If you are on the hunt for a job as a project manager in the rapidly growing field of information technology, then you may already be aware that there is some stiff competition out there. The good news is that you can get an edge in the IT job market if you understand what other employers are looking for in candidates. Having the right qualities and training can set you apart from other candidates, helping you to get the positive attention you deserve.

In a recent study, published by Mironov Consulting, it was revealed that many hiring managers in the IT field have a narrow focus when it comes to choosing a project manager. In a random sample of multiple IT job descriptions, both advanced and entry level, nearly all of the hiring managers wanted to see certain project management attributes presented by IT candidates.

• 76% asked for previous experience in a product management role, averaging 3 or more years.
• 93% asked for excellent verbal and written communication skills from candidates.
• 88% called out experience in their market segment as a very important factor for success.
• 83% named specific technologies, including 35% looking for Agile, and 20% hope to get PMs who also have UI/UX experience.
• 93% want a candidate with at least a BA/BS, 32% want MBAs, and 68% were looking for additional certifications

It’s clear that hiring managers are generally recruiting IT candidates who have some experience or a background in certain industries, because projects can vary widely. However, by understanding more of what they expect and look for in candidates, an IT job seeker can better hone his or her skills to attract the best hiring companies.

Another avenue to landing work as an IT project manager is to accept a temporary or contract assignment in a related area. Then become a subject matter expert and ask for opportunities to manage a project, working under the guidance of a more seasoned PM. Being a professional project manager takes a broad range of skills and experience, but the most critical path to success is by being proactive and taking command of your own career.

 Learn more about career opportunities in the IT field and project management:

How to Approach a New Style of IT Hiring – Advice for IT Job Seekers 

As an information technology professional on the prowl for a new assignment, you are probably keenly aware that a lot has changed since the last time you looked for a job. Just a few years ago, the only way to get a job in IT was to either graduate from a top level IT college or happened to complete a preferred certification program. But today, the world is an open door, with multiple IT jobs readily available to you – if you know how to approach your job search that is.

Here are some tips for landing an IT job in the modern job search environment.

Brush up your IT resume and cover letter, pronto.

There’s nothing more annoying to today’s recruiter than an outdated resume, especially when It recruiters are looking for candidates with current skill-sets and presentations. Before you start sending resumes out, work with a professional resume writer or consult with a colleague about updating your IT resume. Draft up a concise cover letter for each assignment and make sure you focus on how your skills relate to each job.

Create a branded IT presence online.

Today’s IT recruiters are taking the time to do further research on any potential candidates to screen them before the actual interview takes place. This means they will likely be scoping you out on social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook, as well as any professional groups you participate in online. Make sure you are presenting yourself in the best possible light.

Get networked with multiple IT groups.

Utilize social networks and industry associations as a place for career support as you search for hiring companies who can give you the edge. Sign up for automatic alerts of new IT opportunities. Share your ideas and expertise to create a persona of being an expert in your field.

Go casual and expect collaborative work environments.

The IT workspace has also evolved with the addition of more collaborative technology and work environments that encourage up and coming IT pros to focus on their work rather than fashion. Take a look at the corporate culture and then dress casual for your interviews. Learn how to use new technology to your advantage.

A good avenue for finding an IT job is to work directly with an IT staffing and recruitment firm that has relationships developed with the top hiring companies. Take the time to contract with Venteon Technical for access to IT jobs in the USA.

It has been said that IT project management is akin to herding cats. There are generally a multitude of priorities, activities, and goals that an IT project requires. Even with the help of an IT project management software and a seasoned project management team, things can and do go wrong with projects of all types. Yet, you can avoid some project management mistakes by anticipating them and taking steps to reduce this from happening with a plan. Here are some of the most common mistakes and how to avoid them.

The wrong project manager

In order to be successful on any IT project, you need to assign a team leader who is knowledgeable about the process and the type of project work at hand. This knowledge and experience will count the most when it comes to handling problems or setbacks in the project. Choosing someone who has not managed a project is risky, especially if the project is for a client or important vendor.

Lack of executive buy-in

Your stakeholders and the executives who will be in charge of making key decisions should be on board before undertaking any IT project. This is because you will need this support from the management and financial end of things as the project requires resources and prioritization. Make sure you have executive buy in and provide frequent updates to test this throughout the life of the project.

No regular communication

An IT project team must continually communicate in an agile project management environment. This means scheduling regular project meetings to discuss updates, challenges, and feedback for the project. The IT project manager should be in charge of setting this up, but if not, be sure to create an internal forum for tracking all project communications rather than relying on a chain of random emails.

Poorly written scope of work

Every IT project needs a carefully written scope of work document that will explain every detail and milestone of the project ahead. This is a collaborative document that each member of the project team will use to complete their tasks. Make sure it is written by a skilled analyst, and then checked by your project team for accuracy before signing off on it.

Unrealistic project deadlines

All project teams go into a new IT project with gusto, but over time this wanes to the point where there may be a little less motivation. If a project deadline is set too soon, this becomes overwhelming to team members; too far out and they will forget what they need to do to accomplish the goals of the project. Using a project management system, set realistic timelines as they apply to each task and current resources.

Being successful in IT project management begins with the people who are part of the project team. Hire the best IT employees and you’ll likely find that project management becomes more of a smooth process. Venteon’s IT staffing resources can help you select the best contract and temporary employees for the job.

There is little doubt that having the top data analytics talent on your side is big business. In fact, this is one of the most interesting fields in the job market today. There is incredible demand for qualified professionals in data analytics but there is a significant shortage of professionals to fill those positions. Because this field is becoming an important part of business decision making, there is a good deal of competitions for those people viewed as the top talent in the field.

Is There Really a Shortage of Data Talent?

Some experts believe that by 2018, the United States will be facing a significant shortage of talented analytics professionals. These professionals will be unavailable to companies who want to use big data. As many as 140,000 to 190,000 positions could go unfilled. That does not account for the 1.5 million managers and analysts who will have the knowledge and skill to take the analytic data and use it to make effective decisions within the business.

Those companies able to land top talent could see operating margins increase by as much as 60 percent. Many businesses are realizing this need and, as a result, are taking the time to find the best talent in the field. The effects of not having the right professionals could be astounding with product launch setbacks and various project delays likely in many organizations as a direct result.

Why Is This a Problem?

There are some factors in the market demanding this need for talent. The explosive growth in big data is one of them. The amounts of data being collected has never been larger. And, 72 percent of businesses plan to increase spending on business analytics, therefore pushing that data number even higher.

One key component of the problem in finding this talent is that many schools and universities do not have programs in place yet to teach the skills necessary to fill these positions. Even worse, many developing countries are more likely to create the graduates needed than the US is simply because there are degree fields available in those areas.

Overcoming Staffing Limitations

For those businesses that do not want to be struggling to fill such positions, time is of the essence. Having a plan to find the right mixture of IT expertise and analytical skill is necessary.

• Know the strength of talent you are looking for so you know which skills you need to hire for right now and in the future.
• Look for those with top skills. This is likely to be individuals with data experience, basic statistics, and creative problem solving.
• Look for those with great education foundations including in the areas of social sciences, market research, and advanced statistics.
• Take advantage of data and IT staffing agencies, such as Venteon, to provide on-demand data and IT specialists to fill key assignments.

It may take working with a consulting service to find the personnel you need. There is significant demand and the competition is high. Hiring and then retaining these talented professionals is critical.

When one thinks of the modern workplace today, immediately a vision of employees and managers coordinating via mobile devices like laptops, smartphones, and tablet computers comes to mind. The business world is continually evolving, thanks to mobile technology that does everything from routine scheduling and meeting administration to information exchange and data security. But one thing remains a stable trend – mobile technology is a major database security changer.

A recent report called the Worldwide Mobile Worker Population 2011-2015 Forecast was released in 2012 by International Data Corporation, a leading technology media, events and research company. In this report, research has shown that the move to mobile devices in the workplace will continue to expand in the next several years, with an expected 1.3 billion mobile users by the year 2015. To put that in layman’s terms, that number represents 37 percent of the world’s workforce. Additionally, Portio Research a mobile technology research firm, has predicted that by 2016, there will be more than  8 billion mobile subscribers worldwide, representing more than 80 percent of the entire world’s human population.

A key factor in the shift towards more mobile data management is how each organization will maintain its identity. Oftentimes referred to as branding, each company is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that all interchanges that take place do so in a controlled way so that the company’s ID is maintained. With so many users taking advantage of apps, search engines, and other business tools both on their work devices and personal mobile devices, how will a company manage to represent itself professionally to the rest of the world in a mobile environment?

There are a few quick guidelines that a company HR department can add to their corporate policy on mobile use now that can help.

1. Actually take the time to write a corporate mobile use policy to create a foundational set of guidelines for the ethical use of mobile devices while on work devices or work time.
2. Decide what devices will be standardized and branded to your company for work use only.
3. Incorporate a secure web-based system for database storage with password protection for all proprietary information.
4. Discourage the use of personal emails for business communications, and instead assign all employees a central corporate email address behind a secure server.
5. Maintain a corporate manual of style and communication so that all employees must refer to this when creating documentation, conducting presentations, or sending out correspondence.

While the use of mobile devices should not be discouraged in a corporate setting, as they can have many benefits, there need to be clear guidelines. This can help to preserve your information processes and company identification.

Feel free to review our previous blog posts on topics pertaining to workplace technology here.

Technology on the Go! IT Staffing

The IT Model of the Future

No matter how comfortable you feel in your position, knowing what your successor would do is critical. Why should you care? If you do not ask this question, your boss may and that could put you out of a job. The problem is, many businesses are looking at their top-line growth and are not seeing what they want to see. Many leaders are realizing, sadly, that even after all of the hard work they’ve put into the business that it is not working to produce the leaders of tomorrow.

If You Think You Might Be Replaced – Fix It Now

By asking a question like this, “what would my successor do” you can begin to see your position through the eyes of your employer. It’s important to start thinking about how you are the answer to the boss’s needs and how you can make sure he knows it. There’s a problem though.

If you need to fire the old version of yourself and hire a new and improved version that meets the needs of your boss more effectively when it comes to moving up the ladder, you’ll need to see the job more clearly. Often, when a person steps into a new position, it is easy to look around and see all of the problems that are there. However, over time, people mold into the position and those once easy to spot problems are hard to notice.

What’s Your Leadership Agenda, Then?

How will you show the boss you should be next in line? Realize first that you have time since most companies don’t like to let go of their senior leads. Then, consider the following.

• Don’t complain as it makes you look small and weak. Don’t explain either. If you have to explain a problem, then you look defensive, also something you want to avoid.

• It may be time to think about the power structure in the business and to get rid of any notions about those in it. Who has authority? Who is influencing others? How do these people communicate and manage conflict?

• Take the time to learn the business all over again. Be sure you conduct interviews to reintroduce yourself to the business. You need to think about things like customer needs, objectives, performance, opportunities, and competitive positioning.

• Be sure to sell yourself, too. You know what your goals are and to accomplish that you need to ensure those around you know what your goals are.

Put a plan in place that allows you to visualize a change in who you are on the job. You want to become your own successor because, ultimately, if you are not the best version of yourself, your boss is already looking elsewhere to find it.

Learn how to be more effective in your career by reviewing previous posts on this topic:

The IT Model of the Future – What it Means for Careers in IT

We All Make Mistakes. How do you Respond?

Being an information technology (IT) professional today takes more than just a pair of hipster glasses, a fascination for video games, and long hours at the office. It takes skill, practice and a proactive attitude to be the best IT professional and it’s these attributes that can make you indispensable in terms of your career goals. Whether you are looking for an IT career, or just trying to prevent losing your job, here are the 6 ways you can become a top IT pro.

Behaviors of Top Information Technology Professionals

There are certain habits that the leading IT professionals have that you can begin to develop now in order to achieve more in your career, and become a critical part of any team.

1. Working Efficiently on Projects – The business world thrives on competent IT professionals working on a variety of projects simultaneously. To be able to do this well one must be efficient to keep costs down for a positive return on investment. Therefore, it is up to you as an IT pro to work as efficiently as possible by taking advantage of project and time management tools.
2. Understanding the Business Trends – To last in IT, it’s more important than you may think to fully understand your industry and the objectives of your company well. This can help you to understand what make the executive team “tick” and how to stay in touch with what’s happening in your market so you can have more job security.
3. Being a Specialist in Your Field – It’s one thing to be good at the basics of IT, but it’s another to be considered an expert in your particular niche. By working on becoming a specialist, you will elevate yourself to a higher level of value, making it harder for an employer to let you go during future cutbacks.
4. Maintaining Current Skillset – The IT world changes at breakneck pace, with new developments, upgrades, and advances in technology all the time. There’s no other career like Information Technology where you will be required to stay current with your skills, or you will become obsolete like last year’s software.
5. Team Player – Being an IT pro means having the ability to work alongside all different types of people with varying skills and interests. Sometimes this can be a challenge as you may be prone to take on too many things on your plate, making you less effective in your job. Instead, learn the fine art of being a team player and letting others pick up the slack.
6. Excellent Communicator – When one thinks of IT, being able to communicate well does not immediately come to mind. Yet, it is this skill that makes IT pros indispensable to a company. When an IT person can communicate complex processes and technical information to others in a way they can understand it better, they are considered to be masters in their fields.

Looking for a way to enhance your career in IT? Venteon technical has many great part time and full time contract employment opportunities where you can become an irreplaceable part of a progressive team.

For the IT candidate, technology is a very important component of his or her future. Staying up to date with the latest software and methods of communication is essential, but there is more to it than that. In fact, technology as it relates to transportation is a growing industry and it may be just the place to put your education if you want to enter into this field. For job candidates, it is also the place to look for new career options. How is technology playing a role in transportation, then?

Consider the Skies

There’s nothing at all interesting about flying these days. From the invasive screening processes to just get on board to the limitations most planes have to allow passengers to communicate with the world below, it’s not an easy process. Some airlines are finding ways to use technology to improve the way people feel about the process.

For example, one airline is not adding iPads to the pockets in front of you, so you have something interesting to do while you are in flight. They come with movies and games, not to mention music and even television shows. Some customers may even have access to them without any cost. Interestingly, this also saves on fuel costs since this entertainment option is far less expensive than traditional products.

Improving Trains and Subways

Even if you do not like in a subway town, you know of the dreaded processes required to navigate one. In fact, most people would do anything not to travel by train if they could avoid it. Some companies, like Amtrak, are trying to find ways to change this. On board systems including Wi-Fi are making them a better option, for example, than trying to navigate home by care. With upscale entertainment options available, too, there’s an increase in demand.

By Road, Too

For those going by road, consider a new opportunity in the road train. This method focuses on having one large van or truck at the head followed by numerous other cars behind it, following very closely. The cars are programmed to follow the first truck’s every move. This cuts down on fuel costs while also ensuring everyone in the train is able to do as they wish since the driver doesn’t even have to drive.

Technology in transportation is growing and changing the way people do things. It is, without a doubt, a growing industry that is likely to keep growing for years to come. To keep up, your business needs good people who are familiar with this industry and what’s to come. That’s why you need Venteon for IT and technical staffing support and candidate screening to make sure you hire the best.

Business Analysts
• Bachelor’s Degreed
• 2-8 yrs of Business Analysis experience including formulating and defining system scope, analyzing business/user needs, writing and executing test plans.
• Experienced with traditional applications, web and mobile development/Quality Assurance.

Project Managers
• Traditional as well as Digital/Technical with Marketing/Advertising Industry experience.
• PMP certified, experienced with Agile Methodologies, traditional application, web and mobile projects.

Mobile Application Developers
• Experienced developers with Android, Blackberry and iOS technologies.
• Experience with Objective C, CSS3, HTML5 etc.

Web Developers
• Developers with 2- 7 yrs of experience
• Net, C#, PHP, CSS, HTML, etc.

Quality Assurance/Testing
• 1-5 years experience with manual or automated testing, including tool sets like QTP and Selenium and Quality Center.
• Experience running and executing test scripts etc

Network/Systems Administrators and Engineers
• SAN Storage
• Unix/Linux
• Windows

Help Desk Specialists
• 3-5 yrs experience
• Excellent Communication

Moving financial matters to the “cloud” is shifting the way many businesses are handling their accounting data today. It seems that many aspects of finance and accounting work well when managed on remote servers that follow the cloud computing model. Why is this shift happening? This week, we will examine some trends in the financial sector and why going to the cloud is the way to go. But first, let’s look at some of the main benefits of this method of managing financial operations.

Cloud Financials – The Benefits

Financing in the cloud has many unique benefits that businesses are learning to take advantage of. If you are thinking of making the switch to cloud financials, here are just a few to consider:

• No need for on-site servers which must be continually monitored to prevent security breaches and damage due to unexpected events like natural disasters or theft. This secures business continuity.
• Cost effective to handle large amounts of financial information at once, helps to speed in-house systems up during peak accounting periods. This can help your business run more efficiently.
• Updates to financial products and services can be handled seamlessly due to a network of cloud finance providers who support integrated programming. You have less downtime during service upgrades.
• Remote access to your financial data on demand, from any web browser in the world, behind a secure password system. This is the perfect solution for a business expanding into international territories.

What’s Hot for Financing in the Cloud?

Those are just a few of the benefits of cloud computing for the financial sector. Yet, the future holds many great things for companies who move to this model. Some things that are heating up the financial cloud market include SaaS combined with CRM systems being deployed by large international firms, as well as smaller businesses being able to tap into some of the financial software that the big dogs use. It’s exciting to think where the global economy is headed in the next decade.

Finding the Right People for your Cloud Finance Team

One thing is for certain, it’s important to get on board with cloud financials by hiring the best staff to manage things well. This requires the support of a financial and IT staffing agency, like Venteon, to build your team with qualified individuals who understand cloud computing and financial legal fundamentals. Hiring the folks who are fast learners and can explain these concepts to your other staff and customers can give your business the edge when it comes to your financials.