Besides certifications and education, how else can one stand apart?

Success101

Obviously, many folks are going to school and taking tests to get their "MCSA or CCNA" and BS in CS. Experience is going to count, but what about the mid level guys? What else can one do to set themselves apart or stand out?

Iristheangel

Be articulate, well-dressed, well-groomed, able to speak to technology in a way that non-technical people may understand, visio and documentation skills, have a great work ethic, etc

You would not believe how many mid-tier or senior folks still lack those basic things

massontech

Iristheangel wrote: »

Be articulate, well-dressed, well-groomed, able to speak to technology in a way that non-technical people may understand, visio and documentation skills, have a great work ethic, etc

You would not believe how many mid-tier or senior folks still lack those basic things

Agreed! +1

kanecain

Iristheangel wrote: »

Be articulate, well-dressed, well-groomed, able to speak to technology in a way that non-technical people may understand, visio and documentation skills, have a great work ethic, etc

You would not believe how many mid-tier or senior folks still lack those basic things

Everything Iris just noted.
Making yourself completely indispensable is key. When your company fears it may fail without you, then you know you're in the right state. When I left Desktop Support, things were chaotic at my location. Till this day (left help desk 8 months ago), I still get the "I wish you were still in IT" comment from users.

otcain

I think a little different than the others here (well, not different, just that I think there are more good ways to stand out).

run a personal blog about the things you're enthusiastic about so you can always refer people to it. I think it shows great passion and commitment.

Also, getting involved in the community (public mailing lists are a good example) may also aid since they are all indexed by Google (at least the public ones) so when an employer Googles your name and it appears on many technical channels, it will put you in a terrific position to begin with.

Iristheangel

Oh and also be passionate and excited about the technology you speak to and work on. IMHO, there's a huge difference between the people that learn just so they can get paid and those who actually enjoy technology and are passionate about what they do

MSP-IT

I definitely agree with Iris and the points she has made. I've moved substantially fast in my career and have been in the corporate world for under 2 years. In the two companies I've engaged, I've witnessed almost a complete absence of some type of critical skill, be it communication, technical competence, and basic understanding of work ethic. And this, keep in mind, is at the middle to senior management level.

If I can give any one piece of advice, it'd would be self-scrutinization. Nobody is perfect; everyone has something they could and should work on. Identify your weaknesses and attempt to improve. Seek feedback (active and passive) from your peers and mentors, and take to heart what they say. This is important both in every aspect of life, career, academic, personal, etc. Neglect, incompetence, due diligence, whatever you call it, is no fault but your own.

On a side note, from a professional perspective, I would truly attempt to identify how a business works and understanding of your role from a high level. Understanding business processes and your place in the grand-scheme will only help to place yourself at a pivotal point of understanding and will assist in communicating across the chain of command. Effective communication requires this.

SweenMachine

Iristheangel wrote: »

Oh and also be passionate and excited about the technology you speak to and work on. IMHO, there's a huge difference between the people that learn just so they can get paid and those who actually enjoy technology and are passionate about what they do

I agree with everything Iristheangel has said in this thread. Passion is so important. If work is JUST a paycheck, well you will be treated as just that.

Also, it is crazy how many well credentialed people look like crap. I am not talking about being a model or anything, but simple hygiene. It does matter. Rock your look; and be confident. It matters so much more than people want to admit in business.

I am not saying it's FAIR to judge by things superficial, but it does happen so be aware.

-scott

tprice5

Whatever area you are in, immerse yourself in the community. If you specialize in something Microsoft, find out which MVPs are in your area and attempt to network with them; same for vExperts. If you are VMware, join VMUG and attend the local conferences; same goes for CISSP. Go to yearly conferences like TechEd, or VMworld.
There are numerous benefits to being plugged into the scene...
1. Know what is going on in the industry when it happens.
2. Competition breeds champions.
3. If you ever decide to do consulting, you've got an in to every business in the area. If a business isn't respresented, you know who needs to be called.
4. Need a job? Ask the friends you've made at your monthly/yearly meetings if they know of any openings. They will have no problem vouching for you (and collecting the referral bonus) because they know that you are passionate about what you do.

UnixGuy

I will offer a somewhat different perspective here...

One of the most important is to learn how to strike a balance between work and life outside work. Never neglect your health, always make time for exercising, eating healthy, friends, family,..etc. Your job is not your life. Being a well balanced relaxed individual makes you stand out.

zxbane

UnixGuy wrote: »

I will offer a somewhat different perspective here...

One of the most important is to learn how to strike a balance between work and life outside work. Never neglect your health, always make time for exercising, eating healthy, friends, family,..etc. Your job is not your life. Being a well balanced relaxed individual makes you stand out.

I like UnixGuy's recommendations. I am very passionate about fitness/health myself and I have found over the last 7 years of my career (and increasingly so as I get older) that being fit makes me stand out among my peers, I am usually noticed when I enter the room and people seem to treat me differently than those who just have no self-respect or physically don't take care of themselves.

Also as he mentions family and personal life is equally as important as work, when I am happy in my personal life it flows over into my attitude at work.

Deathmage

One thing I'd like to add to this discussion is the basics of this discussion are so true.

I've only been a professional IT person the past 3 years but I've learn so much about myself and my career.

Be yourself mainly, Like i enjoy going to the gym 5 days a week, playing golf with friends, I'm a member of a paint-balling league, and modifying the snot out of my Pontiac G6 (only Turbo'd 3.5L G6 in North America), and many other hobbies.

However at work I'm the only one that wear dockers, a dress shirt and tie everyday to work with black (always cleaned) steel-toe boots. I keep myself very clean and cut and it does make me stand out since even my boss is a big guy, he walks belly 1st if that gives you a idea of who he is. He's 58 but must weigh well over 400 lbs all in his stomach and it's just so unprofessional for his position. If you take care of yourself and are healthy others will notice.

Also one more thing to add, IT isn't always about being technical it's about proper communication. I like the phrase I tell people often "IT is 2% technical and 98% communication" which is so very true it's not even funny. As Iris and many other have said above proper documenation is pinnacle to fuctioning correctly. Over the past 3 year I've compile'd a master excel spreadsheet (encrypted and password protected) with over 900+ tabs in it of every little thing I've learned; you never know when it will happen again and you can't remember everything. - the file is 68 MB's in size to give you a idea of how many notes are in it...

One thing, I'm sure many of you know by know, I'm extremely passionate about my career and learning and I had my boss recently tell me that learning is not need for my position (and this is why I'm leaving here); to me if you stop learning you stop living.

this is my 2 cents.

Chitownjedi

UnixGuy wrote: »

I will offer a somewhat different perspective here...

One of the most important is to learn how to strike a balance between work and life outside work. Never neglect your health, always make time for exercising, eating healthy, friends, family,..etc. Your job is not your life. Being a well balanced relaxed individual makes you stand out.

The Truth.
Especially keeping healthy..

keenon

Avoid being condescending, creepy, and open and understanding everyone's backgrounds.

nathandrake

zxbane wrote: »

I like UnixGuy's recommendations. I am very passionate about fitness/health myself and I have found over the last 7 years of my career (and increasingly so as I get older) that being fit makes me stand out among my peers, I am usually noticed when I enter the room and people seem to treat me differently than those who just have no self-respect or physically don't take care of themselves.

Also as he mentions family and personal life is equally as important as work, when I am happy in my personal life it flows over into my attitude at work.

I can also confirm this. I used to weigh over 300 pounds and people just didn't seem to take me seriously. I became very passionate about working out and my health about three years ago and it has helped me so much professionally and personally. I've been promoted twice since I lost all my weight.

zxbane

nathandrake wrote: »

I can also confirm this. I used to weigh over 300 pounds and people just didn't seem to take me seriously. I became very passionate about working out and my health about three years ago and it has helped me so much professionally and personally. I've been promoted twice since I lost all my weight.

Just wanted to say congrats on both the weight loss and the promotions, keep pushing forward!

N2IT

@OP

Passion, Drive, Knowledge, Experience, Aptitude, Personality, Charisma, Appearance.

networker050184

I like N2IT's list.