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I currently have a foundation certification in ITIL as well as a Problem Management Practitioner certification and a Master’s degree in Engineering Management. I have been looking for contract or full time opportunities as a Project Manager implementing IT/IS Business Processes. Usually I’ll find that the ITIL certifications complement the job descriptions, but the majority of employers do not recognize ITIL or the value it would bring to the position.
Dedicating too much time on a cover letter explaining ITIL will quickly move the resume to the employer’s round file on the floor. So the question is:
What is the best way to quickly and concisely convey the value of ITIL certification to a potential employer?
I thought ITSM, which, as you know is based on ITIL, was being widely adopted. What are potential employers telling you about your ITIL skills? That they are not needed?
Jeremy,
Although IT Service Management as a general business process is being pretty widely understood and adopted I don't think the same can yet be said about ITIL in the US. One of the things I have learned from attending the last two itSMF conferences is that the US is way behind many other parts of the world in understanding and accepting ITIL. I in the US think we get the concepts of Service Management, but have not completely grasped or accepted ITIL. I think the attempt to try to make it an ISO standard will help.
As for your job search, I think it would be very difficult to come into an organization and make it happen when they don't know what you are talking about. There are a number of companies out there, and especially on both coasts that get ITSM and even ITIL. A search on Monster.com will produce a couple of dozen opportunities for people with ITIL experience. The only other way to sell it I think is from the inside. Get your self in based on your experience and background. Play up the ability to bring service level management to them, but wait until you can get in the organization and start educating them before you expect them to get it.
You are correct that explaining ITIL in a 2 paragraph cover letter is next to impossible! Good luck in your job search!
ITIL desperately needs a one or two line Unique Selling Proposition/Value Proposition statement. I am not certain exactly what that is, but I bet working with a few folks in this forum we can come up with a statement that captures ITIL powerfully and compactly. To do so would be to the huge benefit of all ITIL practictioners.
Not being an expert ... why is ITIL sounding like such a hard sell? Are there too many competing standards or is it just gaining traction here in the States v. Europe and the UK? Or, is it even getting traction over there?
I just came from the Metagroup conference in San Diego. There they were talking about the "adaptive IT organization" ... its a very similar play to IBM's On Demand and Agile Business theories as well as what HP and CA and the rest of the big vendors are talking about. They all seem to be promoting this idea now.
Is ITIL/ITSM just a way of achieving these more lofty initiatives? The nuts & bolts of getting it done. Similar to what an ISO standard would/could do for you in other areas of your business?
ITIL is a framework of IT Service Management methodologies that were developed by benchmarking the best practices from many different world class organizations. The common thread in the ITIL modules is a connection to both business goals and customer needs.
One tactic I like to use is a simple and direct question about the value of ITIL/ITSM:
"What would be your answer if your customer just heard a pitch from one of the ITIL-based outsourcers and then says to you, 'If you aren't using the best practices available to meet my needs, then what are you doing?' "
People I talk to then usually say "hhm". It is difficult to acknowledge a willingness to deliver higher cost and/or lower quality service just because of resistance to change. This is the pyschological state of cognitive dissonance.
ITIL is very big over in Europe/UK. It is having difficulty in gaining traction in the US.
Reasons why:
1) Culture. Many organizational cultures are advrse to change. Especially, in my experience, in severely sub-optimized organizations because process improvement means "Change" and that change may mean reallocation/elimination of positions.
2) It wasn't "created in the US." Technically this is correct but, ITIL was built off of industry best practices from global companies such as IBM and HP so there is a lot of US influence.
3) ITIL adoption can take time. 2-3 years on full implementation projects. Even short term projects may take a year depending on complexity. With CIO longevity trends at about 18-24 months, it can be hard to devote time to ITIL (though it would be in the CIOs bbest interest to and increase that longevity).
4) European financial cycles are more annual in nature whereas US cycles are quarterly. The "What have you done for me lately" syndrome can cause people to look pretty bad as they work through incremental changes.
But....
Take heart because there are good stories out there. There are some really good examples where ITSM/ITIL adoption is really taking off.
Merrill Lynch, Intel, Microsoft internal IT all come to mind. Plus there are several companines doing a lot of work around ITIL and ITSM plus Microsoft has developed the Microsoft Operations Framework which is seeing adoption as well. HP has had ITSM for years as well.
As more companies see success, more will follow...
How to get employers to see the value of ITIL
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