Entering the IT World is challenging. This is how to achieve it

If you are under 50, you've probably heard your entire life that "IT is a promising career."

That's right. It was promising 50 years ago and it is still an excellent career to follow.

Its continuity is not because people avoid it but because the IT area has grown.

In its beginnings, it was fully composed of developers. Then, software architects, database administrators, and testers were required. Project managers, security experts, and functional analysts joined as projects grew. Today, we also have data scientists, innovation departments, and methodology experts as part of IT.

Although many things have changed during these years, the difficulty remains the same.

How to start a career in IT?

It was hard for me initially, and it is still challenging for the new generations. So, let me share some truths and strategies you can follow to build your IT career.

Step 1 - Choose an IT sub-area

As mentioned earlier, the times when working in IT was limited to technical people ended.

We have many sub-areas that can interest you and are different from each other.

So, the first step is to identify what you would love to do. You can always move into a different area, but you may naturally be inclined to one of them. Some examples are:

• Technical Positions: Developer, Tester, Database Administrator, Infrastructure Analyst
• Managerial Positions: Project Manager Office, Scrum Master, Governance Steward
• Functional Positions: Functional Analyst, Business Analyst, Data Scientist.
• Etc.

The IT industry is so big today that many positions are available. Whatever your likes and interests are, you will find a suitable role in the IT World.

Step 2 - Understand your assets

After deciding which sub-area is the most appealing to you, you will need to look at your experience and recognize what you have to add value to a company or team.

This is the point on which people struggle the most. Your toolbox is composed of many experiences, interests, and characteristics.

Some examples that you can use to start with:

• Education, University Career, or courses.
• Personal Projects, time invested in learning or performing activities related to the position.
• Personal characteristics like investigation, good communication, fast learning, attention to detail, and critical thinking.

To help you on this self-assessment, read what's said about your sub-area. What are they requesting or highlighting?

This step is not to improve your characteristics but to list them and know where you are. You will have time later (if required) to do something to grow this list. But as a general rule, I don't think you should do anything about it, as I'll explain later.

Step 3 - Create your CV

Your list of assets will be the base of your CV.

For many years, we got used to bland, standardized CVs. It was tedious to write them and even more boring to read them.

When you create your CV, be in the hiring manager's shoes. Suppose they will receive 50 CVs. Do you think they will have fun reading 50 equally structured documents that say more or less the same?

Make their day better. Give them a reason to spend more time considering your CV than the rest they have in the pile.

Standout with content and format. Don't lie about your experiences, and don't make it cheesy (this is a personal preference; do it cheesy if it matches your style).

Let them know why hiring you will be good and how you can benefit their team.

I'll create some articles about making a good CV, but for now, consider the following:

• Adapt the format to your skills. The traditional resume lists your working experience in reverse chronological order. It doesn't make sense to make your professional experience the center of your CV if you don't have much of it.
• Center the document on your primary skill. It should be the main skill you have for this job. I don't care how good a football player you are if you are applying for a tester position. But I'd prefer to know that you did a project at school describing different testing approaches.
• Include your assets and link them to how they can help you perform your job better.
• Keep it short. Don't feel the need to fill the page with words. I agree that some hiring managers may think: "Is it just that?". But, maybe the answer is "Yes… It is just that, and I respect your time."
• I'm a big fan of infographic CVs. Get Canva or your favorite tool and create something different. But be careful. Balance is key.

With the above items, you will figure out the basics for creating your CV. But there is something else. You won't have 1 CV. You will adapt it to every application, as we will see in the next step.

Step 4 - Seek your first IT Job

You may already have a good idea of your toolbox and a nice CV at this point.

You know what you have to offer, and you wrote that down.

The previous steps helped you to define the positions to which you can add value. So you should use it as a compass to find your job.

Your task is to find a company that has something you want and apply for that position.

Some sources you can use:

• Companies' sites
• Job Boards
• Social media (LinkedIn and others)
• Referrals

Before sending the application, you will adapt your CV according to the job description and required qualifications. This is how you can highlight your skills that better match their needs.

For example, my first job was as a programmer at a company that developed slot machines. I was studying at University at that time. So, I highlighted my high grades and the project done for "Statistics" (the subject). The hiring manager later told me it gave me an advantage over the other candidates.

Pro Tip: Don't feel intimidated by the requirements that companies include in their job descriptions. Sometimes, it seems that our skills are not interesting and that we need to learn a lot before applying. That's not true. Most of the time, Companies include unnecessary requirements or describe them in a scary way. Avoid sending CVs to positions that don't match at all with the skills you have. But don't expect to have every ability they require.

If you see that some particular skill is recurrently mentioned, you can do some courses on the subject. But I found it useless most of the time.

Step 5 - Build your career

Once you land your first job, things become clearer.

You are now part of a team, learning and understanding more about the IT World.

You will discover positions you never thought existed, and some may attract you.

At this point, you will build your career, decide where to grow, and learn how to adapt your work to your needs.

Conclusion

Entering the IT World may be challenging.

But you will overcome the difficulty if you organize your ideas and skills and create a good CV explaining how you can contribute to the company.

Don't stop at landing your first job. Use the learnings you get there to re-direct your career.

Adapt your position and discover new roles that interest you. The ultimate goal is to enjoy what you do.

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you soon inserted into the IT World.