* Keeping you abreast of IT career news
The mailbag for the real life certified discussion we’ve been having lately has been busy again and there are a few responses I want to tell you about (and do keep your responses rolling in, by the way, as many of you are raising issues that I hadn’t thought about before). I’ll go through the mailbag next week because today, I wanted to let you know of a few stories that Network World has published this month that are worth reading. There must be something about March that has everyone talking about career-related issues. Here are the must-read stories:
* Hot technology skills for 2007
A recent Forrester Research report finds that hiring managers are seeking candidates with experience in project management, security and architecture. In its survey of 280 IT decision-makers, 55% said project management is a “missing skill set,” reports Network World Senior Editor Denise Dubie in this story about the survey. One-third of hiring managers plan to recruit security professionals this year, particular those who can apply architectural frameworks to secure, design and operate IT infrastructures, reads the story. In terms of best practices, IT managers will be looking to adopt the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework and 60% of respondents said they would be devoting resources to training IT staff to develop this skill. Read Denise’s full story here and then read this newsletter “Is ITIL training for you?” about options for ITIL training.
* Cost-effective IT training
In this story, Lauren Gibbons Paul discusses the options for IT training and finds that despite the seemingly overwhelming choices for education, the least-expensive training choices aren’t always the best.
* IT hiring rise expected in Q2
In her IT Leadership newsletter, Network World senior managing editor Amy Schurr says that of the 1,400 CIOs interviewed for “The Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report,” 14% said they plan to add full-time staff in the second quarter, while 2% anticipate cutbacks. This equates to an overall gain of 12%, the second highest since late 2002. Read the full story here.
* The skills that reap pay premiums
In this story, Deb Radcliff reports on the skills for which employers are prepared to pay a premium. Among the employers she talks to include Multimax, which works on the Navy Marine Corps Intranet and gives CCIEs a pay premium of between 10% and 15%; AT&T, which also pays an additional 15% salary premium to CCIE holders with a background in call center technologies; and Bell Canada, whose technicians hold six or more certifications. It is seeing value in professionals with certifications from multiple vendors, particularly as its suppliers, such as Microsoft and Nortel, are signing development partnerships with each other.
* Phishing attacks target CareerBuilder.com users
One network manager is warning of a phishing scam that uses the lure of phony online resumes, reports Network World Senior Editor Ellen Messmer. The attacker sends e-mails to managers seeking job applicants asking them in a cover letter to visit a Web site to view a resume provided via a link. If a manager clicks on the link, the Web site then tries to executive a backdoor Trojan. A reader of Ellen’s story responding in Network World’s online forum is saying that scammers are also targeting job seekers.
* And finally, don’t forget to visit regularly the following Network World resources for ongoing learning and career-related discussions.
– At Network World’s Careers research center, you will find all the latest articles on training and self-development. You can also post your resume on the site for free and search for jobs in your area.
– At Cisco Subnet and Microsoft Subnet, you’ll find links to all the latest news, blogs, training resources and security alerts about Cisco and Microsoft from around the Web. Special to Cisco Subnet is the Brad Reese on Cisco blog written by Brad Reese, whose own Web site BradReese.com provides a wealth information useful to Cisco professionals; and the monthly Cisco Press giveaways (this month, Cisco Subnet has 45 Cisco Press titles up for grabs). See here for details on the titles you can enter to win. Deadline for entries is April 1.
