Seven Rules for Women in IT

By Mary Brandel

August 6, 2007 12:00 PM ET

Comments

(0)

Computerworld - In the course of a recent study on women in IT, Women in Technology International and Compel Ltd., a management consulting and research firm, spoke with 16 women CIOs about their career tracks. Because of the similarity among these womens experiences, the authors summarized seven lessons learned that apply to women who wish to further their careers in IT.

1. Expand your frame of reference. Get technology experience in a variety of areas, such as sales, consulting, customer service and operations.

2. Work for standouts. Work with name-brand companies or on important, high-impact projects.

3. Choose projects with weight. Dont work solely in support roles or the people aspects of projects. Work on at least one project that is operationally oriented.

4. Speak clearly and with integrity. On risky or troubled projects, break through political correctness and be forthright.

5. Soften the edges. Be hard-charging and results-oriented, but also develop people skills and a relationship orientation.

6. Raise your own flag. Publicize your teams successes.

7. Reflect. Assess your leadership qualities, style, values and what you want your career to look like.

Read more about careers in Computerworld's Careers Knowledge Center.

Comment Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Jump to comments

careers

Additional Resources

Microsoft

DirectAccess and UAG: Better Together

Here are some of the key reasons why you would want to run Unified Access Gateway with DirectAccess.

Microsoft

Case Study: Energy Firm Tightens Protection, Simplifies IT Work

Review how one energy firm tightened protection and simplified IT work using business-ready security solutions.

Sybase

NEXT-GENERATION MOBILITY PLATFORMS

In this white paper, IDC analyzes the role of next-generation mobile enterprise platforms as organizations seek a more strategic deployment of mobile solutions.

Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase.