Even now, companies ARE hiring.

Our clients are eager to jump ahead of the competition by completing projects that may have otherwise been in a queue. Initiatives that require the technology talent we work with everyday have a unique advantage. Still, the competition for strong candidates in the technology arena is heightened with some of the recent lay-offs. To give those in the IT field a leg-up in the marketplace, there are two things we suggest you give attention to.

• CERTIFICATIONS

• RESUME-BUILDING

Here, we outline the recommendations from our knowledgeable Optomi tech recruiting team. They provide sound advice in these unpredictable times.

1) Enhance your skills with relevant certifications.

A must-have for Project Managers – The Project Management Certification is a fundamental credential.

As companies continue to transition from a waterfall into an agile community, especially in enterprise environments, a scrum master certification can set you apart. It is geared towards a faster leaner process for project management & managing cross-functional teams or technical teams.

Taking what you learned from a Scrum Master Certification and scaling it into an enterprise environment, a SAFE (Scaled Agile Framework) Certification will go a long way.

PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION (PMP)
https://www.pmi.org/certifications/types/project-management-pmp

SCRUM MASTER CERTIFICATION- SCRUM ALLIANCE
https://www.scrumalliance.org/get-certified

SAFe® CERTIFICATION (SCALED AGILE FRAMEWORK CERTIFICATION)
https://www.scaledagile.com/certifications/about-safe-certification/

CERTIFIED CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL (CCMP)
https://www.acmpglobal.org/page/ccmp

CERTIFIED PROBLEM AND CHANGE MANAGER (CPCM)
https://gaqm.org/certifications/change_management/cpcm#R_process

Certifications are more than just letters at the end of your name. Hiring Managers look for these certifications as evidence the candidate has a base-line understanding or expertise in the field and is trained in the guidelines that should be followed. Those in roles of Functional IT can significantly enhance their skills.

AGILE CERTIFICATION
https://www.pmi.org/certifications/types/agile-acp

DEVOPS CERTIFICATION
Certifications

CERTIFIED CLOUD SECURITY PROFESSIONAL (CCSP)
https://www.isc2.org/Certifications/CCSP

NETWORK CERTIFICATION
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/training-events/training-certifications/certifications/associate.html

GOOGLE CLOUD CERTIFIED – ASSOCIATE CLOUD ENGINEER
https://cloud.google.com/certification/cloud-engineer

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
https://aws.amazon.com/certification/certified-solutions-architect-professional/

CompTIA Cloud+ Certification
https://www.comptia.org/certifications/cloud

2) Make your resume stand-out in the stack.

The best resumes are achievement-based resumes. Things like a cost-saving effort, a process improvement, an efficiency you implemented are the things you want to call-out. Don’t just list your duties. Note accomplishments like: led a project that finished 6 months ahead of schedule, saved the company a hundred thousand dollars in costs… something you did that made you stand out.

Make sure the experience listed is relevant to the role that you’re going after. If possible, tailor your resume to highlight the parts of your career that correlate to the position you are applying for.

Give attention to resume length. Too long can be distracting.

Make sure the resume is cleanly formatted. Every role involves communication and organization. If a hiring manager is looking at a sloppy resume, it’s interpreted as a reflection of your work.

For Designers & Developers, have some tangible work samples. Managers need a portfolio, but they don’t care if it’s a portfolio that you created with your own URL or something on a free platform like Dribble, Behance, Dribbble, Coroflot, StackOverflow. It’s all about the content.

Update your portfolio during this down-time. If you are a Developer, contribute to your GitHub profile. The more active on GitHub you are with contributions, the more you will be noticed by a hiring manager!

Be sure to include wire-framing examples and mock-up examples. Hiring managers want to see thought process. When interview time comes, be prepared to talk about the value you added to the team.

Don’t put all group projects on your portfolio. Emphasize the elements of the project that you specifically contributed to. If a lot of your work is under an NDA, take this time to create something original you can show. Be creative! MANY Managers WANT to see and hear thought process before you attack something as it relates to UI/UX.

Make sure your LinkedIn profile marries well with your resume. Your online profile is really an extension of the traditional resume in this day and age.

FOR MORE ADVICE FROM OUR SAVVY TEAM,FOLLOW US ON LINKEDIN.