Build a Career Around Your Microsoft Skills – Microsoft 365 and Office 365 (Part 2)

Archive for Office 365

Build a Career Around Your Microsoft Skills – Microsoft 365 and Office 365 (Part 2)

In our recent post we have already discussed two areas of Microsoft skills that are sometimes confused with each other: Microsoft 365 and (Microsoft) Office 365. If you want to build your career as an IT professional around Microsoft products, you are probably already familiar with the differences and similarities in that respect. Today, let us have a closer look at career options and further educational possibilities depending on your current level of expertise.

 

IT professional/Microsoft Skills

The job market for Microsoft skills (Microsoft 365/Office 365)

When you research the job market for positions that involve Microsoft 365 skills, these are the type of job offers you might find (depending on your skill level and location):

  • Microsoft 365 Administrator
  • Microsoft 365 Developer
  • Microsoft 365 Architect
  • IT Support Specialist Level 2 – Microsoft Cloud (Office 365/Azure)
  • IT Support Technician
  • Windows Systems Admin – Microsoft Cloud
  • Cloud Technical Expert

Since Office 365 is used in all kinds of job descriptions, there is an even broader range of options, some of them naturally being in similar areas as the above.

  • IT End User Support Specialist
  • Office 365 – Exchange Online-Consultant
  • Office 365/ Exchange engineer
  • Technology Support Specialist
  • Junior Desktop Support
  • Office 365 Delivery Engineer
  • Associate UC Support Engineer
  • Office 365 SharePoint Onboarding Engineer
  • Technical Engineer / Help Desk
  • SharePoint Developer (Office 365)

 

The T-shaped Microsoft expert

We have already addressed the generalist and specialist approach with regards to Microsoft skills. While there can be advantages as well as disadvantages associated with either option, there is also a third: Professionals with this combination of skills are often referred to as “generalizing specialist” or “T-shaped“.

This means that this person is an expert/specialist in a single field (the vertical part of the “T”). The difference to a “regular” specialist is that this one also possesses the ability and sufficient knowledge to collaborate with other experts in other disciplines (the horizontal part of the “T”). In the context of recruiting, this is considered a very desirable trait in a potential future employee. Within the area of IT, the term “T-shaped” is also common for cross-skilled team members in the context of agile software development.

Back to the subject of Microsoft, this could mean that your expertise (vertical) falls under the Microsoft-related skills (Microsoft 365/Office 365), but that you are capable of collaborating with other IT professionals in different/related fields.

 

Develop your Microsoft expertise with TechSherpas 365 learning solutions

Whether you want to further your expertise in Microsoft 365 and/or Office 365 or just starting in the field, we at TechSherpas 365 are your competent partner with our Microsoft training courses and certification programs.

If you already do consider yourself a Microsoft 365/Office 365 expert but want to improve on the horizontal part of your T-shape, take a look at our course catalog to find the right learning solution for you.

 

 

Sources and further reading:

https://www.hrzone.com/hr-glossary/what-are-t-shaped-skills
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-shaped_skills
https://www.indeed.com

Overview: Microsoft Office 365 Services and Applications (Part 2)

This is the second part of our overview of the different plans for Microsoft Office 365 and the Office 365 applications and services that are included in those plans. Our emphasis this time is on the Office 365 services, which focus on collaboration, organization and communication among different users (e.g. team members), especially for business purposes.

Collaboration and Communication with the Office 365 Services

OneDrive

OneDrive is a cloud-based file-hosting service.Teamwork with Office 365 Services

Skype/Skype for Business

Skype is a communication software providing the possibility of video and voice calls/messaging, as well as instant messaging/text chats and the exchange of files between the users. It also allows for making calls to regular telephones

Skype for Business includes the already mentioned features, but with advanced functionalities especially in the area of call handling (routing, forwarding). In contrast to the basic Skype version, Skype for Business could manage the tasks of a corporate/enterprise phone system.

SharePoint

SharePoint is an online platform for the storage and management of documents. It features functionalities to enable collaboration within teams/organizations (intranet, wikis, process management), as well as, options for customization/configuration.

Exchange

Exchange is a service for “business class email and calendaring”. Additional add-ins provide the option for further extension and customization of the service,

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams provides the function of a hub for teamwork and collaboration in Office 365.

Office 365 Applications: Access and Publisher

There are also two more Microsoft applications included in some of the Office 365 plans (though only available for PC, not for Mac). They have both been part of the Microsoft Office Suite for decades as well (i.e. the early 1990’s).

Access:

Microsoft Access is a well-known software tool to create databases. It allows you to collect, organize, store and access information electronically.

Publisher:

Microsoft Publisher is a desktop-publishing application that allows for word processing tasks with an emphasis on design and layout.

Mastering Microsoft Office 365 with TechSherpas

We at TechSherpas are your competent partner for IT certification and learning solutions. As a Microsoft Gold Partner we are specifically certified to provide instruction for Microsoft products. If you want to enhance your skill set by achieving in-depth knowledge about the various Microsoft Office 365 applications and features, you can find a variety of Microsoft Office 365 certification and training courses in our course catalogue.

If you have any further questions – just let us know!

 

Sources:

https://www.tecfac.net/2015/10/29/skype-for-business/the-difference-between-skype-and-skype-for-business/

https://products.office.com/en-us/compare-all-microsoft-office-products?tab=2&OCID=AID717974_SEM_RsukckXV&lnkd=Google_O365SMB_NI