Book details of 'The IT Career Builder's Toolkit'

Title	The IT Career Builder's Toolkit
Author(s)	Matthew Moran
ISBN	1587131560
Language	English
Published	December 2004
Publisher	Cisco Press

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The Virtual Bookcase Reviews of 'The IT Career Builder's Toolkit':

Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
First off, the title is wrong. Most of the material in this book has very little to do with career development, and simply deals with searching for a job. Also, it's hard to have faith in the unbiased nature of the glowing promo blurbs, when one was written by someone associated with the production of the work. Part one is supposed to be an introduction to career building. Chapter one outlines the "toolkit approach," which seems to consist of a great many cliches. The reader is told that he or she will discover that most of the content of the book is already known. In other words, the information is simple, it is the application that is hard. (I might also note that it is a bad sign when I have read the front matter, and the dedication, and the introduction, and chapter one, and made three negative notes, in less than ten minutes.) Moran tries to make some kind of distinction between the toolkit and tool-driven approaches in chapter two, and says that profession building involves planning. More promo: IT is a *great* vocation (seemingly due to cliches and buzzwords) says chapter three, although it signally fails to say *who* should be in IT. Chapter four is ostensibly to deal with occupational aptitude and so forth, but primarily lists factors to consider when deciding on a particular job. Part two is about tools for career development. Chapter five provides a self-assessment: again, to a job, not a calling. A positive mental attitude is important, says chapter six (but those of us in the field know that it isn't sufficient). I would agree with chapter seven that it is better to have communications skills than not. Chapter eight doesn't provide much help in terms of technical skills. (Again, I would agree that general and conceptual skills are better than technology specific skills, but Moran doesn't help those new to the discipline tell the difference.) The advice on cover letters, in chapter nine, would be good if you were going for a sales job. We learn a lot about Moran's preferences in resumes in chapter ten, but hiring practices are going to vary. Part three abandons all pretence of career development, and gets right down to job searching. Chapter eleven talks about breaking into IT, but fails to note the different approaches to varying areas of the occupation. Networking (the "Hi! What can you do for me?" kind, not TCP/IP) is promoted; again, more in line with sales type jobs; in chapter twelve. Canvassing local companies is suggested in chapter thirteen. Chapter fourteen is unintentionally ironic: along with the other usual cliches it suggests that you be yourself, when much of the rest of the book suggests that you change. (Be more like a salescritter!) Chapter fifteen has almost no useful material regarding salary negotiations. On-the-job promotion, as covered by chapter sixteen, is all about getting along with people. Part four suggests other job options, like telecommuting, consulting (limited advice), and management (even less specific). Miscellaneous advice is in part five. Chapter twenty says to be more valuable. Concept Over Process, which chapter twenty-one says is a "project development methodology" (page 239) but not "project management" (page 240), seems to be a buzzword enriched version of the "Cleanroom" software development life cycle. "The Role of Mentoring" is given a terse mention in chapter twenty-two. Chapter twenty-three says that reducing your need for money will help with career development. (Start by not wasting money on this book.) Some of this advice is going to be useful, but only because most managers don't know how to hire people. I noted many suggestions for actions that greatly irritated me when I was on the management side of the hiring or interviewing table: I don't like it when someone tries to "spin" me. (And I don't hire them.) I may be the wrong target audience for this book. After all, I'm reading it from the perspective of one with much experience on both sides of the processes of interviewing and directing careers. Would those with less background find this more useful? Unfortunately, too many topics are covered too superficially: there are some helpful points, but little material to assist or focus the reader and job seeker. copyright Robert M. Slade, 2005
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Book description:

Your complete guide to building your information technology career in any economy   The IT Career Builder’s Toolkit  features market-focused skills and proven methods you can use to jump-start and advance your career. While other books cover just the mechanics of preparing your résumé, writing a cover letter, and interviewing, this book provides all that plus additional insight from IT career development expert, Matt Moran, to help you plan and create a rewarding IT career over the long term.   The toolkit approach allows you to use this book to suit your unique needs: * Are you new to the IT field? Benefit by reading the book cover to cover. * Just need to fine-tune your IT career? Choose a topic and dive in. Understand and prepare for the various and changing factors that affect your career in both positive and negative ways. Learn how to * Present the value of your technical skills in the job market * Position yourself as the primary commodity of your career * Remove the guesswork out of job searches * Highlight on-the-job skills and gain meaningful professional exposure  The companion CD-ROM includes career management tools such as résumé and cover letter templates, forms to track important contacts, and self-assessment tools. Start or further your consulting career with sample proposals, opportunity tracking forms, and a time-tracking and billing database. Financial tools, including budget and cash-flow summary worksheets, help you gain financial well-being. Use the Value-Added Technologist presentation to gain a clear understanding of the career-building process and how to use the toolkit to build a dynamic career.   Most of all, have fun! Every year, people advance along the path to career stardom. Let Matt help you to be one of them through his career philosophy “Do not accept mediocrity as a career objective–demand more of yourself.”   “I want you to see the [toolkit] techniques as one more set of skills to adopt in your overall career development program. They are skills, just like your technical skills, that you will use daily during your career. Just as you adopt new technical skills, use the toolkit to define those soft skills that you must learn and put to use. The result will be a more well-rounded and complete professional skill-set.” ~ Matthew Moran, from the Introduction   Companion CD-ROM The CD-ROM contains valuable tools, forms, spreadsheets, and documents that work with the Toolkit to help you master key areas of your career development.    About the Author Matthew Moran is a business and technology consultant, author and speaker. He has provided solution-based consulting for Fortune 500 companies. His articles and interviews have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, PMG publications, and techies.com among others. Matt began his career at Blue Cross and went from data entry to Senior Business Analyst developing cost effective tools within 5 years. Using techniques discussed in the book and seminars he has taken his career into exciting areas. He has served as a CIO, Project Manager, and Technology Consultant with a background in programming, network integration and automation, and project development and management.