Tech

‘Find something you’re passionate about.’ Five ways to build a career path that’s right for you


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Image: Thomas Barwick/Getty

Anyone who wants to reach the top will need a range of skills. You can focus on technical expertise, delve into an area, or choose to expand your experience. Which strategy is likely to pay the biggest dividends? Five experts give us their opinions.

1. Ensure that you develop extensive business experience

Brandon Hootman, director of digital data at Caterpillar, says that young professionals shouldn’t be confined to one department and should ensure that they are exposed to all the different activities of the organization they work for. job.

“Intentional employee development is something to watch out for,” he said. “Make sure you’re getting that cross-functional experience from a business point of view. It’s very important to think carefully about setting up and managing that route.”

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While professionals must be proactive in ensuring they receive this comprehensive exposure, Hootman also advises young talent to seek out employers — like his own company — where gives people the opportunity to learn how a broader business works.

“It’s something that we’re doing and we’ve seen some success with that,” he said. “You’re still deep in engineering, but you have the business breath to be able to understand what you’re doing from a business point of view.”

2. Find experts to keep you one step ahead

Bev White, CEO of recruitment agency Nash Squared, is another expert who says cross-regional training is crucial. She advises young professionals to always keep an eye on future trends.

“It’s all about creating relevance,” she says. “You need to think, ‘I’ve got the skills right now, but will they be the right skills for the next two or three years? If not, how can I guarantee that I’ll improve my skills? myself and retrain, or do it for my team, depending on what angle I’m looking at?'”

Always thinking one step ahead is not necessarily simple. Requirements for new skills and career opportunities can suddenly increase and mean professionals need to take a different path. However, White says young people should find professionals – such as external mentors or internal mentors – who can help point the right direction.

“There are a lot of companies that can help you do that, but you can also have people on your own team who can help you develop programs to do that,” she says.

3. Focus on your passion instead of the end goal

Stephen Booth, CIO at Coventry University, says young professionals should be guided by their passions, not by predefined career goals.

“Don’t focus on building a career in a structured sense. Find something you’re passionate about and do it,” he says.

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Booth mentioned his own experience. He studied IT because he really liked programming. As he became more skilled and exposed to different areas of the technology organization, he began to transition into management and began to advance in his career.

“And when I understood it better and started interacting with customers, the opportunity came,” he said. “Just try everything. Feel what you like and are passionate about. Because if you’re passionate about it, you’ll be good at it, and then new things will happen.”

Booth may be a CIO now, but he realizes that very few people start out with the intention of becoming a senior executive — and neither do they.

“If you plan to be an IT director in 15 years, you can do it,” he said. “But honestly, enjoy what you do, focus on the joys and opportunities that will come — and you’ll recognize them. And if you can listen, you’ll sense the opportunities. and you’ll take the right opportunity.”

4. Consider yourself a big fish in a small pond

Gerardo del Guercio, solutions architect at Prostate Cancer UK (PCUK), realized that his organization could not offer as many opportunities as that offered at a large enterprise. However, he says PCUK can provide new talent with another trump card — and he advises young professionals to think very carefully about who they work with at the start of their careers.

“As a charity, it’s very difficult because we have to compete with the big blue-chip companies,” he said. “But one of the things we give our students is the opportunity to be a big fish in a small tank. We give them experience in the entire IT field, whether that’s understanding the mechanics of the game. restrictions of what happens to the data or how the data is safely moved.”

The opportunity for you to start your career at the start of your career leads del Guercio to advise emerging talent to look for an employer that offers the opportunity to quickly gain responsibility, rather than just focusing on day-to-day responsibilities . such as encryption.

“You might be working in a big company and your CV looks great, but you won’t be held accountable,” he said. “If you wake up in the morning and your software from the previous day isn’t working, it’s the result of a charity. You’re part of a small, tight-knit group. But everyone will support you.” support you because you’re an important part of the team.”

5. Don’t be afraid to show a little hurt

Simon Liste, director of information technology for the Retirement Defense Fund, says the key to success is having the right values. While technique is important, he wants young professionals to demonstrate integrity and honesty.

“It’s not about what you do, but how you do it,” he said. “We can teach technical skills, but I’m looking for people who are respectful, committed and have a good work ethic. I don’t need someone just trying to sell me what they already do. I want to. someone who just wants to keep learning.”

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While young professionals can enter the workforce in many ways, whether it’s working full-time, completing an apprenticeship or entering business after college, Liste says the key to it Long term success is not a portfolio of past achievements but a proactive Attitude.

“People have to be authentic, so they can learn and grow,” he said. “It’s about knowing that it’s okay to show a little hurt. You can say, ‘I don’t know how to do this.’ That’s good because you can work with someone.”

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