By Morgan Haye, Siteworx (Published
December 4, 2006)
We often see recent entrants to the technology workforce who are
proud of their newly minted skills, just as we come across more
established programmers who are at ease with their expertise with
C or another programming language. This comfort level is dangerous,
because the Web is about to change the way we work – again.
The Web is a transformational technology that has penetrated every
organization, has altered how we conduct our lives, and will eventually
go away as we know it because it will become completely integrated
with everything we do. Desktops and even laptops will be antiques
as the pace of broadband adoption continues, applications become
more powerful, and the Web is accessed on any number of miniature
devices without long boot-up periods. Without a doubt, the Web is
the most important new communications medium since the invention
of paper, and the technology workforce will need to continuously
update skills to stay in step as the Web evolves.
Selling Yourself to Get in the Door
The resume is often a candidate’s first introduction to a
company, so it has to be sharp and written in a logical format for
the reader’s benefit. From a visual standpoint, the two most
recent jobs with lots of detail offer a strong presentation because
that is where most attention is focused. We look for employment
dates, titles, and a progression of responsibility and success,
so it’s important to call attention to the right attributes.
Key Languages
The future is bright for those with the right skill sets, and for
technologists that starts with competency in certain aspects of
programming. One of the highest-profile development techniques these
days is AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML). AJAX is the core
component of many so-called Web 2.0 applications that allow dynamic
experiences through rich, data-driven GUIs (graphical user interfaces).
Obtaining experience in all aspects of Javascript is ideal, from
simple DOM (document object model) manipulation and basic form validation
to rich interactivity and object-oriented data modeling.
An understanding of semantic markup and standards-based XHTML/CSS
is crucial for Web development. Standardized, semantic markup is
able to be interpreted by user agents other than Web browsers, including
search engine spiders, screen readers, and mobile devices. Additionally,
the challenge of writing efficient, rule-based programming involved
with CSS (cascading style sheets) is significantly different from
that of procedural programming.
General-purpose programming languages include Java, both the standard
and enterprise varieties, as well as C# and C++, commonly used in
Microsoft’s .NET framework. Open-source scripting languages,
such as Python, Perl, and PHP are common tools for developing applications
and allow developers opportunities to interact with the development
community at large.
Additionally, there are niche frameworks that will become increasingly
prominent in the world of Web development. Ruby on Rails, Drupal,
and Zope are simple yet flexible frameworks that allow developers
to configure basic functionality very quickly.
Non-Technical Skills
Rarely if ever is a technologist hired solely for programming expertise.
The ability to collaborate, be flexible, communicate, and conduct
basic problem solving is essential, too. The best technology companies
are hired for their consultative skills, so it is important to emphasize
these during the interview process. For example, it helps to describe
the response used on occasions when client requests were unreasonable
or detrimental to their long-term interests, or how constraints
and opportunities were handled. If companies provide a skills test
prior to hiring, candidates can look for ways to show their thought
process and how they would approach solutions. In many cases, critical
thinking skills and willingness to learn are more important than
knowing a particular syntax.
Moreover, the skills test can tell applicants about the nature
of the company doing the hiring. If they only want to know about
the technology skills and ask questions that have right or wrong
answers, it’s probably a very structured environment where
roles are clearly defined and innovation is secondary. For some
people that is the right environment, but others may find it stifling
because their creative skills are not being fully used.
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