Some time ago, I had the opportunity to write an article titled “To be a certified professional or not to be”. It was about why some companies place more weight on certification’s credentials, than on years of experience and college degrees. I briefly explained that it was because some certifications are a must-have, since they “prove” that you are “following” the best practices, industry standards, and keep yourself up-to-date with new technologies and methodologies. This is true, but there are some other credentials that are just as nice to have, just to say that you have it (merely decorative). As the saying goes: “The suit does not make the clergyman, but distinguishes him”
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One of the things most professionals and independent consultants hate when they are seeking for new opportunities and businesses is when they are asked for professional certifications on jobs interviews and business meetings. It feels frustrating, especially when you have ten, fifteen or twenty years of experience in different industries, work environments and a BS, MS, or even a PhD in the field where you’re applying or prospecting.
As of these days and since a long time ago, many businesses and enterprise know and take for granted that if they wish to be successful or competitive in their respective markets and industries, they should start using information technologies to achieve it. Nothing is farther from reality than this belief. It is a fact that any business or enterprise not using current technologies for its operational processes plans and marketing strategies will find it very difficult to achieve its goals and objectives of conducting business on a highly competitive and technological world as is todays; so a significant share of its yearly budget should be assigned to this item. Updating your smart device operation system (OS) seems to be a very straight-forward process and, in most cases, it is. With a few clicks, you can install the latest OS update to your smartphone, tablet or smart watch. But sometimes, the unexpected happens when or after the update is completed. Your device doesn’t normally start anymore, stands still in loading mode, or does not work properly, and your only way to fix it appears to be wiping out your entire device system or restoring it to manufacturer defaults if you are lucky. You do so, it means you will lose almost everything. And everything means, your photos, files, text messages, Whatsup conversations, videos, audios, and so on if you don’t previously back up your smart device. When it’s time to buy a new smartphone, the majority of consumers do their research by googling through the Internet and reading experts' and tech gurus' recommendations, forums and blogs to make smarter buying decisions. This is not bad, but does it guarantee that you will receive the best advice without any marketing influence from those gigantic smartphones vendors and manufacturers? Maybe yes, maybe not. Here are a few smart things you can do in 2016:
Technology changes and evolves so fast that we feel we will never be with the hype or the trend. Big tech companies are always improving their software and hardware by adding new features, functionalities and capabilities. These new features, capabilities and functionalities sometimes may be nice to have, sometimes they are really necessary or critical for the entire company business operations and continuity. For example: bugs and security fixes, stability and performance improvements. Others are just pure marketing strategies to induce you to buy their products. They need to generate money and more revenue.
If you are looking for a job, you are probably doing your homework by using job search engines like Monster, Dice, Career Builder, and Indeed, among others. You should also be creating or updating a profesional online profile in LinkedIn, or a similar network. Maybe you are also strengthening and improving your weak points or skills, or even acquiring new ones on different areas. Among these skills, you could be learning touch typing, how to write a blog, or how to use a new operating system (Linux, Unix, Chrome OS, or Ubuntu). You can also be learning persuasive communication techniques, and neuro-linguistic programing...
Have you heard about the Zombie generation? It is real and it is here! Have you noticed the number of people texting, browsing, navigating, and talking with their smartphones while walking, shopping, waiting in office lines, malls, streets, or theaters, and even driving? I bet that you can see a lot of them around, like an epidemic. They are everywhere. Some are surfing the web, interacting with their social platforms; while others are sending text messages or talking. Many other are only reading the news or seeing YouTube videos. The thing is that they are not just interacting with their smartphones, the thing is that they are so immersed and occupied that they don’t interact with other people around them. They can even ignore each others like there is no one there. It looks that they are acting like robots, or even worst, like I would call them, acting like Zombies.
With the actual financial problems in our country, and apparently getting worse, the panorama isn't encouraging to anyone who is unemployed or looking for better working conditions. Already we see that the baby boomers believe that “if you work for the Government, then you had a safe and stable work” and that does not exist anymore. At present, a position in any public agency is similar to any position in a private company. In both cases, if revenues are not generated or new products or services are not created in order to produce money, then you are fired and that door is forever closed. It is said that “in CRI$I$, we must reinvent ourselves”. That being said, to live by our grandparents’ thoughts, we will not achieve the expected results. For this reason, we must find other ways and alternatives to generate revenue or to find work, using a more strategic and effective technique. Here are some suggestions and recommendations: |
AuthorDr. Gilberto Crespo is an information security researcher & technology expert. Archives
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