Your opinion on the top 10 skills employers are looking for.

Active Directory, User Permissions, TCP/IP, backups, installations and upgrades and so forth.

Your opinion on what employers really need in good I.T personnel.

Speaking from the Networking perspective.

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ipconfig.all

umm communication skills?

phantasm

ipconfig.all wrote: »

umm communication skills?

Ding ding ding.

I don't care if you're a network tech or an engineer. You need to be able to communicate effectively, both verbally and written. Aside from that, tech skills are an obvious thing to have.

ipconfig.all

People skills is another one and you got to show that you are reliable.

msteinhilber

It is of my very firm belief that one's technical skills in just about every single role within this industry are (and should IMO) always be secondary to one's "soft skills".

That would be things like your communications kills as already mentioned. How well can you listen, how well can you communicate both verbally and written, are you able to articulate your points well so others can understand easily, etc.

Other soft skills some might consider are things like one's work ethic, are you motivated and dedicated to your job?

Are you able and willing to learn from mistakes, accept and learn from critique from your co-workers and/or supervisors.

How well you are able to function as a team player may be important for some employers.

How good are your time management skills, can you handle multiple projects and/or tasks at once and prioritize them effectively. Can you work under pressure.

These are just a handful that I consider important and have been trying to hone in on. Technical skills are certainly very important and often what a good majority of us focus on almost entirely, but the other things such as these are often equally important.

Basically the way I view it for the most part. Your technical skills and abilities on your resume and in your head will help get your foot in the door for interviews and can also assist during interviews as you demonstrate your ability to understand the material your job will cover. The soft skills though are what set two similar technically minded candidates apart from each other. Often times too, a person with good soft skills is going to have more opportunities open up for them as they are likely better at socializing and finding the right contacts to serve as a foot in the door at new ventures.

networker050184

Virtualization and any kind of cost cutting consolidation seems to be big right now. In a few years we will probably be separating it all again though

tpatt100

ipconfig.all wrote: »

umm communication skills?

This is driving me nuts. I have a lab where there was no documentation from the last person who worked there. I am trying to figure out the security requirements and saw a bunch of scripts in the crontab on the linux machines.

I asked one of the other security guys what requirements all the scripts were requirements for (there were a bunch).

answer: "just read the scripts"

Um yeah I can do that but that was not what I asked, I was asking if they were required for a certain standard.

earweed

Willingness and ability to document the work.

N2IT

ipconfig.all wrote: »

People skills is another one and you got to show that you are reliable.

$$$$$

Exactly right. Verbal and Written along with what you said earlier. Well technically you mentioned all of the above.

ipconfig.all

N2IT wrote: »

$$$$$

Exactly right. Verbal and Written along with what you said earlier. Well technically you mentioned all of the above.

Apart from interacting with I.T professionals and doing some work, I have being to so many interviews and looked at so many job descriptions and advertisements so I kinda have a feel for what employers want but I cannot seem to land a gig

N2IT

ipconfig.all wrote: »

Apart from interacting with I.T professionals and doing some work, I have being to so many interviews and looked at so many job descriptions and advertisements so I kinda have a feel for what employers want but I cannot seem to land a gig

Keep your chin up you will land a gig. Your passion & determination alone seperates you apart from 90% of the IT professionals.

someuser23

networker050184 wrote: »

Virtualization and any kind of cost cutting consolidation seems to be big right now. In a few years we will probably be separating it all again though

Where would you start with virtualization?

Thanks for all the "People Skill" talk but I was hoping for more the actual skills that employers look for.

What's basically "In" and what's basically "out" sorta speak.

Remember I'm trying to stay in I.T and I haven't been in it for years and I'm not in school for it either so I'm studying at home so I want to make sure my skills are revelant.

garv221

MS
VM
Cisco/Network
Firewall
Security
People skills
Likable
Work well with others
Cool guy?
Plays golf?

50% tech skills
50% can they have a beer with you

it_consultant

In my opinion the most needed skill thats lacking is the ability to see an IT project from cradle to grave AND understand how that impacts the business you work for.

Understand the workflow, goals, and production variables of the folks in your company. That way you can suggest technologies and platforms that are relevant to their needs.

Integrating the IT department with the rest of the company is challenging, but it ensures job security for you (VERY important) and makes the company money, which means bonuses for you.

garv221

it_consultant wrote: »

In my opinion the most needed skill thats lacking is the ability to see an IT project from cradle to grave AND understand how that impacts the business you work for.

Understand the workflow, goals, and production variables of the folks in your company. That way you can suggest technologies and platforms that are relevant to their needs.

Integrating the IT department with the rest of the company is challenging, but it ensures job security for you (VERY important) and makes the company money, which means bonuses for you.

This is true. Policy and procedures is another large one.

Devilsbane

msteinhilber wrote: »

That would be things like your communications kills as already mentioned.

I have awesome communication kills.

How you present yourself is more important than anything else. Some smart people don't present themselves that way and don't get the respect they deserve. Some not as smart people (not dumb, but also not rocket scientists) can be perceived as highly intelligent. How you dress, talk, and write are huge in this category.

Who reads a resume full of spelling mistakes?

The garbage can.

phantasm

Devilsbane wrote: »

I have awesome communication kills.

How you present yourself is more important than anything else. Some smart people don't present themselves that way and don't get the respect they deserve. Some not as smart people (not dumb, but also not rocket scientists) can be perceived as highly intelligent. How you dress, talk, and write are huge in this category.

Who reads a resume full of spelling mistakes?

The garbage can.

Try presenting yourself with a speech impediment. That gets interesting. lol.

skyline

I have people skills! I am good at dealing with people! Can't you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?