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 Topic: Career NewsThe new items published under this topic are as follows.
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CIO Insight, November 8
The typical IT organization is changing in response to external factors such as globalization, forcing a re-think in the types of attributes and skills that IT managers must possess. Over the next five years, CIO Insight Research predicts a dramatic transformation in the size and scope of the traditional IT organization, as internal departments become smaller, nimbler and more specialized. Along the way, senior executives must determine what is truly core to the IT business, and which processes and systems can be outsourced to specialists around the globe.
This changing composition of the IT organization will impact the way that companies hire IT talent and the way that they partner with outside IT talent. A smaller team of managers, analysts and planners will continue to oversee mission-critical work, while most other functions will become the purview of consultants, contractors or offshore service providers. IT departments are moving away from outsourcing low-risk, low value-add activities and outsourcing higher-risk, higher value-add activities. Moreover, companies will need to innovate faster and introduce new capabilities while dealing with increased commoditization of IT.
Assuming that more organizations will be moving to this leaner model of IT, it is likely that businesses will continue to outsource more specialized work, from software development to knowledge management. As IT becomes more strategic and integral to the operation of the business, executives must re-think their expectations of the CIO and their expectations of IT. Not only must they contend with severely limited staff time and departmental budgets, but they must learn to operate in a changing environment where they are expected to manage and control alliances and negotiate contracts and service-level agreements, all while staying in tune with business needs and priorities.
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Hardcore gamers have much to teach people in IT and business about how to run an organization. These gamers are often highly skilled workers who have mastered a wide range of very complex tasks with a combination of memorization, intuition and big-picture understanding. As a result, gamers have the right mindset for taking on important responsibilities within the IT profession. As videogames become more complex, nuanced and sophisticated, increasing numbers of people will rely on them for education. Already, tech start-ups in Silicon Valley are re-thinking how they can introduce elements of gaming into their organizations.
Gaming is fundamentally different from academics in that academics is about preparing for non-failure while gaming is about learning from failure. Gamers engage in massive repetition of tasks and enjoy the challenge of mastery, two traits that are not always found in academics. As videogames become more complex, nuanced and sophisticated, increasing numbers of people will start actually learning about history, politics, and other subjects through game play. In Silicon Valley, businesses are starting to learn from video games. The "failing softly" approach to generating new business plans is one of the reasons Silicon Valley is a leading innovation center. Business and IT leaders must learn how to incorporate failure into everyday activities, such that there is no longer a stigma attached to failure.
If you are a manager, you may discover new success if you are able to foster a video game-like culture of soft failure. Instead of firing the people who try something and screw up, for example, instead retain those now-educated people and fire the ones who never try anything new. Some organizations never punish failure. Others punish it way too harshly. In addition, figure out how to foster a culture of repetition, such that stressful or intimidating tasks become mundane.
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New York Times, January 22
Most successful entrepreneurs acknowledge that they have learned as much from their failures as their successes. Being able to embrace failure is true as well for anyone attempting to build a successful career. As the article points out, there are three primary reasons why failure actually leads to career success. First of all, failure highlights the need to take chances in your career. Secondly, failure can knock you out of a false sense of complacency and force you to try something new. Finally, failure can force you to rethink your assumptions and improve your problem-solving abilities.
On the surface, it can be difficult to understand why failure is OK. However, if you are not making mistakes, you are not trying hard enough. Those who take genuine risks know that failure is the norm, success the exception. According to entrepreneurs profiled in magazines such as Fortune Small Business, it is important to be able to live well on a tight budget and develop a high tolerance for risk. Doing so forces you to become more innovative, more creative and more of a risk taker.
That being said, it is difficult for us to learn from our mistakes. According to researchers from Harvard Business School, social systems tend to discourage people from examining their failures. First, individuals experience negative emotions when re-visiting their mistakes, leading to an erosion of self-confidence and self-esteem. Second, conducting an analysis of a failure requires a spirit of inquiry and openness, patience, and a tolerance for ambiguity. However, most managers admire and are rewarded for decisiveness, efficiency, and action rather than for deep reflection and painstaking analysis. People tend to be more comfortable attending to evidence that enables them to believe what they want to believe, denying responsibility for failures and attributing the problem to others.
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Computerworld, 12-24-2007
Here's what you need to do to stay in the driver's seat as the world changes.
Today's IT professionals are an evolving breed. The job keeps morphing as companies demand not just technical know-how, but more business acumen, analytical skills and industry knowledge as well.
Kudos if you've pulled that all together, but don't rest just yet. The evolution isn't over, as the upcoming year promises more changes. If you want to stay in the driver's seat of your own career, put these items on your to-do list:
1. Incorporate security into your responsibilities.
2. Re-engineer processes.
3. Use analytics to guide business decisions.
4. Be more versatile.
5. Work on multifunctional programs and multidisciplinary teams.
6. Beef up your business skills.
7. Be more accountable.
8. Manage your own career.
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MentorNet News, December 2007
According to one member of the MentorNet Board of Directors, MentorNet could become the next Facebook. However, transforming a mentoring network into a true social networking platform will require significantly more resources than MentorNet currently possesses. Through the generosity of current members of the MentorNet community and continued partnership with entities such as ACM, though, the organization could realize its goal of becoming the go-to place where protégés and mentors can meet virtually to share ideas and help one another succeed in fields related to engineering and computer science.
If everyone in the MentorNet community were to become a donor, the organization would be able to thrive and expand as necessary to stay current with social networking and collaborative communication technologies. For donors, the return on investment can be just as significant as for the organization. Donors can impact the career trajectory of another MentorNet member and ensure that thousands of students each year receive the information they need to successfully embark on their study or career in science, technology, engineering, and math-related disciplines.
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InfoWorld, December 11
While social networking generally appeals more to recent graduates than to more established employees, Cisco is unveiling a number of new technology initiatives that place the emphasis on Web 2.0 collaboration and social networking for older workers. At a Cisco analyst conference in Silicon Valley, CEO John Chambers demonstrated a set of social networking tools being used for business. Over time, these collaboration and social networking tools could change the fundamental nature of work in the IT sector. At Cisco, for example, technology has already enabled Cisco to move from a top-down organization to a structure where task groups can be formed among all parts of the company.
The collaboration push at Cisco for older workers includes Telepresence high-definition conferencing and new initiatives stemming from its acquisition of WebEx. For example, Cisco recently demonstrated a new product from WebEx that enables organizations to create online spaces for collaboration. Employees can engage in text chats that stay up for future reference, describe problems and ask for ideas to fix them, create Facebook-style profile pages that others can search to find people with the expertise they need, and then check the presence of a contact and engage them in a Telepresence session by clicking on their names.
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CIO.com, December 11
While most people would acknowledge that networking is one of the most essential skills in business, too many workers do not spend the time learning how to do it effectively. For shy IT workers, networking is made even more difficult due to a lack of confidence, fear of rejection and a sense of unworthiness. To overcome these feelings, IT professionals must realize that successful networking is all about building intimate relationships based on mutual generosity and that there is nothing wrong in asking for help in building a career. With that as backdrop, the article provides some common sense advice for IT workers looking to increase their networking prowess.
In order to become more proficient at networking, start out with small initiatives, such as by seeking out relatives and friends for career advice. As you meet new people outside of your inner circle, do not apologize for asking for their help. Be yourself, so that you not more outgoing than normal and not too artificial. Prepare in advance. For example, if you are attending an event specifically to network your way to a new job, have your personal pitch ready and be able to anticipate questions you may be asked, such as why you are looking for a new job. Have clear, concise answers and work on developing an attention-getting delivery. Be willing to take risks, such as by cold-calling people or striking up conversations with strangers.
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Computerworld, December 11
The holiday season can be a great time for IT professionals to pick up consulting assignments that could lead to permanent positions in 2008. With the increasing popularity of online shopping, retailers are beefing up their IT infrastructures to deal with a surge in holiday Web traffic. In addition, organizations are boosting their spending on IT operations as well. Faced with the prospect of losing unspent budgetary funds, they are finding creative ways to use up their IT budgets before the end of the year, making them receptive to short-term hiring opportunities for IT consulting staff.
To prepare for this holiday-related hiring surge, there are a number of things you can do to become more proactive in your job search. You need to be as visible as possible on social and business networking sites and take every advantage of opportunities to keep your skills up to date. Any holiday position, whether permanent or consulting, gives IT professionals the chance to go above and beyond the call of duty and show how well they perform under pressure. If you get a seasonal gig and do a great job, the role can turn into a long-term position once the holiday season ends.
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CIO.com, December 4
Most jobseekers start their job search by updating their resume. However, this updated resume may have little or nothing to do with the hiring needs of your future employer. Before updating your resume, you need to think like an employer. With your target audience in mind, you can tailor the information on your resume to the specific job opportunity you are pursuing and to the specific needs of the hiring manager. In short, this means adopting an employer-centric approach to your job search and marketing yourself as a solution to specific needs and challenges of the organization.
In order to conduct an employer-centric job search, start by describing your ideal employer in terms of industry, size and location. Based on this, you will be able to come up with a short list of companies that would value your expertise. Identify the synergies between the kinds of companies you want to work for and those that would benefit from your skills, and look for jobs in those areas. Next, sort through this list to focus on the employers that are most likely to hire you. Give high-potential employers a reason to invest some time in getting to know you by being specific about your needs and experiences.
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Web Worker Daily, November 27
As defined by research firm Gartner, Generation V ("Virtual") is a way of defining a demographic group in terms of interests, attitudes and behaviors rather than age. In an online environment, age is no longer the primary factor. Office workers who may rank low in terms of income, rank or popularity may at the same time rank high in terms of reputation and influence online. As a result, employers may want to think about ways they can tap into online reputation, prestige and influence within their workforce.
According to research firm Gartner, by the year 2015, companies will need to spend more time understanding the interactions of individuals online. From a hiring perspective, this change means that companies will need to shift away from collecting personal data about individuals toward collecting more complete and more relevant data around online behavior and influence on others. Instead of emphasizing demographic information, companies should be seeking out psychographic insights related to personality, values, attitudes and opinions. With that in mind, the article offers some advice for targeting members of Generation V.
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