- Look At Your Experience & Find A Way To Apply It In The IT Field
Once you’ve decided that you want to start a new career in IT, then you should take a close look at your past working experience. You may appear to have none of the skills that are required in an IT job, however, you may have some soft skills that are actually quite valuable and easily transferable.
So, for example, if you want to get started in IT by working at an IT help desk, then you should know that skills such as Microsoft Office, customer service, good communication, etc are all excellent skills that would benefit you and your resume. When you look at your past jobs from the perspective of your new job, it should be relatively easy to see connections and experience that you can use. If you are further interested in looking to get into IT you might want to make yourself familiar with the different types of help desk systems.
There are also many veterans that have skills that are quite useful if they want to go into IT. For example, having military training can greatly benefit the technology field. There are also lots of career programs and funding that are specifically for veterans such as the VET TEC, WIPO, etc. These programs can assist in transitioning to IT.
Now, when it comes to creating a resume, you need to tailor it so that you use the experience that you have and show how it would be helpful in the roles you want. Also, keep in mind that most employers would look at your LinkedIn page at some point. So, make sure that you adjust your LinkedIn page with your resume so that they match. You should also create a new cover letter that talks about your past experience and how you intend to use it in the new job. You should also indicate why you want to change industries. This will provide your potential employers with the information that they’d be interested in, especially if they are considering you.
- Get Industry Qualifications & Certifications
One of the easiest ways to quickly break into the IT industry is to get IT certifications. It will take you about 1 to 4 years to earn a technology degree, however, you can get IT certifications within a couple of weeks. Even though you may find lots of discussions around getting certifications vs getting an IT degree, you don’t absolutely need a degree to work in IT.
Once you get IT certifications, it will clearly show possible employers that you have the right education that they require. This will definitely help you a great deal if you don’t have IT experience. There are particular roles where once you have the correct certifications, they can actually make you more appealing that other applicants who don’t have those certifications or little experience. Also, when you have IT certifications, you’ll be able to get more entry level jobs as oppose to simply taking any type of IT job that you can get.
- Having A Degree In Another Field Can Be A Potential Benefit
If you’re frustrated that you have a degree that isn’t related to IT, then you should stop stressing yourself out. There are actually lots of employers that would still offer you a job simply because you have a degree since it is an accomplishment to get a degree.
Instead of stressing about the type of degree that you do have, think about how you can use it in a new IT career. So, for example, if you have a literature degree, then this can be applied to IT because you’ll be able to be quite creative when it comes to solving problems. You’ll also have fantastic communication skills which can definitely come in handy in this field. Even if you have a philosophy degree, you can use this in IT since you’ll likely have a unique method of dealing with problems and you’ll have great logic. When you consider whatever degree you do have as an asset, it can actually help you to stand out to employers.
Thanks to the fact that the IT field is always growing and quickly evolving, there is a lot of demand for employees who have a wide range of experiences and education outside of the IT field.
