Infrastructure Support - IT Staffing Services

Job Search Tip: Employers are Probably Googling You You

Some IT professionals are surprised when they find out that IT recruiters and potential employers Google them.  Some even ask if it’s illegal.  The truth is, if technical recruiters and employers aren’t running background checks on you, they’re very likely Googling you and checking out what you’ve posted publicly on social media.  One of the best job search tips that IT recruiters can give you is that Googling candidates is not only legal, it’s normal.

Candidates should know that IT staffing companies and employers are very likely to see what they’ve posted on social media publicly or to find a blog if it’s obviously connected to them.  Recent studies show that somewhere around 75 – 80% of employers will wind up doing at least some cursory Googling on a candidate before hiring them.  In the tech field it’s especially common for candidates to be handling sensitive data or a company’s digital infrastructure.  Sometimes this means that IT recruiting firms are required by law to run background checks on a candidate.  Sometimes it just means the employer needs IT staffing agencies to do a more basic check (like Googling) on a candidate.  Being able to trust a new hire, especially if they’re going to have access to a company’s sensitive data or digital infrastructure is paramount.

So what should you do to be ready for employers to Google you or do a background check?  For a background check, it’s pretty easy to prepare.  Your IT recruiting companies will often run these.  They’ll ask you for a little information, your permission, and then they’ll proceed.  If you have anything in your past that may hurt your chance at landing the IT jobs you’re being considered for, it’s important to speak to your IT staffing firms right away.  Explain what you think they could find and why it shouldn’t impede you from being a great fit for the job.  Sometimes IT recruiters can help advocate for you by explaining negative things that come up in a background check.  They have the ear of the hiring manager, so they will often listen to the recruiter instead of just taking the candidate out of the running.

To get ready for IT recruiting agencies and potential employers to Google you, there are a few more steps.  Start by cleaning up your social media.  Delete any political, intolerant, and controversial posts.  You should also delete any posts that show you doing things that are embarrassing.  (It’s also best to just delete any posts that show you drinking.) Your goal is to edit down your social media to show a version of you that wouldn’t offend or throw off any potential employers. In a recent study by Careerbuilder, as many as 48% of employers have found things on social media that made them reconsider hiring a candidate.  Potential employers have so little data about you when they make a hiring decision.  For this reason, you don’t want any of it to possibly be negatively perceived.  Once your online presence is cleaned up, test the waters and Google yourself.  If everything that comes up would be ok for an employer to see, you’re ready for your best job search.

 

job-search-tips
Don’t wait for IT recruiters to stumble on it- clean up your online presence now. Photo credit: coyot via Pixabay.

 

Using IT Recruiters Helps Employers with Healthcare Costs

Employers often work with IT recruiting firms to help fill their open positions for one main reason: because of how challenging it is to find the right candidates.  The tech field is absolutely a job seeker’s market, with the tech unemployment rate in 2016 being only around 2%.  Studies also show that tech professionals are voluntarily quitting jobs at a relatively high rate.  This usually means that either they’ve been presented with better options from other IT recruiters or employers, or that they’re confident they will find a better option easily.  But finding candidates in a tough hiring market isn’t the only advantage to working with IT staffing agencies.  Many employers also work with technical recruiters to fill their IT jobs because they can help employers save money on rising healthcare and insurance costs.

It’s no secret that healthcare costs for employers have been rising since at least 2011 and will continue to in 2017.  Costs will increase for employers by 6.5% over 2016.  They’ll likely continue to increase by 5% next year.  These increases are huge, but working with IT recruiting companies is one way to avoid them.  IT recruiting agencies can help you do more than just hire the best person for the job—they’ll also take over costs like payroll and healthcare for these new hires.  This kind of investment will continue to pay off for employers in the years to come, as the drivers of higher healthcare costs aren’t going away any time soon.  A higher aging population is one factor here.  Longer life expectancy is another.  In addition to these factors, the nation-wide obesity epidemic has been pushing increased healthcare costs.  All of these factors will continue to be prevalent for the foreseeable future.

So taking all of these factors into account, working with IT staffing companies to fill IT jobs is a way for employers to save money.  Even if it were easy to find the right candidate for open IT jobs (which it most certainly isn’t), it will cost far less to hire and employ them long term if a company uses IT staffing firms.

 

healthcare-costs-it-recruiting-firms
Healthcare costs are rising for employers, but IT recruiters can help mitigate that. Photo credit: DarkoStojanovic via Pixabay.

 

Do You Know This Job Search ‘Secret’?

There are a few ‘secrets’ of job searching that IT recruiting agencies find candidates don’t always know.  One of the most helpful ‘secrets’ that IT staffing firms share with candidates is that you don’t need to meet 100% of the requirements listed for a job in order to apply.  Here’s why technical recruiters suggest you apply to jobs, even if you don’t meet every bullet point in the description.

1. Particularly in the tech field, things are constantly changing.  Technologies change, client needs change, and the scope of projects change.  This means a company’s hiring needs are constantly changing too.  If a project changes, it could mean a company that needs to fill a job may suddenly tell their IT staffing agencies to seek out candidates with a slightly different skill-sets.  If you meet most of the requirements of IT jobs, you may be exactly what an employer is seeking—they just didn’t know it when they posted a job description.

2. A job posting is often more of a wish list.  Especially in the US, where there’s a real lack of qualified IT professionals, employers may realize that they can’t find somebody with all the skills or experience they want.  Or perhaps they realize that they can’t meet the salary needs of somebody who would match their job posting perfectly.  This is why IT recruiting firms suggest you apply to jobs you meet most of the requirements for: you may be the perfect candidate for this employer, even though you don’t tick off every box on their list.  Your skills and experience may be enough to take on the role they’re hiring for.

3. The last reason IT staffing companies recommend applying for a job you’re not a perfect match for is that you may have the kind of personality or soft skills that make up for a technical deficit.  Tech employees are becoming more integrated in companies and working more with end users or clients, people skills are becoming a paramount part of IT roles.  You might be missing a few technical requirements for a desktop support role.  However, if you have excellent customer service skills and infinite patience, you could still be the right person for the job.

 

itjobsearchsecrets
A job description isn’t like a puzzle– it’s not always necessary to have every piece. Photo credit: Hans via Pixabay.

 

Email Tips For Your Best Job Search

IT recruiters sometimes see candidates make mistakes that are really easy to avoid in their search for IT jobs.  One area IT recruiting agencies see candidates make small, avoidable mistakes is with their email.  Here are a few things not to do when you’re working with IT staffing agencies to find your next role.

Don’t use an email address that is obscene or unprofessional. When you are meeting technical recruiters and potential employers, all you have to represent yourself is your resume, your calls or meetings with them, and your emails with them.  This means how you present yourself in these limited instances is all the more important for landing a great role.  If you have an email address that’s not professional or is offensive or obscene, it’s worth creating a new one to use just for your job search.  You don’t want to lose out on job opportunities simply because your email address offended an employer or IT recruiter—especially when a new, professional email address would be free and quick to create.

Don’t use somebody else’s email address or have somebody else email your materials on your behalf. Especially if an email address is clearly not yours or is clearly a joint email address, it looks far, far less professional to IT recruiting companies and possible employers.  Again, email addresses are free and quick to set up.  It doesn’t say that you’re taking your job search seriously if you can’t take the time to set up your own, personal, professional email account to use for your IT job search.  It also says that you’re not a serious candidate who understands professional norms when you rely on somebody else to send your materials to employers or IT staffing firms.

Don’t use your college email address after you graduate (unless you went to a prestigious or Ivy League school). This could directly damage how potential employers or IT staffing companies see you.  Particularly when you’re no longer a recent graduate of your school, it’s time to distance yourself from your college or university a bit.  You want to present yourself as professional with experience in the working world.  Having a college email address leads people to assume that you might still be a student—or weren’t one too long ago.  Even if neither is true, this again suggests you are aren’t detail-oriented and/or taking your job search seriously.  Take the five minutes to create a new, professional email address.  It will be well worth it when you land a great new IT job!  (Note that Ivy League graduates are usually the exception to this rule.  People who wen to an Ivy League school will often continue to use their college or university email address long into their careers.)

 

it-job-search-email-tips
Stop- don’t email from an obscene or unprofessional email address! Photo credit: Pexels via Pixabay.

 

Have Questions About Background Checks?

Sometimes when you’re working with IT recruiting companies to find new IT jobs, you’ll be asked to do a background check. Since candidates often have a lot of questions about these items, here are some common questions IT staffing agencies tend to get about background checks.

1. Why do I need to do these?   Your IT recruiters are usually telling you they need to do background checks for a couple reasons. Firstly, because the field requires it or it’s required by law for this particular kind of job. Since tech is so involved in the security field, technical recruiters are working on more and more jobs now that require background checks. Fields like education and healthcare also tend to require certain background checks, whether you’re working directly with patients, students, etc or not. Secondly, some companies have been burned before by lawsuits or other issues. In order to protect themselves from future harm, they may require new hires to pass certain background checks. The last thing to consider here is that a background check is done at the (sometimes expensive) cost of the IT recruiting firms or employer. Thus it isn’t something taken lightly or just thrown into the process for no reason. It’s an absolute necessity that cannot be avoided. So when your IT recruiters tell you that you’ll need to pass a background check (or background checks) you can trust that this isn’t done out of anything other than necessity.

2. What kinds of background checks are done? There are a few kinds of background checks that IT staffing firms have to do. The most common are education or employment verification checks, drug testing, or criminal background checks. Credit checks are done pretty rarely and drug testing is also becoming a rarer necessity. Depending on the employer, you may be asked to do only one check or a combination of them.

3. Will I have to pay for these checks? You should never pay for these checks if you’re working with good, reputable IT staffing companies. If you’re working with IT recruiting firms that tell you to pay the cost, you may want to check to see if they are running a scam.

4. What can I do if I have a reason that I’m unsure I’ll pass a background check? IT recruiting firms sometimes work with candidates who have legitimate reasons why they think they won’t pass a check (but they’re still good fits for the job). Perhaps somebody made a mistake in the past or has a medication that will muddy a drug test. Be open with your IT recruiting agencies. Talk to them about your concerns and see what can be done. Often if you present something reasonable, your technical recruiters can lobby on your behalf. This is one of the advantages of working with IT recruiters to find a job—employers trust them and listen to what they say about a candidate.

 

backround-tests-it-job-search
Sometimes background tests, including drug tests, are required by law. Photo credit: crsssteve via Pixabay.

 

3 Easy Tips For Better References

IT recruiters usually find that candidates have references lined up by the time they start searching for IT jobs.  Unfortunately, technical recruiters find that some candidates haven’t prepped their references well.  Here’s a few tips to make sure that you’re not only providing your IT staffing agencies with references, but references that are primed to really help your candidacy.

  1. Start by making sure you’ve spoken to your references recently and notified them of your current job search. Do this to make sure they’re prepared, but also because it’s simply the polite thing to do. (IT staffing companies are surprised by how many people skip or forget this step!)
  2. Prep your references with your current resume, the kinds of positions you’re looking for with your IT recruiting agencies, and a suggestion of what kinds of qualities and/or technical skills and experience will be pertinent to mention. If you give your references more and better information about what you need from them, they can do more to make you look good!
  3. Make sure to say thank you to your references! Unfortunately, this yet another step that IT staffing firms see skipped over or forgotten too often.  If you want your references to continue to be enthusiastic in helping you in your job searches, you need to make sure they feel appreciated!

 

ITJobSearchReferences
Don’t forget to call or email your references before your IT job search begins. Photo credit: E1N7E via Pixabay.

 

 

Don’t Forget To Make This Point in Your IT Job Interviews

There are a lot of ways to prep for your IT job interviews. You probably already spend plenty of time gathering information from your IT recruiters, researching the company online, and practicing your answers with a family member or in front of the mirror. You’ve likely brushed up on technologies your technical recruiters told you to. Here’s one thing your IT staffing firms would suggest you don’t forget: Make sure to blatantly state your interest in the position for your interviewer.

Many technical recruiters find that their candidates assume that just by going to the interview they think they’re expressing interested in IT jobs. This simply isn’t true, though. The purpose of an interview is actually for both employer and candidate to explore whether the position is a good fit. You may hear something at an interview that makes you decide the job is definitely—or definitely not—a great fit for you. Unless you tell your interviewer, they won’t know for sure if you still are interested. Additionally, IT staffing companies also find that employers prefer it when candidates show enthusiasm about the role, work, company, etc. Giving a strong, deliberate statement of interest will achieve this effect.

So how do you make sure you do this well? IT recruiting firms would suggest that you simply give a direct statement, preferably near the end of the interview. You don’t need to gush (and in fact shouldn’t). Instead, being precise and even-keeled in your tone will work best here. Note that after hearing more about the role, you think it would be a great fit for a few particular reasons. Be articulate here and consider trying to name at least one reason that benefits the company, too. Later, when you write the thank you note for your IT recruiting agencies to give on your behalf, make sure to repeat your interest in the role again. Being open about this may just land you the job!

 

ITJobInterviewPrep
Prepping for your IT job interview is important, but so is showing interest in the role. Photo credit: Unsplash via Pixabay.

 

 

Why Saying ‘No’ Is Important for Your IT Job Search

When you’re working with IT recruiting agencies to find new IT jobs, you may feel as though you should say you’re very interested in every role your IT recruiters want to submit you for—even if you’re not.  Maybe you’re concerned that your technical recruiters won’t work with you if you say no to role.  Perhaps you are anxious to land a new job and think you should take anything your IT staffing companies offer you. The truth is, it’s important to say no to roles that you’re not interested in. Here’s why you should take a deep breath and curb this instinct to just say yes to every role your IT recruiting firms present.

Ultimately, it’s not good for you or your IT staffing agencies if you land a role that you’re not happy in or not adequately prepared for.  There are plenty of reasons IT professionals might take a job they’re not a hundred percent interested in.  Maybe they are desperate for a new job.  Maybe they’re desperate for a new job with a higher salary.  Whatever the reason, you won’t really gain much when you land a job that you don’t feel at least reasonably comfortable in and can succeed at.  When you’re in a job you hate or are ill-prepared for, you’re almost guaranteed to need to leave it quickly—or possibly be fired.  This isn’t ideal for you or your IT recruiting companies.  When you’re searching for a new job, you want something you’ll enjoy, be great at, and be able to stay in for a year at least (unless it’s a set short term contract).  Anything you stay at for a shorter time will probably just cause you more stress, unhappiness, and mar your resume.  Your technical recruiters don’t want to place you in a job you leave quickly or are fired from.  This damages their relationship with the company that employs you.

The moral of the story?  Be honest with your IT recruiters and don’t tell them to submit you for jobs you don’t think you can do well and be happy in.  Even if you have to wait for a job that you are happy with and can excel at, this will yield the best outcome for you (and thus your IT staffing firms, too).

 

ITJobsUnhappy
You don’t want to land an IT job you don’t think you’d be at least reasonably happy doing.

 

Don’t Lie to Your IT Recruiters About This

When you’re working with IT recruiters to find a new role, there are some things you might be tempted to exaggerate or potentially even lie about.  Obviously honesty really is the best policy, but it’s worth noting that you will hurt your search for IT jobs (and possibly your career) if you lie about your technical skills, experience, etc to your technical recruiters.

Some IT professionals are tempted to exaggerate or flat out lie to IT staffing firms about qualifications.  They might be tempted to tell IT recruiting firms that they have more experience using a programming language or working in an end-user facing role. While this might seem like a good way to land a job in the short run, it’s very likely to land you in hot water in the long run.  One consequence of your lies to your IT recruiting companies could be that they or the interviewing manager may figure out you’re lying or exaggerating.  If this is the case, you’ll definitely ruin your reputation with both.  Neither this potential employer, nor your IT recruiting agencies will want to work with you after realizing you lied to them.  Worse, they may also share this information about you with other contacts in the industry and further ruin your reputation.

Even if you do land the job you lied to your IT staffing agencies to get, you might find yourself in a role that you’re not equipped to succeed in.  If you exaggerated your experience or proficiency with certain technologies, you may find that you can’t actually perform the way your new employer expects.  This could mean you get disciplined or even fired.  It will also mean that your IT recruiting companies will see you as a less than desirable candidate to work with again.  If you say you have certain skills, it will certainly ruin your reputation if you can’t prove you have them.  Getting fired or just performing at a sub-par level will obviously hurt your career a bit, too.  You want to be as successful as possible in every job you take.  While it’s not possible to be the top employee in every job, it’s like shooting yourself in the foot to guarantee you’ll fail in a job by lying about your qualifications.

 

LyingToITRecruiters
Don’t lie to your IT recruiters about your experience– it will only hurt you in the end. Photo credit: Geralt via Pixabay.

 

 

Unlimited Parental Leave and Other Work-Life Balance Benefits at IT Jobs

IT recruiters and IT staffing firms are starting to see a lot more discussion among employers and IT professionals about benefits like parental leave.  More and more companies are telling technical recruiters and IT staffing agencies that their IT jobs now come with benefit meant to provide work-life balance.  The newest company to jump on this bandwagon is Netflix, who is now offering unlimited parental leave.

This policy might seem too good to be true—and the reality is that it could be. As with unlimited vacation time policies, IT staffing companies and IT recruiting firms are likely to find that their candidates simply don’t use this benefit.  In companies where the workload is intense, company culture can make it hard to actually take vacation time or parental leave, let alone unlimited time.  This is for a lot of reasons: perhaps IT professionals are worried about letting down their managers or their teammates.  Perhaps they are simply surrounded by a lot of workaholics and find it hard not to act similarly.  Whatever the reasons, these work-life balances are a good first step, but IT recruiting agencies aren’t likely to see them used just yet.  It will definitely require an adjustment!

Want to see our open IT jobs?  Follow us on LinkedIn.  We post new jobs daily!