Tag Archives: information technology

Facebook’s Scandal and How it Will Impact IT Professionals

It may not be shocking, but information technology has seen one of, if not its first, scandal of an IT company abusing its technology.  In the last few weeks, it has come to light that Facebook has used its IT contractors and IT consultants to help a psychological study to be carried out on an unwitting 700,000 participants.  The IT managers and others at Facebook are coming under fire now for having a blanket policy that seems to imply that any Facebook users could be included in such studies without their consent.

While the Facebook scandal is interesting, what is most relevant here is probably the bigger moral questions IT professionals are forced to think about now in relation to their IT jobs.  What are the moral responsibilities that the IT world needs to uphold?  What will IT companies owe its users?  Questions like these will undoubtedly be debated hotly in the wake of the Facebook scandal and as technology continues to evolve.

 

 

How IT Professionals Can Make Their Commutes Productive

Having a long commute on top of their IT jobs can really start to drag down IT professionals.  However, there are a few ways IT contractors, IT managers, and IT recruiters stuck on the bus or train can make the most of this time.  Using some of these techniques in really effective ways could even result in cutting time in the office.  Read on for ways IT consultants can be more productive during their commutes.

  1. Make your to-do list for the day as you ride into the office in the morning.  Creating this list will give you purpose and jump-start your ‘work’ mindset.  It will also make you more efficient all day long.
  2. Use the bus or train ride to catch up on emails.  Don’t waste time in the office when you could be interacting with people face-to-face.  Get emails out of the way before you get there.
  3. Start to set aside tasks you can do on your commute during the day.  Be honest about this and make sure you can absolutely do the task well, no matter what’s going on around you.  This is key to making good use of your time!

 

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Recent Study Proves IT is the Best Field to Work In

University of California, San Diego’s recent release of their fifth annual list of “Hot Careers for College Graduates” underscores information technology’s consistent wealth of IT jobs for IT contractors and IT managers.  While other fields are very slowly recovering from the recession, IT professionals have enjoyed robust economic opportunity—and this trend seems likely to continue. IT consultants can look forward to growth in the IT industry for at least the next 6 years, according to the study.  The field also boasts higher salaries and better workplace environments. Combined with the fact that the study is done by an objective, trustworthy source, the perks of IT should have recent grads running to IT recruiters and IT staffing firms.

 

 

Are You a Trustworthy IT Professional?

In a field like information technology, where teamwork is often so imperative, trust becomes necessary between IT professionals and their coworkers and IT managers.  IT recruiters can’t help IT consultants get IT jobs when they merely have perfect resumes.  They must be the kind of employees and coworkers that everyone can really trust will get the job done and help to keep the company’s culture positive.  So how can IT contractors make sure they’re trustworthy?  By honestly evaluating themselves in these categories, as suggested by Dr. Paul White:

  1. Competence: Can you perform your responsibilities without more than the occasional issue?  Do you fulfill your role on your team to meet expectations? This is the more obvious part of what makes a good employee.
  2. Character: Are you not only good at your job, but also a good person to work with?  If you’re reliable, honest, and pleasant to deal with, this makes you much more trustworthy.
  3. Consistency: Do you perform at a high level all the time?  It’s hard to trust an employee or coworker who doesn’t always meet expectations.  If your competence isn’t consistent, it may well not even exist.

 

Why Starbucks’ Tuition Program is Important to IT

Though they’re by no means the first company to do it, Starbucks has brought a lot of attention to the trend of companies paying for their employees’ college tuition.  Programs like this bring a lot of attention to some hot-button issues, like the cost of college and the worth of a college degree, as well as the standards employers are held to in the treatment of their employees.

However, the most fascinating part of these stories about Starbucks are how they relate to the IT industry. Since information technology companies already feel the pain to offer perks that will attract great IT professionals, the trend is in full force in the industry.  IT contractors in IT jobs in notable companies like Intel or Apple.  This perk is especially relevant for IT consultants, too.  Since many IT managers are looking for resumes with specialized skillsets, having a BA or BS isn’t always a prerequisite.  This means that a significant portion of IT professionals don’t have a college degree yet, simply because they haven’t need it thus far.  Tuition programs are also particularly relevant to many IT professionals because they’re recent immigrants.  Getting a degree in the US adds a great deal of value to their resumes.  For these reasons and more, tuition programs are really impactful in the IT world.

 

Words to Never Say at Your IT Job

IT professionals, especially ones that deal directly with clients, need to maintain an air of competence at all times in their IT jobs.  Because computers, phones, and the internet have become so imperative to most companies’ operations, information technology requires highly competent individuals.  There are plenty of ways to do this, but one of the best is for IT contractors to cleanse their vocabulary of some particular words when speaking to IT managers, IT recruiters, their IT consultants coworkers, and clients.  These words will all undercut your confidence and the confidence of the people you’re speaking in you.

  1. Partial time words like ‘usually’ or ‘often’: These words leave room for sometimes.  As in, sometimes I’m wrong.  Don’t leave that room if you can help it, because it’s better to leave the person you’re speaking to with the impression that you’re ‘always’ correct.
  2. Negative emotional words like ‘feel,’ or ‘concerned’ or ‘worried.’  At work, it’s better to leave obviously emotional words or statements to the side.  They give people a negative impression of your competence and sometimes they even make them uncomfortable.  Better to just state what’s going on, just the facts.  Your emotional reactions shouldn’t be part of the conversation.
  3. Noncommital words like ‘might,’ ‘likely,’ or ‘probably.’  There are times when these words have to be used, but as a rule, just don’t do it.  The employee everyone loves to work with and for is the one who has all the answers and can give them quickly and confidently.  When you add in these words, you waste time and look less than sure.  Leave them out unless you absolutely have to use them.

 

Things You Should Never Say at Your IT Job

IT professionals are highly sought after in an information technology market with too few IT contractors and too many IT jobs.  However, this doesn’t make them infallible.  IT consultants still need to maintain high standards of excellence on the job.  IT recruiters and IT staffing firms can only place IT professionals who really wow their IT managers consistently.  To make sure you wow your manager start by avoiding saying these 3 phrases.

  1. That’s not part of my job description:  While some IT jobs will have very detailed job descriptions, it’s not acceptable to follow them to the letter.  The best IT professional is the one who is a true team player.  Doing your job description well is step one.  Stepping up and doing whatever else will help your team is also imperative.
  2. I haven’t gotten to that yet:  This, or any indication that you haven’t had time to get to something, is a big no-no.  You want to give the impression that you’re able to manage your time well and hit all your goals.  If you’re having trouble doing so, you may be able to seek out some help prioritizing.  However, it’s better if you couch things in those terms, rather than just looking like you’re overwhelmed and unorganized!
  3. So-and-So didn’t get that to me:  This, or any indication that it’s somebody else’s fault that something hasn’t been handled correctly should be avoided at all costs.  Being a team player, especially in IT, is crucial.  When you blame others, you make yourself look irresponsible and difficult to work with.

 

Are Vacations Becoming Extinct in IT?

As vacation season approaches, more IT professionals than any year since the recession started will be going on vacation.  This is a great sign, but there’s a slightly more unfortunate trend going on, as well.  The IT recruiters and IT contractors who are all taking these vacations will still be in touch with their IT managers or doing remote work for their IT jobs.  Why?

Though smartphones, wifi, and featherlight laptops and tablets aren’t new, they’re becoming more and more widespread in all fields (and of course especially information technology).  Employers have slowly begun to expect workers who will respond on a 24/7 basis, or at least near it.  There are plenty of benefits and cons to this change in the workforce, but the way employees spend their vacations is probably the most remarkable.  Only time will tell whether employees will continue to accept this kind of 24/7 standard of availability, or vacations will become extinct all together.

 

 

Are Your IT Employees Thinking of Leaving?

The bane of most IT managers is attrition.  Losing IT professionals hits a company hard, especially because the information technology industry in the US has far too few IT contractors and far too many IT jobs.  How can managers make sure they don’t lose valuable employees?  Pay attention to these important signs of unhappy IT contractors who may be circulating their resumes.

Firstly, an unhappy employee starts to take more time out of work without much, or with vague, explanations.  This time is usually for meeting with recruiters and doing interviews with other IT companies.  However, taking time off from work frequently isn’t enough of a sign on its own. There could be a health issue, etc.

A second sign is an employee taking a lot of personal calls at work and seeking a private area to speak.   Some personal calls are not abnormal, but a lot of personal calls might be a sign of recruiters or hiring managers reaching out.

Lastly, it’s worth noting when an employee becomes less enthusiastic, both socially and in regards to their work.  If they no longer leap for new assignments or join their colleagues for lunch, it’s a sign they’re probably checking out mentally.

 

 

Why Doing Favors are Key to Succeeding in Your IT Job

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in—from information technology to fashion to publishing, making sure you get your priorities taken care of by your reports and coworkers is hardly ever an easy task.  How can IT recruiters, IT contractors, and IT managers all make sure they get the help they need on their most valued projects?  It starts by setting a standard of teamwork—in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

When IT headhunters and IT consultants readily offer to help out, or respond to requests for help, from their coworkers, they set the stage for getting help in the future.  These favors don’t have to be huge.  Sometimes a small, unexpected favor will go pretty far just because it’s unexpected.

There’s a second, very important step to this process, though: Saying out loud after completing these favors, ‘No problem, I’m sure you’d do the same for me.’  The sentence will really drive home the message of teamwork.  Coupled with the action of doing that favor for somebody, this step will set the stage to make it easy to ask for future favors from coworkers and reports.