in my inbox – company newsletters, system notifications, things like that. I used to manually mark them as read and move them to a folder. Now, I’ve set up rules that do this automatically. This not only saves me time (a few minutes per day), but it also stops distracting me – which is sometimes the bigger benefit. I don’t need to stop what I’m doing to go and move the emails.

Ask Others For Help

If you’re under pressure to get something done, it’s likely there are others who are under pressure as well, depending on your project team. There also might be others that aren’t under as much pressure.

One way to help with the project deadline is to ask others for help. See who is able to help you out with some tasks by finding out who is capable and who is able to with the other work they are doing. You can ask them directly, or you can ask one of the managers for assistance. Asking your manager or their manager for assistance is usually considered the better thing to do, as they have a better idea of who is doing what and can offer someone appropriate – and it keeps you out of trouble.

Getting someone to help you with your work can be a big benefit – and they are often happy to help. Just remember, it goes both ways. Others might come to you to help out when they are under pressure – and by helping them out, it creates a better team and makes you look like a team player.

I hope these tips have helped. Do you have any suggestions on handling software development deadlines?

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What Is SQL?

SQL stands for Structured Query Language, and it’s the language that developers use to interact with relational databases. It’s handy for software developers to know, as many of them need to read, understand, and even write SQL on a day-to-day basis. There’s also an entire sector of the IT industry dedicated to SQL – database developers and administrators.

Database developers use their knowledge of databases and SQL to write code that runs on a database. Database administrators, on the other hand, are those that look after and control the database servers and security. Both roles need to be proficient in SQL.

Different Versions of SQL

SQL is actually a standardised language, even though there are many companies offering SQL database solutions. There are many commands and functions that make up the SQL standard.

Companies who create databases that use the SQL standard also add in their own SQL commands, which are used in addition to the standard SQL. There are also procedural programming languages that are used in conjunction with standard SQL to allow for more flexibility and capability when writing database code. These also vary from provider to provider.

There are two main players in the SQL world – Microsoft and Oracle. You may have heard of these companies – they are big IT companies that offer database solutions as one of their products.

Microsoft’s database is known as “SQL Server“, and it runs Microsoft’s SQL standard. This means that the SQL Server database runs SQL standard, as well as Microsoft added commands. They also have their own procedural SQL language called T-SQL (Transactional Structured Query Language). The latest version is SQL Server 2012.

Oracle’s database is called Oracle, but is commonly referred to as the version number, the latest of which is “Oracle 11g”. They also run the standard SQL, some extra commands created by Oracle, and their own procedural language called “PL/SQL” (Procedural Language/Structured Query Language).

There are also some smaller players in the database world:
- MySQL – this is a smaller, free to use version of the SQL database, that uses the standard SQL. It doesn’t have the capabilities for larger systems that Oracle and SQL Server have, though.
- DB2 – This is an older database technology, created by IBM, but is still used in many systems around the world.
- Microsoft Access – Access is a standalone database application, launched as part of the Office package. It can be used as a single file, rather than a server, but some applications are still built using Access.

Which SQL Version Should I Choose?

The big choice here is which database type should you specialise in? When you’re getting your degree, or getting ready to enter the IT industry, you’ll probably need to focus on a specific kind of database. Becoming a specialist is a good way to improve your career and really know as much as you can about a particular language.

I would suggest basing the decision on which other programming languages you know, or can relate to. Microsoft’s SQL Server integrates very well with its other languages, such as .NET. Oracle also bought the Sun Microsystems company some time ago, who manage the Java language, so if Java is your language of choice then Oracle may be better suited.

It’s also a good idea to take into account the demand in your area. If there is a big demand in your area for a particular kind of SQL, then try to target that. Perhaps you work in a government area, and they primarily use Microsoft. It might be a good idea to choose that. Likewise for an Oracle-focused area.

Personally, I went with Oracle, as that’s what they offered at university. I’m also an Oracle Certified Expert. However, after years of using Oracle SQL and SQL in general, the skills are very transferable, as long as you understand the concepts. Sure, I know more about Oracle than SQL Server, but if I’m placed into an environment with SQL Server it’s quite easy to pick it up. If you want to become the go-to person or expert on a particular technology, or to get a certain role, it’s a good idea to pick one, but they are similar and over time you’ll get to know both.

I hope this has helped you decide which SQL distribution to learn. What was your choice?

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There is no right answer to this question – they each have their pros and cons. It really depends on your circumstances and what you want out of your career – experience, promotions, travel opportunities, security, benefits. These points I’ve listed below are just general points – individual companies may not match to these points exactly. Let’s have a look at the specific reasons.

Benefits of Working for a Small Company

• Your responsibilities are varied. At a smaller company, you are likely to be in a position where you have a few different responsibilities. This is usualyl because they don’t have people dedicated to take care of certain areas. You may be in charge of desktop support and website development – traditionally two different roles. In other companies, you might be in charge of quality control as well as a developer on another team. It really depends on the company.
• There is a larger selection of companies. This is purely based on the number of companies, but there are a lot more smaller companies out there than larger companies. This means there are more places for you to work as you’re not limited to just a few companies.
• You are closer to upper management. Working for a smaller company means you’re likely closer to the senior managers or owners of a company. This is good as it gets you on their radar, and you can feel like you have more input into the decision making process.
• Your success is noticed. As it’s a smaller company, any good work you do is noticed by others from around the company. This isn’t always the case with the larger companies. It means you’ll get better recognition and perhaps even rewarded, as it’s more likely to be noticed.
• Better working conditions (usually). It’s safe to assume that smaller companies have more relaxed working conditions. I say this as a generalisation – there are some big companies with good environments (such as Google) and smaller companies with bad environments. It’s just easier for smaller companies to have different conditions as they don’t have a larger staff base to support and can make changes easier.

Disadvantages of Working for a Small Company

It’s not all good news though – there are some disadvantages of working for a smaller company.

• Your failures are noticed. The opposite of the point above about successes, working in a smaller company also means that your failures are noticed. If you make a mistake, then it’s more visible to the team and the company.
• The benefits package is smaller. Smaller companies tend to have less revenue, which usually means they’re not able to provide the same kind of benefits as larger companies. Car leasing, dental care and health care are some of the benefits that larger companies provide more often than smaller companies.
• There may be no HR department. In larger companies, a human resources department takes care of all matters relating to work conditions and their staff. In smaller companies, there may not be enough people to warrant a separate HR department, so this role may be left up to a senior manager or the owner.

The other choice is working for a larger company, which has its own set of pros and cons.

Benefits of Working for a Large Company

• There is a clearer structure for promotion. Larger companies are usually more structured in their organisational chart and career path, so promotions and staff movements are clearer. It’s usually quite well defined where your career options are.
• More jobs available at big companies. Larger companies tend to have more job openings than smaller companies, so you have a better chance at a particular company. If you’re dedicated to becoming an engineer in Cisco, for example, they are likely to have many positions open for this kind of role.
• Easier to specialise into a role. At a big company, it’s easier to become specialised in a certain kind of role, using the experience and knowledge you’ve gained. If you’re a project manager, you might wish to specialise in large projects involving internal, web-based systems, or projects involving critical financial systems. This can help your career if it’s something you’re interested in.
• Easier to move jobs without leaving. In a larger company, a common career move is to shift into a different role within the same company. This can give you new experiences without having to go through the full job application and interview process.
• The benefits package is usually better. Larger companies tend to offer bigger and better benefits packages, as they are competing with each other for the best talent. They also have more money to spend on these areas, so if this is important to you, a larger company may be the way to go.

Disadvantages of Working for a Large Company

There are, however, some disadvantages in working for a larger company.

• Job changes and promotions can happen slower. Unlike a smaller company, working at a bigger company usually means you need to work your way up slowly into the position you want. Promotions tend to happen slower and there is usually more competition for positions.
• You may not know a lot of your coworkers. The nature of larger companies means that you might not even know a lot of your coworkers. Knowing them by name may be all you get – you might even get to speak to them on the phone, but knowing them in person is easier in smaller companies.
• There is a danger of getting “typecast” or “pigeonholed”. This is the negative aspect of being specialised. It can be easy to get linked to a specific role skillset if you do it for long enough at a company, which means it’s harder to move on. It can prevent you from getting different roles or promotions too, as you’re seen as being too valuable in one position.
• Changes happen slower in the company. Larger companies tend to have a longer approval process and decision making process, which means any changes and suggestions tend to take longer to happen. This can be frustrating for some of us IT workers.

So, I hope these points have cleared up some of the questions you’ve had about working in a small company or large company. What has your experience been? Share your comments in the section below!

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

While I’m not affiliated with any of these websites, I think they can help you so I’d like to share them with you.

Dice Talent Community

http://news.dice.com/talent-community-landing-page

Dice.com is one of the largest job websites in the industry. It’s targeted towards IT professionals – those looking to get a job in the IT industry. Many job boards have extra resources, such as blogs and résumé tips, but Dice has what’s called their Talent Community. This is essentially a collection of articles and discussion topics on many different IT fields, such as Java, SharePoint and Project Management. I encourage you to check it out if you haven’t already.

IT Accel Candidate Resources

http://www.itaccel.com/resources/candidates

IT Accel is an IT staffing company based out of the US. Their website contains more than just an About page and contact details – they have job listings, as well as a very helpful page of Candidate Resources. It includes links to tools such as salary wizards and cost calculators, as well as some PDF files on résumés and interviews.

Tech Republic

http://www.techrepublic.com/

Tech Republic is a large IT career blog that contains a lot of tips for IT professionals. The main focus seems to be on blog posts and articles, but they also feature discussion forums. A menu at the top of the page allows you to view information by topic – anything from software development to ITIL to VoIP. Tech Republic is one of the sites on my RSS reader (hint – you can subscribe to my RSS feed here) and I find their information very helpful.

Well, it’s a shorter post today, but I just wanted to share a few sites with you. What other helpful resources do you have and use?

First Step – Usually A Junior Technical Role

The first step in the project manager’s career path is usually a technical role, or a junior role in the IT industry. Speak to any project manager, and you’ll find that most of them would have started their careers in a junior position. Perhaps this was a software developer, system tester, data analyst, or help desk support.

The aim of this role is to gain experience in the IT industry and learn how it works. Learning how to work in teams, how to handle pressure, and work with external people and stakeholders is all part of increasing your knowledge and improving your experience in the IT industry.

These roles are called “junior” roles as they are usually targeted towards graduate or junior people, those who are new to the industry. They can also be called technical roles – roles that involve a lot of technical skill with software or hardware. They are not always filled by junior people and some more experienced people choose to stay in a technical role, as it’s something they’re good at and are passionate about.

Next Step – A “People” Role

A common step to take after a technical role is to move into a role that has you dealing with people on a regular basis. This is a big skill for project managers. In fact, a podcast I listen to by Cornelius Fichtner, titled PM Podcast, regularly mentions that people management is just as important as project management.

A couple of roles that include interaction with others are business analysts and team leaders. Business analysts are responsible for translating user requirements into technical requirements and design. They are heavily involved in communication with all kinds of people in the business, which is a common skill for project managers.

Team leaders are responsible for managing a team, who often perform technical roles, such as software development or testing. This kind of role also involves people management and dealing with various kinds of people.

Gaining experience in roles like this will help you on your way to become a project manager.

Final Step – Getting Your First Project Management Role

Hopefully by now you have some experience in the previous two roles – a couple of years is usually good. This should be enough for you move into an actual project management position. It may be a junior position – such as, working with another project manager on a project, or you may have your own project to look after.

Either way, you have the skills you’ve learnt in your previous roles that you can bring into this role. Getting to know other project managers, observing them, and working with them, will help you advance your career as a project manager.

From here, after you have your first project, you will find it easier to get more roles as a project manager, and your career as a project manager will move up from there!

There Are Some Exceptions

While this path (technical, people, then PM) is a common way to get into project management, there are some other ways.

You may have come from a business background – as in, a non-IT role but as some kind of business user or manager. The skills you have learnt here may be transferable and applicable to project management, which allows you to move into a position like this.

You may also have studied project management intensely at university, allowing you to start directly as some kind of junior project manager. I went to uni with someone who started as a project manager straight away, so it’s definitely possible.

I hope this has helped you figure out the path of a project manager. What questions or advice do you have for people looking to become project managers?

Image courtesy of ddpavumba / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What Are The Major Linux Certifications?

In a recent post on Linux certifications, I detailed some instructions on how to get a Red Hat Linux certification. It focused on Red Hat certifications but mentioned some of the major Linux certifications as well. The main certifications, along with their providers, are:

CompTIA (more info)

• Linux+

Novell (more info)

• Certified Linux Engineer 11 (CLE11)
  
• Certified Linux Administrator 11 (CLA 11)
• Certified Linux Desktop Administrator (CLDA)
• Certified Linux Professional 11 (CLP 11)

Red Hat (more info)

• Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA)
• Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)
• Red Hat Certified Security Specialist (RHCSS)
• Red Hat Certified Datacentre Specialist (RHCDS)
• Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA)

LPI (Linux Professional Institute) (more info)

• Linux Professional Institute Certification Level 1 (LPIC-1)
• Linux Professional Institute Certification Level 2 (LPIC-2)
• Linux Professional Institute Certification Level 3 (LPIC-3)

Structure of the Major Linux Certifications

After doing some research of the providers and the marketplace, there is a general structure or certification path with the Linux certifications, as shown in this image:

Download This As A PDF

The image above, and attached PDF, breaks down the Linux certifications from these four providers into a hierarchy, based from junior to senior. It’s colour coded according to the provider (see the legend) and indicates the prerequisites for each certification. For the most part, certification requirements are not transferrable – this means, getting an RHCE will not make you eligible for the LPIC-3, as it’s from a different vendor.

Start With Linux+ If It’s Suitable

My suggestion would be to start with the Linux+ certification, if it’s suitable for your skill level. It’s designed for those who are relatively new to Linux and wish to improve their skills and experience using the operating system. However, if you’re more advanced than this, it may be a good idea to skip it and move on to one of the more intermediate certifications.

The main reason I recommend this certification is that it now allows you to achieve both the LPIC-1 and the CLA 11 certifications! You need to notify both Novell and LPI of your Linux+ completion, but essentially you can get 3 certifications in one. There is more information on this at Greg Porter’s blog and on the LPI marketplace.

LPI is Vendor Neutral, Novell and Red Hat Are Not

Another point to keep in mind is the vendor neutrality of the certifications. This will probably impact your decision on certifications.

Are you currently working in an environment that runs Linux? Do you plan on working for a certain organisation? Do you have experience in one variant?

These questions can help you work out which certification path to take. If you’re currently in an organisation that runs Red Hat Linux, then going down the Red Hat tree would be advisable. If you’re running Novell’s SUSE Linux, then their certification path would be more suitable. You can also choose to go down the LPIC route, which is vendor neutral (doesn’t restrict to a specific Linux distribution).

If you’re not sure, or have no prefernce, you can aim for the LPI certifications. Once you’ve gained experience in the next few months or years, you can make your choice of vendor, or even continue down the LPIC path.

I hope this answers your questions on the possible Linux certification path. Let me know how your certifications are going in the comments section below!

Image courtesy of Larry Ewing

Why Should I Be More Efficient?

I’m writing this article to help you, the reader, consider some ideas on becoming more efficient at your job. But why should you become more efficient?

You might already be doing a good job at the moment, and just really dominating what you’re doing at work. You might be doing well but want to have that little bit of extra output. Or you just might be curious.

Being efficient at work is about getting more results for less energy. It’s about finding ways you can get things done without spending a lot of menial effort on them. The quality of the output should still be good, and correct – it’s not about slacking off or cutting corners. It’s about working smarter. Let’s have a look at some ways we can do this.

Automate What You Can

One of the best ways to become more efficient IT worker is to use automation. There are many parts of our jobs that are repetitive, and depending on the job, they can involve varied amounts of computer processing. Technical writers, for example, would be involved in some automated work, but maybe not a lot due to the writing they do. Software developers, however, may be more involved in computer processing as they have a lot of programs and scripts in their job.

The suggestion I’m making here is to make use of all this computing power that is available to you, and automate the tasks that you can. Computers are very good at repetitive instructions, so make use of it. If there is something that you do regularly, try to find a way to get the computer to do it for you.

Some examples of this are:

• Windows Startup folder. Do you have a few programs that you open first thing in the morning? Try placing shortcuts to them in the Windows Startup folder. When you log in, these programs will start automatically. I’ve done this, so when I log in, I go get a coffee and some water, and when I come back, my email/Internet and any other tools are open and ready for me.
• Write scripts for common tasks. You can prepare scripts in many languages to automate things for you. Batch scripts, macro programming in Microsoft Office applications, web sites with code – any language that you know and can run a script for can be used to automate something that you do. It might take some time initially to set up, but you only need to do it once.
• Create shortcuts in applications you use often. Many applications allow you to create shortcuts for commonly-used commands. Microsoft Office has macros for this. Many developer tools have shortcuts for common snippets of code or scripts. Depending on your work, you may be able to take advantage of this.

Save Scripts and Procedures That You Use More Than Once

If you’ve got some scripts or code that you use more than once, it helps to save it to a file or some kind of library. This will make it easier to find and run the commands in the future. This is especially useful if you spend some time writing or creating something which isn’t that easy to come up with – perhaps a complicated setup script or SQL query. Save it somewhere you’ll remember for the future, and that way, if you ever need it, you can load it up and use it again – saving you redevelopment time.

This also applies to parts of programs or scripts. If you’ve created a smaller part of an application (or anything else, really) that you may find useful in the future, it’s worth saving. Several times I’ve created SQL scripts for querying different tables for results, or transforming complex sets of data, and I’ve saved them which has helped me again in the future. It’s worth doing, I think, for a potential time-saver in the future.

Use a To-Do List

A to-do list contains a list of all the tasks that you need to get done. I think it’s a good way to stay efficient as it can keep track of what you need to do, what stage it’s at, and when it needs to get done by. Most email programs (such as Outlook) have an inbuilt task manager. If you don’t like that, you can use something simpler such as an Excel list or even a Notepad file.

I’m a big fan of the Getting Things Done system by David Allen, but I understand it’s not for everyone and I won’t go into detail on personal organisation here. The main point is that keeping a list of things you need to do can keep you focused and help you keep track of what needs to be done next.

Let The Systems Do What They Do Best

This point is kind of related to the automation point, but it’s a bit different.

What I mean by this, is that computers, and the applications that are built on them, are designed for a specific purpose. They have their strengths, and their weaknesses. My suggestion is to use their strengths – and let the systems do what they do best. Use applications that help you get your job done easier, rather than you spending time doing it manually.

Do you need to create some formulas or analyse some data? Use a spreadsheet program, and not a pen and paper or a calculator. Do you need to write some Java code? Use your favourite Java IDE and not Notepad. Many applications and systems have built-in features to help you do certain things, which keeps you free to work on your other tasks. I’ll go into some of my favourite applications in a future article.

What are your favourite ways of keeping efficient as an IT professional? Post your thoughts in the area below.

First of all, I’d like to clarify that by IT consulting I mean you work as sole operator, consulting yourself out to other clients (also known as an IT contract0r), or you are employed by a consulting firm who then sends you out to clients. Both of them are different than normal, full-time work, but the tips below apply to both kinds of roles.

Determine Your Service Or Role

The first step to finding a job as an IT consultant is to determine what kind of service you can provide, or what kind of role you can do.

This will come back to your education and experience. What are you good at in the IT industry? What are you qualified to do? It’s useful to find a specific role to consult as, rather than just a general IT consultant. This will help you get a client or job, as clients are usually after more specialised people.

For example, rather than think of yourself as simply an IT consultant, try to narrow down your role to what area you actually work in. A role such as “Network Consultant” may be suitable if you’re knowledgeable about networking. A “Project Management Consultant” would be a suitable role for all the project managers here.

The next step is to actually find the role. There are two main ways that I think are the most useful.

Reach Out To Your Network

A great way to find an IT consulting role is to get in touch with your network. Your network is the group or collection of people that you have met and worked with in your IT career. Past coworkers, managers, current coworkers, people you’ve met at industry events – these kinds of people would come under your network.

It can be a good idea to contact them to find out if there are any consulting roles available, or if there is any need for a consultant. There are many benefits to companies for hiring a consultant, including no need to supply benefits and the option of short-term roles, so remember to promote that to the potential client.

You can reach out to your network in many ways. My favourite way of doing this is via LinkedIn, the social network for professionals. Connect to other people that you have worked with in the past, or are currently working with, if you haven’t done so already.

Once you’ve connected with people, you can contact them. Feel free to ask them about any consulting roles, or if they are interested in your services. Try to work on developing a relationship and a conversation with them, rather than just asking them if they have any jobs.

Another way to reach out to people that you know is using the traditional email method. You may have the email addresses of people you’ve worked with in the past, or currently work with. Do the same thing with these people, speak to them, strike up a conversation and ask if there is a need for your consulting services.

Browse Job Websites for IT Consulting Roles

Job websites have many traditional or “permanent” roles available for companies. However, they also have jobs available for consulting roles. These roles are usually where you are employed by a consulting company, who then send you out to other clients.

Perform a search for “consulting” or “consultant” on your favourite job websites (Dice, Indeed, Monster are just some suggestions). This should give you quite a range of job advertisements for consultant roles.

You can further refine this search by adding the type of consultant you believe you can be (as we mentioned before), such as “Network Consultant”. You can find more targeted and focused jobs that will better fit what you’re looking for.

Well I hope these tips have helped you with some ideas on how to find a job as an IT consultant. Let me know if you have any other suggestions in the comment section below!

Training On A Budget

“How do I get some education or training materials for improving my IT skills with a small budget?”

Improving your IT skills can be quite expensive, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. Certifications and college courses cost a bit of money to start, even if you pass them the first time. If you’re on a budget or have little income, there are a few things you can do.

You can have a look for some second-hand sales in your area. Garage sales often have books for sale on computer topics. In my area they have computer swap meets, I’m not sure if they have them where you are, but they are kind of like markets with stalls where people sell computer equipment. You could pick up some second hand parts and books for cheap, and even start playing around with the system (depending on what area of IT you want to get in to).

If you’re into programming, you can look up some online tutorials about learning a programming language. You can start some of your own projects to improve your skills, which could even be used on a résumé in the future to help you get a job.

Almost Graduated

“I’m graduating from high school soon, should I start college, go to a trade school or start a program in summer and then go to college?”

This is a tough question – it’s usually pretty had to decide what to do straight after high school. Where I’m from (Australia) we had a few choices.

I’m not sure what trade schools are like in your area so I can’t really comment on that. In Australia, trade schools are generally suited for physical trades – plumbers, electricians, builders. They might be different in your area.

I would suggest by starting to work out where you want to go in IT. You can work backwards from there to find out how to start. If the summer program can help you towards your goal, then try that. Otherwise, heading to college is a good idea. Many jobs (even entry-level) prefer a college degree, and I think you’ll have an easier time getting a job with one than without.

Alternatively, you could have a look at some certifications, if they apply to your specific field. There are a few in networking and system administration, but not a lot of certifications in, say, web development.

Internship or CCNA?

“I have an offer of an internship and am currently studying for my CCNA. Should I accept the internship or keep studying for the CCNA?”

Well, I think this is a good position to be in. You’ve got two things going on – an internship and a certification.

A good way to get started in the IT industry is through an internship. It gives you some great experience in the industry and you often don’t need any qualifications. I haven’t done an internship or a CCNA (I took a different path in the IT industry), but I think the internship may be the better option if I was in your situation. You can always come back and do the CCNA, or even do it while you’re working. Reports are that it takes a few months to do, so you could get it done while you’re working to give yourself a good start to your career.

System Administration

“I’d like to get into system administration, do you have any ideas on where I can start reading?”

Good to see you’ve got the passion for a certain area of IT. Many people are unsure, but they just know they want to “get into IT”.

I’ve done a bit of research but haven’t found a specific certification that applies to system administrators. Many sysadmins get started in other roles such as network technicians or help desk support. Do you have experience in this area? If not, it might be a way to become a sysadmin – work your way up through other roles. This will give you great experience, things they can’t teach you in books.

I don’t have any recommendations for specific web sites or books, but I would suggest learning about the different areas of a system administrator’s role. Learn about the technology side, and become proficient with what you need to do. A combination of knowledge and experience is a great way to move into the position you want.

Do you have any questions you’d like me to answer? Send them through via the contact form at the top of the page, or leave a comment below!

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net