Upskilling is an essential part of career progression. In fact, getting the opportunity to learn new tools and develop new skills is exactly the reason many people change jobs.
However, in tech, while there are so many new technologies to learn, it can also be difficult to get a job that uses a technology that you have never used before. Therefore, software developers, engineers and other tech candidates have to create their own career progression.
“This is an interesting one we often come up against,” said Brian McFadden, RECRUITERS’ technology recruitment manager. “The technology world moves so quickly that if you’re not constantly learning you can get left behind quite quickly.”
Unsurprisingly, candidates in the technology sector will often be interested in a new role or company because of the newer tools they will be able to learn. “However, they will need to be able to demonstrate that they have used or at least that they understand this technology before a manager will consider them for their team. How can you do this though if your current company isn’t using this tech?”
Luckily, there is a wealth of learning material on most technology online with sites such as Udemy and Pluralsight. Anyone looking to develop their tech career should utilise these as much as they can. “Learn the basics, once you understand the basics the rest will fall into place,” said McFadden.
However, this is where many candidates might fall down. They may have an interest in a new tool, they might have even dabbled in it on their own time and become familiar with it. However, if you’re not able to demonstrate your abilities, this ‘at-home’ upskilling may not get you very far.
The key is to ensure you’re able to measure, prove and demonstrate your skills in one way or another. Personal projects are a great way to do this. “Build tools in your spare time using your newfound knowledge,” said Keogh. “If personal projects don’t float your boat, get involved in a meetup where you can build projects together with others. There is a fantastic organisation called Tech for Good where tech professionals offer their time and experience to do some good for the world and/or local community. Not only will you having a positive impact on the world but you can also learn a huge amount from working on these types of projects.”
It’s also important that you keep your GitHub up to date with your personal projects and examples of your code. Again, the biggest mistake you can make when trying to upskill and move into a new area is to not be able to demonstrate those new skills. Aside from talking about professional projects you’ve worked on, the best way to show a hiring manager what you can do is by actually showing them what you can do through your code.
McFadden also recommends getting involved in the community and utilise Stack Overflow. “If a hiring manger can see you’re actively interested in and engaging with this new technology it will make their decision to hire you a lot easier,” he said.
We often come across candidates looking to change careers rather than simply develop new skills. However, this still requires a certain amount of tenacity when it comes to proving your abilities to do a certain job when your current role may not appear to offer such opportunities.
“Depending on a candidate’s current position, sometimes it is possible for them to get experience in their current role by discussing skills they want to develop with their current managers,” said McFadden. “For example, they think they could add value by developing a new tool, report, feature etc. with the new skill they have learned.”
McFadden said another option is to look for non-paid experience, through a non-profit or by offering their skills on chat platforms. “This can help to develop tangible examples of the skill which they can discuss and showcase,” she said. “If they have studied a new skill the body they have studied it through can sometimes also help them to gain employment using the new skill.”
Patricia Lynch, Associate Director said hiring managers will be open to ‘transferrable’ tech skills, so it’s important to showcase these.
She also recommended using Pramp to any candidates who want to prepare for technical interviews for their newly learned technology. “A recent candidate told me he has been using this resource,” she said. “It is basically peer-to-peer technical interviewing – he did a mock interview with a Russian developer.”
Technical candidates will need to constantly upskill to stay ahead of the latest technology trends, but they won’t always be in the professional setting that allows them to do this. That means they have to use the above avenues to upskill themselves. However, the biggest mistake you can make is to do this in an ‘ad-hoc’ way without thinking about how you can demonstrate this in your next interview. Always think about how you can prove your skills when you don’t have the traditional experience to back it up.
RECRUITERS consultants are highly skilled at prepping candidates for interview, drawing out their best qualities and helping them to show off their skills in the best way. Register your CV here and it will go straight to our experienced technology consultants.
Feeling confused about your career? We’ve got everything you need to know about progression, new jobs and happiness in your career right here.
Person on computer photo by Bonnie Kittle on Unsplash
