What's Keeping You Back From All The Fun Work?

Is your boss keeping your career back?

Do you realize that the same boss who is responsible for keeping back your career will ultimately fire you for another IT worker with a better resume!

If you are frustrated in your current job because of lack of stimulating, interesting or challenging work or because someone else like your boss … is keeping your career back then you need to read this article.

One of the traits of successful IT professionals is the desire to learn, improve or working on exciting and challenging ideas all the time. It is what truly distinguishes achieving IT professions from others.

As an IT professional, your passion, mind, skill sets, list of projects is what truly sets you apart.

If your portfolio demonstrates passion, excellence and sharp skill sets, then you will have a successful career. You will be one of those lucky, in-demand or sought after IT professionals.

If your portfolio does not demonstrate sharp skills or passion then you have lost your career.

Is Your Boss Keeping Your Career Back?

Do you know that your boss constantly receives and reviews resumes from other IT workers who are doing jobs comparable to yours?

The irony is that even when your boss is responsible for keeping back your career by constantly assigning you to projects below your skillsets, the same boss will ultimately fire you for an IT worker with a better resume.

But … that is not fair you say. Yes, I agree that is not fair, but that’s how the entire IT profession plays out.

I have seen it happen to good IT workers time and time again.

The takeaway is that you and not your boss is responsible for your career.

Perhaps you were hired with promises of new projects or promises that you will be working on the latest technologies but you were sent to do maintenance work or work below your skill sets for a prolonged period of time.

Ultimately, you will be fired. And when you are fired, you will be in a bad situation because your skill sets will be lower than what they should be.

Moreover, other IT Managers reviewing your resume will wonder why you were working on un-challenging projects for so long and conclude that perhaps there is something wrong with your skill sets!

Here is a comment posted by a business analyst that fully desribes this problem:

Hi,

I am currently in a very frustrating situation, i really need advise in this regard.

I am currently employed as a business analyst, but the tasks that I perform are not Business Analysis related instead they more technical, first line support.

I am really frustrated about the matter because now it seems as if I am not developing in terms of my Business analysis.

Should I move, or not?

Because the environment it self does not accomodate business analysis.

Please advice ……….

Thank you

My response to this business analyst is that he needs to start looking into getting another business analyst job after following these guidelines:

 1. Ask your Boss to give you to a more challenging business analyst project:

To be fair to your boss, you should gently, discreetly and wisely raise the issue.

You need to give your boss a fair chance to remedy the situation by asking for more challenging work.

You could initiate a conversation like “I really appreciate all the work you have been giving me and I am wondering if you could give me more work along the lines of … “.

You need to do some research and come up with a list of projects within your firm that you think you would be better suited for.

You also need to figure out your boss’s personality and the best way of communicating your intentions in a non-threatening manner.

• Email & Talk: You may need to email your boss first and ask for an appointment to discuss the situation

• Phone & Talk: You may need to call your boss on the phone and ask for a good time to have a private career based talk

• Talk at Lunch: Perhaps your boss is more relaxed at lunch time. If that is the situation, you need to strike up the conversation with your boss at lunch time

The point is that you need to discuss the situation with your boss in a way that shows that you are grateful for the work you’ve been given and would at the same time appreciate more challenging work.

 2. Start Preparing for a new Business Analyst Job:

You should also prepare yourself for the possibility that your boss may do little to improve your work situation.

Your boss may be unable to assign more challenging work because there is none available or because an internal decision has been made that you are not to be given the latest or challenging projects or because the boss simply doesn’t care about your situation.

Whatever the situation, your career is still your responsibility and you need to take charge of it.

Here are the steps you need to take towards getting a new business analyst job:

• Get Your Resume In Order: Get your resume into tip-top shape by adding all the business analyst work you’ve done and making sure it is up to date.

  You need to take this action before you leave your current business analyst job

• Get More Business Analysis Skills: Since you current business analysis work may have done little to improve your resume, you need to consider taking action along the lines of improving your business analysis resume outside work channels.

  It is important that you give yourself a 3 to 6 months window during which you work hard on improving your business analysis skills

• Start Looking for Business Work: Somewhere in the 6 months window where you are working on improving your business analysis resume, you need to start looking for a new business analysis job.

  Since getting a new business analysis job may take some time, you need to factor in an additional 1 to 3 months for your job search

 3. Do Not Leave Your Business Analyst Job Prematurely:

The final guideline is that you should not resign or leave your current business analysis job until you have a firm letter of employment in your hands.

The reason is that employers are several times more likely to give you an offer of employment or hire you when you are currently in the employment of another firm than when you apply for a position without a job.

This post was inspired by a challenge facing a business analyst. If you have a burning question … a challenge facing your career, post it as a comment and I will answer it for you.

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Principles for Achieving lasting Career Success

Plan for Success.

When failure is not an option, a step by step plan for advancing your career must be followed. Failing to plan your career is the same as planning to fail.

Guessing and stumbling your way through your career, is an unnecessary, expensive and time-consuming process. It reduces the chances of success by multiplying the obstacles and difficulties you have to overcome.

Don’t put your fate in luck or chance. Rather, follow a career roadmap or blueprint that can save your time and money or reduce uncertainty.

This report presents you a blueprint or roadmap for achieving your career goals! Please share it with your friends and read it for your own benefit.

Choose Your Career Wisely

Choosing a career comes with consequences that you will have to live with. It is too important a decision to make without knowing the right questions to ask or the right people to discuss your options with.

Making the wrong career choice will create frustrating challenges because you will end up lacking the technical aptitude or personality to deal with the issues you encounter.

The wrong career choice will also put you in positions / situations where you will be unable to perform or make good use of your strengths / competitive abilities.

Don’t guess when making career choices because guidance is available at the click of a mouse.

Click here to ask a question about your career and we will be glad to take care of it for you!

The Success Principles

Employers are only interested in what you can do for them. So, they monitor your effectiveness or judge you by your performance.

The best way to secure your job, your career or income is by improving your performance. Keep in mind that performance is driven by your knowledge, skills, hands-on experience and reputation.

Skills – Become the Best You

Your skill level can be assessed based on your performance at job interviews or employment tests before you are hired.

If you already have a job, your skill level is determined by how quickly you can solve problems or complete tasks assigned to you.

Your skills are not based on how long you’ve been at a job. So, beginners / entry-level professionals are able to sharpen their skills to intermediate or advanced levels even though they may have little industry experience.

Your skill is determined by the amount of relevant information you can remember or bring to bear on problems.

It’s also function of how much you know, how much you remember and how quickly you can recognize and solve the problems.

Every career has its required skills. For example; database developers are skilled at database design, database development and SQL query analysis.

Business analysts are skilled at requirements elicitation, analysis, validation or requirements management. Software developers are skilled at web, windows or mobile software application development.

Regardless of your job, you have to keep your skills sharp through constant study and practice … or they become rusty and you will be out of a job or even a career!

Hands-on Experience – Learn by Doing

The mindset of employers in the Information Technology (IT) industry is that; “past performance is the best predictor of future performance“.

So employers require hands-on experience for job openings because it assures them of a candidate’s ability to perform or succeed on the job!

Lack of hands-on experience is a career killer, posing a daunting obstacle to professionals seeking promotions, jobs, or career advancement opportunities.

It’s the classic chicken-and-egg which comes first problem. You have to demonstrate hands-on experience to get hired and you can’t get hired without the required hands-on experience!

Hands-on experience cannot be gotten from textbooks or academic qualifications. Hands-on experience must be gotten by solving real business problems. You can also gain hands-on experience by working on or completing real-world projects.

Hands-on experience is not measured by your length of years in the industry. Rather, it is measured by the real-life challenges you overcome in solving problems or completing projects.

For example, it’s not enough to say that you have been a business analyst for five years. The question is, “what have you been doing for those five years?“

So, a computer programmer with one year of experience gained on a fast paced, highly challenging information technology project may have more relevant experience or be more valuable in the market than a business analyst who spends five years working on legacy projects!

Reputation – stand up and be noticed

You are really only as good your word!

Do you know any skilled, experienced professionals who can’t seem to get ahead? Check their reputation.

Either they say little about their work and allow others to take credit for it or they are constantly talking the value of their work down!

Don’t make the mistake of assuming that your work alone will speak for itself. Even when it does, it may be perceived to be of little to no value.

Realize that your skills are just a tool, a means to an end. So, always be assuring your team or managers about the value you create or bring to your company.

I can’t over-emphasize that being busy is not enough.

You have to tell others about the value you are creating, because your work is only as valuable as what you say it is. so, stay visible in your industry.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that being visible has no business value because visibility is valued by peers, team members and employers.

It says that you are passionate about your career and are in tune with advancements in your industry.

So, work at your reputation on the job and in your industry. Remember that doing one without the other is not enough!

A few examples of how you can create a reputation at work are:

• A business analyst may take the time to assure the stakeholders and project sponsors that the developers are working on the correct requirements.
• A software developer must take the time to describe to his team / manager the feature or functionality represented by a piece of code he / she is writing.
• A database developer must take the time to describe the impact of correct database design on a website’s response time or user experience!

The Blueprint – Your Roadmap To Lasting Career Success

I have discussed a few of principles that are necessary for career success. Now, I am going to show you how they tie together through a short, real-life story.

Several years, ago, I stumbled on a highly effective technique for acing job interviews and advancing my career at work.

Skills & Job Interviews

Job interviews- You see, I had a job interview coming up and I practiced hard for it using practice tests. It was a first time for me, but I scored above 90% in my pre-employment screening.

Hands-on experience – Before my face-to face interview, I gained the required job experience without any formal job offer or employment by working on several carefully selected hands-on projects.

Finally, I put together my resume and attended my face to face interview for my new IT career. Not only did I get hired for that new job, big career doors opened up for me within a month.

Career advancement - Using these techniques, I quickly advanced my skills from beginner to senior level in a short period of time.

SkillsYou see, not only did I learn how to ace job interviews, I also learned how to sharpen my skill level so that I could recognize and solve problems easily and quickly.

Starting at the bottom of my professional career, I got my first promotion within a month because my skills were recent and cutting-edge! I had sharpened my skills to levels that typically take years to achieve … in six months.

Within six month of starting out on a new career, I was working on projects typically reserved for senior level talent and getting paid at that level too!

Leadership projects -The desire to keep help others succeed lead me to my first big leadership project. I started a new community for IT professionals passionate about solving problems.

I started writing articles, authoring blogs and staying visible.

Eventually, my efforts paid off and I started getting multiple job offers, bigger projects to work on and even more job satisfaction … who says you can’t get it all?

What about you? “Have you thought about your career goals and how you are going to achieve them?“

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Which Formal Credentials Are Needed For Success On My Job?

Information Technology careers are significantly different from careers in other sectors of the economy.

For example, what employers define as formal credentials actually clashes with the definitions of many information technology professionals.

While some professionals say that "just one (1) educational degree is enough", others say that "the more college degrees you get, the better your chances of success" and some have no opinion at all!

In this post, I will say reveal the credentials required for success on your job and explain why they are so important.

1. Professional Knowledge
   

   Your first formal credential is the knowledge that you bring to the job.

   This includes knowledge of the rules, regulations and processes of your domain (banking, finance, telecommunications, healthcare, etc.) as well as the technical knowledge required to do your job.

   Their is a loosely defined, body of knowledge for every information technology (IT) profession including business analysis, computer programming, database development, software testing, project management, web design, etc.

   Keep in mind that as far as information technology jobs are concerned, professional knowledge is always, never learned in college!

2. Technical Skills
   

   Your second, formal credential as an Information Technology professional is the skills you bring to the job.

   Skills are different from knowledge because while you may gain knowledge just by reading books or watching training videos or reading articles, skills are developed as you repeatedly perform a task or solve a problem successfully.

   For example, writing Use Cases: the more Use Cases you write according to standards, the better skilled you become at Use Cases …

   I will give you another example based on public speaking. A public speaking organization like Toastmasters gets you to stand-up and speak before a group of people at every meeting.

   This has proven to be one of the best / most effective way of developing public speaking skills because it gets you to rehearse making a speech in front of a small, controlled environment / audience which prepares you for the real job of making speeches in front of larger groups of people!

   Make a list of all the skills required for success on your job or in any position and make sure that you exercise those skills on a regular basis.

3. Hands-on Experience
   

   Hands-on, Professional Experience is developed as you practice solving larger, more complex problems problems requiring several different sets of skills over longer periods of time.

   Experience is always discussed in the context of projects and experience requires several months or years to grow and develop …

   Here is a helpful nugget of information for you: “you don’t always need a job before you can get some experience. All you need to acquire experience outside a job is creativity and open-mindedness.

   Keep in mind that experience is the single, most sought after credential for hiring / retaining a professional.

4. Industry Certifications
   

   Certifications can help senior / experienced professionals with a job advance from one position to another position after they are hired.

   Certifications however, are not required as primary qualifications for getting hired and should not be used as such.

   Certifications really are best for those who already have a position and are trying to strengthen it for internal company promotions.

   Certifications also are helpful because they force you to study and learn and so they essentially help you to complete the first goal of getting the professional knowledge required for your profession.

   In many certification bodies, you cannot apply unless you already have several years of documented and proven experience. Futhermore, hiring managers prefer to use Experience and Job Interviews to hire rather than certifications.

5. College Degrees
   

   A college degree is required for many professional information technology jobs, so you may at least, get one

   Some employers will accept an associate degree and some will hire skilled / talented web designers / computer programmers without any college degree.

   .

   However, you don’t need more college degrees until you have gained all the knowledge + skills + experience required for success on your job.

   Note that you can get a Masters or an MBA or even a Doctoral Degree as part of your personal development but not as a substitute for professional skills or knowledge.

   For example, don’t try to replace the requirement to learn business analysis with an MBA because having an MBA (Masters in Business Administration) cannot not make you a business analyst.

So, here you have it: the best credentials for success on your job.

Their is actually another credential, based on your leadership skills that is being increasingly used by employers, but that is the topic of another post.

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How To Become A Business Analyst

Janet, an Australian Software Developer wrote us about her fortunate experience in transitioning from Software Development to Business Analysis after 17 years as a Software Developer.

In Janet’s own words:

My employer offered me a BA position after recognising that I had certain “soft” skills such as communication, diplomacy and tact.

These combined with a background in analytical skills from my development days, and some agile skills from my days as a scrum master made for good potential as an agile business analyst.

So I would say that if you are often complemented in your performance reviews for your soft skills then you probably have the potential to be a BA. Approach your employer and express an interest, they may agree!

Lessons Learned About: How To Become A Business Analyst?

1. Becoming A Business Analyst May Be Easier Than You Think:

   Don’t make things too hard for yourself in your quest to become a business analyst by looking for an overly complicated formula.

   Remember Janet’s advice: if you are often complemented in your performance reviews for your soft skills then you probably have the potential to be a BA. Approach your employer and express an interest, they may agree!

   But first things first, Read More on: “How To Become A Business Analyst”

2. Your Non-BA Background Can Help:

   Don’t treat your non – business analysis (BA) background as if it is a liability.

   Your past experience can count towards your future career as a business analyst because it provides you with relevant industry / domain experience.

   Read More: “How Important Is Domain Knowledge for Business Analysts?”

3. Identify Your Skills Gap:

   You can’t become a business analyst without first taking the time to learn or identify what business analysts do.

   Next, identify the gaps in your resume, experience background and then bridge that gap through training, self-study or any other means.

   What matters is that you bridge your competency gap and not necessarily, how you bridged it (e.g. self study versus certification)!

   Read More: “What Do You Study To Become A Business Analyst?”

4. Soft Skills Matter for Business Analysts:

   Business Analysts need to have the soft skills for their profession. If you overlook the importance of soft skills, you may not succeed at becoming a business analyst.

   Read More: “Why Your Personality Should Match Your Career”

5. Yes, Software Developers Can Be Business Analysts:

   If you have software development experience, you can definitely become a business analyst by developing both your soft skills and the technical analysis skills required for business analysts.

   Read More: “How to Start Business Analysis After a Career in Computer Programming”

6. Pitch Your Current Employer:

   Develop both your soft skills and your technical business analysts skills and then, pitch your interest in business analysis to your current employer.

   Pitch your value as a business analyst by taking on smaller business analysis roles and responsibilities within your organization even if you are not going to be paid to do so.

   If you can’t pitch your current employer successfully, it may be hard for you to pitch a total stranger on your value as a business analyst.

   Read More: “How To Change Your Careers Starting At Your Current Employer”

7. Learn How To Perform:

   Learn how to perform at your current career because that will recognize what employers are looking for in new business analyst hires (not certifications or educational titles like MBAs), but proof that you can perform!

   Read More: “Can You Perform? Prove It!”

8. An Information technology / Software Development Backgrounds Helps:

   Contrary to some speculation, an information technology / software development / web programming background can help and not hinder in the quest for a business analyst job!

   It is important for you to note this because Business Analysts with an Information Technology (IT) Background can work in virtually any industry (Financial, Mortgage, Banking, Healthcare, Government, Software Development, Operations, etc.).

   Why? Because virtually every industry makes extensive use of information technology / software programs for automating their business.

   Read More: “This Type Of Hands-On Experience Can JumpStart Your Career!”

9. No Software Program Makes You A Business Analyst:
   

   If you are thinking that learning a specific software programs, UML / Use Case can make you a business analyst, you are on the wrong track!

   And yes, you are having the wrong conversation in your mind because learning a specific software tool will not make you a business analyst.

   Read More: “What Software Do I Learn to Become A Business Analyst? “

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How To Boost IT Skills Rapidly Or Get Hired Fast

Stephen Covey advises us to put “First Things First”

But, when it comes to our careers or jobs figuring that out or prioritizing the most important things proves to be a surprising challenge for many IT Workers!

For example, while some believe that certifications are required for getting a job, others put more value on hands-on skills and experience!

So, the question is, which comes first in your career, “your hands-on skills & experience” or “your certifications”?

What Comes First In Your Career, Certification Or Skills & Handson Experience?

1. Is Hands-On Experience Required Before Certifications?

   Nowadays, more certification providers are requiring lots of hands on experience (3, 4 , 5 or more years) before you are allowed to sit for their certification exams.

   They’re realizing that there isn’t much value in pursuing certifications until you’ve actually worked in an industry for a number of years or gained valuable hands-on job experience.

   In addition, hiring managers realize that job seekers are abusing the certification process, by cramming or cheating their way through the certification exams!

   For example, if you are taking a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) exam, there are websites where you can get real exam questions for the sole purpose of cramming or cheating your way towards the MCP certification.

   The challenge that IT hiring managers are facing is that job candidates who get certified for the sole purpose of getting a job may not be able to perform on the job!

   The prevailing wisdom now is, you cannot perform on the job, despite your certifications, if you lack practical skills or hands-on job experience!

   So, to avoid hiring certified incompetent professionals, IT managers are looking to hire or retain professionals who have hands-on experience, practical skills and in-depth industry knowledge.

   In addition, certification providers are asking for a number of years of verifiable hands on experience and real-world, practical skills before you are allowed to sit for a certification exam.

   For example, the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification requires 3 to 5 years of verifiable hands-on, real world project management experience.

2. Are Certifications A Replacement For Hands-On Experience Or Practical Skills?

   The goal of any certification program is not to get you into a job or to shortcut the requirement for hands-on experience but to add more value to your career.

   That is why in the Information Technology (IT) Industry, certifications are not substituted for hands-on experience or real-world career based skills.

   You develop practical skills by performing a task repetitively. For example, you may read about Use Cases from a book or study and pass a Use Case certification, but unless you have used Use Cases in solving a business analysis problem, you really don’t have Use Case skills.

   Also, you may learn about database design from reading a book but unless you have actually modeled or designed a relational database several times, you really can’t add it to your resume or claim that you have relational database design skills.

   So, the goal of IT certification programs is not to provide you with practical skills or the hands-on experience required by hiring managers but to more value to your professional career or increase your knowledge / understanding of the profession after you’ve gained strong hands-on experience or practical skills!

3. IT Managers Hire And Retain For Hands-On Experience, Practical Skills and In-Depth Knowledge

   The IT industry works differently from other professional careers.

   For example, in the medical and legal careers, you need to have a professional medical or law degree before you are allowed to practice.

   The Information Technology (IT) Industry (business analysis, software development, project management, etc.) is remarkably different because you are not required to have a professional degree or certification to get a job!

   On the other hand, their are no professional certification requirements in the IT Industry.

   The only real requirement is an expectation that you have hands-on experience, practical skills and in-depth knowledge before you are hired or perform on your job to stay hired!

So, keep in mind that IT managers are hiring for the practical skills and hands-on experience on your resume and your performance on the job after you are hired!

Your ability to “get hired” or succeed in a business analysis, data analysis, SQL / database, software development or project management career, is driven more by your skills, experience and on-the-job performance than anything else …

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Which Documents Do I Write To Become A Business Analyst?

[Ask IT Career Coach] is a Career Advice Newsletter for Information Technology (IT) professionals including business analysts, computer programmers, data analysts, database developers, technical writers, project managers and software testers.

If you, have a challenging question about your career, submit it here and we will answer yours just as we are answering this question submitted by a reader titled: Which Documents Do I Write To Become A Business Analyst? …

This question was submitted by a “Server Monitoring Engineer” who wants to “Learn The Document(s) One Can Write To Become a Business Analyst“, here is the question …

I am a Server Monitoring Engineer with 2 years of experience and a Computer Engineering Degree. Which Document(s) Can I Learn “How To Write”, So That I Can Become A Business Analyst”?

Here is my answer to this reader’s question…

Don’t Take The Documentation Approach To Business Analysis!

1. Business Analysis is not about creating documents.

   If someone told you that or somehow you get that impression of business analysis, then I am sorry to say that you have seriously been misinformed!

   There is much more to business analysis than learning how to write some business / technical documents.

   Start from scratch and assume that you really have no idea what business analysis is … and you will be better positioned to learn what is required to become a business analyst!

2. There are no required certifications that will make you into a business analyst but there are expected skills, techniques, tools (not necessarily software tools), roles & responsibilities that you can learn how to do or perform for a business analyst career.

   Don’t look for shortcuts, Business Analysis is a real “Body of Knowledge”, which means that you have a lot to learning to do if you want to become a successful business analyst.

   And keep in mind that you have to learn the body of knowledge that defines business analysis first before you start focusing on specific tasks (like documentation) that you will perform as a business analyst.

   But you cannot focus on a task like documentation and expect that learning that singular task or set of tasks will make you a business analyst!

   Imagine that you want to become an Engineer, would you start by saying something like: “Which Electrical Circuit Can I Repair or Which Type of Cat Engine Can I Repair To Become An Engineer?”

   That would be weird right? … because repairing a car’s engine or an electrical circuit does not make you an engineer.

   Engineering is first and foremost a professional body of knowledge and then a set of skills and finally practical relevant, practical, hands-on experience.

   Likewise business analysis … it is first a body of knowledge, then a set of skills and finally, practical, relevant, hands-on experience developed by putting business analysis skills and knowledge into action!

3. What Software Do You Learn To Become A Business Analyst?

   This question is similar to that asked by people who start out on their quest to become a business analyst with questions like: “What Software Do I Learn To Become A Business Analyst?” …

   Just like there is no specific software or even a set of software programs that you can learn to become a business analyst, there are no specific documents that you can learn to become a business analyst.

   When you ask questions like: “What Software Do I Learn To Become A Business Analyst“, you stray off the path of business analysis into a domain reserved for Software Developers.

   Software Development is one of those careers that is built upon the knowledge of a specific Software or set of Software Programs unlike Business Analysis!

   Likewise, when you ask questions like: “What Documents Do I Write To Become A Business Analyst“, you also stray off the path of business analysis path into a domain reserved for “Technical Writers“!

   Technical Writers build their entire career on the knowledge of “how to write specific technical documents“.

   So, beware, questions like: “What Are The Required Documents That I Need To Learn To Become A Business Analyst“, define your mindset as that of a Technical Writer rather than that of a Business Analyst.

   First take the time to get a proper orientation on “what a business analyst does and after that, you will be in a better position to become or succeed as a business analyst.

References

• How To Become A Business Analyst
• What Software Do I Learn to Become A Business Analyst?
• Tool Minded Business Analysts Can’t Be Solution Minded!

This post answers the question: “What Documents Do I Write To Become A Business Analyst” which was submitted by a reader.

If you have a challenging question about your career that you will like for us to answer, submit it as a comment on this post and we will answer it for you just as we answered this reader’s questions about business analysis.

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Tool Minded Business Analysts Can't Be Solution Minded!

You are a tool minded business analyst, if the first question that comes to your
mind on hearing the words: “Use Cases, UML or User Acceptance Testing” is: “what tool
should I use to create my Use Case / UML / User Acceptance requirements document
with?”

Tool minded business analysts are more interested in learning the intricacies, features
or behavior of the software tools used in their requirements elicitation, analysis or documentation tasks than in correctly
analyzing, validating or defining business requirements.

Tool minded business analysts believe that learning a business analysis software
tool is more important than solving real-world business problems!

Tool minded business analysts have a mindset that is similar to that of Computer Programmers’ who are notorious
for being tool minded.

But here is the question, is it OK for business analysts to obsess over their tools
just like software developers do or should they obsess over something else like
being solution minded?

The Tool Minded Software Developer

Most of the tasks performed by Software Developers involves using a tool. The software
developers primary role / responsibility is to create desktop / mobile / web software
programs a.k.a tools.

Software Developers have to and must be competent at developing software applications in at
least, one computer programming language a.k.a tool.

And for software developers, you can make the argument that their compensation or
success depends entirely on how competent or skilled they are at their programming
languages (tools).

Software Developers are not solution minded and that is OK because it is someone
else’s job to define or document the solutions that will be implemented by developers.

Software Developers can’t be solution minded because they spend their entire time
learning how to implement business solutions using multiple software
tools.

So, they really can’t can’t excel at defining the solutions for a business problem as well
as implementing business solutions using software tools.

The Solution Minded Business Analyst

Software Developers have no choice but to be a tool minded bunch of professionals,
otherwise, who is going to implement all those software based solutions to business problems?

But does it make really sense for Business Analysts to be Tool Minded just like
their Software Developer counterparts?

Should business analysts be gurus in specific software tools and if
so, what are these software tools?

Here is another really good question: if business analysts become tool minded, just like
software developers, whose job will it be to come up with the solutions that businesses
need?

Don’t get me wrong, their is a place for tools in the Business Analysis world.

For
example, you can learn Rational and become quite good at writing Requirements and/or Use Cases with
Rational’s Requisite Pro.

However, your skills in Rational does not make you a better Business Analyst. Rather, what really matters
is your abilty to write Use Case in such a way that it really captures business requirements
and then conveys the right information in a clear, concise manner to Software Developers !

A business analyst skilled in writing Use Cases (for example) with Microsoft Word
is as good as a business analyst who knows how to use an enterprise requirements
management tool, the point being that the tool dos not make the business analyst
better, OK?

These Exceptions Prove The Rule!

For the solution minded business analyst, I am recommending a great set of tools
for analyzing or documenting business requirements.

These software tools are frequently used in the day to day tasks of Business Analysts
everywhere and they are required for business analyst positions whether they are
clearly stated on the job description or not.

The business analysis tools I am referring to are the ubiquitous office productivity
software tools: Microsoft Word (documentation), Microsoft Excel (analysis), Microsoft
PowerPoint (presentation) and Outlook (communication).

These software tools are so easy to work with and they are so effective, they can be used as
a stand-in for every named / nameless / branded business analysis tool without getting
in the way of getting work done.

In other words, these ubiquitous software tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) pose little
or no challenge in the way of a steep learning curve or training budget. So, you
don’t need to waste your time mastering a set of software tools before you can get
any work done

One of the business analysts I worked with was so focused on getting work done that
he was able to create detailed, complex, sophisticated user interface (UI) requirement
documents using plain, old, boring Microsoft Word!

So, whenever you start talking to a business analyst about getting some requirements
work done and the analyst shifts the conversation to “which software tool should
I use“, beware, for you may be talking to a tool minded business analyst instead of a solution
minded business analyst!

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Business Analysts As Professional Problem Solvers

Hazel, a business analyst posted some excellent advice on what it means to be a business analyst and I wanted to shared her advice with you in this post

Hazel’s advice covers specializing as an IT Business Analyst vs. Non IT Business Analyst (Capital markets, Broadcasting, Mortgage, Marketing, etc.). It includes tips on how to develop professional presentation skills and it also goes to the heart of the matter in describing “what or who is a business analyst”!

Read Hazel’s advice below. It is succinct, relevant and powerful … here is the rest of it:

Business Analysts As Professional Problem Solvers

I started in 1975 in the Systems Department of a large financial institution as what was termed then a ‘Procedures Analyst‘.

I hold a BA in Political Science and several internal and external courses related to the IT business.

Because I took programming (COBOL) my job title was changed to Business Systems Analyst. I also jointed Toastmasters so that I could give more effective presentations.

In the last few years the term was changed to Business Analyst and a certification programme was developed for those working in a BA position.

Business analysis is a problem solving skill that is complemented with business experience in a particular discipline.

The skills can be transferred across industries, but the business experience is unique and this is what makes it difficult to get into the field as you must always start from the bottom to learn it.

A Business Analyst is really a professional problem solver. To problem solve you must be able analyze, make decisions, and to communicate the findings effectively.

In the IT world, if you are very good at problem solving and decision making you can advance to more IT senior positions such as project manager.

One of my colleagues advanced to become a senior VP. If you have a passion for problem solving, its best to focus on an internship where you will job shadow an experienced BA and gain some experience in a particular discipline (say capital markets, credit cards, mortgages).

Once you understanding the steps to problem solve, and the mission of the company you are working with, then you can apply your problem solving skills to help them solve their problems.

Because of the differences across industries, it is only after being assigned to a job that you will build the hands-on experience to be a competent BA.

The Title can be misleading when you want to apply for a position, so read the job description carefully. You are really applying for the position of a professional problem solver.

I worked full time then as an independent consultant in an IT Business analyst position but you casn be a NON-IT business analyst – working in broadcasting, stock exchange, etc. who works with the business managers only!

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Why Are Certifications Not Helping My Career?

[Ask IT Career Coach] is a Career Advice Column for Information Technology (IT) professionals looking for answers to their most challenging career situations.

This question is about the benefit of Business Analyst Certtifications

Hi,

I have an IT background with a computer science degree. And I have four years of experience as a software developer.

Recently I completed an MBA (International Business) from UK. I also passed the ITIL v3 and and soon will be passing IIBA foundation certification.

And It has been more than 6 months and still I could not enter into the Business Analysis field …

Here Is The Answer …

If you have an Information Technology (IT) background, a Computer Science degree, an MBA in International Business, an ITIL V3 Certificate and an IIBA Certificate, and you cannot get a business analyst job, you must be missing a vital ingredient despite appearances.

Here are a few things that can dramatically boost your acceptance as a business analyst …

• Do You Have The Personality Of A Business Analyst?

  At a job interview, what you are speaks so loudly that no one can hear what you say. That is because you are evaluated by your actions and not just by how well you can talk the part.

  Regardless of how many certifications or college degrees you acquire, you will have a hard time selling yourself, if you don’t sound like you will be comfortable carrying on a conversation with a CEO.

  A computer science degree, an MBA, an ITIL certificate or an IIBA certification will not change your personality for you, especially if you look and act more like a technical software developer than a business analyst at the job interview.

  Read This Post: Why Your Personality Should Match Your Career

• Do You Have Excellent Interviewing Skills?

  There is an art to Acing Job Interviews. As your Career Coach, I will advice you to start by rehearsing and preparing exhaustively and intensively for the job interview, at a minimum 2 months, before you start taking job interviews.

  It is even better, if you get someone else to actually judge or interview you and give you some feedback as to how you perform at interviews. It will of course be better for you to get assistance on your interview performance from a skilled interviewer, technical recruiter, etc.

  One really good tip you can put into practice right away is: “Ask Each Employer Why They’ve Decided Not To Hire You After Each Job Interview”. Then collate all that information and use it to figure out what you are doing wrong.

  How To Answer Business Analyst Job Interviews

  If you are an older candidate, make sure that you are clean shaven, with your white hair dyed black (guys). Regardless of your age or sex make sure that your dressing is impeccable and professional and don’t forget to wear a suite, polished shoes, polished handbags and attache cases, etc.

• Does Your Resume Really Reflect Your Business Analysis Experience?

  If you have UML, Use Cases, Requirement Gathering, SDLC and RDBMS experience and are still having challenges with getting a business analyst job, answer this question:

  Does your resume paint a picture of where you are going instead of where you are coming from?

  In other words, is your resume written professionally and in such a manner that it portrays you not as a “software developer” or a “wannabe business analyst” but as a ‘Bona Fide Business Analyst”?

• Have You Completed Entire Projects As A Business Analyst?

  Do you have projects that span some considerable time (3 months, 6 months, 1 year), that you have worked on from inception to launch as a business analyst?

  If yes, are these projects clearly and convincingly documented on your resume in such a way that any employer can compare the business analysis projects under your belt to those offered in their organization?

• Are You Targeting The Right Industries For Employment

  Only a few, select industries, sectors, skillsets and backgrounds or experience are considered HOT compared to those which are not!

  So, here is my question to you: “are your skills hot, marketable or cutting-edge and can you prove that their is a high-demand for your skills based on current employment / hiring trends?

  For more information, read this post titled: “This Type Of Experience Can Jump Start Your Career!”

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This post was submitted by raja.bhatt.

Does Your Personality Match Your Career?

Every career has some type of persona associated with it. You may have heard that stereotyping is wrong, but I say, this is how the world works!

Knowing the type of personality or behavior expected of you, can only help you grow or succeed in your career. However, not fitting the expected stereotype can hurt your career. If you must behave differently from the norm, be advised of the consequences.

In this post, I will advice you on how to mold your personality so it fits the requirements for your job!

Stereotyping Software Developers

Think about this statement for a moment; software developers are introverts!

Yes, this is stereotyping software developers. But you do expect software developers to be more interested in fiddling with the bolts and nuts of a software program than in talking to the hire-ups, right?

Given a choice between attending a management meeting and diving deep into technology, you will typically expect a software developer to choose the later, right?

Stereotyping Project Managers

Project Managers are expected to have a take charge, authoritative, commanding, no nonsense persona.

That is why you would expect a Project Manager to come into a chaotic situation and take charge with little or no external help, right?

Project Managers who spend most of their time managing time, budgets and people will probably have a different mindset from software developers, for example, who spend most of their time working on technology, right?

So, you see. Stereotyping is not all that bad … it is part of how we function, think or evaluated situations as human beings!

Because of stereotyping, you won’t expect an introverted project managers to succeed, because they have to interface with executive management, deal with people problems and deal conflict head-on!

So, as a rule, the personality of a project manager will not be the same as that of a software developer, right?

Why Stereotyping Is Good For Your Career

We use stereotyping for hiring or figuring out fairly easily and quickly, who will be successful at a post and who will not.

Not realizing this, some think that if they just get that next masters degree or MBA or ace that certification, they will be hired or promoted.

What if, their personality does not match the profile required for the job, will they succeed just because they have a college or masters degree?

Personas are the reasons why software testers think in terms of how to break things or prove that working solutions are flawed.

It is why data analysts are expected to be “number crunchers” with a knack for making inferences, conclusions or projections from data.

Personas are also why business analysts are expected to have good to solid communication skills.

So, here are few questions for you:

1. What is the type of personality required for your career?
2. Does your personality match your career?
3. What are you doing to match your personality to your job profile?

The good news is that your persona can be modified over time to fit your career. Even if your culture or natural inclinations differ from the persona required for a job, you can still match your personality over a period of time.

For example, when it comes to business analysis, one of the expected personality traits is the ability to communicate well either in written or verbal form.

As an example of how to match your personality to your career, discover how you can improve your communication skills to match the requirements for business analyst jobs.

Stereotyping Business Analysts

Good communication skills, both verbal and written, are important in any career, especially those of business analysts.

Why? Because Business Analysts spend a good deal of time communication ideas, concepts or solutions in written or verbal form.

One cause of poor communication skills is not having the confidence to express thoughts verbally, in front of others. Another source is a poor speaking habit which causes one’s speech to sound condescending or aggressive manner causing others to disengage or stop listening to you.

The ability to communicate thoughts clearly in writing is another valuable, key skill for business analysts.

Effective writing skills includes a strong knowledge of grammar, spelling and punctuation skills as well as the ability to write conversationally as opposed to stiff, formal, boring english.

As a business analyst, developing effective verbal and written communications will position you for job interviews, promotions or career success.

Verbal communication includes making presentations, speaking at meetings, speaking in front of groups or even in front of a large audience.

The thought of speaking in front of a group will make most people nervous or fearful. As matter of fact, public speaking is one of the greatest fears know to people … did you know that?

However, even the shyest person can improve his or her communication skills by following a systematic, well thought out training / personal development plan.

Keep in mind that even if your communication style is brash, boring, tense, combative, timid or generally unattractive, you can still improve it, if you take corrective action.

If you lack effective communication skills, make it your goal to improve that part of your personality this year, OK?.

How To Improve Verbal Communication Skills

If you are ready to take action towards developing good or effective verbal communication skills, I recommend that you start by joining Toastmasters.

Toastmasters is a premier non-profit communication and leadership organization that has helped a lot of people become public speakers since their start in 1924.

Toastmasters is also the easiest or least expensive way of developing good verbal (presentation, public speaking, etc.) communication skills.

The cost for a Toastmasters Membership is just $27 every six months … what could be cheaper than that?

Not only is Toastmasters relatively inexpensive to join, it also does not place a high demand or drain on your time. Imagine developing your keeping skills at the cost of just 1 to 2 hours of your time per week!

A Toastmaster club consists of about 20-40 members who meet for 60 – 90 minutes at a local library or some other venue on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly schedule.

After you join a club, you will receive a 10-speech manual called the Competent Communication Manual. This manual comprises of assignments that are designed to build your speaking skills in succession from a beginner to competent pro to advanced level.

At Toastmasters meetings, you will also receive coaching, encouragement and positive, constructive feedback on how to improve your speaking skills.

During Toastmasters meetings, you will be given speaking assignments or evaluations that will gradually develop you into a confident public speaker.

Toastmasters is an organization that is easy to find. So, you can find a club within a reasonable driving distance from your home or place of work.

How To Improve Written Communication Skills

You can improve your written communication skills by blogging! Guess what? Blogging is a relatively inexpensive and fun way of communication.

To get started, purchase a domain name which is at a minimal cost per year (less than $20). Then host your blog using WordPress which is currently the most popular blogging platform. Others blogging platforms are BlogSpot and TypePad.

Note that the moment you begin to blog, you become a part of an informal, highly effective group of writers or communicators, also referred to as bloggers.

You will want to branch out and get your blog seen by other bloggers in your industry using word of mouth or social media networking. As you comment on your topics of interest, your writing skills will improve.

There is no better learning activity than jumping right in or getting your hands dirty!

Follow this advice to match your communication skills which is part of your personality to your job or career.

This post discusses the role your personality plays in career success. For a review of other factors that can or will influence your career … read this post titled: “Which Courses Or Certifications Guarantee A Job”

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This Type of Experience Will JumpStart Your Career!

Not all experience is created equal. Some types of project experience count as being more relevant than others simply because employers place a higher value on them. Here is why:

Getting experience in areas that require innovation or cutting edge skills for example counts more because that is where a lot of money is being spent and where there is more exposure or risk!

Employers hire those with experience in the types of projects they are financially vested in, so they can increase their chances of success or mitigate risk, makes sense right?

Here is some common sense advice … “Go Where The Money Is“!

The Web & Software Development Industry employs / hires a lot of web oriented professionals because companies are constantly investing in their web / software development projects

Information Technology / Software Development projects are funded with the belief that they can reduce costs, increase efficiency, streamline operations or business processes and increase sales.

In the article titled: How To Get Extensive Hands-on Experience In Information Technology I discussed the make / break role that hands-on web / software project experience plays in your career regardless of whether you are a business analyst, project manager, software developer, software tester, technical writer, database developer or data analyst.

In part 2 of the article series, I will discuss the types of hands-on project experience that are likely to jump-start your career!

Get Leadership Experience

You may be aware of the need to get hands-on experience in technical skills (UML, Use Cases, Object Oriented Design, Manual Testing, etc.) but are you aware of the need to get leadership experience?

Even if you are technically qualified, without demonstrating or showing some leadership experience, you may still fail to impress hiring managers.

Here is an example of a question that you may get at a job interview about your leadership experience:

“When was the last time you demonstrated initiative and how did your actions significantly or positively affect the outcome of your project?”

Get Database Experience

Enterprise software development projects incorporate a significant amount of database functionality.

Regardless of whether you are a business analyst, project manager or software tester, database experience will stand you in good stead in your career.

For Example, As a project manager assigned to Information Technology (IT) projects, your role may be that of a Technical Project Manager (TPM), which means that you are expected to get your hands dirty, especially with databases.

As a TPM, hands-on database skills will help you supervise the completion of important software features, troubleshoot data migration issues or research ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) problems.

Database skills are now regarded as sine qua non, an essential ingredient of your job description, regardless of whether you are a business analyst, project manager, data analyst or software developer!

Get User Interface (UI) / Design Experience

The User Interface (UI) is key to the success of software development projects because customers typically care more about how their software or websites look than how it is constructed.

However, it takes a diverse set of skills to create the right user interface design / experience.

As a salesperson, you can help the web design / user interface team adhere to your organizations marketing goals while achieving their aesthetic goals.

As a business analyst, you can be intimately involved in the design of screens and page flows used on a website / software development project.

Web Business Analysis / User Interface (UI) Business Analysis is a real-world job / specialization for business analysts who cater to or specialize in front-end, user experience / user interface requirements.

As a project manager, user interface testing experience will look good on your resume and as a software developer, user interface design / development should be part of your core skills.

Get Software Testing Experience

Since the success of software projects sometimes depend on defects or bugs discovered by customers after a walk-through, your project will do well if all team members and not just software testers, take part in hands-on User Acceptance testing.

I am not saying that you must become a professional software tester. I am saying that some level of software testing experience will help you look like a well-rounded candidate regardless of whether you are a business analyst, project manager or computer programmer.

In closing, try to work on software / web development projects because there is typically a lot of work for professionals with experience in those sectors.

Regardless of your professional background (business analysis, project management, data analysis, computer programming, etc.), work on getting leadership, database, software testing and user interface (UI) hands-on experience so that your profile will be that of a well-rounded candidate who has taken the time to align his / her career with the current hiring needs / trends in the Information Technology industry.

Thanks & Best Wishes, IT Career Coach

This article is #2 of a 2 article series. The first installation of this article (part 1) may be viewed here …

You may review the references for this article series below.

References

1. Learn more: The Most Important Thing on Your Resume
2. Learn more: Which Courses or Certifications Guarantee A Job?
3. Learn more: Can Certifications Take The Place Of Experience?
4. Learn more: How To Get Computer Programming Experience
5. Learn more: Stuck in a College Mindset After Graduation
6. Learn more: Which Software Development Life Cycle Is Best?
7. Learn more: Can You Perform? Prove It!
8. Learn more: How To Get Extensive Hands-on Experience In Information Technology

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How To Gain Hands-on Experience in-Information Technology

When it comes to the Information Technology Industry, getting more hands-on experience is one of your most important professional development activities.

In this post, I will explain how information technology workers including business analysts, computer programmers, database developers, data analysts, project managers, software testers and infrastructure / networking professionals can gain extensive, high visibility, career defining hands-on experience!

More Opportunities To Get Hands-on Experience

By far, the number one place to find hands-on project experience in the information technology industry is in web or software development projects!

Now, does that mean that you need to become a software developer?

Absolutely Not!

An enterprise software development project employs a diverse set of software testers, project managers, business analysts, computer programmers, infrastructure specialists, database developers, technical writers, etc.

So, dis-abuse your mind of the notion that software development is primarily a coding or programming effort, because it is not!

Business Analysts / Project Managers

Before a single line of code is written, project managers and business analysts have to gather the specifications and then plan the amount of work that needs to be completed at each phase of the project before handing over the coding to software developers.

Infrastructure Specialists

The Computer Networking / Infrastructure team has to plan or architect the servers, computer networks and workstations that will be used by the entire project team.

They may have to install software testing, development or planning software and they will also have to monitor all the equipment used in building or hosting the software, so that they can guarantee that it is up and running!

Software Testers / Quality Assurance Analysts

After computer programmers finish with their coding, software testers, business analysts or quality assurance specialists have to test the code and assure the client or project sponsor that the software being delivered is reasonably bug free and designed according to specifications.

And while all this is happening, the project managers are busy monitoring the cost and resource usage versus estimates.

With all this mind, here is why software development work provides you with the best opportunities for hands-on experience regardless of your career, industry, domain or background.

Following The Money Trail Works

Better Pay / Compensation

Software development project experience is guaranteed to boost your career options because employers pay more for software development experience regardless of whether the project is outsourced, maintained in-house or developed from scratch.

Software development experience also provides you with better career stability. Since there is so much work available, employers are always looking for or hiring motivated, talented, experienced, skilled workers.

Software development projects are readily available because they cut across all domains and industries!

Highly Portable Experience

Regardless of the industry you work in: healthcare, pharmaceutical (pharma), telecommunications (telco), insurance, banking and finance, securities, utility, customer relationship management (CRM) or sales and marketing, you will find plenty of software development projects.

Software development experience is also highly portable because you can move your experience from one industry or domain to another.

For example, as a business analyst, computer programmer or project manager; you may transition from a web project in the CRM industry to another web development project in the Healthcare / Medical Management industry.

You can significantly improve your chance of getting your foot in through the door even when you don’t have the required domain experience by gaining web / software development experience because that is portable across industries, jobs, careers or domains!

For example, even when you transition from a software development career to a business analyst or project management career, your software development background will still be relevant or useful helpful to your new project or employer.

Why Is There So Much Work In The Software Development Industry?

The software development industry employs professionals from a wide, extensive and varied background.

There is a lot of software development project work available because:

1. Software development projects cut across the mobile, desktop, web, system development industry
2. A large number of software development projects fail which means that software development projects last longer than they are expected to
3. Websites are now integral to the marketing and sales functions of many organizations which means that funding website development is a top priority
4. Organizations are constantly retooling or upgrading their websites because of competitive forces, marketplace or technological changes

So, if you are looking for a well-paying, portable, cutting-edge career, start building your web / software development project experience now.

When it comes to the information technology industry, your hands-on experience trumps your certifications or post graduate college degrees.

One Good Reason, Why This Won’t Work For You!

Here is one good reason why you may fail to gain hands-on software development experience … looking for a hands-on position without first taking the time to gain the requisite knowledge or skills that will qualify you !

Hear me now, I do not recommend you walk up to an employer and ask for a position for the purpose of gaining hands-on software development experience … except if you are truly qualified to be on the team.

Look, regardless of the position you are interested in: business analysis, computer programming, project management, software testing, etc., you must first take the time to study for the position before you start working on getting hands-on experience.

Why? because without the prerequisite knowledge, you have little or nothing to offer the employer, who therefore, has no incentive to hire you.

Why Is Knowledge A Prerequisite For Hands-on Experience?

When it comes to gaining knowledge, what matters is whether you have the requisite knowledge and not how you did you gain the knowledge; college, coaching, training, self study, articles, professional textbooks, on the job, etc.

Here is why you must gain the requisite knowledge first before you start focusing on building hands-on experience:

• Can You Perform?: software project teams typical focus on delivering working software and not on mentoring or coaching team members.

  So, without the requisite knowledge, you will be a liability rather than an asset to the team since you won’t be able to keep up with the pace of work.

  Furthermore, you may even slow others down who stop and try to help you or wait upon you to deliver.

• Return On Investment (ROI): don’t assume that an employer will pay for your hands-on software development experience because most employers want a quick return on their investment (ROI).

  This is because of the costs associated with training information technology (IT) professionals which makes employers picky about who gets to work on their projects.

  You are going to be limited in your ability to gain software development experience, if you do not first take the time to learn your discipline: business analysis, computer programming, project management, etc. so that you are prepared to run when the right opportunity presents itself.

This article is #1 of a 2 article series. The second installation of this article (part 2) may be viewed here …

You may review the references for this article series below.

References

1. Learn more: The Most Important Thing on Your Resume
2. Learn more: Which Courses or Certifications Guarantee A Job?
3. Learn more: Can Certifications Take The Place Of Experience?
4. Learn more: How To Get Computer Programming Experience
5. Learn more: Stuck in a College Mindset After Graduation
6. Learn more: Which Software Development Life Cycle Is Best?
7. Learn more: Can You Perform? Prove It!
8. Learn more: This Type Of Hands-On Experience Can JumpStart Your Career!

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Generalize Or Specialize, Which Is Better?

Have you considered the pros or cons of specializing in a narrow field compared to that of becoming a generalist in your industry? Here are some of them;

Business Analysts

Business analysts may specialize as domain business analysts or choose the more general information technology (IT) business analyst career path.

IT business analysts don’t specialize in specific domains because they analyze and specify computer software or hardware solutions for any domain including operations, healthcare, engineering, sales & marketing, finance, insurance etc.

Domain business analysts have general IT business analysis skills in addition to the specialized skills, experience, background or training required for specific domains like insurance, finance, healthcare, etc.

Computer Programmers

PHP, Java or Microsoft .NET Computer Programmers are not specialized computer programmers.

On the other hand, SharePoint developers are specialized Microsoft programmers with the same general programming skills as Microsoft .NET software developers and additional, specialized, SharePoint software development skills.

Similarly, WordPress developers are PHP & MySQL developers who specialize in the WordPress area of PHP development.

Read about becoming a specialized Microsoft SharePoint Developer here.

Database Developers

Database developers working on Online, Transaction Processing (OLTP) systems including Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) like Microsoft SQL Server have generalized database development skills.

On the hand, Data Warehouse developers have additional skills that include building de-normalized Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) databases.

A Data Warehousing career is a specialized database development career that requires general relational database skills as well as specialized data-warehousing database skills.

Read about becoming a data warehouse developer here.

Another example is becoming a specialized Database Administrator (DBA), like a GIS DBA.

A DBA is responsible for managing / administering any corporate database. A GIS DBA on the other hand, is a DBA who specializes in Geographic / Geospatial Information Systems.

Read more about becoming a GIS DBA here.

Before choosing a specialized or generalized career, consider this

1. Learning Curve: Consider the additional costs in terms of money and time, of studying for a specialized career versus that of a generalized career.
2. Job Prospects: Evaluate the number of jobs available to specialists to that of generalists in your industry.
3. Step By Step: Try working as a generalist first before specializing as that will help you gather the experience or domain knowledge require for specialization in some instances.

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How To Earn Significantly More Money, When Your Career Hits a Plateau!

Have you you reached a plateau in your career?

If you have, consider becoming a contractor.

As a contractor, you may earn significantly more money (20% to 50% more) and you will find more challenging work for your skill sets.

In this post, I will show how you to minimize the risks while maximizing the benefits of being a contractor so that you end up with significantly more money in your pocket!

Is A Contracting Lifestyle Right For You?

Contractors actually have a corner on the market because they have better, more up-to-date skills, better job exposure, more hands-on experience and better marketing skills which leads to more (and not less) job stability.

Contractors have a refined sense for making money because being a contractor is one step removed from being a business owner.

Contractors focus on learning marketable skills and on staying ahead of the technology curve because the best paid contractors have the sharpest, most marketable skills.

Being a contractor, involves striking a balance between the false sense of security that regular, full-time employees are sometimes lulled into and the fear that sometimes overwhelms business owners.

Contractors also have access to full medical, dental and 401K plans just like regular, full-time employees.

So, my question to you is: have you considered becoming a contractor?

Here are some of the signs that your career has hit a plateau:

• You are not being challenged at work: you have not worked on a project that challenges or stretches you for a long time
• Your skills have stagnated: your skills have stagnated because you no longer work on leading / cutting edge projects
• You have lost your sense of direction: you spend more time dealing with corporate politics and less time getting results
• You are not getting any recognition: you can’t seem to move up in your career or earn more money regardless of how hard you work
• You have a boring job: you dread going to work because you job is boring … boring … boring!

If have been affected by any of these situations, there is good news for you.

Becoming a contractor can lift the ceiling on your salary or provide you with more challenging work, without causing you to lose the best benefits of a full-time, permanent / regular job.

Here are some tips to help you create a successful contracting career

TIP #1: Build Your Contracting Career Around Marketable Skills

Analyze your local economy to find out the sectors that are hiring. Based on these sectors, you can figure out the type of contracting experience that is going to sell.

Note: One industry that hires professionals from all sorts of backgrounds is the “Web Development Industry”.

TIP #2: Manage The Longevity of Contracting Jobs

Contracting positions should be six months or longer. I would advice you to stay away from contracting jobs that are less than 6 months because they are just too short to get anything useful done.

When you hear that a contracting gig is less than six (6) months, you may need to walk away, because that kind of job may come with a lot of pressure to perform or a lot of stress.

Focus on long-term contracting jobs, except if you are starting from scratch or you are willing to work any job, just to succeed.

On the other hand, contracting jobs that last 1, 2 years or more are desirable because they offer just about as much security as regular, permanent, full-time jobs.

Contracting jobs have longevity. They may not last as long as full-time, permanent jobs but they last long enough to be meaningful!

TIP #3: Bill A Lot More!

How do contractors handle the shorter employment periods? They bill a lot more!

Assuming that as a business analyst contractor, you earn $65,000 (USD) or £41,675 (British Pounds).

When you become a contract business analyst, you may earn anywhere from 20 percent ($13,000 or £8,345) to 50 percent ($32,500 to £20,800) more .. without changing your career or going to college for a masters or post-graduate education!

Now, that extra money should not to be invested in your lifestyle, buying a bigger house or more cars. Instead, it should be put away in a savings, retirement or investment account because you will need it!

Contractors have to account for down-times. A down-time is the time between projects, contracts or jobs when a contractor is looking for the next gig, assignment or project.

Contractors may encounter down-times in between their assignments which last up to a month or longer.

A business-savvy contractor will use down-times to learn new skills or sharpen existing skills.

As a contractor, learning a new (marketable) skill or sharpening an existing skill, means that you will encounter less and less of a downtime and that you will be paid more money because you always bring the best skill-sets to your projects!

So, it is not uncommon to see contractors, earn 50% more than their full-time contemporaries because they have better, more marketable, sharper skills!

TIP #4: Contractors Don’t Have To Travel

Contrary to popular opinions, contractors are not really required to travel except when:

• They don’t have marketable skills and because of that, have to travel to different locations to get a good job
• They choose to travel because they like being on the road even though there are contracting jobs that do not involve traveling.

Keep in mind that the majority of employers will disclose any traveling requirements before you are hired.

I won’t advice that you to bring up the question of traveling except if it’s mentioned in the job posting or interview.

If traveling is mentioned, be frank and tell the employer during a face to face job interview, that you don’t want to travel because of personal or family commitments.

Contractors do not have to travel. So, if you find yourself traveling excessively, you either have the wrong skills or you are in the wrong job.

TIP #5: Contracting Does Not Negatively Affect Your Credit

As a contractor, you actually have a full-time job and your bank, financial institution or creditors can call your staffing company and verify your employment history or salary just as easily as if you were a regular, full-time employee.

If you are working for yourself, or you are billing the employer directly, you may have a tougher time getting credit because you are self-employed.

However, most contractors are employed with a staffing agency, so they really have a full-time, regular job just like everyone else.

Getting loans, credit or financing for a contractor is usually just as easy as getting credit for a full-time employee because contractors earn a lot more money and they probably have more savings, which means that their credit is just as good.

TIP #6: Manage Your Contracting Profile

Let’s say that you use the same staffing agency all the time, then your employment history / profile will look like that of a full-time, permanent employee even though you change clients often, because you are still employed with one staffing company.

However, if you change staffing agencies every time you change jobs, your work profile will look less stable and that may negatively affect your employment profile during a job interview or a credit check.

Fortunately, you have a good measure of control over which staffing agency you work for.

For starters, make sure that you work with a recruiter that you like and then stay in close communication with that recruiter throughout the life of your project.

Money Making TIP:Get your recruiter to start looking for new projects at least six (6) weeks before the exit date or the ending of your project and you will be able to transition from one job to another with zero or little down-time.

TIP #7: YES, Contractors Must Be Highly Skilled

Contractors are the most skilled, knowledgeable and experienced professionals on a project. That is why they are paid all those big bucks.

Being a contractor does not mean that you have spent a lot of years in the industry. It does not mean that you have more formal education or more certifications than your regular, full-time colleagues.

You do not need a post-graduate degree, an MBA or a computer science background to become a contractor because college education does not parallel the functional skills required for success in Information Technology jobs.

Being a contractor does means that you are performance minded or that you are obsessed about achieving results.

Read this post titled: “Can You Perform, Prove It!”

This post was written in answer to a question posted by a business analyst

This question was submitted to “ASK IT Career Coach” by a business analyst looking for advice on how to become a contractor.

If you have a challenging career situation, be sure to [Submit A Question] using our Free, Amazing, [Ask IT Career Coach] – Ask A Question Service.

For more information, read this post titled” Do You Want To Become A Consultant?”

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How To Choose A New Career

After witnessing the challenges in the lives of professionals dealing with under-performance, under-achievement, stress, anxiety, career stagnation, anger, depression or financial failure; I decided to write this article on how to make better career choices.

Choosing the right career is important because you spend the major part of your day (9 to 11 hours) at work. If you make the wrong career choice, you will put yourself in a painful, challenging situation.

So, choosing the right career ranks as one of the most important decisions you will ever make in your life.

Here is my review of the right and wrong ways of choosing a career.

Recommendations

You may choose a career based on the recommendation of family members, friends, colleagues, college counselors, coaches or other professionals.

Recommendations from friends or family are usually well-intentioned but they are sometimes based on the individual’s limited experience, fears, personal interests or hearsay.

Some common examples include recommending a career because a brother, sister, father, mother or family friend is in that same profession.

Apart from career coaches or counselors, most people making career recommendations do not actually assess the strengths or weaknesses of the individual who they are making the recommendations for. Rather, they are solely focuses on what they perceive to be the opportunities in the industry.

However, you need to determine that the individual making a recommendation is knowledgeable about a wide range of careers or that they are not biased in their recommendations.

Personality Tests

You may decided to choose a career based on your personality type.

For example, If your personality leans towards that of an introvert, you may decide to choose a career in computer programming instead of project management.

On the other hand, if you are an extrovert, you may choose a career in technical recruiting, account management or sales.

Choosing a career based on your personality is effective because it factors in your strengths and weaknesses.

For example, if you train for a career that your personality is ill-suited for, you will find it hard to get a job or succeed at the job if you are hired.

If your personality does not match the profile required for the job, you will find it hard to convince employers to hire you, even if you have strong educational qualifications!

You may read more about personality types in this post titled: “What Is Your Personality Type?”

Self Interest Or Hobbies

You may choose adopt a hobby or a recreational pastime as your career.

For example, you may start programming as a hobby before deciding take up a formal, full-time computer programming career.

Turning a hobby into a full-time job is effective because you are choosing to build your life around “what you love doing or your passion“, instead of some other shallow reason!

Education

You may decide to pursue a career that is aligned with your college major or educational background.

That can be is okay as long as you don’t limit yourself to what you learn or did not learn in college.

Choosing a career based on a college major is not always effective because, what you get from college in some cases is a good theoretical education but not necessarily the strong functional education, knowledge or skills required by employers.

You may not be making an informed decision if you base your career choice on your college coursework because the two may not be closely aligned.

I get a lot of questions along these lines, for example; from MBA graduates who assume that the MBA course work is the same as that of business analysts!

Fact is, your college major or degree does not help, hinder, limit or restrict your career options.

You may read more in this post titled: “Stuck In A College Mindset After Graduation”

Financial Reward

A lot of professionals choose their careers based on the perceived financial reward, salary or compensation.

Here is what they miss; regardless of the career you choose, if you are a top performer, your income will grow and exceed the average salary paid to professionals in your industry!

If you are really good or exceptional at what you do, you will be paid well regardless of your profession or career.

So, while you may choose a career because for financial reasons, a better path may be choosing to become a top performer in a career you really love!

So, if earning more money is important to you, identify the factors that lead to high performance in your career and then work on becoming a top performer as quickly as possible.

You may read more about top performers in this post titled: “Can You Perform? Prove IT!”

Prestige

Do you know someone who is in a particular profession like medicine or law because of the prestige attached to that profession?

The problem with choosing a career because of it’s prestige is that what seems prestigious right now may not feel prestigious in a few years or when the glamor of that profession wears off and you are back to the daily grind!

Remember that getting a prestigious job may not make you happy or successful in the long run because your happiness is governed not by the prestige others attach to your career (an extrinsic factor) but by how much you enjoy doing your job (an intrinsic factor).

Lifestyle

Your lifestyle may dictate your choice of careers. For example, if you are a stay-at-home parent, you may not want to commute daily to work.

Keep in mind that certain lifestyles are more available in some careers than others.

For example, a freelancing lifestyle is more accessible to a computer programmer than say … a project manager.

And a technical recruiter or sales rep is more likely to spend time driving from office to office, meeting clients than say … a business analyst.

You may also have noticed that professionals in sales are more likely to travel for their work than computer programmers.

So, if you really must have a certain lifestyle, you have to do due diligence and choose the type of career that supports that lifestyle.

Mobility

Do you know someone that choose a career simply because that is what was locally available and that person has no intention of ever leaving his or her city to get a job?

If you cannot afford to relocate to a different city because of the associated financial costs, the cost of leaving your social / family network or the challenge of starting out in a new city, you may be limiting your career options.

Just remember that you don’t have to feel constrained to jobs or careers that are locally available.

Moving to a different city may bring much needed fresh perspective, energy and opportunity into your life!

Learning Curve

You may choose a career because it has a shorter or longer learning curve.

If you choose careers with longer learning curves (e.g. C++ programming career versus C# programming) you will have to wait for a longer time to get a job.

On the other hand, choosing a career with a shorter learning curve means that you will be ready for work sooner or faster.

If you do not realize that each career path has a learning curve attached to it, you may make the wrong career choice or fail at your career transition.

You may read more about “learning curves” in this post titled: “Oracle Or Microsoft Access, Which Is Better?”

Handicaps

If you discuss your career options in terms of “what you cannot do, what you are afraid of doing or worried about”, then you are motivated by fear or handicapped when it comes to choosing a career!

Don’t choose a career because of fear, worry, anxiety, worry, outsourcing, layoffs, recession or bad news.

Instead, choose a career based on what you love doing, your hopes, dreams, visions, goals, good news and other more positive factors.

You may read more about “passion” in this post titled: “Why Successful People Are Passionate About Their Jobs”

SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis allows you to compare your strengths and weaknesses, the threats, disruptive changes and opportunities in the environment.

SWOT Analysis is one of the most effective ways to choose a career because it helps you make an unbiased, fact-based decision by balancing your strengths and weaknesses (internal factors) against threats and opportunities (external factors) in your environment.

Why this list is not exhaustive, my hope is that you will use to evaluate your decision making process when it comes to choosing careers. That way, you will have a better, more fulfilling and happier life.

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Success Principles: Discover Your Passion!

Do You Want To Live An Inspired Life?

First, discover your passion and work a job you really love.

Second, turn your passion into a set of excellent skills using practice tests or quizzes.

Third, bring your passion to the market using Push (emailing your branded resumes) or PULL Techniques (Social Media Marketing).

Here is a question for you; Do You Really Love Your Job?

In a study of how exceptional, world-class or, successful people are produced, Daniel Coyle in his book “The Talent Code” says that it takes a combination of concentrated, difficult, skill-building practice, motivation or inspiration and master coaching to achieve success.

Coyle’s point is that if a person is going to invest the amount of time and concentrated, difficult practice that produces a high-level of skill, that person will have to be deeply motivated or passionate about his or her work!

SUCCESS DOES NOT COME BY WORKING A JOB THAT PAYS MORE MONEY BUT BY FOCUSED, SKILL BUILDING PRACTICE.

Deep, Skill Building Practice

Deep practice is something most top athletes add to their training.

Deep practice is where they slow down their practice to unbelievably slow speeds just so that they can wrap their brains around the skill required of them and then practice with as much accuracy as possible.

Their goal is to practice perfect!

Think about it: top football teams study their plays over and over, slowly and in great detail on chalkboards in a classroom for hours on end before hitting the football fields.

And tennis camps in Russia do not allow young beginners to hit an actual tennis ball until they have developed a technically correct tennis swing at slower speeds.

Regardless of how much natural talent an athlete appears to have, most athletes will not reach the top unless they deep practice!

Deep practice is an obsessive, but focused, skill-building technique.

Read more on this post; “Deep Practice Journal”.

Passion, Motivation or Inspiration

In his book, Outliers, Gladwell interviewed Bill Gates, whose unique access to a computer at a time when they were not commonplace helped him succeed.

Gates passion for computing, drove him to access a high school computer in 1968 at the age of 13, and spend 10,000 hours programming on it before he was 23.

Without that access, Gladwell states that Gates would still be “a highly intelligent, driven, charming person and a successful professional”, but that he would not be worth US$50 billion.

The Beatles were so passionate about their craft that they performed live in Hamburg, Germany over 1,200 times from 1960 to 1964 and by the time they returned to England from Hamburg, Germany, ‘they sounded like no one else’.

The lesson to learn here is that:

It is only when you love what you do, that you will consciously try to improve your performance or work very hard at becoming very good.

If you do not love your work, you will not be able to make the type of exceptional, disciplined commitment required to be successful and if you are working just to pay your bills … you will never be exceptional!

The SECRET OF SUCCESSFUL people is that they choose the type of work they are deeply passionate about and they develop or perfect exceptional skills for their job using feedback, guidance or coaching.

For me, success means doing work that I love, developing my skills to the best of my abilities and helping or serving other people with my talent.

What does success mean for you? Here at ITCareerCoach, Success is a three part process that involves discovering your passion, developing your passion and bringing your passion to market.

1. Discover Your Passion: identify and focus more on the type of tasks that give you a sense of fulfillment, joy or happiness and that is also very valuable, useful or helpful to others, so you get paid.

   • Doing what you love maximizes the benefit you get from your working hours. Remember that we spend the majority of our waking hours at some type of work!

   • If you don’t do what you love, you will lack the motivation to perfect your skills.

     You will lack the energy you need to find out of the box solutions, you will not have the motivation you need to stay ahead of the technology or marketplace and you will lack the desire to become exceptional at your job.

     In other words, you will only produce “below average to average” results because you lack the passion for excellence.

   • Read more on this post: “Are You Inspired Enough?”

2. Develop Your Passion: sharpen your skills through continuous practice until you become highly skilled or exceptional at what you do.

   • Develop your skills so that they stand out with in the eyes of your clients, customers or employers.

   • Developing your skills through via deep-skill building practice maximizes your strengths and it allows you deliver valuable results or solutions to your customers or employer.

   • If you don’t develop your skill, someone else will become better than you and eventually take your market, job or business.

   • As an information technology (IT) professional, the primary method for developing or perfecting your skills is through the use of practice tests or quizzes.

   • Read more on this post: “Ace Job Interviews Using Practice Tests!”

3. Bring your Passion To Market: Become a leader by continuously sharing your passion with a community using a blog or a website.

   • Sharing your passion allows you to get real-world feedback on what is valuable to others and what is not.

     Even if when you are highly skilled or knowledgeable, you will lack the customer or real-world interaction that rounds off your knowledge.

   • It also helps you get paid for doing what you love. Sharing your knowledge, expertise, insight, skills or services with an online community allows others to get the maximum benefit from your work and it allows you to get the maximum pay or reward for your work.

   Read more on this post: “Become A Leader And Get The Job You Want!”

This is the internet age and you cannot hide behind mediocrity. If you are mediocre at your work, your boss will replace you with someone that is better skilled.

Or, if you are mediocre and you run a business, your customers will find a more passionate provider on the internet.

So the morale is; don’t be mediocre, be exceptional!

I will leave you with a few quotes from that summarizes this process from our participants.

“There is such a wealth of information out there that it can be overwhelming to someone trying to figure out what they need to know.

I mean, when you look in your local bookstore you will see a huge section of books to help, but what you won’t find is the insider information that will teach you exactly is the most profitable and what techniques you absolutely must know.

You also won’t find any resources that will give you the inside information about how to write a specific resume so you stand out from the crowd.

You also won’t find the inside information about what interview questions to expect and more importantly – how to answer them!

ITCareerCoach provides all this information, structured in such a way that it is easy to learn.

Each step builds on what you learned in the previous step so you never get overwhelmed.

What you will learn above everything else from ITCareerCoach is the sequencing … all life is made up of what, the same 6 proteins but it is the sequence that makes everything work and every animal different.

You will learn how to make your knowledge and skills work … that is the secret, the sequence: what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and for how long, so that it all make sense.

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How To Jumpstart A Stalled Career!

It has been said that to “keep doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results is the very definition of insanity.“

On the other hand, “if you want something you have never hard, you must do something you have never done!“

So, if your career is stagnating, step back and take an honest look at your work.

Is your work everything you had hoped for?

If the smell of fresh-brewed coffee is the biggest reward after you walk through the office door each day, it’s time to truly perk up your daily grind and reboot your career.

Broaden Your Horizons

One way to jump-start your career is to volunteer for assignments that are outside of your comfort zone or take on additional roles that are valuable to your organization.

For example, you may take on some project management responsibility if you are in a more technical role, so that you can become a better-rounded candidate.

And as a project manager or a business analyst nothing stops you from getting more technical skills, because this makes you more hands-on than your contemporaries.

Adding more skills, both technical or management, can only help you in the long run.

• Read this post “Do Business Analysts Need Computer Programmer Skills?“.

• Read this post “What Software Skills Do Business Analysts Need?“.

Upgrade your Skills

One of the areas that all professionals need to stay on top of is; “their skill-sets!“

Like it or not, information technology skills are susceptible to losing their value because technology is always changing or evolving.

Read this post … “The Most Important Thing on Your Resume“.

Do What You Love

One of the reasons why your career is stagnating may be that you’re not doing work that you are passionate about. So, you’re bored, and it shows.

But your managers probably don’t realize the problem; and so, instead of working with you to get to the right place, they keep you in the same job, afraid to give new assignments and responsibilities to someone who, quite frankly, doesn’t seem to want to be there.

So the question to you is, “are you doing what you really want to do with your life?” If you find that you’re not, you need to figure out what makes you happy and do it!

Perhaps what you love to do involves working with a new technology, or on another team / company, or taking on a new role / career.

It’s likely that, you’ll need to re-train to learn the required new skills, but you should never let something like that stand in your way.

It may take time and effort to change your career, but it is likely that you will continue to under-perform or be unhappy until you start doing something you love.

Are You In The Right Place?

Studies have shown that, usually, a person’s workplace is not the reason they are not moving up – quite frankly, it usually has more to do with them, rather than the place where they work.

But some organizations are better suited for certain career paths than others.

For example, if you’re a computer programmer, your greatest challenge comes from developing new software applications.

If the work given to you is mostly that of maintaining software systems, you may find yourself getting bore as you repeat the same maintenance tasks over and over again.

Does your company have a technology focus?

That isn’t to say that your company needs to be a technology giant or software development company; because we can’t all work for companies like Microsoft, Google or Apple.

Rather, what you should ask yourself is, “does your company recognize the value of technology or leverage it extensively for the day to day operations of their business?“

Do You Have A Career Path?

Everyone wants to have the opportunity to grow in some way in their work.

Even if you don’t want to move into management, you may want to move into a project management role?

Asking yourself what it is you want to do long-term, and then examining whether or not your company is going to be able to help you get there is something everyone needs to do at some point in their career.

In the end, only you can determine what it is that will jump-start your career.

It might take new skills, or new responsibilities, or even a new job altogether, but there’s not much point in delaying the inevitable.

Other challenges may be phrased with questions like “how can I promote myself”, “what should I do in life”, “what career I should choose” because professionals frequently rethink or regret their choices in these areas.

Here are some of the tips for overcoming regrets and getting more control over your career.

BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE

If you have lost your confidence, you can take it back. Irrespective of your profession, you can regain your confidence any time.

Change your statements from “I can’t do it to I can do it or I can at least try“.

Change your statements from “I did wrong to I did better than before and I’ll do better again“

Change your statements from “Will this idea work? to No idea is bad“

You should replace your pessimistic thinking or talking with a more optimistic apprach or conversation.

Think of yourself as a professional in your department and your confidence will start growing.

THINK MORE ABOUT YOUR CAREER OPTIONS

Working at different jobs or roles will help you build a better understanding of your skills, experience or the opportunities out there.

Search for new opportunities and don’t restrict yourself to just one conventional or traditional career. Keep your options open and you’ll succeed at work.

Read this post … “Is Tunnel Vision Killing My Career?“.

Consider working as a volunteer to get different experiences as this will eventually help you decide the best career for yourself.

WORK ON YOURSELF CONSTANTLY

One of the best ways to boost your confidence is by updating your resume each time you complete a project.

The next thing is stay up-to-date with changes in your industry using the internet, journals, electronic papers, online classes etc.

If you are preparing for a job interview, first have an interview session with your self; answering questions like “why do I want this job“, or “why am I qualified to do this job“, etc.

Your answers should reflect a strong self confidence, positive mental attitude and personal competence.

Try to practice quick answers; lasting for not more than couple of minutes.

Talk with yourself in front of the mirror and give these answers.

This will surely help you in your interview and it will eventually increase your confidence as well.

PROMOTE YOURSELF

The only way to be successful in a competitive job market is to market yourself constantly.

People with strong marketing skills get the best jobs even when they are less qualified than others.

One way to market yourself is to make a personal, nice looking, business card which you can distribute.

Also, consider using a blog to showcase your skills and expertise.

Finally, join a local networking group that will help you meet people.

GET YOUR FAMILY TO SUPPORT

Many professionals faces obligations and responsibilities related with their family, culture, religion.

But they often find it difficult to spare more time for either their professional or family obligations.

If you are thinking of putting in the extra work that it takes to reboot your career, you should discuss it with your spouse or children in advance, to avoid creating a lot of stress.

Consider asking your spouse for support, because the extra work you may need to invest in your career, may place a burden on your family.

The sooner you can take an honest look at your career, make an objective assessment of your skills and prospects and make the necessary adjustments, the sooner you will begin to experience a more satisfying career.

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wearing multiple hats gets the job done!

If you react negatively after reading a job description that requires cross functional skills, you may be throwing away a valuable learning opportunity!

Though the thought of working on a challenge outside your immediate area of expertise makes you uncomfortable, it will actually increase your value as a resource.

Information technology (IT) professionals are frequently asked to perform jobs completely different in nature from what they are hired or trained to do.

For example:

• Business Analysts on web development projects may be asked to create cascading style sheets (CSS), design user interfaces (UI) or perform user acceptance tests.
• Software Developers may be asked gather requirements from stakeholders or customers, verify / validate requirements, write Use Cases or create UML documents.
• Project Managers may be asked to design databases, architect software programs, document business requirements or create user interfaces (UI) specifications.
• Database Analysts or Database Developers may be tasked with designing front-end applications or data entry forms used in gathering or collecting data.
• Technical Writers may be tasked with gathering or documenting business requirements even when they have little or no formal training.
• IT Managers may help web development teams debug code, test software products, facilitate meetings or gather requirements.

Don’t reject assignments because you have never done them before or because they have not been formally written into your job description.

A can-do attitude or the willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done, is required for success in today’s competitive workplace.

Why Do Employers Blur Job Descriptions?

Employers want you to develop cross-functional skills because they are short staffed, they want to save money or they want you to be a valuable asset to their organization.

Managers typically do not have the budget that allows them to staff their projects with all the specialized skills the project needs.

So, a good way to win your manager’s favor is to volunteer for tasks beyond your immediate skills or comfort zone, especially in areas where your project is short staffed.

Let’s take a look at the typical web development project which in a perfect world, needs to be staffed with project managers, business analysts, user interface designers, web designers, user experience analysts, data analysts, database developers, database administrators, software developers, web analysts, technical writers, copywriters, network administrators, web writers, software testers and more.

If every web application project is perfectly staffed, web development costs will be prohibitive for most organizations.

Also, staffing each project with all the needed resources may be counter productive because there may not be enough work for each role beyond the life cycle of the current project.

For example, the User Interface (UI) designer’s skills are required at the beginning of a web development project to help with the visual design / layout of the web site / application.

However, once the coding for the project begins, their may not be any use for the User Interface (UI) Designer’s skills until a new web development project is launched.

So, the organization that hires a UI Designer will be forced to fire him / her half-way through the software development life cycle!

As you can see, this approach is not ideal for both User Interface (UI) Designers and Project / Software Development Managers.

Employers solve this type of staffing problem by hiring professionals with cross functional skills!

That is why you may see job descriptions for technical business analysts or job postings that require specialized technical skills (CSS, HTML, User Interface (UI) Design, etc.) even though they are listed for business analyst positions.

The willingness to wear multiple hats is required for success in today’s information technology (IT) industry.

Employers want you to be confident and willing to tackle any challenge thrown your way, even when the problem domain does not lie within your immediate area of expertise.

For example, a Microsoft .NET Software Developer may be asked to write some PHP code or a PHP Developer may be asked to write some Visual Basic/ CSharp (C#) code even when these programming languages are not part of the programmer’s skills.

How To Gain Cross-Functional Skills

Developing cross functional skills, starts by acquiring a lot of new information on a new domain.

Here is some information that can help you in the quest for cross functional skills:

• Start with a Road-map:
  

  Start with a comprehensive road-map or a curriculum that shows you all the lessons, concepts or topics you have to learn in a step-by-step manner.

• Learn More to Earn More:
  

  Identify all the reading resources that you will need to accomplish your learning goals including blogs, videos, textbooks, newsletters, magazines etc.

• Make Daily Progress:
  

  Plan to make consistent, daily progress instead of a strenuous, herculean effort.

  When it comes to learning, winning small daily battles is better than a mad, one-time dash that may end in discouraging failure!

• Get Some Feedback:
  

  Incorporate third-party review or feedback from peers, coaches, instructors, etc.

• Build Your Resume:
  

  Keep in mind that taking on challenges outside your immediate area of expertise, scores points in the eyes of current and future managers.

Keep in mind that wearing multiple hats is an opportunity in disguise.

Acquire a “can do” mindset and live outside the silos or boundaries set by your job descriptions!

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what software should you-learn to become a business analyst?

[Ask IT Career Coach] is a Career Advice Newsletter for Information Technology (IT) professionals including business analysts, computer programmers, data analysts, database developers, technical writers, project managers and software testers.

If you, have a challenging question about your career, submit it here and we will answer yours just as we are answering this question submitted by a technical writer titled: What Software Do I Learn to Become A Business Analyst? …

Question

How do I learn or get the software knowledge that would make me a business analyst?

What types of software programs will I have to use on the job; and how do I learn these programs in a visual manner without having to refer to textbooks?

Answer:

You do not understand what a business analyst does and because of that you are mixing software jobs (like that of a computer programmer’s) with the business analyst’s job.

This mix-up is quite common because software oriented jobs are more common and better understood than business analyst jobs.

When you think of a computer programmer’s job, the picture that comes to mind is that of a highly skilled technology savvy professional who spends a lot of time building software programs, creating data entry forms and screens, designing websites or even installing desktop applications.

Unfortunately, when you think of business analysts, you also imagine that their duties or tasks are similar to those of computer programmers!

Because of this, you are wrongly associating the business analyst’s career with more software / technology careers like software testing, technical writing or computer programming.

So, in TODAY'S POST, I will contrast the role of a software tester, computer programmer, technical writer and business analyst to bring the point home.

What Does A Business Analyst Really Do?

The primary skills that business analysts use on the job are communication skills
(both written and verbal) unlike computer programmers, whose primary skills are tied to expertise in specific technologies like C#, Visual Basic, Java, PHP.

Business Analysts are highly-skilled or expert at communicating technology requirements with stakeholders, customer, power users or even technical teams (think software developers, software testers, web designers).

The primary communication tools used by business analysts while facilitating the requirements engineering process are Office productivity tools including Microsoft Word (for documenting requirements), Microsoft PowerPoint (for making presentations) and Microsoft Excel.

However, unlike computer programmer jobs, business analyst jobs are not required to be software or technology centered.

Don’t get me wrong!

Some job postings for business analysts require knowledge of software development languages like C# or Java or a software development background.

The business analysts that apply for these job postings are more accurately classified as Technical Business Analysts.

There are several domains or specializations available to business analysts (mortgage, financial, telecommunications / telco, automotive, healthcare, insurance) and technical business analysis is just one of these domains.

Read more about domain business analysts here:

However, the requirements for domain business analysts are not the same as the requirement for becoming a business analyst.

You are a business analyst first before you become a technical / domain business analyst.

So, don’t apply the role, responsibilities and requirements for the technical business analysis domain to all business analyst domains.

Competence or mastery of Microsoft Office Productivity software (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is a requirement for business analyst jobs even when it is not stated on the job posting.

A business analyst who uses Office Productivity software can document requirements with Microsoft Word, make PowerPoint presentations and run what-if analysis using Microsoft Excel.

Focusing on software skills beyond Microsoft Office software makes you more of a computer programmer than a business analyst.

For your information, here are some of the differences between computer programmer jobs and business analyst jobs.

Business Analysts Compared To Computer Programmers

• Business Analysts gather requirements while computer programmers build to specifications.

• Business Analysts document work flows and business processes while computer programmers model and build software programs that follow those workflows or business processes.

• Business analyst are hired for their written and verbal communication skills while computer programmers are hired for their expertise or skills in specific programming languages or technology platforms.

• A computer programmer's work is deeply invested in learning or using technology while a business analyst’s work is deeply invested in understanding, documenting and communicating business requirements.

• A business analyst’s primary software tool is Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint while a computer programmer’s primary software skill is knowledge of Java or C# or Visual Basic or PHP or other programming languages.

• Business Analysts document the requirements or features of software programs while computer programmers build software programs.

• Both the business analyst and software developer are involved with the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) for different reasons. While the business analyst owns the analysis and documentation of software requirements, the computer programmers owns the building of software programs.

• Read more about the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) here:

I am also going to contrast the role of business analysts with that of software testers and technical writers to bring this home.

Business Analysts Compared To Software Testers

• Software Testers are more hands-on with programming than business analysts.

  Software Testers are more skilled in programming because they sometimes have to write automated tests using scripting programming languages.

  A business analyst should not be required to write scripts or learn programming languages except in instances where they are applying for technical business analyst jobs.

  So, you cannot project the hands-on software skills requirements for software testers onto the hands-on skill requirements for business analysts.

• Software Testers write manual or automated tests that verify that software programs developed by computer programmers were written according to the specifications or requirements documented by business analysts.
• Software Testers have to test or inspect the procedures or functions written by computer programmers.

  For that reason, they may have to learn the basics of the programming language used in creating the software program.

  There is almost no value in business analysts inspecting a programmer’s code or even messing with it because Business Analysts do not have those competencies!

• Read more about Software Tester Careers here:

Business Analysts Compared To Technical Writers

• The skills exercised by technical writers are similar to that of business analysts in some respects.

  Both technical writers and business analysts exercise strong written communication skills.

  However, while a technical writer’s skill is useful for documenting the features of a software program after it is built, a business analyst’s skill is useful for documenting the features of a software program before it is built!

• A technical writer’s primary role is the documenting of existing software features, business processes, etc.

  Because of this, a technical writer may have to learn specific software programs (apart from MS Word or PowerPoint) to help them with create technical documentation like Help Files, Software Manuals, etc.

  The technical writing industry is such that job postings require knowledge of specific software documentation tools.

  However, this must not be confused with the software requirements for business analysts.

  Business Analysts are not technical writers and the business analyst’s job does not require knowledge of specific software programs apart from the ubiquitous (Microsoft Office, MS Word, MS Excel or MS PowerPoint).

• While the technical writing industry is componentized along the lines of software documentation tools (Adobe PageMaker, Adobe Frame Maker, Adobe Acrobat, Quark Xpress, Corel Ventura), the business analyst industry is segmented along the lines of domain specialization (financial, utilities, web / user interface (UI) business analysts, etc.).

• Read More about Technical Writer Careers:

What Does It Really Take To Become A Business Analyst?

The requirements for business analysts’ jobs are primarily documentation, requirements analysis and communication (both written and verbal).

While it is common for a business analyst to spend his / her time, preparing PowerPoint presentations, taking meeting notes using Microsoft Word or writing Use Cases in plain-old Microsoft Word, it is common for a computer programmer / software tester / technical writer to spend the same amount of time coding new program features / documenting bugs / documenting the features of a software program.

A business analyst must be 100% comfortable in his / her role as a communicator, presenter, leader, facilitator or analyzer without feeling the need to learn more software tools!

How To Get Hired For A Business Analyst Job – Case Study

Some time ago, I was hired to help an Information Technology (IT) director put together a software development team for a financial software project in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.

In that role, we posted a senior business analyst job opening and then started interviewing qualified business analysts.

The business analyst I interviewed and recommended got the job because she did something different from the other business analysts who applied for the same job.

She walked into the interview with a bound, spiral document that showcased the comprehensiveness, thoroughness and versatility of several business documents she had created for one automotive client in the Greater Saint Louis region.

She did not get hired because of what she said at the business analyst job interview or because of the software experience listed on her resume.

She got the business analyst job, by showcasing her hands-on business analysis skills.

What differentiated her was a compilation of various types of business analysis documents she had worked on for an automotive client in the Greater Saint Louis area.

The financial client hired her as an Information Technology (IT) business analyst for a financial software project because they connected with the hands-on, visual depiction of her business analysis skills exemplified by her Microsoft Word based portfolio.

My final advice?

Don’t approach the business analyst industry based on how the software testing, technical writing or computer programmer industries work.

Remove false associations between the business analyst’s role (primarily written and verbal analysis or communication of requirements) and the hands-on skill requirements for software testers, technical writers or computer programmers.

What Is The Toughest Challenge Facing Your Career?

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ABOUT TRAINING & COACHING COURSES

• Business Analyst Boot Camp - Online, Web Based, Instructor Led, Business Analyst Video Training


• SQL Boot Camp - Online, Web Based, Instructor Led, Hands On, SQL + RDBMS Video Training


• Software Developer Boot Camp - Online, Web Based, Instructor Led, Software Developer Video Training


• Data Analysts Boot Camp - Online, Web Based, Instructor Led, Hands On, Data Analyst Video Training


• Get Hired Fast - Online, Web Based, Resume + Job Search + Interview Video Training


• Become A Leader Coaching - Develop hands-on experience, gain domain expertise, solve industry problems, Stand Up and Be Noticed, market your career using PULL instead of PUSH techniques!

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