InsideTech

Whether built into your product, rented from a third party, or installed via open-source, Web apps and protocols are becoming more and more a part of how we do business. Here are four you need to know about: BaseCamp These days anyone can build a wiki, but few can compare to BaseCamp -- one of the original Web 2.0 project management ...

Companies are cutting back spending, shrinking staff sizes, and making tough layoffs at a rate that most of us have never seen before. But there's still some job growth out there. Shrinking budgets have forced IT shops to invest in money-saving technologies like VoIP and unified communications, and those investments are creating job opportunities for IT workers who are serious about ...

From clueless users to missing project requirements to misdirected tech support requests, we've all experienced these IT industry pet peeves. And how you manage them (or avoid them) can be the key to advancing your career. Here's how to deal with some of the worst offenders. The Requirements Slow-Roll Peeve: So you're working on a big project, building a new system ...

Whether you know it or not, you already have a strategy for handling your life. But is it a conscious strategy? Do you feel in control of your life? Begin to take control to be the CEO of your life by learning to manage your flexstyle. I don’t really have big walls around either of them (work and family). If something ...

Whether you're just starting your IT career or figuring out the next direction yours should take, it's important to get a read on where the industry is headed so you'll know which skills and certifications are hot and which ones aren't worth your time. But tracking tech news and job posting trends will only get you so far. For the full ...

What's the best way to make sure your department doesn't get hit hard by tough times--recession-based or otherwise? How about making it obvious how indispensable you all are? Sure, you could try the whole "take down the network, then stage a sick-out" routine, but that's probably not the most constructive way to get your point across. Here, then, are a few ...

Employers often screen candidates based on their technical skills, so job seekers naturally want to make sure they present their skills properly. As a result, creating a resume's skills section can be a challenge. Typical resume issues techies wrestle with include: - Whether to list skills alphabetically or in order of importance. - Whether to include every skill -- but how ...

On-the-job arguments can get intense in the IT world, but knowing how to handle them properly can be the key to efficiency and career advancement. Here are a few constructive strategies... Don't insult someone's intelligence (or assume that people are insulting yours). Geeks grow up being protective of intelligence -- often it's the main thing that we have when we're growing ...

Those of us in the industry know: Tech is an amazing place to be. But like any career path, it can be a disasterous one if you head down it for the wrong reasons. Here are a few that can trip you up... Money and Job Security - Sure, relatively high pay and job security keep a lot of people working ...

Today I’m kicking off our series on video resumes. Let’s start with the most important ground rule: we aren’t going to use a professional. This is all DIY baby. If you are actively in the job market, do you have a lot of extra funds hanging around to go pay someone to shoot your video resume professionally? If you did, you ...

How much does it cost your company every time your network or your website goes down? Probably not as much as the millions per minute Amazon has on the table if it's down for any real chunk of time. Global enterprises like Google and Amazon are the overclocked gaming PCs of the IT world--very few people need a machine on that ...

Computing research may not top your list of concerns when searching for a junior programmer or multimedia specialist post. But the Computing Research Association (CRA), a group devoted to research in computing, has a mission - and the resources - to help just about anyone working in technology. Best known among IT professionals for its Taulbee Survey of PhD-granting computer science ...

We all know that before bringing you on board, a potential employer will do some vetting. They'll scour the internet searching for digital dirt, or any discrepancies from your resume. They'll try to get a glimpse into your personality. They want to know as much as they can about you. After all, they’re about to let you – an unknown quantity ...

With tens of millions of people unemployed or underemployed, and with blue-chip industries from automotive to banking in distress, the US workforce sorely needs help. So the new funding for job training provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is a well-timed boon to American workers. “The [federal] workforce system will play a vital role in America’s economic recovery by ...

IT doesn't just mean the guy who comes to fix your PC when it breaks down. The technology industry has developed a diverse range of careers, including everything from tech support specialists to database administrators to specialized project managers. Whether you're just starting your IT career or looking to take the next step up the ladder, InsideTech is here to help. ...

Let’s assume that you have already used Twitter to increase your knowledge in the IT field as I’ve mentioned before, or as suggested to IT execs by Peter Kretzman in Getting’ Twitter, from the Technology Executives Perspective. Now you are following a strong network of interesting and potentially useful networking contacts. You’ll need to engage these Tweople to receive the ...

I challenge you to find a more appropriate time than now to focus on re-branding your professional image to set yourself apart from the plethora of IT job seekers. In order to reach the final interview round, professionals need to be creative and thoughtful in how they differentiate themselves from the others. As I reflect on how I might be able ...

Oops. You forgot to workout. Again. It’s just as well – you still haven’t gotten through the day’s email, you’re hungry as hell and that last episode of BSG is replaying in an hour. You’ll try again tomorrow. “Try” being the operative word. Because despite your regular attempts, these days you never seem to get out of work in time to ...

It's deceptively easy to make mistakes on your resume and exceptionally difficult to repair the damage once an employer gets it. So prevention is critical, especially if you've never written one before. We'll take a look at some common resume pitfalls and go into detail about how to avoid them. 1. The One-Size-Fits-All Resume 2. Exaggeration vs. Smart Packaging 3. Too ...

The internet is buzzing with tales of the latest web 2.0 casualty –the Cisco Fatty. The man who managed to jeopardize a new, high paying job, in 140 characters or less.    After receiving an offer from communications giant Cisco Systems, the jobseeker Twittered about it, telling his followers that although he had been offered a “fatty” paycheck, he wasn’t sure he ...