Applications & Development IT Staffing Services

Will an Online Degree Help Your IT Job Search?

IT recruiters are sometimes asked by candidates if an online degree will increase their prospects for IT jobs. On one hand, online degrees used to have a certain stigma to hiring managers and IT staffing agencies. On the other, these programs are becoming more and more popular, rigorous, and respected by IT recruiting firms and hiring managers in the tech field.   So are they worth the money, time, and effort now?

If you’re considering an online degree, it may be far more useful in helping you land and be considered for more IT jobs now than 10 years ago.  You just have to be careful about how you choose your program.  Start by researching the reputation of the online degree program.  There are plenty of programs that are widely known by IT staffing firms and employers as reputable, strong programs.  There are also plenty of programs that are so worthless, IT recruiting companies would just tell you to take them off your resume.  Make sure you find out exactly where the program you’re thinking about stands before you invest and time, money, etc in it.

The second thing to consider is how much interaction with clients, end-users, managers, etc your ideal roles require.  When you’re getting a degree to increase your options for roles with a lot of communication, you probably want to avoid an online degree program.  Doing real classes that help you practice working with others will be far more useful to you.  (This will also be something you can bring up in interviews.  You can demonstrate that you’ve not only studied certain technologies or skills, but you’ve also gotten to hone valuable communication skills.)  For certain positions, IT staffing companies have the easiest time placing candidates who can boast both a strong arsenal of technical skills and communication skills.  Why not pick a degree program that helps you develop both?  When you’re not seeking roles that require a lot of communication and interaction with various people, an online degree may be just as valuable to your job search as a more traditional one.

 

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Thinking about an online degree? Make sure it’s a program IT recruiters and hiring managers will respect.

 

 

Why The IT Job Market is Better Than Ever!

Even though IT recruiters never saw the same kind of downturn that other industries experienced during the recession, the market is certainly growing now.  If you’ve been considering working with your IT recruiters to find a new IT job, now is a great time.  Here’s why you should polish up your resume and call your IT staffing companies today.

  1. More workers are retiring. IT recruiting companies are finding more and more roles open now due to a higher rate of retirees this year.  This means your technical recruiters will have even more IT roles to submit you to.
  2. Employers are having IT staffing agencies seek out more recent grads to fill their open jobs. NACE reports that employers expect to hire 5.2% more new graduates this year than last year.  If you’ve just graduated with a degree in computer science, IT recruiting firms are very likely to have jobs for you to consider.
  3. Even if you’re not a recent grad, the tech sector is still steadily growing.  Mobile communications and social media will continue to drive IT in the next year at least.  That’s good news for all candidates thinking about working with IT staffing firms to find new roles, recent grads or not.

 

IT Job Search Smartphone
Smartphones are driving growth in the tech sector, which means there are plenty of IT jobs out there.

 

 

2 Reasons Not to Slow Down Your IT Job Search This Summer

With Memorial Day approaching, you may wonder if you should put your search for IT jobs on hold.  Sometimes IT recruiters find that candidates are concerned that hiring will be slow, there won’t be many jobs, or they may just feel more tempted to spend the summer having fun outdoors.  Here are two reasons IT staffing firms suggest that summer is a great time to job search at full speed.

  1. You may have less competition. IT recruiting companies do find that there are are less candidates searching in the summer.  Take advantage of this and put your all into working with your technical recruiters to find a great new IT job.  Even if you sacrifice a little vacation time now, you’ll be much happier later when you go to a job you enjoy every day.
  2. It may be easier to take time off to interview. There are 2 reasons for this.  Firstly, IT recruiting firms often find that taking time off for interviews can be a struggle for candidates.  The summer tends to offer IT professionals a bit more ease in their work schedule.  Perhaps your company has summer hours or extended holidays during the summer.  Perhaps your workload is simply a bit lighter and that makes taking a day off easier.  The second reason it may be easier to take time off to interview in the summer is that it will be less obvious. IT staffing agencies find that people feel nervous about coworkers or managers finding out that days off were used for interviewing.  In the summer, this anxiety may be a little less. It’s more natural to take days off in the summer and absences in the office are noticed far less.

 

Summer IT job searching
Don’t pack those bags just yet! You could get a great IT job this summer. Photo credit: tookapic via Pixabay.

 

 

Get References That Will Land You IT Jobs

IT recruiters usually find that candidates have their resumes ready when they first start their job search.  What many candidates don’t have ready to give their technical recruiters is a good list of references.  Here are 2 tips for compiling a good list of references to share with your IT staffing firms.

  1. Make sure the references you provide your IT recruiting companies are all people you’ve kept in touch with and are happy to act as your references. If it’s been a while since you worked with IT staffing agencies to find IT jobs, you shouldn’t assume you can simply use all your old references.  Call them up, catch up with them briefly, and make sure they’re still willing to speak well of you to potential employers. If you don’t want to call them, an email or message on LinkedIn is also a fine option.  It’s better to find out a reference is too busy or doesn’t feel comfortable speaking for you before sending them to your IT recruiting firms.
  2. Aim to build your list out of previous managers who can talk about your technical skills. The most ideal reference would be previous managers who can speak to technical skills you have that are relevant to the kinds of positions your IT staffing companies will be submitting you to.  Coworkers can be ok references, but managers will impress hiring managers and IT recruiting agencies far more.  Managers have the best view of the value you can add to a company.

 

IT Job Search References
Don’t wonder if that reference will still talk about your programming skills. Call them and check in! Photo credit: niekverlaan via Pixabay.

 

 

Better LinkedIn Profile Picture, Better IT Job Search

LinkedIn has become so important in the hunt for IT jobs that now many IT recruiters find candidates there, rather than other sites.  While the format of a LinkedIn profile certainly differs from a resume, the picture may be the most obvious difference.  Here are some tips on how to use your Linked profile picture to make your profile more attractive to IT recruiting firms and hiring managers.

Firstly, don’t skip the picture.  Even if you don’t love taking pictures, it’s best to use a picture here.  IT staffing firms will be more likely to check out a profile with a picture than one without.

Secondly, make sure your picture is a good representation of you as a professional.  This means a couple things, starting with the fact that the picture will ideally be of just you.  Keep out family members, pets, etc.  IT staffing companies are trying to figure out if you are right for the job (not your wife, kids, friends, etc).  Don’t distract technical recruiters with other people or animals.  Or worse, don’t make it hard for them to figure out which person in the picture is you!  Making the picture a good representation of you as an IT professional also means a few things about the way you look.   IT recruiting agencies want to see you in at least somewhat professional clothing.  Even if you go to work in jeans and a T-shirt (as many IT professionals do!) it’s better to go with at least business casual clothing for your picture.  This makes it easier for IT recruiting companies to picture you in various company environments.

The last, and possibly most important, tip to make your profile picture more attractive to IT staffing agencies is to smile in a natural way.  Many, many IT jobs don’t just require you to be able to do the work.  You usually need to be able to work well within a team, with managers, or even in a customer service capacity or with end users.  When you smile in a friendly, unforced way, you can project that you’ve got good communication skills and are easy to work with.  Looking serious or grumpy in your picture will likely make IT recruiters think twice about contacting you!

LinkedInProfile Pictures IT Job Search
Using a vacation picture for your LinkedIn photo won’t help your IT job search. Photo credit: SplitShire via Pixabay.

 

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!

 

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Turn that phone off and put it away when you get to an IT job interview. Photo credit: jeshoots via Pixabay.

 

2 Questions You Should Never Ask in IT Job Interviews

Most IT professionals hear from their IT recruiters and IT staffing companies that it’s really important to be prepared to ask questions at the end of IT job interviews.  While technical recruiters and IT recruiting agencies would rather you ask pretty much any question rather than none, there are some questions that are truly detrimental.  Here are two questions that would severely hurt your chance of getting IT jobs.

  1. Don’t ask any questions about the company that you could have found the answers to on their website, via Google, or by asking your IT staffing agencies. Make sure you take time to do your own research and get some quick background info from your IT recruiting firms. You don’t want to look like you’re unprofessional, lazy, or unprepared.
  2. Don’t ask if they’ll want to run drug tests and/or background or credit checks. Your IT recruiting companies will let you know if these steps are necessary.  These questions also might make it look like you have something to hide. Especially if you don’t have anything to hide, this is an unnecessary risk to your candidacy.

 

IT job search research
Don’t ask any questions you could find from some basic online research. Photo credit: ChristianHoppe via Pixabay.

 

 

 

Doing This on Your LinkedIn Profile Won’t Help Your IT Job Search

LinkedIn profiles have arguably become one of the strongest assets for IT professionals in their search for new IT jobs. Technical recruiters and IT staffing agencies often contact candidates based on the strength of their LinkedIn profiles, rather than their resumes. The best profiles, the ones that attract hordes of IT recruiters and IT staffing firms, are like elegant code: concise and powerful.

Most IT recruiting firms have drilled into their candidates that a resume needs to be as brief as possible (without sacrificing quality).  IT recruiting companies are looking for even briefer LinkedIn Profiles. This means that it’s crucial to delete unnecessary information. One prime example of information that you should definitely take out of your profile is a listing of college or grad school courses.

IT staffing companies do want to see your certifications and relevant trainings (this usually means courses outside of school).  However, you’re definitely going to risk losing their interest with a list of other courses that aren’t completely relevant to your career goals. You can save this list for your resume, which IT recruiting agencies will likely ask you for later. When it comes to your LinkedIn profile, keep things a bit leaner than your resume—it will make a big difference in how recruiters see you.

 

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Don’t list all your programming classes on your LinkedIn profile. Photo credit: srfparis via Pixabay.

 

 

Using The Right Tone in IT Job Interviews

When you’re searching for IT jobs, job interviews can be intimidating.  Some candidates deal with nervousness by practicing with friends, family, and their IT recruiters and IT staffing firms.  Especially for IT interviews (in which technical recruiters and IT staffing agencies may need you to brush up on particular technologies) practicing, doing your research, and studying are all important for success.  However, there’s a line you don’t want to cross.

Though it’s not common, sometimes IT staffing companies and IT recruiting agencies will be told by an interviewer what a candidate sounded too rehearsed.  This problem is very easy to avoid.  Go ahead and practice with your IT recruiting companies.  Study and role play with your friends and family.  Try to stop short of memorizing answers word for word to particular questions.  You want to keep the feeling of conversation in the interview.

Why is this important? Firstly, the interviewer needs to feel like they’re having a genuine conversation with you so they can see if you are truly a good fit for the job.  Secondly, if you’re interviewing for a role that interacts with customers or end-users, then this is particularly important.  The interviewer needs to be able to see you have an easy, professional rapport with somebody.  Keep these things in mind and you’ll do well in your next IT job interviews.

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Your interviewer needs to feel like you’re having an easy, professional conversation.

 

How to Resign Your IT Job Gracefully

 

After a long search for new IT jobs with your IT recruiters and IT staffing firms, you’ll have one more task: resigning from your current job.  Sometimes technical recruiters and IT staffing agencies hear about people handing this poorly.  Here are some tips to make your resignation graceful so you don’t burn any bridges.

  1. Tell your manager in person if you can. If not, tell them over the phone.  IT recruiting companies often hear about how people feel intimidated about actually resigning with their bosses.  While it might seem scary, the best way to handle this is to directly tell your manager.  Do not hide behind email, no matter how tempting it is.  It probably won’t be bad at all, anyways.
  2. If your manager asks for it, write a short letter of resignation. This letter can be a single sentence.  IT staffing companies and IT recruiting agencies would advise you to keep any grievances out of it.  Don’t give any feedback or list the reasons why you’re leaving.  Simply state that you’re resigning and when your last day is.
  3. Now back to that feedback: Should you share it? Only if you can do so constructively and you have somebody you think will be ready to hear it.  If you think your manager or HR won’t be interested or take it well, it’s best to just hold back.  Vent to your family or friends, maybe even your IT staffing agencies. It’s better to leave with positive relations at your job, even if you never want to work there again.
IT Letter of Resignation IT Jobs
Your manager may request a letter of resignation before you leave your IT job.