The PlanetRecruit Blog

Make yourself stand out: Qualifications are not necessarily enough

By Madeleine Field, FDM Group Recruitment Manager 

Madeleine is responsible for the FDM  Group graduate recruitment teams. As well as overseeing recruitment operations for FDM Group’s graduate programme worldwide, Madeleine also organises all corporate career presentations, workshops, seminars and graduate fairs.  

According to a recent study, the average number of applicants for every job has increased from 15 to 20. When coupled with the current employment figures from the Office for National Statistics which show a mere 0.1 percent increase, it is no wonder that jobseekers have started applying for jobs in alternative career fields.

I was listening to BBC Radio 5 Live's debate on current unemployment the other day there were two young and currently unemployed jobseekers on the programme. They were advised to start widening their net and consider alternative career paths if they were not having much luck in getting interviews for their dream job.

However, there is then the risk that jobseekers who are desperate, will begin applying for any kind of work rather than in their chosen career, thus increasing the number of applicants for each job.

FDM Invites you to 'Women in IT'

For graduate girls who are ready, SET and going for IT.....

Want to ‘go for gold’ in the race for career success? As a female in the IT industry you will be entering a male-dominated and fast-paced profession and this event has been created to help you on your journey.

Designed to inspire, inform and build valuable professional relationships, FDM’s Women in IT events have been highly successful and are essential for any female thinking of entering the IT sector.

'Women in IT' will be held on Thursday 31^st May (6pm-8pm) will be held near London Bridge and will include talks from three inspiring women who have achieved a personal best in the IT industry and become strong advocators of women in SET. Following this will be a networking session where you will get the opportunity to meet other females in the sector and also FDM’s appointed Female Champions.

Please download our Women in IT Event Flyer to see the full list of speakers and information on their achievements and impact on the IT industry.

Click here to download

The FDM Recruitment Team will also be on hand to discuss with you the opportunities FDM has and offer some valuable advice about how to get into, and succeed, in the IT industry.

Refreshments will be provided and the event is entirely free to attend. However, booking is essential so please secure your place now by emailing events@fdmgroup.com with your full name, telephone number and preferred email address to confirm your place and receive further details. Also please see our Women in IT Event Flyer for more information.

If you're looking for graduate IT opportunities in the mobile sector, search and apply on PlanetRecruit

 

Standing out from the project management crowd

By Michael Morretti

Michael has 15+ years of pan-European contract recruitment experience as both a successful Consultant and Sales Manager, within both the private and public sectors. Before joining Greythorn in November 2011, Michael worked in the SAP, central Government and Defence markets for both Modis and Parity. He currently manages the IT Contract Division in London and his current focus is Business Analysts and Project and Programme Managers.

 

Maximising your talent and visibility to a recruitment consultant

As an experienced recruiter I have been asked by my clients throughout my career 'what makes you stand out from the crowd?'. It's also a question I consider on a daily basis when viewing the myriad of job applications received from candidates. But is it a question that candidates are asking themselves when responding to recruiter job adverts?

A large percentage of candidates that apply to vacancies on job boards via agencies never hear back. Whilst the onus is on the recruiter to get back to every candidate, when you receive 200 replies it is often impossible to speak to everyone, so agencies will only often call candidates whose CV catches their eye.

With more technical roles, the decision of whether to contact the candidate or not is easier as you can assess whether they are suitable for the role against more tangible criteria. However, for more generic roles, where the skill-set has many differing permutations, it is a less straight forward.

An example of this second scenario is Project Management, an area I receive the largest responses for. The term is quite generic and there are many different types of project managers on the market. More often than not, project managers make up the largest percentage of candidates registered on a job board and project management jobs make up the highest percentage of jobs advertised.

With so much competition how can project managers stand out from the crowd?

Identity

 Decide what type of Project Manager you are and sell yourself as such (the two main categories are technical and non-technical).

• Clients will often be clear on whether they need someone hands on and what the main technologies are.
• If you are technical, clearly define your area of expertise on your CV e.g. Development or Infrastructure.

Project lifecycle

 Decide how 360 degree you are as a Project Manager and what areas of the project lifecycle you have been involved in.

• The size of an organisation project managers’ work for will often determine what stages of the project they have been involved in and what they have been responsible for.

Value add proposition

 Promote your value

• Explain how you added value to projects you worked on. Examples of this could be you completed a project under budget, delivered it early, provided high stakeholder satisfaction or that your project had a positive impact on efficiency for the business.

Length and style of CV

 Keep it clear, concise and legible

• There are differing views about this, but I believe you cannot outline 10 years worth of experience in only two pages, but you can’t write about each project in too much detail. Too short and the detail needed to accurately showcase your experience is negated. Too long and you’re in danger of a recruiter giving up after one page. In my experience around 1-2 pages is perfect (the most I have ever seen is 25!).

• The key is to present all your key experience and achievements in a clear and concise manner and where possible relevant to the skills needed for the job you are applying for.

• Do not try to squeeze a 10 page CV into three pages by using a smaller font size, it simply makes it harder to read and a recruiter may give up reading. 10 or 12 point font is recommended.

Title

 Carefully decide the title you give yourself for each project you have managed.

• If you describe yourself as a Project Manager / Business Analyst (unless the client is looking for that combination), it may impact the recruiter’s view of how much experience you have and undermine it.

• Similarly, if you are going to call yourself a Project Manager, make sure you are able to outline your role and responsibilities clearly.

• Too many candidates call themselves project managers when in fact, on close inspection they have not had any real input into the running of a project.

Be proactive

 It may sound like a cliché but being proactive is crucial.

• As soon as you send your CV, call the recruiter to confirm they have received it. This may seem obvious advice, but project managers often fail to do this. Being proactive to call, draws attention to you, helping your CV to stand out from the other CVs received.

Be honest with yourself

 Be objective and decide whether you are really suited to the role.

• For the Project Management roles I advertise, on average only 5% of the CVs I receive include the relevant skills and experience.

• If the advert states the employer is looking for someone with a Financial Services background and your main experience is in Retail, the chances of you being contacted - let alone getting the job - are slim. Or if role is to manage projects with a value in excess of £5m and the most you have had exposure to is £500k, question whether you can manage the responsibility of this.

 

On average, an experienced recruiter will only need to scan a CV for 15-20 seconds to assess whether the candidate is worth calling for their role. So next time you see an advertised role remember to consider how many of your peers will be vying for the same job and whether your skills really do match the role. If you think this opportunity is right for you then use the above tips to help yourself stand out from the crowd.

 

If you're looking for new IT opportunities in the mobile sector, search and apply on PlanetRecruit

IT student Wayne shares his study experiences and career goals

By Dave Snow,  Academic Director at Home Learning College 

For the past five years, Dave Snow has been responsible for overseeing Home Learning College’s tutoring staff, relationships with academic partners and development of all course content. Prior to this he was head of programme development in the home study arm of Manchester Business School, and he has also held the position of Director of Qualifications and Operations at the National Computing Centre (NCC) Education. 

29 year old Wayne Testill from Woking enrolled on our combined CompTIA Strata and A+ course in October 2011 and worked hard to pass all three associated exams just five months later. We caught up with him to find out more about his impressive achievement and his plans for the future.... 

What other qualifications do you have and when did you last study?

I have a couple of GCSEs from school in the late 90s but haven’t studied since then, so this was a big decision for me. 

What is your current profession?

I’m an MOT assistant at a local garage during the day and an assistant cashier for a bookmaker in the evening, but I’ve always been interested in IT and aim to develop a career in this sector. I enrolled on this combined course because CompTIA is a vendor neutral study programme that would develop my skills from scratch and give me a solid grounding from which to progress. 

What was the best thing for you about studying from home?

With two jobs, my time is fairly limited. Distance learning is great because I don’t have to attend day or evening classes and can fit the course around my work, which means that I usually study at the weekend. I’m pretty focused, so I didn’t have any problems with self motivation. 

How did you find the experience of taking the exams?

When I first started the course it looked pretty complicated but as the months passed by and each assignment was slowly completed, I gained knowledge and felt more comfortable. I was really nervous before my first exam because I didn’t know what to expect. Since then my confidence has grown, but there’s still a degree of nerves when walking into an exam venue because I want to pass. 

What are your future plans?

I am currently studying towards my CompTIA Network+ certification and then I will think about gaining some Microsoft accreditations. 

What are the main changes you have experienced since starting your course?

Without doubt, the biggest change so far has been to my confidence. I now know that I have the ability to learn new skills and this has given me the drive to continue my studies and start applying for jobs in my chosen industry.

Are you looking add new IT skills to your CV? Click here for the latest IT and Computing Courses at Home Learning College

The Importance of social media for IT professionals

One in five bosses reject candidates after seeing their Facebook profiles....... 

By Madeleine Field, FDM Group Recruitment Manager 

Madeleine is responsible for the FDM Academy events and recruitment teams. As well as overseeing recruitment operations for FDM Academy’s graduate programme worldwide, Madeleine also organises all corporate Academy presentations, workshops, seminars and graduate fairs.  

Last week, Eurocom Worldwide released their 2012 annual technology market survey, which found that one fifth of IT executives admitted to rejecting applicants on the basis of what they posted on social media websites. With the competitive state of the IT job market and the increasing number of employers looking at applicants’ profiles, it is more important than ever to maintain a level of professionalism across social media.

In this day and age the Internet is an integral part of our lives, and has forever altered the way we live and work….and the way we find work or it finds us. The worldwide domination of online platforms within the job-hunting market, which have overtaken the traditional paper CV has encouraged employers to look further than just educational and work experience backgrounds. Employers now want to know about you; your personality and your interests. We have all heard that a CV is your opportunity to sell yourself, now social media is your opportunity to highlight what you know, what you’re interested in, and what your stance is on a particular topic – it is your opportunity to brand and promote yourself.

According to the same survey, about 40 percent of employers look at an applicants’ social media profiles during the screening process with the figure expected to rise in the coming years. Facebook, Twitter and more recently the professional network, LinkedIn, are the three key social media networks to join as each harbour a different platform for you to showcase your strengths. Facebook allows you to show off your soft skills and personality; Twitter gives you the opportunity to listen to up to date news and become a source of information, and finally LinkedIn allows you to upload your CV and professionally interact with people in the technology industry.

These social media sites allow interaction with people you wouldn’t usually be able to get access to, from Account Managers to Sales Managers to CEOs. It goes without saying that IT candidates are expected to be savvy on these platforms so ensure that you effectively manage your online presence; as Mads Christensen, Network Director at Eurocom, accentuates; ‘every action leaves an indelible digital trail.’

Your profiles don’t have to let you down; it can also work in your favour. Ensure that you utilise social media to express your opinions, engage with debates, start discussion topics and connect with other professionals in IT. Become an online personality and start to connect and network efficiently and effectively with others, as this could improve your chances of getting hired. Remember – it’s good to be talked about and to be talked to.

So, if you promote and brand yourself correctly and network with sincerity, you could edge your way into employment.

If you're looking for new IT opportunities in the mobile sector, search and apply on PlanetRecruit

 

Cloud Computing – The job of the future

By Harry Wain 

Harry Wain is a specialist Consultant for the Storage & Cloud Practice at Greythorn. Harry’s areas of specialism include Cloud Storage, Virtualisation, Implementation, Integration, Data Migration, Disaster Recovery, Security, System Design and Project Management. Harry has been instrumental in the development of the Storage & Cloud Practice - a strategic commitment by Greythorn to continue recruiting at the cutting edge of technology. 

Cloud Computing is a hot topic in global IT circles, sitting at the heart of innovative online products like NetFlix and Dropbox. If it is not already on CIOs’ and CTOs’ radars as projects in process, it is certainly at the back of their minds for future developments. As with any new innovation, there is a growing scramble to get exposure to this market and be part of the “revolution”, and patterns within recruitment are always a good way to gauge the state of a market and predict potential future growth. 

In the past year, there has been a 400% increase in Cloud related jobs being advertised, with a rapidly increasing volume of candidates using Cloud as a key search term. So, with this notable growth in activity what is actually happening in the market at the moment? 

The key separations regarding Cloud recruitment are public and private Cloud offerings, and vendor/hosting/consultancy employers Vs end user environments. The public Cloud market at this stage, in its global development, is dominated by a finite number of practices like Amazon Web Services, Rackspace and Google App Engine. This dominance looks set to continue as financial outlay to develop and offer such a service remains in multiple million dollar territory.

From a recruitment perspective in the UK, opportunities within this field remain both few and far between and highly competed over but with new offerings entering the market - such as HP Cloud Services - and projected compound annual growth rate of 27.5% between 2011 and 2014 we do expect strong hiring growth in this area. 

The private Cloud offering faces a unique set of challenges. This is the area where we do expect to see real growth in recruitment. Consequently, as Cloud offerings have been in their infancy, expertise has centred on hosted environments, vendors and consultancy practices. As they develop their Cloud portfolio, organisations have sought to utilise internal expertise to develop these offerings and consequently develop their own staff’s experience in the Cloud environment. As a result, recruitment traffic has remained historically low, but with more end users looking to Cloud solutions as part of major change and cost saving exercises, and with a growing pool of candidates with experience in this market, recruitment volumes are beginning to increase both into 3^rd party and end-user environments. 

It is fair to say that the UK Cloud market is slowly emerging from its infancy stage, and as a consequence recruitment volumes are starting to increase. Providing the market continues to grow in the same way that is forecasted, this upward trend will continue. 

In a candidate saturated employment market employers will continue to look for specialists.The Cloud market will be no different. So our advice is to pick your market and get the experience needed to excel within that area. 

To find a new opportunity in Cloud computing, click here

IT consultancy - The Rewarding Career Ahead

By Natasha Tasha

Natasha is writer and blogger, currently interested in cloud computing, virtual servers and other popular tech related trends

IT consultancy has reached the pinnacle of popularity owing to its demand around the globe. The 'computer-to-computer' communication system has evolved remarkably in the past few decades but still has a long way to go.

Following the UT boom in 1990, IT consulting as has gained real momentum and their ability to assist almost all sorts of businesses starting from software to retail, outsourcing and education, the scope for growth and prosperity of IT consultants is unlimited. Roles and responsibilities of an IT consultant include development and execution of projects, providing consultation for finance, industries, accounting and human resources.

Qualification of IT consultants

Being an IT graduate is not good enough to become a first rate IT consultant. With the IT studies soaring in popularity, there are a considerable number of IT students graduating each year, which has made a career in IT more challenging for aspiring consultants. An MBA degree with a first class masters in IT will certainly make your path as an IT consultant easier and brighter. Specialised degree and diploma programs are also available from reputed universities which add extra edge to an IT consultant's credibility and authority. Apart from qualification, there are other essential skills a successful consultant must posess. Outstanding communication skills, managerial and authoritative approach are essential for managing or supervising teams of professionals. An IT consultant must have incredible insight and in-depth understanding of market trends and upcoming situations which is necessary to help organizations make their marketing decisions smartly.

Jobs of IT Consultants

Generally IT consultants work in collaboration with clients, which includes business houses, software firms and individuals. They provide assistance to businesses that wish to utilise the core concepts of information technology to achieve their business goals. As a part of your job as a consultant, you will need to interact with client and determine the scope of a project. Consultants also inspect the site of the client, defining the hardware requirements, network and software demands, developing optimum solutions, scheduling deadlines and examining other IT prerequisites before the work is started. Skilled and experience IT consultants also get involved with and monitor testing, document filing, and ithe organisation of processes.

IT consultants looking for stable salaried jobs should seek opportunities with eminent companies, especially IT firms. However there are ample job opportunities available with other businesses that have credible IT infrastructure in their organisations. 

Remuneration of IT consultants

IT consultancy offers a rewarding career on the whole. Consultants with first rated degrees in computer, engineering or other subjects with MBA or advanced diploma in management can procure great positions and high remunerations from the companies. 

Globalisation and social processing will open new opportunities for IT consultants which are certainly good news for new IT aspirants.

To find your next IT role, sign up to job alerts on PlanetRecruit or browse our latest IT opportunities here.

 

Got a question or comment about this post? Feel free to share your thoughts and queries below. 

 

Is work experience key to getting a graduate job in IT?

By Madeleine Field, FDM Group Recruitment Manager 

Madeleine is responsible for the FDM Academy events and recruitment teams. As well as overseeing recruitment operations for FDM Academy’s graduate programme worldwide, Madeleine also organises all corporate Academy presentations, workshops, seminars and graduate fairs. 

The recent release of the High Fliers’ report into ‘The Graduate Market in 2012’ has once again highlighted the importance of work experience for graduates in getting a job. According to the report, over half of recruiters believe that graduates with no prior work experience are “unlikely to be successful during the selection process”. 

The report also indicates that many employers are filling their graduate positions with individuals who have previously had work experience with the company. 

The Future Of Microsoft Certifications

By Ralph La Fontaine, Development Manager at Home Learning College

Ralph La Fontaine is an IT educationalist with 14 years experience of delivering and managing IT training programmes for government and private industry. 

Love them or loathe them Microsoft Certifications top most polls of IT certifications when it comes to popularity and employability benefits.  Whether we like it or not the business world still runs predominantly on Microsoft technology, so being certified is an easy way for employers to have confidence in your skills across a broad range of technologies.

Of course, anyone who has embarked on an MCSE will tell you this should not be taken lightly.  These are big certification involving multiple exams.  The problem with these accreditations has often been that they are such a major undertaking that candidates are put off by their size and the prospect of having to go through the whole thing again when the certification is retired.  Here’s the good news: Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) is more accessible because it is built from smaller Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications which are respected and recognised in their own right, thus making it a more approachable, flexible and rewarding pathway.

But what of the MCSE?  Could we be witnessing the final chapter in the life of the trusted old war horse that first began way back with Windows NT 3.1?  Well as anyone who has dared to enter the obscure world of Microsoft Professional Certifications will tell you, clarity and straight talking are not always to be found in abundance.  Nevertheless, it is with some sadness that I can confidently say that, although the MCSE certification will still have currency in the industry for many years to come, it will not be updated to cover new technology upgrades.  This is because Microsoft is adopting a policy of replacing the big certifications with a plethora of smaller more narrowly focused awards, as with the MCITP.

The two most commonly known and popular MCITP certifications are Server Administrator on Windows 2008 and Enterprise Administrator on Windows 2008.  A question that is often asked is whether these two new MCITP certifications are replacements for, or equivalent to, MCSA and MCSE. The answer is no, because it is all about the technology! MCSA and MCSE are built around Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft has clearly stated that they will not be releasing an MCSE for Windows Server 2008.   If you want to be certified on the newer technologies, such as Windows Server 2008, then it has to be through the MCITP track.

So what does all this mean?  Firstly, unless you have a very good reason you should not be starting an MCSA or MCSE now.  Instead, look at the new MCITP Windows Server 2008 certification.   Secondly, if you are already studying for an MCSA or MCSE do not panic.  Microsoft has provided upgrade paths, and training providers like Home Learning College will be responding to demand for upgrade awards.  Whilst the MCITP on Windows Server 2008 does require new skill sets, the baseline knowledge you will have acquired through MCSA and MCSE is highly transferrable.

So, while it may be farewell to MCSA and MCSE, the new MCITP certification is a real step forward, offering greater flexibility, a tighter focus on particular technology specialisations and an overall training and certification experience that is mapped to an actual job role.

Got a question for Ralph? Need career advice? Feel free to leave your questions and comments below.  

 

Why Java programming skills will always be in demand

By Ralph La Fontaine, Development Manager at Home Learning College

Named after the coffee (said to have been copiously consumed by the language’s original creators) Java was first released in 1995 by Sun Microsystems as a “write once, run anywhere” programming language.  It has since gone on to become popular worldwide, particularly for client-server web applications.  

The story took a left turn in January 2010 when Sun Microsystems, and therefore the Java technology, was acquired by Oracle.  Since then, despite Oracle’s assertion of a “relentless commitment to fostering a community of participation and transparency”, there has been a battle for the soul of Java between the open source community - represented through the Java Community Process (JCP) - and the database giant’s desire to monetise Java.  

There is no doubt that Oracle will dictate and drive the future development of core Java SE technology, and that the open source contribution will be constrained. Over time, it may be that Java becomes less of a client side language and more a server side language.  There are also doubts over how an increasingly top-down controlled language will fare as the basis for the “cloud” generation of platforms. 

Nevertheless, this is not something that should overly concern aspiring Java developers in the short or medium term, and the latest (and much delayed) release of Java SE7 in August indicates that the language continues to be well supported.  The TIOBE index also shows that Java is still the top dog programming language, despite a strong challenge from C, C++ and C#.  A buoyant demand for skilled java developers, and the relatively high salaries such professionals can command, makes the acquisition of Java development skills a good investment.  

The most popular route into Java programming is through the Oracle Certified Java Associate Programmer certification (formerly Sun Certified Java Associate certification) for beginners and then on to the well recognised Oracle Certified Professional Java SE Programmer OCPJP (formerly Sun Certified Java Programmer). Completing these study programmes demonstrates a high level of ability in writing real world commercial applications across multiple platforms including smart phones, internet TVs and the web. 

The secret of a successful and rewarding career in programming lies in developing a range of skills, usually in more than one language, maintaining those competencies and demonstrating proven practical experience to recruiters and employers.  Keeping that in mind, Java certification is without doubt a great starting point for ambitious programming professionals and a solid foundation for a career in this sector.  

 

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