Here are four keys to improving your coding skills that you can start immediately.

Practice. And then Practice More Code Writing.

It’s quite simple and practical: to keep your coding skills sharp, keep writing code and then write it again. Start with writing large, complex programs. This will help you identify where you make repetitive mistakes. Soon you’ll learn how to identify and proactively avoid these errors. Writing shortcode is a great way to learn how to write quickly. Actually timing yourself for shortcode experiments is a great learning activity that allows you to measure your proficiency.

Modify and Refractor Programs

Modify a part of code and see what happens to the software. By practicing code modification, you can better identify any bugs you’re trying to fix. Refactoring is a step beyond modification of code. With refactoring, you improve a program without actually changing the functionality of it. Start by changing the name of a variable or the type of variable. Eventually, you’ll be converting inline code into a method or function. The goal of refactoring is to determine if there’s a better way to write the code or improve the code without changing the functionality or front-end of the program.

Find a Mentor

In the coding field, there’s always going to be someone with more experience and more knowledge. Whether you’re just out of college or it’s your 5th year, you need a mentor who will be honest with you about your skills and the quality of your writing. Mentor’s have the experience to give you feedback and suggestions that may change how you approach your work.

Stay Connected

The tech community, and in particular the coding community loves to share and learn from each other. There are vast amounts of blogs, books and industry websites that are current on coding trends. Just when you think you don’t need to keep learning, then become a mentor. You’ll discover a fresh perspective by teaching others, and often learning along the way.

Coders, Software Development Positions are in Demand

You’ve taken the first step by wanting to increase your coding skills. The next step is to take your career to the next level. Even if you are just pondering a career move, it’s time to contact the IT professionals at Open Systems, Inc. (OSI). Our experienced IT recruiters stay informed on the IT skills needed to advance your career as well as the most current positions that fit your needs. Contact the IT recruiters at OSI today!

The post Keys To Improving Your Coding Skills appeared first on Open Systems Inc..

The best ways to advance your IT career are to add value, offer solutions, enhance your skills and network.

Add Value

Your value comes from being a reliable and top contributor. You can increase your value by volunteering for projects that focus on increasing revenue or reduce costs within your organization.

Often IT professionals are the ‘unseen’ hero. Unfortunately, this trait is not rewarded in many corporate cultures. It’s important to be seen and heard by others.

There’s a balancing act of being seen and not being boastful. One option is offering to present a project summary or outcomes assessment to the company or stakeholders on a project you participated in or led.

Focus on Solutions

IT professionals are problem solvers. Pair problems with potential solutions when addressing your team or supervisor.

Avoid being perceived as someone always talking about problems and obstacles. Try focusing on what the desired outcome of the solution is, such as better user experience, faster payment processing or increased sales.

Enhance your Skills

Technical requirements of an IT professional are always evolving. To advance your career, it’s soft skills that will get you promoted into a management role. Communication skills, business acumen, and empathy are the skills that will separate you from artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic replacement.

Enhancing your soft skills is a lifelong pursuit. Practice listening to others and then asking questions to ensure you understand the meaning, intent, and emotion of what is being said. Work to understand your entire business, not just the function of the IT department. And above all else, express empathy. People want to be surrounded by people they like and that understand them.

Networking – Especially When You Have a Job!

Professional recruiters, like Open Systems, see this scenario often. You get the job of your dreams and then you drop off the face of the earth.
Networking with your peers, mentors, and former colleagues is actually easier when you are not looking for a job.

Also, keep your LinkedIn profile updated, continue to reach out to new contacts and connect with Open Systems.

Moving Forward

Often in order to advance your IT career, you need to move onto a new company. This is when the experts at Open Systems can guide you to your next IT role. We have IT job opportunities in a variety of industries and at all career levels. Contact us today to learn more.

The post Here are the Best Ways to Advance Your IT Career appeared first on Open Systems Inc..

Ways to Find and Hire the Best Software Architects

Engage Social Media

For companies trying to find software architects, it is a good idea to go where they are: social media. Try connecting with some social media spaces that cater to the software architect community such as StackOverflow. The best social media strategy involves engaging the community long before you need to hire a new software architect. Participating in group discussions and contributing to the community is always preferable to blindly soliciting community members. By gaining name recognition you raise your firm’s profile in the industry as well as with interested software architects.

Contact a Professional Recruiter in the Tech Industry

Professional recruiters are one of the best ways to reach tech talent, especially software architects. Recruiters can also identify talent who are open to new opportunities even if they aren’t actively looking. This expanded talent pool ensures a diverse set of prospective candidates.

Attend Conferences Geared Toward Software Architects

Sending a company representative to an industry conference is a great way to meet some potential candidates. One such conference would be the O’Reilly Software Architecture Conference. The O’Reilly conference takes place in New York City in February 2019.

Conferences also allow companies to network with the community which helps to raise their profile for the future candidates.

Set Up a Company Employee Referral Program

Sometimes the best way to hire new employees is through those already within your organization. By establishing an employee referral program, you incentivize your employees to bring their friends and former co-workers into your company. Hiring employees via referral has a high success rate as people like working with people they know. A company can stimulate their referral program by posting current needs (such as Software Architects) with a reminder to employees of the incentives available (a spot bonus, referral fee, extra vacation, etc.) if their friends are selected for an interview or are hired.

Establish Relationships with Universities

Universities turn out graduates every year who hold degrees in computer science who are looking to become software architects. While these new grads may not be seasoned professionals, they do know the latest and greatest in industry technology. This exposure to new tech makes them valuable to any organization. When a company establishes a relationship with a university career office or academic department, they have access to a new crop of grads every year.

Moving Forward

Recruiting and hiring in today’s employment market can be a challenging task. This is especially true for specialized roles such as software architects. When an organization is looking to recruit and hire software architects, there are a few strategies they can utilize to achieve this goal. Activities such as engaging in social media, attending conferences, using an employee referral program, and establishing relationships with universities can be beneficial. However, one of the best strategies for recruiting and hiring software architects is to contact a professional recruiter.  At Open Systems, we have a long track record of recruiting proven tech professionals who deliver results. Contact us today to learn more!

The post Tips on Hiring the Best Software Architects appeared first on Open Systems Inc..

The Top Benefits of Working with a Recruiter 

Expert Advice on Resume and Interview Preparation

“More than 250 resumes will be submitted for every corporate job opening. From this pile of over 250 resumes, 4 to 6 candidates will be interviewed, and 1 will be offered the job.” With statistics like these, it’s imperative that your resume is in the best possible shape to stand out from the competition. A recruiter can provide a candidate with valuable resume tips. Tips include the proper industry format and right buzzwords that will make a resume truly shine. Also, a professional recruiter can help prepare candidates for interviews. This preparation can significantly increase the chances the interview will be successful.

The Ability to Help Candidates Find the Right Placement

Professional recruiters have the necessary industry knowledge and expertise which allows them to match a candidate with a company correctly. Recruiters take the time to read a candidate’s resume and learn about a candidate’s background including future aspirations ensuring that the position a candidate is placed in will move their career forward in the future.

Industry Connections: Access to Jobs Not Publicly Posted

Many companies today are forgoing in-house recruiting divisions, instead opting to seek outside recruiting services. This shift away from in-house recruiters is occurring for two reasons. The first, companies want recruiters who have a diverse reach. Secondly, in-house recruiters can cost a lot in overhead, cutting into corporate budgets. By utilizing outside recruiters, organizations can better budget recruiting and hiring expenses. Due to this change in recruiting strategy, many job openings now go straight to contracted recruiters, thus ensuring that many job postings never find their way to a corporate website or job board. This is especially true for more senior IT and IT executive level positions.

Market Knowledge To Ensure Smooth Negotiations and Top Compensation

Compensation negotiations are challenging events, which if not executed correctly can cause negative results. Since these negotiations are so crucial to success, it is best to have a professional negotiating on your behalf. Recruiters know how to handle negotiations properly and how to keep them on track if they hit a snag. Also, with their years of experience placing candidates, coupled with their industry knowledge, recruiters know their market. Thus, candidates who work with professional recruiters are much more likely to receive offers that are in-line with market conditions.

Moving Forward

A job search is a long, complicated process. One of the best ways to combat this laborious process is to have a professional recruiter in your corner.  At Open Systems, we are experts in working with and placing candidates in the tech industry, at all stages of their careers. Contact us today to learn more!

The post The Importance of Working with a Recruiter in Your IT Job Search appeared first on Open Systems Inc..

IT security teams include a CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) and other senior and junior level IT security professionals. Furthermore, when building your IT security team, it is essential to think about assembling a group of professionals who have diverse experience in all areas of IT security.

Skills Your New IT Security Team Should Bring to the Table   

IT Security is a broad discipline with multiple and varied components that complement each other. While there are many unique and niche IT security skills out there, a company can build a successful IT security team with a core group of primary IT security skills.

Just the Basics: The Core IT Security Skills

Security Architecture

Security architecture is one of the foundations of a good IT security program. A security architect must know how enterprise networks are built and function. They must be able to design security controls and gateways to protect sensitive data. A good security architect should also know a wide array of security tools and how to use them effectively.

Vulnerability Management

With most network breaches stemming from unpatched systems, having someone in charge of managing vulnerabilities and patching strategies is essential. A good vulnerability manager will have expert level knowledge about vulnerabilities as well as strong business risk acumen. They will know that not all vulnerabilities are equal and will be able to define a risk-based approach to remediation that considers the business impact.

Security Operations: The CISO and Security Operations Personnel 

Security operations is a critical component of any IT security program. A CISO must know what is going on in their networks. They must also be able to identify abnormal behavior that may be indicative of an intruder. Security operations personnel should know the signs of an attack. They should also be able to develop alerting and response procedures to counteract this activity. Security operations professionals should also have a basic incident response capability such as log collection and correlation and basic forensics analysis.

Nice to Haves: Penetration Testing and Incident Response

While essential to an IT security program, penetration testing and incident response are areas that don’t need to be in-house. While the first three critical components (security architecture, vulnerability management, and security operations) are full-time, year-round operations, penetration testing and incident response are typically point-in-time activities that (hopefully) don’t take place more than a few times a year.

Moving Forward

IT security is an integral part of running a business today. By building a well-rounded IT security team, you can enhance your current security posture and prevent future incidents.

In today’s environment, it can be very difficult to hire IT security professionals as they are in high demand. In the IT security world, there is negative unemployment with more jobs available than there are IT security professionals to fill them. It is projected that in 2019 there will be 1.5 million IT security job openings. Given this challenging hiring market, it’s best to consult a professional recruiter. At Open Systems, we are experts in the recruitment of IT security professionals. Contact us today to learn more!

The post Building Your IT Security Team? These are the Skills You Need appeared first on Open Systems Inc..

The Top Tech Skills

When looking at the most desired tech skills by recruiters and employers, there are a few trends that stand out. The first is the importance of new tech in the marketplace. Practice areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data are really starting to take hold. At the same time, while new tech areas are emerging, more established practice areas such as Cloud and Security are continuing to grow and evolve.

It’s all about the data: Big Data Experience

Data is king in 2018. Companies have always had to deal with vast amounts of data but until recently were unable to easily put their data to work for them. Now, with Business Intelligence (BI) and Business Analytics (BA), organizations are harnessing their data and using the information to make predictions about the future and enhance their bottom lines.

Hiring managers are looking for professionals who have experience with both BI and BA as well as experience with data mining, modeling, and visual analytics.

Security: the vital and essential business requirement

Security is at the forefront of the minds of business leaders in 2018. No company is safe from a cyber-attack whether you are a corporate giant or a small business. Because of this, employers are looking for professionals with strong security backgrounds. Sought after skill sets include offensive and defensive security, vulnerability assessment, and incident response. Tech professionals can enhance their security bona fides through certifications such as the CISSP (Certified Information Security Systems Professional) and the CISM (Certified Information Security Manager).

Artificial Intelligence (AI): Taking the Impossible and Making It Possible

AI is becoming an essential part of emerging technology. Once a purely theoretical idea, AI is now becoming a vital business tool. Businesses are using AI and AI driven tools to improve many business functions. These functional areas include human resources and business strategy (BI and BA). Professionals should be familiar with data analytics, coding, and machine learning.

Everything is in the Cloud

Everywhere you go today, everyone talks about the Cloud. As more companies move to a cloud-first strategy, changes in cloud platforms are occurring rapidly. Most of these changes are to support AI and machine learning. Hiring managers are looking for professionals with cloud skills such as applications design, devops, and security architecture.

Moving Forward

2018 will be a year of significant advancements in the tech industry. Professionals who keep an eye on current trends can better position themselves for the market and their future. If a tech professional is uncertain how these current market trends affect them, they should reach out to a professional recruiter. At Open Systems, we leverage our up-to-date industry knowledge to help our candidates plan for the future. Contact us today to start your career moving forward.

The post Top Tech Skills That Employers are Hiring for Now! appeared first on Open Systems Inc..

Data Trends to Watch for in 2018

Data Trend # 1: It’s all About Privacy and Data Management

With recent news headlines regarding the misuse and management of data by Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, data privacy has become a considerable concern. Additionally, GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) goes into effect on May 25, 2018. The GDPR requires most companies with personal data of persons in the EU to have data privacy officers (DPO.) These DPOs are responsible for the oversight and protection of PII (personally identifiable information) and will become more prevalent as other countries strengthen their privacy regulations.

Data Trend # 2: Using Unstructured Data

Up until recently, unstructured data got lost. This was in large part due to this information being too vast and complicated to process. However, with new tools such as Hadoop Appliance, businesses now have the necessary capabilities to process this unstructured, once lost, data.

Data Trend #3: New Corporate Roles Being Created

The data trend is driving the creation of new corporate positions, such as a Chief Data Officer (CDO) and a Data Curator.

The CDO is a newer C-level role. CDO’s are in charge of creating an organization’s digital strategy. It’s the CDO’s job to oversee the policies and utilization of data within their organizations.

The Data Curator reviews how organizations are using data and what type of analysis is being conducted. Their role is to prevent multiple, similar projects with the same data occurring over several business segments in the same organization.

Data Trend # 4: Data Goes Mobile

Data is everywhere, even on the go. Furthermore, new mobile apps, especially for data practice areas such as Business Intelligence, have grown significantly over the last year. Companies who use mobile data apps get their information in a more timely, organized fashion. Thus, they can harness data and drive results within their organizations more quickly.

Moving Forward

Data is becoming a significant business driver. The ways companies are collecting and using data are changing rapidly. When the time comes to re-think the way your organization uses data or to hire professionals skilled in the art of data, consult the experts at Open Systems. At Open Systems, we have the connections and talent to deliver our clients candidates who can help harness their organization’s data and drive results.

The post Data Trends You Will Want to Consider appeared first on Open Systems Inc..