IT Careers: Bring Synergy and Diversity to the Workplace

When I coach IT job seekers in preparation for their technical interviews, I explain the importance of being keenly aware that there are 3 generations in today’s workplace: baby boomers, generation X, and generation Y, also known as the millenniums.  This awareness is important because there are substantial differences in workplace behaviors and expectations between the generations.

A first area of differences is in communications and interactions. Boomers are biased toward teamwork and formal communications, Gen X are more entrepreneurial and causal in communications, and Gen Y are more social and participative.

A second set of differences in in motivations and rewards. Boomers are driven by value, respect, and recognition. Gen X is motivated by independence and freedom, and Gen Y by feedback and innovation.

The third area of differences is in work styles and embracing technology.

Boomers tend to be methodological and structured; they’ll stay current with technology such as cloud computing (SaaS, IaaS, PaaS), but they are less likely to fully embrace the dramatic changes required by emerging technologies.  

Gen X works collaboratively and embraces both current and emerging technologies. For this generation, the realities of balancing their professional and personal lives can shift the focus to more immediate needs. Instead, they are focused on delivering business capabilities that the business currently needs.

Gen Y embraces an agile work style and has the energy and enthusiasm to play with bleeding-edge technologies. They prefer a shared experience discovering what makes the technology so cool. 

Awareness of these differences between generations makes a real difference in how you present yourself and how you are perceived in interviews. First, be self-aware. Know which generation you represent, how you are typical of that generation and how you are atypical.  Then get a sense of the generations represented by hiring managers and interviewers. With some understanding of your similarities with and your differences from those with whom you’ll be working, you’re better prepared to describe how you bring both synergy and diversity to the workplace.

If you would like to read more about technologies in IT Careers, see http://www.itresumeservice.com/your-it-career-keep-pace-with-wearable-technologies/

About the Author

Jennifer Hay is that rare technical resume writer who actually has IT experience and understands the complexities of working in a technical environment. She goes beyond a standard information gathering process and applies her knowledge of data and information management, business analytics, data analytics, data science, infrastructures and architectures, software development, project and program management, among other areas to create truly compelling messages.

Jennifer is the author of Supercharge Your IT Job Search available through Amazon. She is currently working on her second book about data and information management careers, a collaborative effort with Dave Wells, a mentor, educator, and thought leader in fields of business intelligence and business analytics.