Things To Do Beyond The Classroom
Getting a degree is a large part of finding a job in the Information Systems field. But there are other things outside of the classroom that one can look into so they can become a more viable candidate. Two of the most important things, other than a degree, that employers look for in new employees are soft skills and prior work experience.Soft Skills
Soft skills refer to someone's ability to talk to people and perform customer service. In most jobs that anyone applies for, they will be working with someone or for someone. This means that anyone who is hired must be able to talk to people, otherwise it can create a bad work environment for everyone else. That is why interviews are so important whenever applying for jobs. It gives the employer a chance to not only look at your qualifications but also look at the way you carry conversation. If you meet their qualifications, and they feel like you would be a good fit on the team, they will hire you. If you meet their qualifications, but you do not seem like you will be a good fit for their team, they probably will not hire you.
Experience
In my discussions with numerous employers, I've gathered that while a college degree holds
value on a resume, managers in Information Systems often express a preference for
candidates boasting four years of practical IT experience over those who've solely pursued a
four-year degree. Often, those who choose to gain the experience without going to college will learn a lot of the information
that we would learn in our degrees. Not only that, they learn how it is applied in the real world rather than only hypothetical or theoretical situations.
Employers want to know that their future employees can take these concepts and apply them in their business, and showing that one
already has experience will boost that person's name up the list of potential new hires.