Top 5 Career Pointers for the CCNA Holder

Regardless of whether you are an IT manger with 3 years of experience, or are a certified project consultant who has just stepped into the industry, these top 5 career pointers for CCNA holders will help you chalk the way forward.

Today, the industry demands for various skills and talents are making workers look towards different certifications and credentials – with CCNA being one of the most important of them all. Here, we enlist “top 5 career pointers for the CCNA holder” that will keep you in sync with the latest trends, and help you reap rich dividends. Yes, these points to remember will serve as your guide in this age of global digitization, technology driven resources, and innovative opportunities. Are you game?

1. Get hold of the complete picture

Short-sightedness seldom works in the areas linked to the deployment of networking devices. Strive to connect with the bigger picture. Know the key factors that may influence your expertise and areas of operations, and vice versa. Analyze the short and long term effects of implementing changes in your existing, or yet-to-be-implemented policies – in other words, know if they will work or not? A careful assessment of desirable operational results, networking resources, and end-user experiences will get you where you want to be. 

2. Don’t hesitate to move forward

You already have the CCNA certificate under your belt, so what? There is no end to learning. Keep sharpening your skills and gaining more experiences. Never lose a chance to understand new business modules or crack technology backed applications. In case a challenging project comers your way, just grab it. Yes, there is nothing more important at this stage than to move beyond your comfort zone to interact with groups that are placed way above you in terms of expertise and experience. In other words, leave no leaf unturned to broaden your horizons or adopt new learning tools in the garb of collaborations, diverse workplaces, management skills, and so forth.

3. Don’t rest on your laurels

It simply does not end with your CCNA certificate. In fact, the journey starts from there. Today, organizations are investing in the skills and training of their human resources like never before. And there is ample money floating around too. So, keep scouring the never-ending range of courses and their methods of delivery. Look for different ways of enhancing your exposure and interest in technology. In other words, keep pushing yourself to the edge, and beyond it!

4. Conceptualize and Improve Thinking Patterns

Always think big and conceptualize out-of-the-box ideas for higher success. As a CCNA holder looking for smarter ways of attaining technology capabilities and fulfilling business demands, you cannot rely on configuration and traditional networking tasks alone. Instead, you need to take a grip over network uptime, innovative ways of deploying connectivity tools, network optimization, etc. With conceptual thinking backing your integrity and services, you will be in a stronger position to take your network to the next levels of success. Yes, you will be ready to win!

5. Match your certification to your success goals

There’s a lot that can be attained with technology, you just need to know how to leverage its benefits to place your initiative ahead of the herd. To this end, it is essential that you understand how to derive the optimum value from your certification and be purposeful to your organization (and yourself). 
Well, you already know how to operate enterprise networks and deploy networking devices. Its time you started looking way beyond IT and networking. The keyword is collaboration. Your interactions with others in the operations, accounts, sales, or customer services departments will consolidate your position in simple as well as evolved digital business projects. All in all, do not restrict yourself to the role of a technical contributor; you are capable of serving your clients and projects in many more ways!

Bonus Pointers:

• Apply your knowledge in networking and technology whether you are on the job, or off it. Quit memorizing and sticking to the boundaries defined by your certification course. In simple words, get the job done; it’s not enough to know the knobs.

• The quality, and not the quantity, of your certifications matters. So, take your time to learn and excel. It’s best to outline your career goals and ensure that your development efforts match the same; especially with regards to industry benchmarks, training efforts, priorities / perceptions, and so forth.

With these top 5 career pointers for the CCNA holder up your sleeve, you can impart more value to your projects and overall career graph. Do you have other inputs pertaining to critical areas that may have escaped our notice? We will be happy to hear from you!