man climbing IT jobs ladder

How To Climb The IT Job Ladder (Effective Tips To Get Ahead)

Climbing the job ladder was never easy. And now with the market more competitive than ever, getting to the next step can be pretty demanding.

The good news is you don’t need to wait around for an opportunity to arise in order to develop your career. In fact, the more action you take, the better.

And if you’re feeling stuck in your current role and want to move on, we can help.

Below, we go through some of the most effective ways to get you on your way to that dream job.

Update your CV and LinkedIn

If you haven’t touched your CV since your last job offer, then it’s time to give it a refresh. As well as keeping your details and current responsibilities up to date, it’s really important that your CV has a clear focus. If you’re not sure what you want to do, then take a look at the jobs board, do your research and see what qualifications and experience are needed for each role.

Although having varied experience can be a good thing, your CV needs to have direction. And don’t forget, recruiters are always looking at LinkedIn. So, make sure that your account is clean, professional looking and that all the information on there is both recent and relevant.

 

Highlight your soft skills

In today’s job climate, you need more than just your technical expertise. Qualifications and experience will get you halfway, but employers are looking for candidates who can bring more to the table. Attributes such as good communication skills and the ability to sell your ideas will help you stand out from the crowd so you can progress.

And it’s also worth noting here that a lot of recruiters use software to search for key words on CVs. So, if some of your strengths include a range of soft skills, make sure you mention these.

We talk more about tailoring your CV for an IT role here.

 

Align your key achievements with key competencies

Keeping a list of your key achievements and successful projects you have worked on is always great practice – regardless of whether you are searching for a new job or not. That way, when it comes to doing interview prep, you have everything ready to hand.

However, as well as having these listed out, it’s really important you’re able to match these up to key competencies.

Many job interviews nowadays involve competency-based questions. And rather than trying to think on the spot in an interview, it’s important you prepare. By tailoring your answers, you’ll be able to talk about your key achievements while fulfilling each competency.

Pick out what decisions you made and actions you took for each project following the STAR formula:

  • S – situation
  • T – task
  • A – action
  • R – result

 

Keep up with the trends

Although the IT industry reaches far and wide, there is a growing number of jobs centred around cloud technologies and cyber security. And having qualifications as well as experience in these fields is really key. Not just to help broaden your skillset but also to help create more opportunities as well as increase your potential for being picked up in searches.

Senior IT Recruitment Consultant Tom Leonard talks about 2020 trends within the IT industry in our video below:

 

Refresh and upgrade your qualifications

Having up to date qualifications is key in almost any industry. But it’s even more important in IT. Cloud technologies in particular move at an incredible rate and it’s not uncommon for solutions viable six months ago to no longer be valid.

Cyber threats are getting more and more sophisticated, and again, you need the right knowledge to be able to stay ahead of the game.

Get to know the relevant qualifications needed for each field, keep learning and keep refreshing your knowledge.

 

Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone!

There’s nothing more proactive and personable than picking up the phone and talking to someone. Whether it’s a company you would really like to work for, or simply following up on an application with a recruiter.

If you’re lacking in confidence, speaking to recruiters will help you practice selling yourself. And as they find out more about you, they will be able to help guide you and give you any feedback so that you can carry on in the right direction.

Having an intermediary like that is absolutely invaluable as it gives you the opportunity to prepare and get the inside information that you need to get ahead.

 

Ask the experts

As an IT company that knows recruitment, we’re highly adept at being able to help technical specialists move into their next role – whatever your level of knowledge and experience.

And with vacancies across the whole of Ireland, we can help you find the right job, closer to home.

If you’d like to know more, give us a call:

Phone: (+353) 1890 911 211
Email: info@itcontracting.ie
Or you can send us your CV.

Career Advice