Welcome to the latest edition of our ‘Under the Hood’ blog series, where we meet the people who make New Zealand’s amazing IT industry tick.
This time around we spoke with IT Service Management Consultant, James Gander, who has a long and varied career working with organisations to improve their IT processes. James outlines his career, explains what the introduction of DevOps teams could mean for the industry, plus he gives his insights into how job seekers can stand out from the crowd and lastly what the future of the industry looks like.
Career
James is an IT Service Manager with over 20 years in the IT industry and over 10 years’ experience managing, mentoring and leading IT support teams in Outsource, Utilities, Media & Broadcast, Finance, Health and Tertiary Education environments.
James works as both a Consultant and Contractor, covering two different roles between them. As a Consultant, his role is to understand what the customers’ issues are and then to work alongside all members of the team to outline other potential issues and come up with a sustainable and long-term plan to solve them.
In his contracted Operations roles, James assists in driving improvements within the organisation, whilst again working through different solutions and coming up with new ways to resolve them. He also acts as a mentor to the team, working with them to improve processes.
Standing Out from the Crowd
James suggests that for those beginning their careers within the IT industry, it’s important to consider that you can do things in multiple ways, highlighting the importance of researching every option rather than just going for the obvious choice.
He also advises job seekers and IT professionals to remain active within the industry. Attending conferences and local events, such as MeetUps, reading articles on what’s happening and offering to speak at events are all great ways to get your name out into the industry.
Keen to See More?
This is just one video in a comprehensive series where we follow individuals who are making a stamp on the IT Industry. For more insights and advice on various roles in the IT Industry from thought leaders and experts in the field, check out more of our Under the Hood series below:
- The Evolution of Digital Marketing
- Becoming a Versatile Senior Project Manager
- Everything about a Career in Omnichannel Marketing
- The Transformation of Agile Project Management
- The Role of a Solutions Architect
- The Life of a Finance Business Analyst
- Searching for the Future of Online Marketing
- A Global Career in Project and Programme Management
- CRM Consultancy – Customers and a Journey of Understanding
- The Future of Project Management
- A Career as a Security Specialist
- Sales in the Technology Industry
- Contracting Your Way to Success in the IT industry
- Not Just a Desk Job – Business Analyst