Getting The Experience You Need To Get Hired
With so many IT professionals out of work in recent times, clients typically have countless candidates to choose from if they post an IT job. IT recruiting companies also have an abundant number of candidates at their disposal. With so many qualified people on the market, how do you find a job if you’re just starting out in the IT industry or changing careers?
Here are some suggestions our IT recruiters had to get the experience you need:
- Volunteer for a nonprofit. Nonprofits are always looking for extra help and during your spare time you can take on tasks that other companies might not let you try.
- Call up IT staffing agencies. Sometimes small agencies have not even thought about hiring interns and your initiative will show motivation.
- Go on LinkedIn. See whom you’re connected with and whether any of them have any small projects that they may need help on. Follow an IT staffing firm’s page. Find AVID: http://tinyurl.com/avidtrlinkedin.
- Follow IT recruiting companies’ websites for updated job postings
- Follow IT staffing agencies’ Facebook and/or Twitter pages for updated job postings. Find AVID: http://tinyurl.com/avidtrfacebook
- Utilize Indeed.com.
- Reconnect with past Professors. Professors are always in contact with various friends and companies so they are the perfect resource for finding a job or just working on a small project.
- Find someone who inspires you. Call that person and let them know your interested in their daily tasks. Most of the time they’ll be glad to have you shadow them or do an informational interview. This not only gives them an opportunity to show off what they do, but they’ll keep you as a contact and maybe down the line help you out.
- Join clubs or organizations. Depending on what you are looking for in experience, clubs allow you to work on various skills without the pressure of work.
- If you already have a job, try suggesting ideas for departments you are interested in. This will not only get you on the good side of your manager, but when you go apply for another job you can show initiative as well as experience in different areas of a business.
Have other ways of getting experience? Help our readers and leave us a comment.
Software Replacing Skilled Employees
The world of technology is an ever-changing and evolving industry. As it stands, IT recruiters need to find highly skilled individuals to compete with other candidates. However, the problem now is that these people are now being replaced by automated software.
A few days ago Hewlett-Packard Co. announced that they would be cutting around 9,000 employees from their technology-services division in addition to 25,000 workers they had already planned to cut. According to the article in the Wall Street Journal, “services providers have been trying to automate their offerings, replacing high-cost workers with software that performs certain functions automatically”. By automating their processes, they will decrease their expenses and eventually generate around “$700 million in annual savings”.
But does this mean that skilled workers in the technology industry will not be needed as much in the future? Should we start considering other career paths? This IT recruiter does not believe that all work can be completely automated. Someone will still need to oversee the process and make sure there aren’t any errors in the program. There may be fewer jobs available in the future due to the automation, but in the end, companies will always have IT jobs available.
Silicon Valley Rejuvenation May Squeeze Second-Tier Cities
With a recent need for IT recruiting, the bargaining power has fallen into the laps of those looking for IT jobs as well as those who are technical recruiters. Companies in “second-tier high tech locations” now have to fight for IT resources that are otherwise going to be courted by companies in Silicon Valley.
Therefore, companies will need to re-evaluate their IT recruiting strategies in order to attract as well as retain skilled employees. By utilizing IT staffing agencies, these companies can ultimately reach more people, thus increasing their chance of filling their IT jobs.
As for those looking for IT jobs, this obviously is good news as it opens up new opportunities and drives demand. When there is a demand, salaries increase. Many IT contactors have been forced to take pay cuts or remain in stagnant positions in order to weather the recent economic storm. In addition, as budgets open up, so do opportunities for exposure to new technologies. Exposure to the latest and greatest technologies also equates to higher pay rates and salaries. Therefore, for many reasons, it’s important for IT consultants to remain on top of technology.
Utilize AVID Technical Resources or other IT staffing companies to help find your next position.
Check out the Wall Street Journal article Silicon Valley Rebound Pressures tech Hiring: