Are you looking to elevate your career to new heights?
As we begin a new year, a time that holds great promise for innovation and business growth, it's crucial for tech professionals to strategize for their own personal advancement.
Whether you have your sights set on a promotion, are looking to expand your skillset, pursuing a new role, or simply seeking mentorship in the new year, our experts are eager to share their honest advice.
Recently, Tech in Motion invited career experts Barkha Herman, Developer Advocate @ StarTree; Stacy Devino, Senior Staff Engineer @ Fanatics, Inc.; Sarah Willock, VP of Technology @ Coca-Cola Canada; Chris Walek, Executive Director @ Motion Recruitment and Caroline Kehoe, Sr. Manager, Talent Services & Recruiting @ Motion Recruitment, to share their advice on how candidates can set themselves up for success in 2024 and beyond.
Here is just some of the advice our panel had about growing your tech career:
UPSKILL YOUR WAY UP THE LADDER
While there is still a high demand for talented IT professionals, Kehoe pointed out that the market has shifted somewhat in the last year or so in terms of supply and demand — and candidates need to realize the IT world has become more of a “skills deficit market,” with companies receiving a multitude of resumes for open positions, though many of the candidates don’t have the required skills.
She suggests that IT talent may need to make compromises concerning “remote flexibility or compensation, especially if your skills don’t 100% match the requirements of the job.”
Walek added that upskilling will be crucial to develop those in-demand skills companies are looking for, regardless of whether they are technical or soft skills.
“Leverage people, mentors, websites, and social media to improve yourself,” he said. “Mentors are the best place to learn. But you have to be proactive and seek them out. If there is a principal engineer at your company you want to model yourself after, go find and engage with them. Find out what you need to do to become like them.”
Herman said mentors are not created equally, so seeking multiple mentors might make sense for some. “The person you go to about salary negotiation is not the same person you go to about tech stack advice or the person you go to about sponsorship to have your name suggested for a new position,“ she said.
Walek said that the future of IT engineers points to AI and that they must be comfortable using AI in their work. “AI is a great way to learn more about upskilling. It is a magnifier and multiplier of the work you do. Learn some prompt engineering. How does AI react to me based on the words I use? That’s what being an engineer is. Tinkering with something to take it apart to see how it works.”
BUILD YOUR BRAND. BUILD THEIR TRUST
Herman noted that building a strong personal brand and finding community in tech was a great way to get noticed, promoted, or hired. She quoted Jeff Bezos who said “Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room."
Why is this important? “In these days of post-COVID and virtual workplaces, you now need a brand online because it builds trust when you aren’t actually meeting and impressing people in person. If you want to be differentiated during your next promotion, it will open that door for you,” she said.
How do you determine your brand? “Self-discovery is super important,” she said. “One of the biggest challenges for people early in their career is not knowing who they are. If you try to be someone else, you will be inauthentic, and people will notice that.” She suggested taking a personality test as a good way for people to start the process.
Herman stressed that brand-building doesn’t just happen overnight. “Find out what is trending on LinkedIn. Like some things. Connect with industry peers. Contribute articles or blogs. You will build a network this way as well as your brand recognition,” she said.
Willock introduced the idea of ghost advocates. “Select people who influence decisions at your company. You don’t even need to tell them that you are hoping they will advocate for you. Do a self-assessment, then ask yourself, what do they think of me? Will they see me as a thought leader or a hard worker? Will they say positive things about me? Putting yourself in their shoes will help you see where you can improve your skills,” she said.
BE A PERFORMER
Devino stressed perfecting the art of negotiation is a great way to set yourself up for success. It doesn’t matter whether you are asking for a raise, requesting to work on a key project, or introducing an innovative idea. “Come into any meeting super prepared,” she said, and “consider yourself almost like a performer. Know the back story, what is going on with your team and company, and have a narrative ready to go to support your story.” By guiding people to the obvious conclusion without handing them the answer, you will control the outcome in your favor, she noted.
In sum, the market is changing and companies are expecting more from employees. To survive and thrive, you need to do more too. Use this advice to guide you to success.