Make This Mistake and You’ll Totally Blow Your IT Job Interviews
Most IT recruiters have had at least one IT professional who bombs an interview unexpectedly. Perhaps they don’t know as much about certain technologies as they thought, or perhaps they don’t know as much about interview etiquette as they (and their technical recruiters) thought. There is one mistake that will instantly kill an interview and guarantee that your IT staffing agencies get bad feedback about you: taking a phone call or playing with your cell phone during the interview.
Why would answering a call immediately ruin interviews for IT jobs? The most obvious reason is that it’s rude. IT staffing companies can sell your technical skills and experience. However, when you go into an interview, it’s your job to really sell yourself as polite and easy to work with. When you answer a call or text in the middle of an interview you, definitely destroy that impression.
Here’s a second reason why this mistake really embarrasses you and your IT recruiting firms: it makes you look uninterested in the role itself. Your IT staffing agencies want you to go into interviews and show some passion for the work you’d be doing, the company, the team, or some combination of these. If you aren’t fully focused on the interview, you ruin this impression.
The best way to avoid this mistake? Turn off your phone and put it away once you’re at the interview. You’ve likely spent plenty of time preparing, both on your own and with your IT recruiting agencies. Don’t risk letting that preparation go to waste!
A Surprising IT Resume Mistake
IT recruiters see a lot of good resumes, but they also see plenty of bad resumes. One mistake that technical recruiters see far too often is when IT professionals include references on their resumes. Here are a couple reasons why IT staffing firms and hiring managers don’t want to see your references on your IT resume.
- You’re wasting space. While IT resumes don’t necessarily have to be kept to a page or 2 pages, IT recruiting companies want to see that resumes are kept as concise and brief as possible. It won’t help you to represent yourself with an overly long resume. It may even turn off IT staffing agencies or hiring managers who were considering your candidacy. They may not have time to wade through a resume that takes too long to sell your candidacy. Keep your resume as brief as possible and just use the space on it to talk about your achievements, technologies you’re proficient with, and education or certifications.
- IT recruiting firms and hiring managers might assume from this mistake that you’re not aware of professional norms—and thus possibly not as professional as you could be. Including references on your resume means you’re exposing contact info for all these people unnecessarily. It also means you’re simply not aware of correct resume formatting. Either way, IT staffing companies or hiring managers might conclude from this resume mistake that you’re lacking in professionalism in other ways. Don’t take that risk.
