Career Center

Presentation and Public Speaking Skills - The keys to Success in any Field

Patrick Muyal — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:38:00 GMT

I've Seen it a Million Times.

A person spends hours on an overloaded, content heavy PowerPoint, and then delivers it to his audience by reading the slides without emotion or impact. The audience is either lost, or bored. They are uninspired. The information goes in one ear, and out the other. The speaker is nervous, and never engages his audience.

Are You Part of This Reality Below?

Who am I to Judge?

My name is Patrick Muyal, and I work closely with both Retail SM and DEV on the CAR / POSDM Powered by HANA projects. My main focus is ‘go to market’, as well as CEI related activities. In addition to my current role, I am the DKOM speaker coach for Montreal and Palo Alto.

In the past, I have delivered dozens of onsite demos and presentations to end users and C level executives around the globe in 3 languages.

I have also provided multiple Presentation Skills sessions in Montreal , Scottsdale, Palo Alto, and Newtown Square. The skills sessions have thus far received overwhelmingly positive feedback from all attendees, which has included PO’s, developers, sales, IMS, Partner Client Advisors, and consultants.

Sample Feedback:

I focus on key pillars of presentation skills and public speaking, including eye contact, preparation, tone, body language, etc.

Stop the madness! Do you want to be ordinary, or extraodinary? You need to start engaging with your audience by asking questions and telling stories! Practice is key! Know your topic inside out! These are just some of the pillars I try to hammer into all of my students!

I also work with colleagues on perfecting slides / PowerPoint, to remove clutter and to be more effective during live and virtual meetings. These skills are essential for any professional!

My course plan is based on the strong foundation and mentoring that Gabi Herzog, the SAP Worldwide Presentation coaching lead built through her training to hundreds of colleagues and high level executives and customers.

For more information, or to schedule a training session for you or your team at SAP, send me an email at Patrick.Muyal@SAP.com

An Interview with SAP Mentor - All About SAP BI

Angad Singh — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:23:07 GMT

It is wise to say that "Curiosity is the best teacher". I am always curious and wanted to know and learn BI (Business Intelligence) technologies. I am student of "Master of Business in ERP Systems" and last semester (Feb 2012) I studied SAP Business Intelligence. Since then I developed an interest into SAP BI and day by day my curiosity got bigger and bigger. With that, more and more questions started flowing in my mind (brain) and therefore I wanted to talk to someone who has been working with SAP BI and can answer my queries. I am fortunate that SAP Mentor "Joshua Fletcher" agreed to have a Google Hangout (video conference) with me and happily answered all my queries. This session not only answered my queries but also directed me to right path. To know how, please see following video:

Thanks for your time.

Angad Singh

http://about.me/angad.singh

SAP FSCM Online Training Institutes in Hyderabad

Veerabhadra Rao Kusunuri — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:54:34 GMT

SAP FSCM Online Training Institutes in India, USA and UK

KBS Training Institute offer SAP FSCM Online Training with experienced and competent trainers. We have certified trainers who will be able to offer courses as per your customization. The training is provided for individuals and groups. KBS training institute offer best course material to help you prepare for SAP FSCM certification. Our trainers had implemented number of real projects.

SAP FSCM Online Training Course provides you with a complete, detailed overview of each of the four major components in the SAP Financial Supply Chain Management receivables and collections management application You’ll learn how to implement and use the Credit Management, Dispute Management, Biller Direct, and Collections Management subcomponents, as well as best practices for integrating them with other SAP ERP applications and with SAP ERP Financials.

Hands on training on SAP Financial Supply Chain Management (SAP FSCM) and the SAP approach for developing this solution. Participants get clear understanding of Cash and Liquidity Management, Dispute and Collection Management

Teaches how to design, configure, and implement the FSCM Collections, Dispute, Credit, and Biller Direct components
Provides proven guidance and real case studies for extending an ERP Financials infrastructure with FSCM
Includes coverage of advanced topics including extensions, re-porting with NetWeaver BI, and workflow design

About Our faculty:

KBS Training Institute have excellent SAP- instructors For All Modules, who have real time experience plus expert orientation in Online Training.

We have an upcoming batch on SAP

Interactive Learning at Learner’s convenience
Learn Right From Your Place
Customized Curriculum
24/7 Server Facility for 3 months
Highly Affordable Courses
Support after Training

Technical Screening

Resume Preparation

Mock Interviews.

Contact Details:

KBS Training Institute,

kbstraininghyd@gmail.com

K.V.Rao,

+91 9848677004,

Hyderabad – Ameerpet.

What Commuting Taught Me About My Career

Jessica Vettese — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:22:45 GMT

Before I dive into the pearls of wisdom I’ve picked up from the road, I need to give a little context. I am from a small town in Southern New Jersey and up until being employed by SAP, I never left my county. I traveled on only familiar roads unless I had my route to my destination memorized. So when I decided to take a job that involved a 70 mile commute one way, you could imagine that my family was a little shocked. I just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to 1) have a job secured before graduation and 2) work with an innovative and people-friendly company like SAP. This did not, however, stop me from being epically terrified when I set sail on my first day. I was surprised and inspired by my own willingness to move so far outside of my comfort zone. I have continually adapted my driving techniques to increase my comfort level and success on my commute, something that is transferable to my new career. This prompted me to share some things I learned about myself and my career while out on the road.

#1 Don’t Blame Your Car- The first couple weeks I was on the road, I was hyper cognizant of every noise and vibration coming from my car. I immediately assumed that there was something wrong with it, and vowed to take it to the shop at first chance. As I continued on my commute, I realized that it wasn’t my car that was the problem. It was the road! Just like roads have cracks and flaws causing our cars to tweak and turn, so too does the career path. When my previous career wasn’t going the way I hoped, I assumed it was my fault. Truth is there will always be bumps in the road. Eventually they just become less noticeable as the focus shifts from the road to the destination.

#2 Take Risks: Being a newbie on the road, I would stay in the right lane at all costs if I knew my exit was on the right side. I didn’t want to run the risk of not being able to get where I wanted to be because I was stuck in the wrong lane. While yes this strategy works, it would undoubtedly add unnecessary time and frustration to my commute. It’s a good thing to break out of the pack and mark your own pace. Use that passing lane! Don’t let the behaviors of others dictate your journey.

#3 Find a Rabbit- This piece of wisdom comes from my husband’s desire to flagrantly disregard speed limits. Say you’re driving along and someone speeds past you and you think to yourself, “If they can get away with going that fast, then I can too!” So you pull out behind them, and ride their coattails. Rabbits are great because if there is a speed trap, they hit it first and if they swerve to miss a pothole, you can follow their lead. Mentors are the rabbits of the professional world. They can accelerate your career by paving the way and can also help you avoid some pitfalls. I can attest to the positive impact that a mentor can have, and also the stalling affect they leave in their absence.

#4 Explore Alternate Routes- Once I became secure in my route, I began experimenting with different routes to get me to my destinations faster. Some routes were successful in this task, others were not so much. In every instance I ultimately ended up where I wanted to be, and even saw some beautiful scenery along the way. Development is a fundamental part of career success. Branching out and trying something new can only enrich your career, whether not it leads to an immediate promotion. In my field of HR, it is important now more than ever to have business intelligence to better serve the employees. So why not spend some time in sales? It may seem like a detour, but who’s to say you won’t pick up some souvenirs of wisdom while you’re there.

#5 Turn on Your Blinker- Have you ever tried merging into a lane without putting on your turn signal? It can be difficult and frustrating. The frustration can be eased by simply making those around you aware of your intentions. Without a blinker, the drivers around you may not realize that you’re trying to make a move. With a blinker, they may put on the breaks and let you in. I have been learning a lot lately about how to build my personal brand in the workplace. Presenting your brand is your way of saying, “This is who I am and here I come!”. In order to get where you want to be, you have to make yourself and your intentions visible. Network, network, network! You can’t get the help or support you need if no one knows your looking.

#6 Keep Gas in the Tank- When it comes to your car, this is a no-brainer. However, when it comes to your career this aspect is often neglected. Until working for SAP, I thought “Work life Balance” was a professional unicorn- mythical and unattainable. It is so important to remember what motivates you to work as hard as you do. When I work from home and get to spend my lunch with my son playing outside in the sunshine; that is what keeps the gas in my tank. It gives me time to be a better mom and motivation to be a better employee. Take vacations, relax on the weekends, and at 5 P.M. turn off the work phones. Don’t let the gas in your tank burn so low that you’re running on fumes.

I have laid before you here the challenge that I have placed upon myself. I am still very early in my new career (weeks, not years) and my goal is to turn my career into the shining example of all you can accomplish with these lessons and hard work. I believe I made the first move towards success by getting over my fears and beginning the journey down this road… and by writing my very first blog post!

You are fired. The worst or best message for a freelance consultant

Daniel Graversen — Sat, 11 May 2013 10:35:56 GMT

Last week I got the message that I had nod expected. There is no more budget for me to continue on the project and that I’ll have to stop soon on the project. It was customer has been my primary customer that I have worked 4 days a week on for 1½ year. I have been able to learn a lot and got the chance to develop a lot of interesting projects for them.

I do have another customer that I do work for some time, but it is only around 20 hours a month so it allows me to pay my bills.

That mean that I a month or so I’m without a project and don’t know where I should be working next time. Scary. And then it is just about emblazing the uncertainty. I think it is one of the most important things of being a freelancer. Be able to accept that you don’t have a project.

I have somewhat hoped that I’ll be able to finish the project and done my planning from that as everybody else in the organization. We did not know enough on the estimation when we started the project, so we had to re-estimate the rest of the project. That turned out to be too much for the current budget period.

This is a common message that freelance consultants get because it is the way the business model work. You are a temporary resource for customers to help release some of their problems with either lack of recourses or competences. I did share a blog about the freelance business model last week

When I learned that I was going to end the project, I was a bit sad. Think not to be able to finish the projects that we were working on. After I get to accept and remember at that is about time to find something else to work on. The organization has been generous enough to give a good notice, so I can finish the things that I’m working on and make sure things get handed over. It seems to be possible to do a good handover and not move too much into production on the last day.

Why can I see this that being “fired” was it is called in other situations as a good thing. In a normal position it would be really bad because you would have to go job hunting to find a new job. You will go on the unemployment funds.

As a freelancer I have my company that I can save money so I can live of that when I don’t have any project.

For a freelancer it is much easier. Well there still need to find a job. But the job can be much smaller as just a project. There’re good options to see even more from it.

I have been asked for some different projects over the last few months, so I believe that there may be a good opportune to find a project where they can use my SAP PI skills.

It may sometime be easier to find 20-100.000$ for a solving a business problem than hiring a person that requires training and will stay at the company for ever.

Another bright thing is that I soon get to experience a full new set of challenges, meet new people and a new organization. That will be quite exciting to see what will come.

So what about me now?

Well it is the best time of the year to not have a project. Think of the greatness to be able to go on vacation without having to do support or develop solutions. So I can go and enjoy the summer without worrying about job. It is almost like being a student again.

I do have a lot of my own project that I’m looking forward to create and then learn and master the BPMN or get my feet wet with HANA. I have not been able to focus enough time on them lately, so it will be super to be able to focus on them full time.

Then I’ll see what is happing of project in fall and see where I end up if it is possible to find a new project.

If you find the freelancing stuff to be interesting try download my free checklist for it freelancers. It may be quite helpful.

BW and BODS Connectivity

Arvind Tiwari — Mon, 06 May 2013 09:25:26 GMT

Hello all,

I am working in a project where the requirment is how to do connectivity between BW and BODS. I would like to share my ideas and thoughts on that, which may help others as well.

In current enviroment there is SAP BW system, SAP BODS system and ECC system and reporting in on Micro stretagy.All transaction takes place in ECC.The data flow is from ECC data moves to BODS database using BODS ETL tool except Sales and Profit Center area.For Sales and Profit Center data comes to BW system and user pulls report from BW system.

The Client requirment is to create the connection between BW and BODS to pull data from BW to BODS.That means when BW process chain successfully complets data loading then start to load data from BW to BODS. Here are the steps to be followed on BW side as well as BODS.

On BW side:

On BW side create Open Hub Destinations which will load data from BW Cube/DSO to Open Hub tables.Once data would be loaded to Open Hub tables it would be easier toimport them to BODS side.

On BODS side:

On BODS side create a Datastore where BW as Datasource and provide necessary BW server credentials.Then you will fine the options where you can see Opne Hub tables which will be available for import.Now you can import Opne Hub tables to BODS side by name and now your source is ready.

Create a query transformation and drag Template table and connect the same.

(Please see the the attached pics for better understanding)

Best Regards,

Arvind

Advice on Interview Techniques

Tim Guest — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:01:35 GMT

I recently ran a series of sessions at a local school coaching the 18 year olds who intend to enter the world of work. Below is what we covered, I hope you find it useful:

An interview can be daunting but remember, an interview is a 2 way conversation, they want to find out about you but you want to find out about them before you take the job. You are looking for a career hopefully so it is important you find out as much as you can about the company and the job. Having this attitude will also make you more confident so here are my top tips for interviews:

1. Do your research

Find out as much as you can about the company prior to the interview – so that you can sound knowledgeable and enthusiastic about wanting to work there. You can check out the company website get a feel for the company and its vision. Also look at any relevant articles/publications to see what has recently been written about your potential employer and their industry. Do they have a blog or news page? Post a comment. Are they on Twitter? Engage with them before interview

2. Prepare your questions

To avoid your mind going blank during the interview, prepare beforehand by brainstorming all the possible questions you may get asked. (I have attached a file of most common interview questions) Look at the job description to see what sort of qualities, skills and experience are needed for the role. Here are a few common questions that you could get asked:

· Tell me about yourself

· How would your friends / colleagues describe you?

· What are the main strengths you’d bring to this job?

· Why should I give you this job?

· Why do you want this job?

3. Practice your responses

To help structure clear and succinct responses to each question, write down your ideal response to each question you have listed. Then practice each response out aloud. By speaking your response out aloud rather than just in your head you will remember the key words and phrases to use in the actual interview and this will help you to come across more confidently even if you are feeling nervous.

4. Allow enough time

Arrive at the venue in plenty of time - about fifteen minutes before the interview. Check the time, date and location of the interview the day before and spend time working out the best way to get there. Allow plenty of time, anticipating any delays. There’s nothing worse that arriving in a panic if you think you are going to be late. Make sure you have money for parking, an umbrella etc

5. Know your Interview Panel

Make sure that you have the full names and roles of each of the interviewers. Learn these off by heart. The more familiar you are with them, the easier it will feel when you meet them - as if you have already met them before. This will help you to appear more approachable and feel more confident at the start of the interview. Look them up on Linked In / Twitter. Don’t engage with them but learn what they are like in and out of work and remember it for conversation.

6. Control your nerves

It’s easy for the nerves to build up while you are waiting for your interview and you need to be able to know how to control them so that they don’t take over when you start. To help do this you can use a simple breathing technique – by focusing on breathing out for as long as possible to help release any tension in the body. You will find that your in-breath is deeper and more controlled and this will help to feel calmer before you start. You can so this sitting or standing or even walking around.

7. Slow down

Take care not to race ahead when you first start to speak in the interview. This can happen when you are keen to get your ideas across too quickly. But if you speak too fast you will find it harder to stay focused and may start to ramble or lose track of your key points. Also your interviewers will find it harder to follow.

8. Body Language

I’m not an expert but here are some basics. Don’t slouch, don’t cross your arms, make eye contact. Don’t forget to look at your interviewers when speaking to them so that you really feel that you are having a conversation with them. A key time to look at your interviewer (s) is at the end of a sentence as this will help you to appear more convincing in your response.

Remember to have a firm handshake! Tip, if you are taking a folder, hold it in your left hand, it will make your hand sweaty and it’s not nice to shake a sweaty hand & first impressions count.

9. Understand the question

Always listen carefully to the interviewer’s question first and don’t try to formulate a response in your head before you have fully heard it and understood it. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification if you need to. This will also buy you time to think about your response.

10. Finish confidently

Even if everything hasn’t quite gone to plan it’s important that you finish confidently – with a firm hand shake and thanking the interviewer for their time. This will demonstrate that you have good communication skills and help to leave your interviewers with a strong impression.

They will ask you if you have questions for them and this is a time to shine:

This list of questions will make you sound intelligent, interested in the role and confident and could help set you aside from the other candidates. I have attached it for your reference too.

Questions to ask at your interview

This list of questions will make you sound intelligent, interested in the role and confident and could help set you aside from the other candidates. I have attached them for your reference

What do you expect me to accomplish in the first 60 to 90 days?

Great candidates want to hit the ground running. They don't want to spend weeks or months "getting to know the organization."

They want to make a difference right away and this shows the interviewer you are determined and have drive.

What are the common attributes of your top performers?

Great candidates also want to be great long-term employees. Every organization is different, and so are the key qualities of top performers in those organizations. It shows you aren’t happy with just being average. Great for a Sales job

What do employees do in their spare time?

Important as it shows you want to try and fit in

How do you plan to deal with (XX)...?

Every business faces a major challenge: technological changes, competitors entering the market, shifting economic trends...

This will show them you have researched the market and are concerned enough to ask as you want a career.

What opportunities are there for progression? What training do you offer?

Both very good as it shows you want to progress and are looking for a career.

Simple questions about your performance are also really useful:

How have I done today?

What would stop you form, offering me the position?

You can then deal with any objections up front

When can I expect to hear back?

This is a closing question and will be great if you are going for a sales based job as you are closing them on a date / time.

As with everything in life, have a list of objectives for the interview. First objective is to get the job, then it is to make a good contact for the future, next is to get some market information about your sector and the last objective is simply to get some practice at interview. If you can achieve any of these objectives then the interview has been a success and you should be pleased with yourself and the interview has been a success!

The Freelance Business Model

Daniel Graversen — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 14:56:43 GMT

When I say that I’m a freelancer or contractor, a lot of people do find the idea interesting. I always say it is a super way to work, if you can live with lots of uncertainty. In general people outside the IT world does not really know what a freelancer is. It is a somewhat undefined concept. How can you just as an individual run a business that helps mega corporations as it is the case for SAP customers.

The uncertainty is that you do not know who you clients will be in a month or half a year and if you will have a job/project. If you can live with that then it is the most ideal form to live with.

You get paid what you are worth and you don’t have to pay for the boss and other staff resources. So it is much more interesting to work an extra hour, since you are getting paid for it.

I was working on creating a talk around being a freelancer. It gave a lot of idea on I need to create a model that describes the freelancing business with a focus on the IT world with my knowledge from the SAP world.

So there are only 6 things that you need to focus on when you are a freelancer. All areas are important and you need to focus one or more areas at the time.

Watch the video to get more information on what the model is about and which key steps that you must take.

If you want to have the Freelance Check List that I refer to then go to http://figaf.com/freelancer

Is there anything that I miss or can improve on?

SAP Certification and Beyond

Anup Kumar Sabat — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 15:25:22 GMT

Hi All,

I am writing this post to bring to the notice of the community of doing SAP Certification and its benefits.

Before that I would like to mention something about my background.

I qualified B.Com in 1998 and joined Chartered Accountancy(CA) firm as Articled Trainee.

Ultimately after not qualifying for CA Inter, I left CA and did MBA(2004-06).

Subsequent to MBA I joined in a big IT Services company in internal audit department and then I was laterally transferred to the Service order loading team.

After working for 5 years, due to personal reason I had to quit my job in 2011.

The personal reason was that my mother was suffering from Cancer and was in her last stages.

After my mother passed away, I joined SAP FI Course in March 2012.

I joined at NIIT Bangalore and was on online student. I gave my first attempt for SAP Certification on August 2012 but unfortunately could not clear.

I redoubled my efforts and appeared rather re-appeared on October 2012 which I cleared.

Then since November 2012, I am looking to work in SAP field but it is not happening.

The fact that NIIT closed down their SAP division is also not helping me at all. Folks at NIIT are also not getting me placed.

Now, it is April 2013 soon to become May 2013 and hence for more than six months after I cleared my certification I am without any job.

In other words, I cannot get myself gainfully employed in the field of SAP.

Now all working people know the benefits of "real - life" practical situation. Just theoretical knowledge cannot be of much help.

If I am "on-the-job", I can learn a lot and that is what I am looking for.

Now things have reached such a stage that I am thinking to join a "non accredited" SAP training institute which gets placement as well.

Should I join the institute which charges a fraction of the cost of authorized institute after qualifying my Certification?

Where does this leave the genuine Authorized Institute students with respect to the job market.

After spending a lot of money we expect at least an entry level job in SAP field.

I did attend few interviews (four to be precise). All did not happen or have not happened till now. I will not mention the companies.

But I can mention what happened.

In the first one,the interview was arranged by NIIT. I was supposedly disqualified because I was not a 'classroom' student. But tell me people, when SAP does not mention in the Certificate if a holder is 'online trained' or 'classroom trained' should there be discrimination elsewhere? I too need a job as much as a 'classroom' trained candidate.

Second and third interviews which I attended through walk-in they did not get back to me after second round.

Fourth interview was a walk in as well and the guy said that, they wanted experience candidates i.e. candidates at least with 2 years experience. Here one more point comes to mind: How will one get experience if one is not given a chance in the first place? Is there no value of Certification? A guy without certification may get a job because he has worked in SAP field after doing a small course in SAP at a fraction of the Authorized center's cost.

I did get the forum rules, that we should not be selling our company or pitching for business through the forum.

But I am questioning my decision to do SAP training with authorized institute and SAP as a brand and the Certificate value.

I think this is a genuine case as I am now almost 12 months plus into SAP and six months plus after certification still without getting any benefit in the form of opportunity.

Greeting from a SAP fresher!

betty flavia — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:17:24 GMT

Hello everyone,

I'm currently an undergraduate master student who once had one and half experience in SAP FI. During my study time, I was thinking that I should keep accumulating my SAP knowledge, by learning new ones as well as sharing my ideas with others. This is the initial ideas of writing my blogs. I am inspired by many useful articles here on SCN, and I'm trying to summary them in a simpler way to those beginner who are interested in SAP.

Up to now I have written something about SAP definition to freshers, SAP internationally job market, SAP marketplaces on web, etc. Thanks to all the information shared here, I'm able to extract the essence and to add up something of my own. Squeeze several minutes to visit my blog and leave me a reply! Tell me where I can improve or what other topics you're interested

Thanks everyone in advance and talk to you soon!

Sincerely,

Betty

Faculty Position at Saunders College of Business, Rochester Institute of Technology

Jim Baroody — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:53:13 GMT

The E. Philip Saunders College of Business at the Rochester Institute of Technology has a faculty position open for either an Assistant or Associate Professor in Management Information Systems. We are seeking a candidate with a teaching emphasis including enterprise systems and / or Big Data and Analytic.

Additional information about this position is available at http://bit.ly/RITMISposition.

Jim

Do you speak the language of business?

Daniel Graversen — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 04:20:08 GMT

I am vacation/working in Thailand now. One reason is the weather is much nicer here than it is in Denmark. It is always nice to switch some snow(as long as it is not for skiing) with the sun, beach and pool. It is great to have a profession where you can work remote, as long as the internet works.
One of the things that I have noticed here are two groups of people.
• Those how speak English
• Those how don’t speak English
Well I am just seeing it from a perspective of a tourist, there can be many more angles to take on it. It seems like the lowest people in the society are those how does not speak any English. They do the garden work and broom off the leaves from the road. I see the language from a User perspective. It is difficult to build trust if you just can communicate with sign language.
I am using the metaphor for English as a way to have an A and B team. But is it the same with being able to only understand the business or the technical language. If I as a developer don’t understand what the business wants then it is really difficult for me to work on the things and add a lot of value. The business consultants will have to spend much time specifying what I have to do.
In this video, I go thru some of the thoughts that it is possible to get from the difference in perspectives.
The second reason why I created the video was to create a thought full video around SAP in swimsuit. Is it possible? Or should I have been spending more time at the gym.

Do you have challenge with understanding the business language? What is your way to get better at the communication with other parties?

One of my ideas was to create a product to help the business become better at communicate with SAP PI developers. It was my way of making a language course to help in the development. You can see some of the free videos around it at http://SAPPIforEverybody.com..

FAQ: How do I get my first SAP job?

Thomas Dulaney — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:53:30 GMT

Many of the folks who post in SCN's Career Center are students or recent graduates. Most of those have spent the last 20ish years pursuing education and are up against the age old problem: Can't get a job without experience and can't get experience without a job. This is especially true for functional folks who want to do SAP configuration. I've talked about this elsewhere (Advice for Students Interested in a Career in SAP and Advice for Recent College Graduates (aka "Freshers") in particular, but other blogs from myself and other can be found at SAP Career Blog Links). The short version of those blogs is that for functional folks, you shouldn't necessarily expect your first SAP job to involve SAP configuration. (See How did you get your start in SAP? for real stories of how folks got their start in SAP).

Find out what companies have headquarters in your area
- Google "Companies with Headquarters in your-local-area"
- Check Wikipedia for the same
- Check city/state/regional economic development group (Often called "Chamber of Commerce" in the US)
- Check local newspaper and classified ads
Find out which companies run SAP
- Search their career boards
- Search national job search sites (Monster or Dice.com in the US, for example)
- Search SAP User Group web sites
Cross reference the lists from 1) and 2).
Once you have a list of target companies, narrow it down by whatever criteria you prefer (geographic location, company reputation, places where you have contacts, whatever).
Check the corporate website for a careers section. Pay special attention to intern, recent college graduate, and or entry level sections of their corporate website.
- You can also apply through the major job boards (monster.com, dice.com, etc in the United States). I personally prefer to apply directly through the corporate site, but if you spot an opening that is available through the job board and not through the corporate site for some reason, then be sure to apply appropriately!
- If you are using a recruiter, do NOT duplicate your application by going through the corporate job site as well as this can cause conflicts between the recruiter and the company most easily solved by not considering your resume. Thanks to Susan Keohan for pointing this out!
Apply, apply, then apply some more!
Create a tailored resume for EACH opening. Don't just blast a generic resume.
- Include a cover letter that mentions something you like about their company that you've learned from your research. You want to communicate that you are interested in specifically working for THEIR company and that you've done your homework. This will distinguish you from MANY other applicants.
- Utilize any network you have, friends, family, friends of friends, whatever to find folks who already work at the company. Arrange a meeting with someone who works at the company. Have lunch, find out everything you can even if the person you are meeting has no hiring authority, they may be able to provide you with insight into what this company is like and may also be able to provide you with contacts who do have hiring authority. Often internal employees will be aware of openings before they've been opened up to the general public. The best time to apply is when you are the only applicant!
When you get an interview, be prepared!
- Dress for success! You don't have to overdo it necessarily, but you should dress as if you already have the job or maybe a little better. If general daily business attire is business casual. In the US, men should wear a button-down shirt and tie (at least) and women should wear a nice business dress or suit to an interview. Oddly, wearing a formal suit to a company that is on the casual end is not a doog thing. Dresshing in just a shirt and tie to a company that dresses in full, formal suits every day is very bad. Know the workplace attire before you show up!
- Do your homework! You should know what the company does and where they fit in the marketplace. Have questions ready that are relevant to the company and to the opening.
- Do NOT focus on benefits and/or salary in the interview. You can ask those questions after you get an offer. Be ready with a number if they ask you what you're expecting, but don't initiate any conversations along this line.

Hopefully this is enough to get you started. I wish you all the best on your job search!

Best regards,

--Tom

The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer, ECS.

FAQ: What is the best SAP module for me?

Thomas Dulaney — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:00:38 GMT

This may actually be the MOST frequently asked question on this forum. It also happens to be one of the most difficult to answer. Most posters supply little, if any, background information. Additionally, there are several different interpretations of this question. I will try to cover several of the variations and give you some things to consider for each.

In which module will it be easiest for me to get a job with a Bachelor's degree and no experience? (or with a Bachelor's degree and certification)

At the risk of my personal pride, I will confess that based on my analysis of How did you get your start in SAP? it appears that Basis (SAP System Administration) and SAP ABAP Programming are the two specialties which are most frequently entered immediately upon graduating with a Bachelor's degree. This makes sense if you think about it though. These two disciplines require the least amount of "business" knowledge. Folks who major in Computer Science or something related will have a base skill set which can be easily adapted to Basis and/or programming in ABAP.

I will say, though, that for those that did NOT major in Computer science, a few years of work experience in non-SAP system administration (operating system or database) and/or programming is enough to convince many employers to take a chance on you in the SAP realm. This transition (from non-SAP system admin and/or programming to SAP system administration and/or programming) is much more likely to happen if your first job is at a company who is already running SAP. It is *much* harder for someone to get a job doing SAP Basis with no experience (regardless of certification status) if they're coming in from the outside. The typical scenario is that you've proven yourself to be a hard and conscientious worker doing, for example, c programming when a position opens up in the SAP ABAP group. Since your manager and the SAP manager know and trust each other, your manager's recommendation is pretty much all it takes to make the switch.

In which Business module will it be easiest for me to get a job in which I would do SAP functional configuration with a Bachelor's degree and no experience? (or with a Bachelor's degree and SAP certification)

This is a considerably harder question to answer. The short answer is "none of them". Businesses are significantly more cautious when hiring folks to perform SAP business configuration. Again, this makes sense. SAP configuration controls how a business functions. Businesses do not want to entrust their company to someone with no practical experience. (Would you want to be the first patient of a heart surgeon freshly out of med school or would you want to wait until that heart surgeon had studied for many years under a significantly more senior heart surgeon (this is why newly minted doctors spend so much time as Residents).

The confusion here is that many students or recent graduates think of SAP configuration as a suitable "entry level" job. This is typically not the case. Similar to a novice heart surgeon, most functional consultants spend a few years in the business world as business analyst prior to learning SAP configuration.

The exception to that path is the other confusing factor. Consulting companies often recruit TOP graduates of business undergraduate and MBA programs to learn SAP configuration and do SAP consulting immediately following graduation, before they've gained any real hands-on business experience. The key to the previous sentence are the words "TOP graduates". If you didn't get an offer from one of the big firms PRIOR to graduation, then you are significantly less likely to get a job with them after you graduate. This is all covered in more detail in Advice for Recent College Graduates (aka "Freshers") and Advice for Students Interested in a Career in SAP.

It should be noted, that those folks who are recruited straight from school to enter consulting generally don't get a choice in their career specialization. The consulting firms recruit based on grades and personality and then move new recruits around to the various practices within the consulting company as needed. That means that even though you may have attended a university that did a great job of training you on SAP, if the consulting company needs folks in their Oracle practice, you go to their Oracle practice. Bye bye SAP career! If the firm needs folks in their generic java programming custom development practice, off you go to do java stuff. See ya SAP! Yes the consulting companies do recruit experienced folks directly into their SAP practice when needed, but for recent college graduates, it's pretty much random as far as you are concerned. It is possible to end up with a SAP career if you take that route, but it is far from guaranteed.

Which specialty will hold it's value and ensure that I will always be employed at an above average salary?

This is extremely difficult to predict. (I would say impossible, but I don't want to waste time nitpicking what is and isn't distantly, remotely possible.) The market for SAP specialties ("functional consulting specialties: Financials, Human Resources, Materials Management, Sales and Distribution, Customer Relationship Management, etc; and technical consulting specialties: Basis, ABAP, java, Process Integration, Business Warehouse, HANA, etc) varies significantly by region and over time. Things that may be in huge demand today might experience a huge glut a year from now as recent graduates flood in to take advantage of the perceived opportunities. SAP releases new functionality which alters the demand. New companies decide to implement SAP or existing customers abandon SAP for a different solution (infrequent, but it happens). All of these things make it difficult to predict year over year and from place to place which specialty will command a premium and for how long.

It is safe to say, however, that with SAP's current marketshare and predicted future marketshare, that you should be able to be successful in just about any specialty if (and read the next part carefully)... if you have above average talent in your specialty, if you are more passionate about your field than average, if you stay active and engaged in the SAP community and if you are willing to travel to/relocate/commute to whatever location has the greatest need whenever you are ready to look for a new position. /

All four of those factors (and probably more) are important in ensuring a long career in SAP. There are tons of folks entering the SAP field every day. You have to constantly sharpen your skills and practice your specialty if you want to keep your talents sharp and above average. You must love what you do or else you won't be able to spend the time/effort necessary to keep your skills sharp. You must stay active in the SAP community (through SCN or your local SAP user group) so that potential employers will know you by reputation and be predisposed to hire you when you are looking for a new position. You must be willing to go to where the work is happening. This one might be somewhat controversial, but there is always the chance that no matter how good your are, when you are ready to look for a new position (whether because you are an implementation consultant and the implementation has ended or because you've worked at one customer for a long time and your upward progress is blocked for any number of reasons) there may be no open positions in your immediate geographical area.

FAQ: Different Career Paths in SAP and FAQ: Middle and Late SAP Career Paths have more information on SAP Career paths if you want more information on this topic.

What is the "HOT" field in which I can get a job right away at a HUGE salary just because the needs are so great that even a turnip can get hired?

This is actually just a special case of the previous question, but typically asked by a recent college graduate with stars in his/her eyes. It is important to keep on top of skill trends as your career progresses. At the beginning of your career, however, what is HOT makes very little difference. Let's try a little thought experiment, shall we?

Pretend you are the CEO of a small ($300 Million USD revenue/year) company. You've seen all the presentations regarding HANA and you are impressed. You've got massive data on your current SAP ECC system and a particular need for real time analysis that can be make or break for your company in the near future. You've analyzed the opportunity, determined a budget and decided to take the plunge. Now all you need is someone who can make your dream a reality. You publish a job opening on the largest job portal in your country. You are IMMEDIATELY flooded with 100 relevant replies (and 300 irrelevant ones... *sigh*)

In general, the applicants break down like this:

90 applicants just graduated college and have never held a job.

Of those "fresher" applicants, 80% (72 applicants) are certified on HANA. (18 without but had coursework related to Big Data)

4 of the recent college graduates did a thesis on Big Data prior to graduation (these 4 are part of the above 90, 2 with cert, 2 without)

10 applicants have some form of previous SAP experience.

8 of those applicants have between 2 and 5 years of SAP experience, most of that experience is with BW.

2 of the applicants have significant related SAP experience and have a proven track record of 4 or more full lifecycle BW implementations.

Half of the experienced folks have HANA certification and half do not.

One or two of the experienced folks have participated in some limited way in a trial proof of concept HANA implementation. .

No one (experienced or not) has implemented HANA full lifecycle in any significant way.

Assuming that everyone is exactly as they present themselves on their applications (no fake experience) and assuming that all appear equally eager and personable and likely to fit well within your organization... rank the applicants from most likely to interview to least likely.

Go ahead...

I'll wait....

Just kidding....

Here's my list, yours may differ:

2 applicants with significant related SAP experience (regardless of HANA cert)

2 mid level applicants with proof of concept experience (regardless of HANA cert)

3 mid level applicants with HANA certification

3 mid level applicants without HANA certification

4 recent college graduates with course work or thesis projects related to Big Data (regardless of HANA cert)

2 recent college graduates who are related to current employee or have interned at the company (regardless of HANA cert)

EVERYONE above this line gets contacted and gets an interview if they're interested

---------------

Everyone below the line gets a nice letter that says "Thanks for applying! We'll keep your application on file in case anything else comes up."

69 recent college graduates with HANA certification

15 recent college graduates without HANA certification

Honestly though, if the first four interviews go well, I might not even get to the mid levels who have no hands-on experience. In reality, you have to sort through folks who ... hmm... exaggerate, let's say, their experience as well as the folks who are really not looking for a new job but want to use your offer to wrangle a raise from their current boss or who decide that the organization is not a fit for their lifestyle or whatever. The only reason any recent college graduates made the list at all is because there are relatively few HANA folks out there. If I was planning to interview for an SAP Basis position, no one without at least 2 years hands on experience would get a call, for obvious reasons. (and I would have had 300 applicants, 100 of which had hands on experience).

My point here is that "HOT" only matters to mid-level or senior folks. "HOT" makes absolutely no difference to recent college graduates (especially "Functional"/business folks; technical folks occasionally manage to get hired for the latest "HOT" technical skill, but not as often as recent college graduates think). Recent college graduates need to concentrate on classic entry level jobs which, in general, do not involve SAP configuration. While it does happen occasionally (more often due to non-skill related reasons;:met the right person at the right time, related to the right person, interned at the company, etc) I view stories of recent college graduates landing jobs with high salaries doing the newest, hottest thing as somewhat cruel urban legends. The valedictorian of M. I. T. computer science program (or similar), obviously would be an exception to this rule, but if you are the MIT CompSci valedictorian, you're probably not reading this blog for career management advice, you're weighing which 6 figure offer is most appealing to you.

I have several years of business experience and I know that SAP configuration jobs pay more than end user jobs and that the two are somehow related, but I don't know enough to even know how to get started on an SAP career. I need someone to translate my experience into the most appropriate SAP specialty so I can start to research the specialty and (hopefully) eventually get SAP certification.

While we often see posters that are ready to jump into the deep end and quit their job to get SAP certification before they even understand the breadth of functionality in an SAP module. I can't recommend against this approach strongly enough. It is very expensive and very unlikely to be successful in the long run. There are several blogs that outline the perils of this approach. Here are a few:

I strongly recommend that folks who are approaching SAP for the first time invest a minimal amount of money in a good SAP overview book and do the necessary research to match their own experience and interests to SAP functionality. I've put together a few resources which can help you get started.

If you have alternative interpretations of the basic question you'd like me to address, please put them in the comments and I'll update the blog. If the blogs listed here are of interest to you, you may find more blogs that interest you at SAP Career Blog Links.

Best regards,

--Tom

10 Must Have Skills for Consultants working in SAP AMS Practice

Balaji Parsewar — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 17:18:36 GMT

If you try to categorize SAP practice of any SAP partner irrespective of its scale & size, without any statistics or data, broadly there are 2 categories:

- SAP Implementation

- SAP AMS i.e. Application, Maintenance & Support.

What AMS practice meant for SAP Partner Company?

If you take example of any SAP partner, you will find one universal phenomenon which is very common across all geographies, revenue from AMS contribute more as compared to revenue from implementations. The reason is very simple & understandable, after implementation process which is spread over the tenure of 6 to 12 months; support for the same project goes on for several years. In this process support revenue surpasses implementation revenue.

Moreover, macro analysis of any matured markets like US or European Union reveals that SAP implementations for the most of the major corporations have already taken place in the past hence majority of SAP projects/business received by SAP partner companies are support(AMS) projects.

Above articulation clearly states that AMS practice is backbone of entire SAP Eco-system.

For a consultant who is planning to work for AMS practice or already working in AMS practice, do you feel some special skills are required apart from regular technical skills? The answer is yes.

Please refer following skill sets which are much required for SAP consultant working in AMS practice. Through application of these skills a SAP consultant can definitely achieve difficult task of “Customer Delight” which is beyond “Customer Satisfaction”.

1) Ticket Creation in Project Management Tool: Several AMS practice, the process of ticket creation is automatic through use of SAP solution manager where customers directly log tickets into the system but there are several companies where issues are communicated through medium like telephones or emails or messages. In this scenario the first job consultants need to do is to create ticket in project management tool you have & generate ticket number for the same. Once ticket number is generated, communicate the same to customer.

2) Correct Effort Estimation: Incorrect effort estimation always leads to misunderstanding between consultant & client co-ordinator. Effort estimation is sensitive topic because it is directly linked with the cost of the given assignment hence consultant need to be more vigil while providing effort estimation. In case consultants have any doubts, he can always approach his superiors & project managers & get correct effort estimates. For example for task of z report development consultant should proactively provide effort estimation in detail like Total Hours(8)=Functional(3)+Technical(5)

3) Acknowledge: Once you receive ticket, first job of consultant is to acknowledgement of the issue. In an acknowledgement mail, you can include information like Ticket Number, Effort Estimation, Thanks note anything. Consultant should set a norm for acknowledgement like deadline of 2 hours for acknowledgement of an issue.

4) Do Not hesitate to Call: After receiving client’s requirement, if you feel any single ambiguity regarding requirement, do not hesitate, just pick up the phone & call the customer. Through telephonic conversation you can get answers for all W’s (Why, When, Whom).

5) Probing: Believe me friends probing is an art. Probing is widely used skill especially in the area of sales & marketing to understand customer needs & requirement. Probing means asking subjective as well as objective questions in order to understand the requirement. Example - If customer have asked you to prepare Z report for pro forma invoices, then at least you should ask following questions:

How many columns do you require?
Do you have any excel format for the report with column names?
Which billing document types should be covered?
What would be the volume of the data?
Automatic report execution in back ground facility is required or not?

6) Learn to say “No”: Several times we came across strange situations which requirement cannot be mapped through system or no work around is available. In this scenario, after exploring all the possibilities, you should have courage to Say No in a very polite manner. If something is not possible, there is point in lingering around the issue. Better you end the topic & move ahead.

7) Ask for “Help” (even to customer also): I had seen so many SAP consultants who are very reluctant to ask for help. Why to fear? If you did not understand the issue properly, be open to ask customer twice, ask for test cases where issues are not clearly visible. You will not become inferior if you asked help from your client. After all you are trying to help him out. Even in case you are preparing test case for customer invoice but due to some reason you cannot post goods issue. In this case you should simply call to customer & give him order number & ask him to post goods issue. At the same time never be reluctant to raise issue to SAP if issue is relevant & its a product error.

8) Offer Complete Solutions: Again its a big deal in entire support processes i.e. solution offer. Please ensure solution you are offering should be perfect & in line with the customer requirement. Solution should be equipped with:

Test cases(Positive testing as well as negative testing)
Required screen shots
Change request with its description
End user manual,
Impact analysis document,
Configuration changes document.

9) Always keep back up of original setting: Before doing any changes, please keep back up of original setting. This back up will act as recovery plan in any critical situation. SAP is closely interlinked ERP. Changes in SD might impact other modules FI or CO. Hence in case something goes wrong against expectation, this back up can be used to bring system back to normal status.

10) Business stoppage-Forget your working hours: Due to system error, business stoppage had been taken place, so my friends our first duty would be to resolve the issue at the earliest. Then for that no matter you have to stretch yourself beyond working hours. There is very simple principle – “Show Must Go On”. Support teams are paid for one simple reason & i.e. Business Continuity.

I have tried to encapsulate all my SAP support experience under the title “10 must have Skills for Consultants working in SAP AMS Practice”. I hope this blog will serve purpose of each SAP consultant who wants to grow & excel in SAP AMS Practice.

If you really like this blog please do hit like & ratings button. Your appreciation & feedback always encourage me to write something new & something out of box. Please do share your feedback & also request to all SAP Experts to add if I am missing on something.

Good Luck & God Bless All Of You.

Regards,

Balaji Parsewar

SAP Certified SD Consultant