by
Jim Staats
| Sep 14, 2012
Takeaway of the week is something akin to a broken record: Notably, that another publication touts the value of "soft skills" in the hiring process, IT certifications tend to bump up one's pay grade and IT hiring continues to be on the rise. Nothing new, yet good to know.
The IT Skills That Matter Most
Just about anyone worth their salt in the IT job market these days can code, so what can set a candidate apart from the pack?
We'll give you a hint. It's not hard.
As a recent item in TechRepublic highlights, today's CIOs are high on the need for "soft skills" in managers and new hires, just the latest in a veritable flood of like-minded posts within industry publications.
As one IT executive put it in his firm's pursuit of young, talented techies, "We look for students that come to us very well prepared - not only in technology, but in the 'soft skills' that you need to be successful."
As other IT executives with a hand in the IT hiring process attest, skill in human interaction techniques such as open communication is no longer being under-appreciated.
According to several CIOs in the know, the following are "soft skills" that job candidates should have in their back pocket:
- Read, write, listen and speak: Be able to go beyond technical jargon, especially with end-users and customers.
- Remember the human element: The skilled project manager not only manages task charts, but the performers who meet those tasks, nuances and all.
- Collaboration: It's all about cross-communication when it comes to making team members feel like a part of the solution and not just a project tool.
- Visibility: Regardless of the role you currently inhibit, transparency will build trust and respect in those around you.
Report: It Pays to Certify
If you're visiting this site, you're already getting the idea of the importance and value of certification in this industry.
But, hey, which ones help the most in bringing in the big bucks?
The recently published IT Skills Demand and Pay Trends Report, put out by the Foote Research Group, notes that individuals with 23 specific certifications are getting paid a premium over others in the same role without the credentials, according to a recent CIO.com item on findings.
Premium skills pay is defined as "an additional monetary compensation or skills premium tied specifically to a certification (or skill)."
A few of the certifications that add a premium to salaries include:
- 8-13 percent premium: Red Hat Certified Architect, Microsoft Certified Architect, HP/Master Accredited Solutions Expert
- 10-15 percent premium: Certified Secure Lifecycle Professional, Cisco Certified Design Expert
- 12-16 percent premium: Open Group Master Architect, Program Management Professional
IT Employment Goes in the Right Direction
If the folks scouring the latest jobs figures to come out of the U.S. government are reading things right, things remain on an upward tilt for the IT sector of the job market.
Reporting on some of the groups that study the latest U.S. Labor Department jobs data, a recent article in Computerworld.com paints a rosy picture for the industry's job market.
Janco Associates, a research and consulting firm, estimated that 13 percent of the overall 96,000 jobs added in the U.S. in August were IT jobs. That's quite a healthy chunk.
The group surveyed CIOs with the takeaway that based on job data and other parameters, it is expected that overall hiring will improve significantly in 2013.
Industry group TechServe Alliance put the month-to-month increase at 5,100 IT jobs, contributing to nearly 4.2 million positions.
While the unemployment rate for computer hardware engineers and software developers both shrank from the first quarter to the second quarter of this year, the rate actually increased slightly for computer support specialists over the same time period.
For computer hardware engineers, the unemployment shrinkage was a significant one: a 4.4 to 0.5 percent dive from quarter-to-quarter.