WEBINAR - Building a Successful Career in the Microsoft Space

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thank you so much for joining us today to  talk about building a successful career in the   Microsoft space this is a webinar that's designed  for people who are not yet in the Microsoft   ecosystem and who are considering a career  change so that you can explore the opportunity   and you can start building your career development  strategy right now we're going through a bit of a   crisis worldwide and many people are struggling  or feeling uncertain and as Warren Buffett says   in times of uncertainty the best investment you  can make is in yourself so it's a really good   idea that you're here to look into new areas for  potential training and professional development   if you're currently unfulfilled in your  role or you're feeling like you're not   making quite enough money you're not given  enough opportunities or you're worried about   the security of your job then Microsoft  Technologies might be a great area for you   for example if you're an accountant or a business  analyst or anybody with a deep experience of a   specific industry you already have skills that  likely can transfer very well into the Microsoft   world and will be valued by employers there so  the goal of today is to support you to determine   if Microsoft Technologies and Microsoft careers  can be the right Next Step for you you're going   to walk away with an idea of what's possible in  the space for you and clear next steps if you   decide that you wish to build a career plan and  start training into this new area if you have any   questions as I speak please pop them into the chat  and my colleagues will be answering those for you   we have quite a packed agenda today so um I'll  be doing my best to give you as much information   as possible we're going to start by talking to  you about the Microsoft ecosystem opportunity   from a career point of view and what makes  it attractive to professionals right now   then we're going to give you a few essential  pieces of information to support you uh finding   out if it's right for you as a career choice  we're going to give you a couple of examples   of roles that you could be taking on if  you decide to join the Microsoft ecosystem   then we're going to talk a little bit about career  expansion prospects so that you know as well   beyond the first role what are the opportunities  and the possibilities and finally we're going to   give you the next steps for getting trained  and hired in the Microsoft ecosystem if you   decide that that's something that excites you  and that you want to explore further foreign I've been in the Microsoft ecosystem for over  eight years I'm the leader of the Microsoft   Learning Partner practice at 365 Salon portal  and I've been specializing in learning and   career development forever so I've been supporting  Employers in the Microsoft ecosystem to finance   larger talents and then I've been supporting  talent to find the right training Solutions and then just a few words about 365 Talent  portal so as mentioned just now we're a   Microsoft Learning Partner we also a hiring  solution with both candidates to find jobs we   support employers to find candidates  we have a Microsoft partner practice   building service and so overall we kind  of have for Microsoft Technology success   and because of that we're very well  positioned in the industry in terms   of network in terms of opportunities and in  terms of uh overall product knowledge as well now I'd like to pause just for a  quick moment uh because I'm very   curious about what brings you here  so I'll give you 30 seconds I would   love it if you could pop in the chat a few  words about what brings you to the webinar   and where you are in your career change  so that we know a little bit about you just quickly someone's just nosy I love this pizza all right I'll move on but you can keep typing if  you're still typing uh I would love to know what   brings people here all right now why should you or  why might you want to consider a Microsoft career   so first and foremost the software Market  as a whole has been growing for some time   and it's still projected to grow um quite a bit  over the next few years and more specifically   Cloud Solutions are very successful right now and  projected the market the cloud markets projected   to more than double in size between 2002 and  2000 2022 and 2026 in Europe and within the   cloud Solutions Microsoft Technologies are very  well positioned and also growing a lot at the   moment so you've got this bubble of opportunity  where um the market is growing and also the   stock is growing because uh Microsoft's quite an  Innovative company and they keep coming up with   new Solutions new technologies or new Evolutions  to their technology so it's a very active space   and as a result the opportunities on this phase  are growing much faster than the talent pool and   so for years ever since I've been in the space  it's been a constant challenge that there are   not enough people to implement Microsoft Solutions  so most of the partners that we work with in the   Microsoft ecosystem tell us that their main  obstacle for growth is that they do not have   enough people on their teams to deliver on their  clients demand that means that getting trained and   certified into this space gives you a really good  chance to find jobs that are going to be exciting   and you know give you a lot of opportunities for  further development as well and then in terms of   choice uh you also get to work with a wide range  of Technologies or choose from a wide range of   Technologies because Microsoft and we'll talk  about it a little bit later has a variety of   solutions a variety of roles across business roles  and Technical roles and even sales training so   that's it's not just for developers there's this  misconception that it's you have to be a technical   person to work as a Microsoft consultant and that  is just not true so there's varied roles there's   varied employer types and there's also a great  community of uh people who uh Network together   support each other you've got peer support you've  got um events as well very exciting events and   there's a lot happening and overall it's it's  quite active and supportive as an area to work in now we're going to talk a little bit about ideal  backgrounds because the goal of a career change   is for it to be successful for you and as the  work that we've been doing over the past many   years we've identified that there's a number  of backgrounds that drastically increase your   chances of getting hired after you're trained  and certified so it's roles like accountants   business analysts system Engineers or systems  administrators Consultants from other Cloud   Solutions other Erp Solutions other CRM Solutions  or anybody with a very deep and specific industry   knowledge in an area that can be then translated  into Microsoft space so if you've got one of those   backgrounds you very likely have skills that will  transfer very well into Microsoft Technologies   and make you quite attractive to employers if  you do not have one of these backgrounds and   you're interested in a Microsoft career don't  give up we're going to give you contact details   further down the line and feel free to reach  out to us and we'll be happy to talk to you   about your uh your professional project and see if  there's areas for you to to grow into this space now I want to give you a quick overview of what  you would be doing as a Microsoft consultant   understanding that of course there's a wide  range of roles like I said so uh I can't be   too specific but I can give you some of some kind  of an idea of the spirit behind Microsoft careers   and basically whatever your role is your goal  will be to support employers support businesses   to leverage Microsoft Technologies so that they  can achieve more so that's the goal you're going   to be working with businesses they're going to  be having a challenge with their systems their   data the business processes something's going to  not be working quite the way they want and you're   going to be here to bring a technology solution to  the problem make them more effective Empower them   and make them more successful to do this you're  going to be working very likely as a part of a   team that is a combination of Business Consultants  sales people uh technical consultants and you're   very likely as well to be working on a project  basis uh in many cases there's exceptions um   one thing that's also important to know about the  Microsoft space is that it's going to require you   to learn regularly and give you many opportunities  to learn as well because the Technologies evolve   New Opportunities come through and there's always  going to be new things for you to to know about now to be a little bit more specific about the  types of opportunities that you can get so like   I said there's a variety of Technologies roles  employers employment types and career growth   opportunities some of it I'll dive into later  on but for now I just want to walk you very   quickly to the five different solution areas in  the technology space to give you an idea of the   different ways you could direct yourself so  first you've got Azure which is the Microsoft   Cloud solution growing a lot right now uh you've  got modern workplace which is about employee   productivity so it's your Microsoft Office office  office tool Microsoft teams those sorts of tools   you've got Microsoft security which is about  protecting systems from external attacks   and then you've got Microsoft Dynamics 365 which  is Microsoft's Erp and CRM set of solutions for   companies and finally Microsoft Power Platform  which is the Microsoft low code solution that   enables companies to automate processes  and then within each of these Technologies   you have a wide range of roles including an  engineers and administrators the functional   Consultants who are more on the business  side the developers that are more on the   technical side sales and pre-sales people lets  you post customers to make the right choices in   Technologies and then you can evolve into being  a trainer solution architect a program lead um and then types of employers so I just want  to quickly run through the fact that that you   can work for potentially Microsoft Partners  potentially Microsoft end users potentially   large isvs and within each of these employer  types you can work from the smallest startup   companies to large International conglomerates  so that still gives you you know a very open   world to get into and then even when you  start you can always redirect yourself   uh in slightly different directions while  still staying in the Microsoft ecosystem now a quick set of questions so first in order  to support you to assess yourself I would like   to invite you to think about what is missing  from your career right now and I'll give you   again 30 seconds just to start and you may need  to continue this after this because we've got a   lot of content to cover but what's missing from  your career right now that's bringing you here   and based on what you've heard so far what do  you think becoming a Microsoft consultant would   bring to you so giving you just a moment  to to start this you are very welcome to   share this on the chat as well if you would  like but at least write it down for yourself   the third question I will be sharing with you  when we send you the recording so that again   that's something I invite you to think about  what can what can you leverage for your from   your existing experience but right now we're  short on time so let's focus on the first two all right so now uh I will continue uh feel free  to keep taking some notes if you need to but   um okay I wanted to give you a couple  of examples of roles that are available   in the Microsoft ecosystem so that  you have a bit more of an idea of   what's possible so the first rule I want to  talk about is finance functional consultant   and in a few words I'm going to talk to you  about so Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance it's   part of the Microsoft Erp solution and it's an  application which empowers businesses to enhance   their Financial Health through analytics and data  and manage and automate their Finance business   processes and in turn that reduces their Financial  Risk so as a functional consultant in Dynamics 365   Finance you would analyze your clients Financial  tools and processes you would compare this with   a current goals and challenges and you would  work with them to plan and design a solution   that leverages the capabilities of Microsoft  Dynamics to solve their challenges and Empower   them to maximize what they're doing and just work  better as a whole reduce risk reduce their fears   the typical salary range in the UK for this  role is starts at around 65k per year for   a junior resource so that would be where  you are when you start and then can go all   the way up to 150k for Senior Resource  to give you an idea of the opportunity   now Power Platform functional functional  consultant so the salary salary rate is similar   and in terms of the tasks uh functional  consultant that would also be very similar where   you're supporting uh customers to improve their  business processes through Microsoft solution here   the difference is that instead of Dynamics 365  Finance you will be working with Power Platform   which is a group of solutions that is all about  automating business processes in a local way   and then they can so through a Power Platform  they can develop their app experiences so they   can develop internal apps that makes it  easier for them to work together they can   connect with customers better they can gather  and display data in ways that Empower them   and it's a solution to our platform  that growing a lot right now it is   very successful and businesses are really  loving it so as a tip good area to get into   okay a few words about possible career development  prospects so say you get into your first role   for example as a functional consultant where  could that take you next so you would be able   to develop yourself horizontally and an example  of that is if you start as a finance functional   consultant you would be able once you know you  you're comfortable with Finance you could say   okay well now I want to learn how to implement  the HR module of Microsoft Dynamics so you could   train yourself horizontally into another area of  Dynamics and then start working on more projects   or help your customers with more areas of their  own projects there's the vertical progression   so to move to a solution architect which is  a more strategic role and then eventually   potentially to practice lead where you're actually  leading other Dynamics Consultants strategically   you could also develop and become a Microsoft  certified trainer supporting other Consultants   to get trained and certified the way that you  have done already and even you can get into   business ownership and actually a number of the  Microsoft Consultants we work with have their own   businesses are growing their practices they're  hiring other Consultants to work with them so   that's something that's very possible in this  space if you've got an entrepreneurial spirit now this is a slide that's for you uh to say to  work on later so again we'll send this to you   and it's a couple of questions to encourage  you to think about your longer term career   growth because if you've got those established  it'll be much easier for you to finalize your   decision about the Microsoft space see if it's  really the right area for you so I invite you   in your own time to answer these two questions  for yourself and then compare them to what we've   talked about about the Microsoft growth options  and see if this is something that's a match now if you like what you've had so far and you  think okay that sounds interesting that sounds   exciting what do you do next um because obviously  you're at the very beginning so there's a number   of things that you need to do in order to  find your path and build your career plan   in the Microsoft space and so your first step  is to pick your Microsoft Technology of choice   if you don't already have it we're gonna send  you this so This these are the five technology   areas that we have talked to you about and  if you're not certain we're going to send   you these links that will allow you to find out  more about about each technology and determine   based on your background your goals the type  of customers you want to support which one is   the right one for you so that's your first step  pick your technology if you don't have it already   if you have your technology you might actually  also want to think about specific areas of the   technology that are important to you for example  with Azure you can specialize in data management   you can specialize in AI with Dynamics there's  different areas you can specialize in as well so   export all of that and find out your technology  your area of of starting points and then within   this technology you need to choose your role so  we've got this list of role that we discussed are   you more of a business type of consultant are you  more of a developer and if you need something more   specific we've got this resource that's called  Microsoft learn career connected where Microsoft   have begun to put together descriptions of the  different roles that are available in the space   now if you still need help because we understand  it's a lot of information to go through and it can   be a little confusing if you're new so if you feel  like you could benefit from support in refining   your career project there's a link here you can  click to book a free Skilling consultation with me   and we'll go over your your background your goals  your aspirations and we'll make sure that you   build a plan that's right for you so we'll help  you pick your technology will help you pick your   role will help you make sure that it's aligned  with your backgrounds and uh and your aspirations um now once you have your uh your technology and  your role you're gonna need to get trade and   certified and so here I want to give you some  tips for picking your training Solutions and uh   some info about the um options that are available  to you so first of all when you get trained into   the Microsoft ecosystem you need to Target  official Microsoft content and certification   courses certifications are very important  especially if you're new because they prove   that you have acquired a certain set of skills  so those two elements make sure they're there   whatever training solution you choose if you are  in career transition you're also going to want a   solution that's adapted to you as a career changer  something that allows you to transition state   safely by staying in your role while you're  training and then while you're looking for   uh job yes absolutely I will be sending these  slides I see this is being asked yes 100   you will receive by email in the slides as  a solution that allows you to stay in your   role a solution that is Affordable one of the  challenges with Microsoft trading is that very   often it can be expensive and if your company  is paying for it and training you is great but   if you're paying for it as an individual it can  be a little steep in a time of crisis and also   very importantly if you're not coming from  a Microsoft background you're going to want   some solution that prepares you for the Microsoft  job market and supports you to be attractive to   employers especially when you go after your very  first role without the prior industry experience   your traditional options are Microsoft learn  which is an official Microsoft website that   gives you free self-paced resources and  it's great it's a really good website   however it can be complex to navigate  and you are left alone with your learning   so it can be tough to find your way you don't have  a lot of Hands-On practice and well it has hits   its websites and then it has its drawbacks your  other option is instructed instructed at training   which is great because then you are in a room  or in a virtual call with a Microsoft certified   trainer who walks you through all the concepts  does labs with you answers all your questions   now the challenge with instructor-led training  is it's a little expensive and also it requires   taking time off to train because very  often it's going to be over a full week and also neither of the solutions actually prepare  you for the Microsoft job market so they do not   cover things like um how to customize your CV how  to optimize your profiles uh what are the skills   you already have that you know will help employers  see you value so that's something that's missing   from traditional training and that's important  to be aware of so that's where we come in we've   built a solution designed for career Changers  to address all of these challenges uh so it's   our career changer Academy for people who come  from professional backgrounds and want to get   into the Microsoft space and the way we've done  this is we've built it as a guided self-paced   experience where you're doing it in your own time  outside of your work hours and at the same time   you are being guided in terms of the knowledge  that you need to go for you know what you need   to study every week we check in with you once  a week as well so there's an hour a week that   is a live hour where we ensure you're on track  we give you further advice and guidance you get   access to a Microsoft certified trainer as well  to support you to prepare for your certification   and we guarantee that we work with you until you  get your certification even if you don't get it   from the beginning so uh for example yes say you  you try it once you fail we'll keep working with   you so long as obviously you follow our advice and  you go through the training we'll make sure that   you actually get that and then we support you to  optimize your job search um so so those are all   the elements that we've identified you need to be  successful and to make it affordable we've made   it from a cost that ranges from 1000 to 1 500  pounds per person for the whole path uh which   is much much more affordable than something you  would get by purchasing instructor-led training   we have two cohorts that are starting in March  and um I'm gonna tell you a little bit more   about them but they're about the two roles that  we talked about earlier uh Dynamics 365 Finance   functional consultant and then Dynamic 365 Power  Platform sorry functional consultant so uh you   can go and have a look we'll send the slides uh  you can click the link and see learn a little   bit more about the program and see if this is  something that could support you to transition   so uh more specifically how we support you as a  company and how we can help you with this so our   unique approach here is that we provide you  with a lot of career advice and coaching so   we're gonna first make sure you've got the right  career project the right career goals and we're   going to help you to refine it as you go we share  we've got a lot of experience with the Microsoft   ecosystem so we're we've designed the training  solution with that in mind using our expertise   the trainers that will come in are amazing  trainers we've been working with for years   with a lot of knowledge to guide you to uh to  be successful with the network we have we also   can open some doors for you and um we have over  10 years of experience supporting employers and   candidates in the Microsoft ecosystem so that  means we've got a lot that we can share about   being attractive for an employer building your  candidate profile preparing for interviews and   all of that is packed into the program to ensure  you're successful in your career transition now a few more questions uh so first of all based  on what you've heard I'm curious to to know at   this stage do you think that the Microsoft  opportunity matches your career aspirations   how close are you to making a  decision about moving into the space   and what are you missing right now how can we  support you from this point where we are now   at the end of this webinar to make the right  career choice so again I'll give you some time   I would love to see your answers in the chat  and I see there's been a lot of interesting   comments in the chat as well I see Elena's  been responding a little bit um so if there's   any unanswered questions and discussions I will  be following up with you so that um well we can   be sure that your your concerns are addressed  and um and you get everything that you need all right so I see a question here about lots of  advertised rules for Dynamics does the Dynamics   365 Finance functional consultant program require  a finance background it does not require it the   finance background will make you uh will give  you a big Edge if you're getting in because   it's a big part of working with the system  but that's something you can pick up   as you go that's something you can learn  and if you've got other strengths and other   professional background for example working  with different Erp Solutions then you might   still be able to transition so if you need  personalized advice I would invite you to to   come and speak to us a little more and we can  support you to build your your project foreign questions but let me just finish here with this  last slide um so if you have some degree of an   interest in the two roles we've presented or even  in some others you can come and apply now to the   March cohorts now when you apply what happens is  um it's not a commitment just yet we are going   to contact you when we're going to come and  talk to you about your professional project   we've got limiting limited spaces in the cohorts  because of the pricing obviously it is it is quite   um attractive so we want to make sure that the  people who get in are people who have well the   best chances of success the right motivation  and the right career plan so if you want to   come and apply we'll call you we'll talk to  you we'll make sure your project is aligned   with the role that you're applying for  and if you decide to commit and go ahead   we'll give you a 10 discount if you if you  apply by the end of the week so if you're   close to a decision and interested uh follow  one of these links apply and talk to our team and if you need help making your decision again uh  there was that link that I gave about uh Skilling   consultation so so we'll have that discussion  and we're happy to support you and if you're   looking for a path that is not yet on our website  so something other than these two email us at this   email address here and let us know what path  you want because we will be putting together   more path and if we know what are the priorities  that people want the most then we can uh well we   can make these come first so um let us know yes  what you're looking for what you need from us   and we'll do our best to put the solution together  uh and support you to be successful in this space   now we've already overrun a little bit let me see  if there's any unanswered questions in the chat   um all right it looks like Ellen has been  answering everything so we're gonna be in   touch with the recording the slides and if you've  got any follow-up questions or comments you'll   be able to respond to our email and start a  discussion with you so um I look forward to   further discussions thank you so much for being  here and for listening to this webinar I hope   uh that you got some value out of it and some  clarity about the Microsoft space opportunities   um and yes I hope to hear more about  what else we can do to support you   have a lovely lovely day and we'll be in  touch very soon with follow-up documents

2023-02-17

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