| Fear has prevailed over the hope, and the economic | | | | guarantee peace and fulfillment in life. So what is the |
| recession is now a new global reality. While there are | | | | way out? Sharpening the personal skills, and prevailing |
| many ways to cope with it - and beat it, one time | | | | over the time is a sure shot recipe for success. |
| tested method is to empower with knowledge. In good | | | | Project management professional (PMP) certification is |
| times, even a little knowledge is not dangerous, but in | | | | a globally recognized skill being looked after by |
| bad times adequate knowledge may also not be | | | | recruiters these days. It may be difficult to judge |
| sufficient. For professionals in technology and | | | | experience and managerial acumen by interview or |
| management, the recession is time for retrospection | | | | resume, but certification benchmarks certainly helps. |
| and sharpening their skill sets. While we are doing it | | | | Many companies are now looking for well recognized |
| ourselves, we also recommend it to those who care. | | | | certifications world wide as a pre requisite for |
| IT and finance consultants and managers, who were | | | | recruitment. PMP exam is a four hours exam which |
| hitherto in a very secure situation, have been | | | | reveals the candidates true prowess as a successful |
| subjected to the maximum uncertainty in the global | | | | project manager. |
| recessions. IT cost cutting is generally the first priority | | | | Six sigma, is a process based quality-control |
| of companies to make ends meet. No doubt the | | | | technology which is adapted by the top companies to |
| average hourly consulting rates for IT project | | | | design, and significantly improve their quality processes. |
| managers have come down drastically. Besides stiff | | | | It is equally applicable in manufacturing and service |
| competition from BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China), and | | | | sector. There are few accredited institutions around |
| Southeast Asian countries have spoiled the party, and | | | | the world which conducts exams for different levels |
| made the competition very stiff. The time now is to | | | | of six sigma certifications. |
| look for hidden opportunities rather than crib or analyze | | | | Other specialized skills for IT professional include |
| the cause. | | | | software testing, software estimation based on |
| While it makes sense to survive by all means, even if it | | | | function point analysis, Microsoft Projects, and |
| means looking for inferior (in a relative sense) work | | | | managing IT infrastructure. All these have accepted |
| and working in different time zones, but this does not | | | | global benchmarks and standard certifications. |