Customer Reviews

The IT Career Builder's Toolkit

5 star:		(7)
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The IT Career Builder's Toolkit by Matthew Moran (Cisco Press, 2005) is actually a useful toolkit for building a career in many other fields as well. The author has taken the trouble to uncover a great many universal truths about the relationship between employee and employer, the bottom-line mentality of human resource management in business, and the effects of the current economy on new entrants to the job market. It was really unusual to see a business book that didn't seem to just echo the platitudes of every other business book on the market, but which instead, by reflecting on the state of affairs in one particular vocation, and focusing on the specific problem of starting out as an entry level candidate, repeatedly illustrated techniques that people can apply in any stage of their career, and in may different professions.

This is because so many of the players in everyone's career are aptly introduced, with numerous tips on how to deal with the ones who may have forgotten to take their medication this morning, or who may have more of an influence on your future than you think. The numerous personas of interviewers, bosses, coworkers, and the people you are ultimately helping-your users-are drawn up so that you can recognize them when you see them, and handle a variety of situations as a professional. For instance, even if a scrap of criticism is too harsh, is there a grain of truth in it? And if you are concerned about a pending performance review or how your supervisor views your progress, you may want to assign a self-evaluation and report the results to your supervisor. The author gives a vivid account of how well that worked for him.

But of course the focus is on helping the young entrant to the IT job market. To this end, he presents the concept of a toolkit, or a complete set of tips and tactics that can be applied at many different stages of a career: the point is to choose the right tool for the situation. The other analogy is that the book is for career building, not just putting together a succession of jobs. The would-be IT professional is encouraged to consider exactly what skills should be honed, what relationships should be developed, what approach should be taken to building a satisfying work life. It is very tempting to plow ahead and get the next hot certification, or to hop to the next job that pays a few bucks more or touches on the trendiest technology. It is useful to be reminded that-even in the post-bubble chill with salaries down from their happy heights and jobs for which you have to compete rather than step into-you can build a more satisfying career by deliberately designing and planning it instead of just adding jobs to the pile.

Still, the author realizes that there are not a lot of choices at first, and so a lot of care is put into describing how to make the most of any job. It compares and contrasts a number of possible situations the new employee might wind up in-enterprise versus SMB, IT department versus a branch of the business-and describes how someone might make themselves invaluable in any of these environments. There is a pragmatic and reassuring sense that by building the foundation of your career, you can then construct the house you want to live in.

There are many other basics covered in the areas of cover letters, resumes, networking, interviewing skills, searching for jobs, seeking promotions-the nuts and bolts of making your way into the market. And among the different options covered are the pursuits of salaried positions as opposed to consulting, and choosing the attributes for which job to take if you get multiple offers (it's not always about the money). The section of negotiating skills, and defining what constitutes an effective negotiation, is an eye opener for anyone who doesn't have those natural poker-playing skills.

The CD has a lot career management tools such as resumes, self-assessment forms, contact tracking forms, and others. There are also sections on consulting tools and financial management tools. There were some broken links but I'm not sure if this had to do with my browser (I was using Mozilla). In any case, you can browse the contents under Windows explorer without needing to use the menus.

For a very carefully written effort to help aspiring applications to the IT market, I'd give this one five stars.

Like a runner benefits from an hour in the weight room after 40 miles on the track, so the IT technician will do well to spend some time reading the IT Career Builder's Toolkit by Matthew Moran. You do not have to be technical at all to read this book. It is full of good common sense advice from an information technology perspective. It is the first Cisco Press book that has caught the eye of my non-technical friends.
Moran emphasizes the development of the soft skills that are so necessary to really succeed in any career. He explains that we must become agnostic about which technology or process we use and more cognizant of the big picture of how technology can accomplish business needs and profitability. Concerning this focus he asks the reader, "Are you a pure technologist or a systems analyst?"
There are 3 helpful sections on the CD. Career Management Tools has examples such as resumes, cover letters, opportunity tracker, self assessment form, and status reports. Consulting Tools has tips on sales presentations, case studies, and solution selling. Financial Tools, includes budget and cash flow planning and sample spreadsheets.
The book is divided into short easy to read chapters. I particularly enjoyed Moran's writing style which consists of well organized paragraphs consisting of tight punchy sentences. The book is the result of the author's years of experience of applying solutions for his employers and customers through managing his own and others IT skills. Before you read one more technical manual, I recommend you read the IT Career Builder's Toolkit!

Today, I have finished The IT Career Builder's Toolkit, and I an honestly say that I have added it to my recommended reading material. I feel it is a must read for those starting out in life, and to those who have found their lifelong career path. For those starting out, The IT Career Builder's Toolkit serves as a manual for career building. Matt sets expectations for those new to the field, and he helps that on a path to success. For those who are in the field, Matt reminds the seasoned IT Pro to reflect were they current are in their profession, and he urges them to rise to the top of their field. Throughout the book, Matt provides tools, guidance, and experience that can be added to your own career toolkit. I could hear him asking me, "Are you planning on being an average professional?" The IT Career Builder's Toolkit is a must read for anyone in the professional workplace.

This book would make a good addition to anyone looking to better their career knowledge and career. It starts off with the author talking about past experiences that helped shape the book. I think this information is decent to include so you have a better understanding of his skills. Next he defines the differences in a job and a career. It's important to be on the same sheet of music. The next chapter starts to get into the IT field. A brief insight to the past, present and future history of IT is discussed. Matthew then starts to get your mindset into the real world of IT. My favorite section of this chapter is when he explains that you can't expect certifications to be your "magic carpet" in IT. He then touches on the job market and talks a little on Outsourcing. I know people will learn tons about the dynamics of Outsourcing and who is really affected in these few short paragraphs.

The 4th chapter is one of the best chapters in the book. I feel they should be mandatory reading for everyone entering this field. He makes you realize there is more to think about then how much money you are making. You are presented with other benefits a job has to offer besides just pay. I will admit that I have made the mistake of leaving a company and my only concern was about how much money I was making or not making. The major points that are pointed out in this chapter alone are well worth the price of the book and the time to read it.

The next 3 chapters will help the user with self improvement. This is done with a few self assessment questions and a make a list at the end of a chapter. The next chapter deals with your attitude and how you act and interact with people. This is a vital section to anyone that works with others. "That would be ALL of us". The last part is on communication skills.
This is another reason to buy this book. Matthew teaches you what it takes to have good communication skills. One thing he points out is how many people treat email as a non important communication skill. We soon realize differently. The area of communication is they key to any successful career. Does the President of the United States write his own speeches? Ah no he doesn't.

The next couple of chapters of the book is what in my opinion makes the book worth while. The author talks about how important a cover letter, and resumes are. The resume chapter provides good ideas on what to add or what leave off your resume. The Interview chapter is very good. Here you are given ways to present yourself during the interview and the type of interviewer you are meeting with. I learned some really good tips in this chapter alone. Then you are helped with how to adequately perform a good job search. I think this will be a serious wake up call to many people that do the wrong type of job search. Matthew then devotes 2 chapters on working from home and consulting. In the consulting chapter there is some GOOD advice that I was glad I was reading. The rest of the book is also very good, I will let you buy the book and read the rest of this beneficial information.

In conclusion anyone reading this book will find some very good information. The author provides years of professional experience and knowledge to help you better yourself and your career. He gives you enough information to make a game plan. In order to succeed at anything you need a plan. My only fault with the book is that more information would have been helpful, but that is a dilemma faced by many authors.

The days of easy job hunting in the IT field are gone, and it will be years before they return, if they ever do. The increase in automation, an economic downturn and the movement of jobs to other countries has led to a major contraction in the number of IT jobs in the United States. However, a reduced number of jobs does not mean there are none, and as always the opportunities are there for someone with the skills and drive to take advantage of them. This book is designed to help you be one of those who are successful.
As the authors point out very quickly, one job is not a career, but should be considered an opportunity for advancement. That advancement can either be vertically within your current company or a combination of horizontally and vertically to another organization. The book is split into five parts:

*) An Introduction to Career Building.
*) Filling Your Toolkit.
*) Putting Your Toolkit to Use.
*) More Options to Build Your Career.
*) The Value-Added Technologist.

Building a career always starts with a self-assessment, where you determine what it is you want to do and if you currently have the skills to do it. That is where the book begins. All of the standard components, such as the resume, cover letter, contact list and so forth are covered. The authors reinforce one point very strongly; namely that communication skills transcend all areas. In the past, talented IT personnel could be lacking in communication skills, as many people were awed by the technology and the people who understood it. Furthermore, in general, those who understood the technology were the ones who used it. Now, with major dangers lurking almost everywhere and the technology approaching the level of a commodity, those who manage it must be able to communicate effectively with those who use it.
Books like this, which show you how to become a valuable IT commodity even in the worst of times, are a necessity if you are to compete in the modern job market. Being highly skilled in IT is no longer enough; people with your skills are available in other countries for a fraction of your price. Now, you also need to be skilled in communication, best business practices and other ways to make yourself indispensable. Your efforts to acquire those skills will be improved by this book.

The IT Career Builder's Toolkit
ISBN: 1587131560

The IT Career Builder's Toolkit by Matthew Moran was something that was very unexpected from Cisco. This book is not a technical book but more of a reference guide for those looking to break into the field.

The book is broken down into the following five main sections:

1. An introduction to career building

This deals with defining what a career is like in IT and the benefits of pursuing it. It goes over the perks and risks involved with the industry such as fast promotions as well as the risk of outsourcing to the industry. This section provides a good foundation for those who might be interested in a career change or those who are just entering the work force.

2. Filling your toolkit

This section goes over the skills that are going to be necessary to work in the IT industry. Most people think that if you are technically strong you will not have any problems landing a good job. This is not the case. With the current job market, employers are putting a lot more emphasis on soft skills. Soft skills deal with communication, interaction with others, as well as many other aspects. Information is provided on resume creation as well as putting together a good cover letter.

3. Putting your toolkit to use

The third section deals with the actual job hunt, interviewing, as well as salary negotiation. I do not have that much to say about this section. Most people looking for work have searched the internet high and low for information regarding interviewing. There were not really any new ideas or concepts presented in this section but the author did a good job bundling the information together.

4. More options to build your career

If you are thinking about consulting, then this section is for you. The author did a good job breaking the myth that a consultants life is great because they set their own hours and charge whatever they want. For those of us who have done consulting before know that this could not be any further from the truth. So this section is a great read before jumping into that fire.

5. The value-added technologist

This presents some good ideas on how to make the company think you are a star. I personally think that should be done by working you tail off but that does not always work out. This sections also deals with passing on knowledge to workers who are at a lower level.

I am still pretty shocked to see Cisco Press come out with a book that was not a technical reference or certification guide. That said, I thought that the book was a quick and easy read and I would recommend it to anyone who was thinking about getting into the industry.

While the bookstores are filled with books about getting a job, I don't remember reading a book before that looks squarely at how one should approach an IT career that also includes so many practical tools as this one does. Each chapter has questions and exercises and the enclosed CD has a number of tools, forms, spreadsheets and examples to help you apply the lessons of the book.

The book starts with the perspective of the "bust" after the Internet "boom" of the late 1990s. IT jobs are harder to find, harder to keep and pay less. New graduates with certifications can no longer expect to launch into high-profile career jobs. In fact, the first job may be an apparent step backward. Mr. Moran argues that the new graduate should look upon such situations as an opportunity to learn . . . especially about the organization, rather than just about IT.

That philosophy echoes throughout the book as he argues for IT professionals emphasizing their learning about how to make profits for the company by adding value . . . rather than just being technically up-to-date. The advice will seem counter-intuitive so some . . . know less about more . . . rather than more about less.

I'm not an IT professional, but I often work with these talented people and I teach many IT professionals about business. From my perspective, the great value of the book is to round out the world view of an IT professional for the purpose of making the person more effective . . . rather than more efficient. Nice!

At the same time, any book that aims to cover every subject from managing your attitude to networking with other professionals to telecommuting to negotiating a salary to mentoring others to managing your personal finances is bound to be many leagues wide and about an inch deep. As a result, many of the chapters will not be very useful except to those with no experience and no one to talk to. In the whole cover letter to on-the-job promotion section (chapters 9-16), I found myself wishing he had simply provided a list of great books on these subject and added one or two pages about what's different for IT professionals.

I liked chapters 5 (Self-Assessment), 6 (Attitude), 19 (The Move to Management), and 21 (Concept over Process) best. The rest didn't seem to add much value compared to more focused books on those topics I have read. Of the four strong chapters, I found 21 a trifle confusing and weighed down with a bit too much jargon for my taste.

Overall, I think this book will be of most benefit to soon-to-be-graduates and those who are stalled in their careers and aren't quite sure what to do about overcoming the stalls.

Good luck!

The ideas presented were very interesting and helpful in that the author presented a different, active perspective on how to search for a job. The author has been in the IT field for a long time and also knows how the business environment of IT is like.

Sometimes the author seemed to go on and on about a simple topic as if the point hadn't been made already; Doing so made you want to skip a few lines.

If you're in the right environment and have the right resources, you can definitely get into the IT field with the help of this book. And even if the strategies outlined in the book don't help you to get into the field, the strategies will give you an idea of what needs to be done to get into the field.

First The IT Career Builder's Toolkit book will help any beginner or an experience person in his career, not only in the IT industry. I think that all the related themes will help any professional in any industry.

Basically it focus on the IT field you can transport the knowledge to any industry. Mat Moran has put together the most practical guide for your career. While reading the book I found out that some concepts that he explains and have apply in his career and in the development on this book, I once have used them as part of mi own personal career building program.

The IT Career Builder's Toolkit book has five parts: introduction to career building, filling your toolkit, putting your toolkit to use, more options to build your career and value-added technologist. Each chapter of these parts has an introduction and conclusion with a brief exercise in order to start building your toolkit. The structure and continuity of the book is well defined.

I have been in the IT industry for almost nine years. As the book states I am sure that the IT field is one of the most amazing professional. You need to stay focus and update if not you will start getting behind.

The chapter of boundaries and benefits of working at home has helped me in setting the basics for my transition from an office cubicle to my home office.

The references on some of the chapters to other books and tools in the CD are great references to work your career.

Another chapter very useful chapter and a most read monthly will be the Attitude chapter, because reminds you and help you see how are you acting in your job.

The CD-ROM tools are very useful and set the frame work to improve your career. You will find the framework of the toolkit, tracking tools, self-assessments tools, resume and cover letter templates consultant tools like proposals templates, time-tracking and billing database based on Microsoft Access and finally some financial tools for budgeting and cash-flow.

The end of chapter exercises I found them very useful to create your framework while you are reading the book. You will have an assessment of your actual situation and will help you to accelerate the use of the tools on the CD.

The book is a very easy reading you can probably read it on a long flight without any problem. I think that on a second decision you can add some other chapter about job search on the internet, head hunters, more soft skills development and references and others topics that will be useful for a career change or improvement.

I will highly recommend this book to have it in your personal library as a reference and to use it on regular bases. It will help on your daily professional and personal life.

Finally I just want to congratulate Matt Moran for writing The IT Career Builder's Toolkit in which he show a real life manual for your professional career.

If you are new to the computer field, or an Information Technology expert looking for a new job opportunity, this book is for you! Published by Cisco Press, The IT Career Builder's Toolkit, ISBN 1587131560, by Matthew Moran, is approximately 280 pages and offers the essentials for readers to be a step ahead of their colleagues in the IT market.

Mr. Moran presents the material in a clear concise manner. As compared to similar types of literature, this book offers the reader an insight into the computer job market through the eyes of an IT professional. The book is not full of technical terms and jargon. The techniques and methods presented in this material are for individuals either looking to "break into" the field or for seasoned professionals. The toolkit offers real-world scenarios, examples and perspectives that the reader can utilize while starting the job search, as well as, fine-tuning their resume and interview skills.

The IT toolkit is separated into five sections. It begins with an introduction to career building. This part is essential for the reader and prospective candidate to perform critical career development, self assessment in order to plan and define their goals and aspirations. The next sections focus on cover letters, resumes, and technical skills. Throughout this book, the reader will learn to utilize the tips and procedures presented to perform successful job searches, improve and prepare for interviews and be able to be confident in performing salary negotiations, employment agreements and be successful in landing their promotion.

The remaining chapters focus on career options, consulting, management opportunities, processes and financial controls. I believe that at of all the chapters, the Career options, consulting and management opportunities section may be the weakest. I believe that an entire book can be written on this subject alone, but the reader will get a sampling of the types of choices that they can pursue if they are interested. The last chapter focuses on the "Value-Added Technologist". This chapter ends the book, leaving the reader with additional concepts and ideas on how to manage his or her own career and how they can become a mentor to other individuals.

The companion cd-rom contained at the end of the book complements the material. The four sections contained on the cd are: (1) The Value-Added Technologist (Career building process); (2) Career Management Tools (Self Assessment Resources, Sample Resumes and Cover Letter templates); (3) Consulting tools to utilize as a consultant for time/billing database tracking forms, sample proposals, etc.; (4) Financial tools (forms and spreadsheets for budgeting and cash-flow summaries). There are also online resources that are presented on the cd-rom that the readers will find extremely useful and indispensable.

It is essential in today's economy to market yourself in a unique manner to obtain the job and position that interests you. Utilizing this book and the supplemental cd-rom as a guide and a resource, you will be able perform self assessment and build a cover letter and a resume, as well as, prepare for the interview and be confident in your presentation.