TECHNOLOGY CAREERS

How to Start Your IT Career on the Right Foot

There’s good news for entry-level professionals looking to break into IT. According to the Robert Half Technology 2007 Salary Guide, average starting salaries for technology professionals across the United States will rise 2.8 percent in 2007. And business growth, the anticipated retirement of baby boomers from the workforce and other factors mean a strong employment market for those with the right skills.   

However, it can be extremely difficult to know how to begin your search and evaluate the best opportunities. What are the best sources for job leads? Should you pursue a position with a large, well-known firm or apply for jobs with small companies? Following is some advice that’s virtually guaranteed to point you in the right direction:

Stay true to your school. 

If you’re a recent college graduate, your university likely has a number of resources that can prove valuable during your job search. Consider your college’s career center, which may offer services to recent graduates, such as resume-writing advice and interview preparation. You also may want to join your university’s alumni association. These groups often host career fairs and networking nights that involve past graduates, giving you an inside edge with potential employers.

Make friends. 

One of the best ways to uncover job leads and learn about prospective employers is to talk to the people you know, including friends, family, former professors and even your chiropractor. It’s likely that someone can point you toward a firm that’s hiring, has worked for a company you would like to join or can pass along the contact information of a helpful recruiter. Also, look for opportunities to expand your contact base. For example, you may be able to leverage current online acquaintances to meet new contacts through portals such as LinkedIn, Friendster and MySpace. More traditional networking avenues include joining a local professional association or participating in IT-related conferences and seminars.

Consider an internship. 

Many companies offer internship programs that are geared specifically toward entry-level professionals. And a large percentage of post-college interns are eventually extended job offers. Look for firms that offer assignments that go beyond filing papers and getting coffee, and ask about the company’s track record of bringing aboard former interns. 

Remember, honesty is the best policy. 

Because entry-level professionals often have little work experience to leverage when trying to convince employers of their qualifications, it’s tempting to enhance their application materials by embellishing certain details. For example, an applicant may exaggerate the duties performed in a previous job or claim to have completed a degree that is still unfinished. The best advice: Don’t do it. Companies perform background and reference checks on prospective employees, and even a small white lie is enough to disqualify the most talented candidate. It takes only one call to a previous boss or the office of the registrar to uncover a falsehood. If you really wish to stand out, tailor your resume and cover letter to the position you seek, clearly explaining how your work history and skill set match the exact requirements of the job.

Manage your expectations. 

Say you’ve held multiple internships in college and graduated at the top of your class. Your goal: a job as a security manager for a Fortune 1000 firm. Even in a good employment market, however, you may not land your dream job. If you have little or no experience in this area of IT, it’s unlikely you’ll be hired into such a position. Instead, you need to build your skill set and gain on-the-job experience. Look for roles that will position you for future advancement and expose you to a wide variety of projects so you can determine the best direction for your career. 

A good starting point for many IT professionals, especially those unsure of which field to specialize in, is with a company’s help desk. There, you’ll likely learn about a variety of systems and gain a solid foundation of knowledge that’s transferable to many different areas. In fact, help desk professionals are frequently able to specialize in applications development, networking or security based largely on the in-depth experience they gained in these areas while in their first roles. On the help desk, you’ll also hone your interpersonal skills as you interact with both coworkers and end users. These so-called soft skills are increasingly viewed by hiring managers as necessary for on-the-job success and professional advancement.

Don’t let the current demand for talented IT professionals pass you by. Take a smart, thoughtful approach to your job search, and you are likely to land a position that prepares you for continued career success.

Robert Half Technology is a leading provider of IT professionals for initiatives ranging from web development and multiplatform systems integration to network security and technical support. The company has more than 100 locations worldwide. Search for jobs now or learn more at www.rht.com.