Careers advice for City techies

www.itjobsinthecity.com, part of the Job Board Enterprises network with currently incorporates www.theitjobboard.com and www.thesapjobboard.com, has today launched a career guide aimed at IT workers in the banking and financial services sector. The guide, entitled 'Future proofing your career in the City - a guide for it professionals in the Banking and Financial Services Sector' ams to give the reader insights into gaining prestigious IT careers in the highly lucrative sector.

The financial services industry is renowned for being at the sharp edge of technology, with banks using technology to gain competitive edge. Those that work in IT in banking and financial services are usually seen to be working at the heart of the business. The guide gives an overview of external influences that have a bearing on the banking industry, such as security, terrorism, oil prices, borrowing levels and corporate governance and the overall importance IT has on a global bank and hence the pressures and opportunities of working in such an environment.

The guide then goes on to suggest 10 career enhancing actions. Extracts include:

ï The importance of keeping on top of the latest technologies With banks being such voracious users of new technologies, those the work in the sector must be prepared to move in tandem with technology advances.

ï Being user centric. The banks in general and the investment banks in particular have a very clear understanding of the relationship between the IT department and the users. The IT department is there to serve the users, and thus IT staff need to be user-centric in their outlook. This means talking the language of users, i.e. derivatives, FX, trade and execution rather than C#, J2EE and Soap.

ï Keep an eye on outsourcing. The world is changing and outsourcing is a reality, as is off shoring. All banks are experimenting with outsourcing. Banks are discovering that focusing on reducing the cost of IT is not as important as using IT to out innovate the competition. As a player in the IT market, you need to keep one eye on outsourcing. The key is to ensure that you have the skills that those elsewhere do not have. Senior technology and management roles are most likely to stay in-house, plus those with extensive experience of the bankís business processes.



Ray Duggins, managing director of www.theitjobboard.com said, ìThe financial services sector is crying out for talented individuals ñ weíre committed to ensuring our candidates are well informed about the opportunities open to them and offering them guidance to achieve their goals.î

To download your copy of ëFuture proofing your career in the City ñ a guide for IT professionals in the Banking and Financial Services Sectorí, please click here