In today’s IT world, a prospective hire is only as good as their skill set. In light of this, it’s best for candidates to think of their skill sets as currency in the job market. The great thing about skill sets is that it’s an area where candidates have the most control over their job searches and careers. In order to maximize their return on investment, candidates should arm themselves with all the information they can find to make themselves as valuable as possible.
With this in mind, Computerworld surveyed IT professionals who planned on adding to their headcounts in 2017 and these were the top 6 skills they were looking for among prospective new hires.
1. Programming
Languages and fluency are key here. As much as knowing multiple languages is great, it’s best to have a quality over quantity approach.
2. Help Desk/ Tech Support
Companies will always need tech support. Time is money and humans are error-prone; as a result, tech support personnel are critical to any organization. In particular, candidates who are familiar with multiple types of hardware and software are highly sought after.
3. Security/Compliance/Governance
It’s all about security these days! In this area, skills can be proven by holding highly sought-after certifications such as the CISSP or CISM.
4. Cloud/SaaS
Cloud has taken over the world by storm. Owning and maintaining racks of hardware is expensive and time-consuming. As a result, companies are shifting the responsibility of services to off-network providers. For this reason, there is now a wide array of technologies in the cloud category such as Office 365, AWS, and Azure. Experience in even one cloud technology can give a candidate an edge.
5. Business Intelligence/Analytics
Data, data, data! Business is driven by data, and it’s this data that allows trends and buying patterns to be discovered. Thus, potential employees must have the skills to mine, analyze and, understand data and turn it into results.
6. Web Development
As more and more services are moving to the web/SaaS model, the need for skilled web developers with experience across the entire stack is great. Additionally, given the pace of change today, experience with DevOps and Agile development methodologies is a huge plus!
Making a Skills Assessment
Before embarking on a new job search, a candidate should do a self-inventory and determine their strengths and weaknesses. With an inventory in hand and the list of top sought-after skills above, they should come up with a plan to enhance and enrich their skill set. Skillset improvement can come in the form of classes, certifications, or even self-study.
Conclusion
When in doubt about the best approach to make you and your skill set more marketable, it’s best to consult a professional recruiter to get the best advice for your development. They will be able to assess your resume and experience and guide you in the best ways to make sure your skills are serving you and your job search. Contact Open Systems Inc today!