Useful Skills

There are a few useful skills that employers are looking for in applicants. Future applicants will want to attain these skills in order to increase their consideration for Information Systems positions. According to the University of Alabama at Birmingham there are 5 major skills to work on as one begins looking for jobs:

Problem Solving

Problem solving is very important because no matter what position you are in, you will be expected to know how to find solutions to issues that arise. Experience is a very important factor in improving one's problem solving skills. One of the best ways to find solutions to issues is by facing the issue in the real world.

Management Skills

Management skills refer to the management of people. Often, information system workers are looking to join management roles. This requires applicants to be experienced with understanding how people will fill certain roles, analyzing people's performance, and making decisions that can effect the entirety of the company. These skills are learned from experience in the job field, through select classes in college, and talking with past managers.

Specialized Industry Knowledge

Specialized Industry Knowledge refers to experience or knowledge that one has for a specific role they are applying for. IT is very different in any role that you are trying to fill in a company. Some people have to work with more advanced databases, while others are tasked with creating policies to enhance data safety. Companies who are hiring Information System workers are looking for workers who already know a lot about the specific job they are applying for. There is room to learn on the job, but a solid base is needed.

Computer Science and Programming

Computer Science and Programming are important concepts that help people to understand IT and the continuous evolution of technology. Going into an Information Systems job, applicants must have the ability to understand the changes that are always occuring in technology. They might not need to know how to actually code, but the concepts that are associated with Computer Science and Programming allow people either understand how things might work, or understand those who are trying to explain how certain programs or processes work.

Security Awareness

The last skill is Security Awareness. In general, technological security awareness is a skill that most employees, in any position, should try to take into account. As more and more business move online, vulnerabilities to security breaches increase exponentially. So, in order to prevent breaches everyone should take precautions. However, Security Awareness is especially important for Information Systems employees. Most jobs in the field have some sort of association to IT Security. So if one is not very secure in their technological use, they will not make it far in the field.