Tag: Career Advice

ict4d job qualifications skills

How Do I Get Needed ICT4D Skills to Qualify for a Job?

What questions do you have about digital development careers? Click here to ask your question! We’ll answer it in the next newsletter.

Q5: How Do I Get Needed ICT4D Skills?

Another subscriber question:

I want to enter the ME field and jobs require experience with statistical software, however, the last time I used SPSS was in grad school four years ago. How do I tell a potential employer that I’m willing to learn the skill if they can provide some training?

We Should Always Be Learning

Technology doesn’t stand still. Be it statistical solutions for ME or software development languages. So we all need to be learning all the time across our domains of interest to keep current in our work.

For example, right now I’m learning about machine learning, which is reminding me of my lone D in college – in statistics. However, that’s not holding me back in learning the general concepts of natural language processing, though I know I’ll never be a master at it.

Usually, though, we don’t need to be a master of all things. We do need to have enough knowledge and expertise to know our own limitations and to hire and direct experts who can do the work.

Show Your Own Initiative

This brings us to today’s question – how to get expertise needed for a new role?

One way is to take training courses on ICT4D topics. One could balk at paying for such a course, but when you compare $300-100USD in tuition to a year’s salary in a new role, the investment is trivial.

Likewise, the investment in time and effort for a volunteer consultancy, where you have a real project to work (and learn) on, and get exposure to potential peers, can be well worth it.

Finally, you can always explore a self-directed course of study in the new skill. Back in the day, a friend of mine told me about this newfangled Internet thing. I spent countless hours researching HTML and taught myself how to hand-code what was then called an online journal. 25 years later, much of my career is based on my blogging skills.

Regardless of which option you choose, the overall goal is to show a potential employer that you are not waiting passively till you are hired to learn new skills. You want to show them that you are actively improving yourself all the time, and you’ll bring both new skills and the motivation to learn even more to your new employer.

Thanks,
Wayan

ict4d job digital development career

Companies Are Still Hiring Digital Development Experts

Most economists are predicting that we are about to enter into one of the largest recessions ever. This is a scary time for anyone – regardless of how secure you feel you job.

One touch of good news is that companies are still hiring. You can see our newsletter where there are new openings for you to review. There will be more competition for each job, so you’ll need to have a strong application game.

Having a strong network is the core to any good application game. Be sure you are doing informational interviews now. Follow up to those you’ve already talked with. And keep at your networking, every day.

Then establish and grown your professional presence. Everything from LinkedIn comments to (virtual) conference presentations, make sure you’re known as an expert is your niche. This will help grow your network, which will also improve your presence.

Finally, this is the time to focus on what you are good at and known for, not for jumping into a new role or niche. Build on your strengths and work at it. New jobs are there, you could get one.

get new ict4d job

How Do I Get Back Into Digital Development?

A subscriber has an interesting question: they were in ICT4D before, then left to start a business that while in international development, was not a technology company. Now they are wondering how to return to ICT4D and the roles they should apply for.

First: What Do You Want to Do?

I think the hardest part of a job search is figuring out what you want to do. The role, responsibilities, work culture, and experiences that will make you happy. I’ve found that writing it all down and ranking what matters can really help you narrow down your focus.

This is the first task, because you don’t want to do a job search just to get a job you wind up hating. I’ve done that twice now – its not fun.

Next: What Are Your Transferable Skills

The person writing in realized they wanted to lead an ICT4D team, so next up was to think through all the skills and experience needed to lead a team and then to find examples of that leadership in their present work.

For this person, that was easy – they were managing a team and often had to overcome technology problems to get their product to the right market in the way their customers wanted. So they can list out those experiences in their CV with the right emphasis for each employer’s desires.

Finally: Who Do You Know?

For better or worse, ICT4D is a very small field and getting in by a recommendation, referral, or direct friendship is always faster than blindly applying to job ads (including those in our jobs newsletter).

In fact, you should use job ads as a rough gauge of which organizations are hiring and what they looking for, and then start informational interviewing your way into their social/professional networks. You want to be known before you apply.

For this person, they can start with the people they knew in ICT4D from before they left, and build their network from there. They are not in the USA currently, which does pose a slight barrier, but thankfully we have Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp and whole slew of connectivity options for them.

Their job search will not be easy.  No job search is ever easy. Its a long, hard, slog with many questions. Ask your questions now!

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What Are Your Digital Development Job Search Questions?

What do you wonder about in the international development hiring process? What do you want to know the answer to in growing your ICT4D career? What has always been a mystery to you in digital development?

Click here and tell me!

I’d love to hear what you worry about, or are just plain curious about, in the job search and career growth process. I can’t promise you that I know the answer, but I will do my best to find out.

Ask Me So We Can All Learn

I’ll take your queries, research the answers, and then after anonymizing the question, post both the question and answer on ourICT4DJobs mailing list so we can all learn.

Ask now – there are no foolish questions

Some of the best advice I’ve learned has emerged from question you have, as it’s made me think about a new aspect of the job process and then get the answer from leaders in our field.

Thanks,
Wayan

Please Practice the Digital Development Job Interview

Interviews are hard. Like a first date, you don’t always know what to expect, and often you don’t know who is going to be in the room or what mood they will be in.

Yet the interview is what makes or breaks your chance at a new job. It is the most high-risk moment in your job search.

Do not leave it to chance

Before the job interview, research who you think you will be talking with. Look them up on LinkedIn, Twitter, Google – wherever you can find them to better learn about their interests and background.

Make a list of questions they might ask you – and be creative. Expect them to ask about your history, but what about skills or issues in your field? Or industry bodies and initiatives? Or even recent organizational accomplishments?

Then practice interview questions with your friends. Best to do it with friends who are strong enough to tell you when you’re messing up, but kind enough to give you support and guidance so you’ll improve.

Practice in-person and remote interviews

You may be interviewing in person, but these days interviews over the phone or video call are becoming more common.

Learn how to roll with questions when you only have a disembodied voice coming over the line, as much as when you’re in the room.

Also, figure out which type of interview you prefer – in-person, voice, video – and push for that option. Key to success is feeling comfortable from the start.

Now practice your interview again

Seriously, please practice your interview multiple times until you’ve memorized certain responses and your friends can’t fluster you with odd questions.

Interviews are the key to getting from a CV to an offer letter. Don’t leave them to chance – practice, practice, practice.