Advice to technology students
A software person wrote to me: “I graduated in Computer Science last year and get a good job working for a company in Singapore, not far from my country. I follow your blog and read many of your advices but do you have advice for someone who work in another country? I want to succeed in my career.”
Answer: Congratulation on getting a good job in another country. Although technical skills can open the door of opportunity for you, to advance to the next level in your career, you need more than just technical skills. You must have soft-skills and the “know-how” to navigate the competitive working environment, especially in another country.
When you go to work, regardless which type of company, there will always be many people with the same technical skills as you, so you need a strategy to advance your career. Working hard every day will NOT get you noticed. To get promoted to the next level, you need to do “outstanding work” that will get you seen by your boss and others. Becoming a technical expert in something may get you some respects but will NOT get you noticed. To get promoted to the next level, you need to solve problems. You must look for areas in your company where there are problems and put your expertise there to solve problems then you will get noticed.
You must assess a situation and look for problems that you can solve. Since many people have the same technical skills, you will need other skills to create an advantage. As foreigners, you may not be able to compete with the English speaking people in communication skills, presentation skills, and writing skills, so you need to focus on other technical skills that are not taught in college. When you have skills and knowledge that others do not have, you can differentiate yourself and get noticed by management. By using these unique skills to solve problems when others cannot, you can increase your reputation and add value to the business.
The first few months or even a year in a company is mostly for learning. You learn how to do your job, but you also need to learn how the company does business and the company culture. Once you know these factors, you can develop a career strategy to help you advance your career. For example, when a problem occurs, you may step up to volunteer for the assignment and use your skills to help other employees. Share your knowledge with others or train them in skills that they do not have. By doing that, you demonstrate your leadership abilities to management and get respected from people that you help. Over time, these will increase your visibility to management.
Software work is always teamwork, because you do not work alone. You need a team working together to achieve the goals. You need to help others and build a team surround you to solve problems. Improve your soft skills, especially presentation skills so you can become a speaker at local meetings then to technical conferences for opportunities to gain visibility within your industry.
Remember that getting the job is not difficult but keeping it and growing it are the goal for professionals and I hope you remember my advice: GET, KEEP, and GROW. Getting the job is the first step, keeping the job is more important, and growing and advancing your career is the ultimate goal.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
