IT Career Energizer 245: Invest in Yourself Continuously and Become Passionate About What You Do with Siddick Elaheebocus
Phil’s guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Siddick Elaheebocus. Siddick has worked in the IT industry for 18 years. He is currently a Director and Technology Strategist for an IT services company based in the French Pacific providing vendor-agnostic digital advisory, professional services and training.
Siddick is also a Chartered IT Professional, a long-standing Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), a technology conference speaker and a mentor. He is also a former Microsoft TechIdol winner
In this episode, Phil and Siddick Elaheebocus discuss how continuous self-development provides security and opens up exciting possibilities. In the podcast, Siddick goes over numerous ways you can do all of this efficiently.
They discuss why having a purely technical skillset is no longer sufficient for IT professionals. As well as why failure is not a negative thing.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
(6.37) TOP CAREER TIP
Invest in yourself continually. Things change fast you never know when your role will change drastically or disappear, and you need to find a new one.
Growing your knowledge, skills, and networking will ensure you are ready for the move. You also need to work on your soft skills and personality.
(9.43) WORST CAREER MOMENT
When Siddick took on his first management role he had to learn on the job. The firm he worked for did not provide any formal people management training. Unfortunately, he made a mistake. One that started to impact his professional image negatively. He could not fully fix the issue, so ended up leaving a job he loved.
This experience prompted him to learn people skills. Something that Siddick found has helped his career immeasurably.
(13.39) CAREER HIGHLIGHT
Being involved in the launch of the first public cloud in Tahiti is Siddick´s biggest career highlight. There were a lot of challenges, but they succeeded and provided an affordable cloud service. Microsoft uses it as an example and other island nations are replicating it.
(16.33) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T
Siddick is excited by the fact that we are on the edge of the next big tech revolution. The availability of cognitive and artificial intelligence, big data and augmented reality will all lead to huge changes.
This is likely to transform the role of most IT professionals. They will still need their technical skills but will also play a far greater role in driving change through innovation. It is no longer sufficient to have only technical skills; you need an understanding of business too.
(19.13) THE REVEAL
What first attracted you to a career in I.T.?– When people started to ask Siddick to repair their hardware he became curious about how PC worked which started his IT career.
What’s the best career advice you received?– Siddick´s dad told him - work isn´t life.
What’s the worst career advice you received?– There´s no room for failure. Siddick believes no failure means you are not trying anything new.
What would you do if you started your career now?– Siddick would start by working in the cloud, AI or cybersecurity fields.
What are your current career objectives? – Building some specialized skills in data center and cloud tech and building a stronger tech community, in his area.
What’s your number one non-technical skill?– Active listening. In the podcast, Siddick shares several examples of how that has helped his career.
How do you keep your own career energized?– Learning from his customers and business partners and working to understand emerging technologies.
What do you do away from technology? – He loves to travel and spending time enjoying the beautiful island he lives on.
(26.00) FINAL CAREER TIP
If you want to excel in your profession, become passionate about what you do. You will naturally become good at what you do and be inspired to carry on learning and contributing.
BEST MOMENTS
(6.37) – Siddick- “Invest in yourself continuously. Today, your role is important, tomorrow you might be redundant.”
(17.13) – Siddick- “The shift in the technology landscape means IT professionals have to become innovation agents.”
(19.17) – Siddick- “You need a combined knowledge of IT and business to be a real asset for companies.”
(20.43) – Siddick- “When you have work-life harmony, you are happy. In time, this happiness translates into better productivity.”
(23.33) – Siddick- “It's amazing how much you can learn simply by shutting your mouth and opening your ears.”
(0.00) – Siddick- “If you want to excel at what you do, become passionate about your work to fuel your career.”
ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS
Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey.
CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS
Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess
Facebook: https://facebook.com/philtechcareer
Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer
Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact
Phil is also reachable by email at phil@itcareerenergizer.comand via the podcast’s website, https://itcareerenergizer.com
Join the I.T. Career Energizer Community on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITCareerEnergizer
ABOUT THE GUEST – SIDDICK ELAHEEBOCUS
Siddick Elaheebocus has worked in the IT industry for 18 years. He is currently a Director and Technology Strategist for an IT services company based in the French Pacific providing vendor-agnostic digital advisory, professional services and training.
Siddick is also a Chartered IT Professional, a long-standing Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), a technology conference speaker and a mentor. As well as a former Microsoft TechIdol winner
CONTACT THE GUEST – SIDDICK ELAHEEBOCUS
Siddick Elaheebocus can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtI-ssqhQd-wIIm3t49zE_w
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddick-elaheebocus
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/siddicke