Touting success tales over skills

Matthew Moran is living his dream technology job.

He consults companies within easy driving distance of his Cave Creek home. He writes books and blogs, and he spends his free time coaching his kids in sports.

Building that flexible career in information technology wasn’t easy, though. When one of Moran’s first Arizona clients ran out of money and neglected to tell him for several weeks, he joined a friend’s window-washing business to be able to buy groceries. By midday he’d change into professional clothes, then go knock on doors in the Scottsdale Airpark area trying to drum up more business.

The secret, he tells job seekers, is to forget about pitching your technical skills. Instead, Moran advocates that IT workers think in terms of what business problems they can solve for their employers and potential employers. Rather than tout their certifications, Moran suggests workers write summaries of their projects and what they achieved.

"I don’t want them to say, ‘He’s technically proficient,’ " Moran said. "I want them to say, ‘He changed my life.’ "

Jane Larson
The Arizona Republic

Full Story: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/1128survivor28.html