If you’re in school, a recent grad, looking for work, or just looking for a new work situation in the tech market, you should be on the hunt for not just new opportunities but also new skills to add to your resume. Employers want new hires to have a good foundation in technology basics as well as great business and people skills.

Cloud & Mobile Technology

Cloud and mobile technology are invading the modern workplace. Because of this, familiarity in these areas will greatly increase your potential of getting hired.

So how can you become a cloud expert? One way is to become familiar with Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). PaaS is used to develop programs in the cloud. The development tool itself is hosted in the cloud and accessed through a browser. As servers move to the cloud, having knowledge in PaaS will become increasingly important for companies.

Puppet is another software tool that’s used in cloud computing. Puppet helps companies perform administrative tasks based on a centralized system. If you find yourself up for an administrative role in cloud technology, knowledge of Puppet could boost your chances.

Even though this programming language was developed in the future of software and web development lies in Ruby. Even after hiring, careers can hinge on whether or not you’ve learned the latest in Ruby’s object-oriented techniques. Developers can also score big if they have mobile app skills on their resume, specifically familiarity of both Android and iOS mobile platforms. Another skill that applies to the mobile market is knowledge of HTML5, which has become an industry standard for mobile devices. It’s easy to find online training courses and even ongoing design contests for these and other new technologies.

Foundation in the Basics

Though expertise in new technologies can open the door to new work opportunities, a familiarity in the basics can help you in the long run when the new technology becomes old news. Robert McFarlane of Search Data Center highly recommends knowing how a program really works and what’s actually happening inside a processor or network switch.

“…An IT professional today will certainly have accumulated more knowledge and experience in one area than in another,” McFarlane says, “but a broader base of fundamental knowledge is necessary to keep up with the changes and to work effectively as part of a team creating a highly complex system.”

Business and Social Skills

Besides technical skills, employers want technology experts to have business savvy and great people skills. Acquiring these skills can take some time but it’s worth it; employers want technically experienced professionals who can work and communicate well with others. These skills will ensure that you can work on teams effectively, help customers with technical problems, and communicate clearly new technical protocols to the company. Show that you can work with people of different IT proficiencies, from beginner to expert and you’re in.

Have any suggestions on how to stand out from the crowd? Let us know in the comments below!

About Curt Finch

Curt Finch is the CEO of Journyx. Journyx strives to be relentlessly creative and to build tools that help you spend your time on things that matter. After all, time is all we have. Founded Journyx offers customers two solutions to reach the highest levels of profitability: Journyx – project, time and expense tracking software – and Journyx PX – resource management software that provides work and financial forecasting for a complete picture of project and budget status, employee time and availability. Connect with Curt on Google+.

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