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Work-life balance is becoming increasingly important to IT professionals, especially for some tech positions that may require odd shifts, being on call, or long hours.  To make sure you land in IT jobs that have a  good work-life balance for you,  take the right steps to communicate with your IT recruiting agencies and potential employers.  Here are three tips for landing a job with your ideal work-life balance.

1. Talk to your technical recruiters about exactly what you need in your next role. Do you need time to care for children?  Have a sick relative you’re taking care of?  Or do you just find that being on-call on the weekends makes you miserable?  Be upfront with your IT recruiters about things like this.  While you need to be reasonable in your expectations, your IT staffing companies can’t submit you to positions that have the kind of work-life balance you desire if you don’t ask for it.

2. Keep talking to your IT recruiting firms about these things before you go to an interview. Confirm before you go the interview that the job requires the kind of work-day, work-week, etc that you’re seeking.  Ask if these potential employers are likely to require you to be reachable after-hours, on weekends, etc.  Your IT staffing firms may not know the answer to every question you ask, but they should have a general idea.

3. Ask your remaining questions in the interview—but this time, with a more professional tone. You can still ask questions about work-life balance with your interviewer, but the tone needs to be very different.  With your IT staffing agencies, you want to be completely honest and open.  Good IT recruiting firms are partners who want to help you find a job you’re happy in.  Your interviewer isn’t solely focused on what you want.  They need to hire for their team’s needs, projects, etc.  With your interviewer, you want to make sure they feel like you’re ready to work hard and meet expectations.  Your focus is on making sure you convey that you’re a great fit for the job (if it truly is a good fit for you, of course).  Ask questions you have about work-life balance, but be careful to avoid looking like you’re making demands or are lazy.