What Career is Right For Me?

Choosing the right career can be difficult, but having a defined career direction helps when finding a job. Generally, many people know their passion early on in life, but there are many people who discover their interests as they get older. With a little hard work, planning and serious self-introspection, you can easily set yourself on a path leading to a fruitful and fulfilling career.

Whether you’re trying to decide where to look for your first job or pondering a possible career change, here’s what you should consider when thinking through this important decision:

• Your natural talents – Knowing your natural talents is key to choosing the right career. Utilizing your talents in the work you do will bring success as well as recognition. You should try to find out what do you really enjoy doing and should apply those skills to a job.
• Your interests - What topics do you read about in your spare time and what classes do you enjoy in school? Your career doesn’t have to be your passion, but it shouldn’t bore you either.  If you're not interested in the duties or responsibilities that come with the career you choose, it's going to show. The lack of interest, passion and motivation often lead to poor productivity, which can adversely affect your advancement opportunities, salary and even job security.
• Personality – Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Introverts require time alone to recharge, while extroverts thrive on social interaction. Most people are close to the middle of the spectrum and will be most happy in a career that balances time alone with social interaction.
• Lifestyle - If being home with your family at around the same time every day is important to you, a career that sees you on the road or requires you to work overtime frequently might create problems and leave you unhappy. If your career threatens a certain aspect of your lifestyle that's exceptionally important to you, that might not be something you can easily adjust to, and it can ultimately affect your performance at work.
• Future opportunities - While you may not want to be a company president one day, you may want to advance beyond an entry-level job, or you may want to branch out and pursue a different job within your career field. It's always wise to find out where a career path may take you. Ask what the job placement rates are in the major you're considering, and find out what graduates are doing several years after finishing the program.
• Demands and expectations of the career - Most careers have certain conditions that are associated with work. You need to find out what the conditions (stress levels, work hours and travel, physical environment, level of responsibility, etc.) are that will likely be associated with the types of work you'll be doing. Can you handle not only the work but also the conditions that you'll probably face?

Considering the above factors, make sure you choose your career based on - You! Make choices that reflect your personality, your abilities and motivation, your desired lifestyle, and your circumstances. And whatever choices you make, think beyond the present and take actions accordingly.

Once you make your mind, register yourself on TheGongzuo.com to search jobs in your chosen career. Many large companies are looking for passionate employees who make a difference!

The Best Cities for Women in Tech

Based on a research conducted by SmartAsset.com in February, 2016, the list of top 10 cities for women in technology has been revealed. In this research, 4 major factors were taken into account: the percentage of tech workforce that is female, the gap between men and women’s salaries, women’s median income and three-year tech employment growth in that city. The research team used Census Bureau data to evaluate 58 metropolitan areas.

San Francisco – the hub of tech jobs didn’t appear in the list for the two major reasons: skyrocketing housing prices and the fact that women earn only 85% of salaries of their men counterparts. Moreover, 75% of tech positions in San Francisco are held by males. Other tech hubs such as San Jose and Seattle have similar ratios.

Whereas, in some other cities, there is a better culture of payment equality among men and women and also percentage of women workforce is not too low.

Here’s the list of best cities for women in technology field. The percentage figures in bracket indicate tech jobs held by women.

• Washington D.C. (40%)
• Kansas City, MO (34%)
• Detroit, MI (44%)
• Baltimore, MD (34%)
• Indianapolis, IN (29%)
• Chandler, AZ (28%)
• New York, NY (26%)
• New Orleans, LA (38%)
• Denver, CO (24%)
• Fremont, CA (25%)
• St. Paul, MN (26%)

In top-ranked Washington, D.C., pay for women is statistically equivalent to the pay for men. There is no gender pay gap in D.C. Kansas City ranked second and its tech community continues to stand out for both pay and the makeup of its tech workforce.

The Most Powerful Women In Tech Industry

The tech world is fast-moving, highly competitive and male-dominated. But some of the most prestigious and best-remunerated roles are held by females.  These women are steering in a new era of female tech leadership.

Below are the most powerful women in tech from around the world in 2016.

Sheryl Sandberg – COO, Facebook - In June 2012, Sheryl Sandberg became the first woman to serve on Facebook’s board of directors. That same year, she made Time’s 100 Most Influential People list. She supporting continued growth at Facebook and has also promoted initiatives to address the gender gap within the tech industry and is on the board of Women for Women International. 

Susan Wojcicki – CEO, Youtube - In 1999, she joined Google as their first marketing manager and worked her way up to senior vice president of Advertising and Commerce. After overseeing Google Video for some time, Susan proposed that the company acquire Youtube (which at the time was a small start-up). She later handled two of Google’s largest acquisitions: the $1.65 billion purchase of YouTube in 2006 and the $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick in 2007. In February 2014, Susan was appointed CEO of YouTube.

Ginni Rometty – CEO, IBM - Ginni heads IBM, serving in the capacities of Chairman, President, and CEO. She is the first woman to do so. Since 1991, she has held various important roles at the company and was appointed CEO and President in October of 2011. 

Meg Whitman – CEO, Hewlett-Packard - Meg Whitman has a long and varied career, serving as an executive for numerous high-profile companies. During the 1980s, she was vice president of strategic planning at The Walt Disney Company. In the 1990s, she worked for DreamWorks, Procter & Gamble, and Hasbro. Then, from 1998 to 2008, she served as president and chief executive officer of eBay.

Marissa Mayer – CEO, Yahoo - Marissa has been the current president and CEO of Yahoo! since 2012. Prior to her employment with Yahoo!, she worked at Google as an executive and spokesperson for over a decade.

Safra Catz – Co-CEO, Oracle - Safra has been with Oracle Corporation since April 1999. In October 2001, she joined the company’s Board of Directors and was named President of Oracle Corporation in early 2004. From November 2005 to September 2008, and from April 2011 to the present, she also served as the company’s CFO. In September of 2014, she became co-CEO, along with colleague Mark Hurd.

Angela Ahrendts – SVP, Retail, Apple - Angela is new to the tech industry, but not new to leadership positions. She served as the CEO of Burberry from 2006 to 2014, before leaving to join Apple as the Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores. In 2014, she was Apple’s highest-paid executive, earning over $70 million. 

Ursula Burns – Chair-CEO, Xerox - In July 2009, Burns became the first African-American woman CEO to head a Fortune 500 company. She had worked for Xerox since 1980, beginning as an intern and climbing through the ranks for the next three decades. President Obama appointed her vice chair of the President’s Export Council in 2010

Ruth Porat – CFO, Google - After working with Morgan Stanley for decades, serving as their Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President from January 2010 to May 2015, Ruth Porat became CFO of Google on May 26, 2015.

Renee James – President, Intel - Renee James has worked at Intel for over 25 years, serving in a variety of roles. She became President of Intel Corporation in May 2013. Renee is one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent female executives and Intel’s highest-ranking woman ever. 

Technology still has a reputation for being a male-dominated field, but these women and many others are proving that gender is no barrier to success.

Trends Driving The Future of Technology

Technology is constantly evolving. Newer technologies such as smart devices, 3D printing are making headway in their mainstream adoption. The possibilities for where these technologies will take us and how they can impact our lives are endless.  Here is the list of top technology trends with potential to have a significant impact on the organizations.

1. Device Mesh - The device mesh moves beyond the traditional desktop computer and mobile devices (tablets and smartphones). As the device mesh evolves, we will see greater interaction between these devices.
2. Ambient user experience - The experience blends physical, virtual and electronic environments, and uses real-time contextual information as the ambient environment changes or as the user moves from one place to another.
3. 3D printing materials - Advances in 3D printing have already enabled 3D printing to use a wide range of materials, including advanced nickel alloys, carbon fiber, glass, conductive ink, electronics, pharmaceuticals and biological materials. These innovations are driving user demand, as the practical applications for 3D printers expand to more sectors, including aerospace, medical, automotive, energy and the military. 3D printing will see a steady expansion over next 20 years.
4. Information of everything - The now a days information goes beyond textual, audio and video information to include sensory and contextual information. Information of everything addresses technologies to link data from all these different data sources. Information has always existed everywhere but has often been isolated, incomplete, unavailable or unintelligible. Advances in semantic tools such as graph databases as well as other emerging data classification and information analysis techniques will bring meaning to the often chaotic form of information.

Things You Can Do To Improve Your Technical Skills

Improving technical skills could be one of the ways that leads towards your personal development. Here are few things you can do to improve your technical skills.

• Best way to learn anything is by doing it. You can read all the manuals and look at all the websites you want, but until you actually make your hands dirty, you're not really going to know how to do it. For website construction and any programming type stuff, this is all the more important - just do it and play with it. Of course, there is so much you can learn from those that are more experienced.
• Once you have basic skill set, find a mentor either at your own workplace or outside. Ask if you can shadow them, help out, or watch over their shoulder and ask questions. Ask them for advice. Take their inputs in your IT career planning. With their experience and knowledge, you can have wisdom of the ages.
• Sometimes skills in different areas help you in IT field. Make effective use of what you have learned so far. For example, if you have been building and repairing electronic equipments, these skills will help you in programming, troubleshooting, software testing etc.
• Visit tech websites daily. By visiting those sites everyday you'll be introduced to new technology, news and ideas.
• Read technical books/magazines.
• Take online tutorials.

To decide which technical skills you want to pick up or to get an idea which IT skills are in demand, register at TheGongzuo.com and search IT jobs relevant to your current or desired skillsets.

10 Best US Cities For Tech Jobs In 2016

Promising IT career opportunities can be found around the world, but some places are technology hubs. The ranking of top cities is based on factors such as hiring opportunity, cost of living, work-life balance and job satisfaction. IT job seekers and especially those who want to settle down at one place should target these cities, so that they will have many IT opportunities open for them.

Here is a list of tech-friendly cities:

1. San Jose, California – It is home to several high-profile companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook. Some of the hottest tech jobs in San Jose include solutions architect, data scientist, and senior software developer. The downside of San Jose is cost of living and housing prices.
2. San Francisco, California – It is another hot spot for tech jobs. Career profiles in demand in San Francisco include data scientist, solutions architect, and engagement manager. Just like nearby city San Jose, San Francisco also has a high cost of living.
3. Seattle, Washington - If you're looking for new opportunities but prefer a lower cost of living, look toward the Pacific Northwest. Seattle is a fast-growing, mid-sized tech magnet, and is gaining a national reputation as an alternative to high-cost tech hubs such as the Bay Area. Hot jobs in Seattle include solutions architect, UI-UX designer, and data scientist.
4. Austin, Texas - Austin is among the midsize tech hubs where employees can enjoy a lower cost of living without sacrificing job satisfaction, work-life balance, or a thriving job market. Austin's hottest tech jobs include solutions architect, data scientist, and business systems analyst.
5. Salt Lake City, Utah - This is another star in the midsize tech hub category. Hot tech jobs in Salt Lake City include technical support engineer, software engineer, and product manager.
6. Boston, Massachusetts - Boston has a higher cost of living than tech cities in the Midwest, but plenty of opportunities for IT professionals. The hottest tech jobs in Boston include applications developer, solutions architect, and data scientist.
7. Washington D.C. – U.S. capital is another hub for tech pros on the east coast. Some hot jobs in the district include data scientist, solutions architect, and UI-UX designer.
8. Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina – Raleigh is again a low cost family friendly city, having tech jobs mainly in Research Triangle Park (RTP) area. Hot IT jobs in Raleigh-Durham include software engineer, solutions architect, and software engineer. 
9. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota - If you're looking for work in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, some of its hottest jobs include solutions architect, data scientist, and systems administrator.
10. St. Louis, Missouri - The strongest tech jobs in St. Louis include software developer, data scientist, and IT project manager.

If you are an IT professional interested in working in any of the above cities, register for free at TheGongzuo.com. You will find a list of open positions at your preferred location based on your priorities and IT skills.

IT Job Search Tips

IT Job Search Tips: What Successful Job Seekers Do Differently?

After polishing the resume and carefully drafting the cover letter, candidates apply for the desired jobs and wait for a favorable reply. But, when they get that discouraging reply from an organization, they start to wonder what went wrong.

As a job seeker, you need to realize that mere clicking on the “Apply” button passively is not going to work. You need to practice certain methods throughout your job search. If you are actively looking for an IT job, check out the tips below shared by successful job seekers.

• Learn new technical skills – Learn new skills, which are current and are in demand so that IT recruitment agencies or IT employment websites can find you when they look for candidates of your background.
• Follow companies that interest you – Be well aware with the latest news as well as IT opportunities within those companies. Try to connect with people who are already working there.
• Keep adding new connections – Grow your network to be more visible. Expose yourself to new opportunities.
• Use social media effectively – Join groups such as LinkedIn and look out for IT job openings in your industry posted by other group members.
• Read relevant information – Take out some time each day to read news, interviews in IT industry. Stay informed about emerging technologies and latest trends in IT.
• Be consistent with your job search activity - Successful candidates set milestones for themselves. Every day they dedicate some time to visiting job search sites, sending applications, calling friends and family for introduction, talking to recruiters, etc. If you are seriously looking for a job, you cannot send applications only when you feel like.

Besides practicing these methods, register yourself with top IT job search website TheGongzuo, where you can find hot IT jobs for different profiles, industry experience and skills. Apply for free and get hired by your dream company today!