IT Job Interviews

Don’t Ask These Questions in a Job Interview

Most IT recruiting agencies make sure their candidates are prepared with job interview questions.  If you come without any, you’ll definitely hurt your chances of landing the IT jobs you interview for.  However, it’s just as important to make sure that you have effective questions to ask.  IT staffing firms can attest to the fact that there are some questions that will hurt your candidacy.  Here are 3 types of questions that IT recruiting firms would definitely suggest you avoid asking.

1.    Questions that fish for compliments.  IT staffing companies would advise you to avoid questions like ‘Why did you like my resume?’ or ‘Why did you call me in for an interview?’  Even if you don’t mean to do so, your interviewer can assume you’re seeking some kind of compliments.  Besides seriously annoying your interviewer, you risk coming across as arrogant or insecure, as well as wasting the interviewer’s time.  Questions need to help you better understand the role, corporate culture, get to know what the manager’s style is like, etc.  These kinds of questions don’t cover these areas at all.

2.    Questions that you could have found the answer to yourself.  IT staffing firms would definitely advise that you do not ask any questions that you could find the answer to by researching the company or asking your IT recruiters.  You want to appear resourceful, competent, and prepared.  By asking a question that you could have easily found the answer to, you destroy all hopes your interviewer will see you this way.  Do your research on the company and don’t hesitate to ask your technical recruiters questions.  This is part of the advantage they provide, so use it!

3.    Questions that may feel disrespectful to the interviewer.  Don’t ask if the interviewer has seen your resume, if you’ll be speaking with their boss, or how long the interview will take.  You want to make sure the interviewer feels like you deeply appreciate their time and respect them as a professional. Be extra careful not to offend your interviewer or get too casual with them.  Your only impression on them will be what your IT recruiting companies say about you and whatever you say in this interview.  So every word, every gesture, every tone counts.  Don’t take any risks in this regard, or you may hurt your chances of landing the IT job!

 

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Job interview questions help you…if they’re good! Photo credit: GDJ via Pixabay.

 

 

Don’t Forget to Bring These Items to Interviews

There are a lot of ways to prepare for your IT job interviews.  You can role play answering important questions.  You can study up on the technologies that your IT recruiters say you’ll be quizzed on.  You can do research on the companies your technical recruiters send you to interview for.  But here’s one thing that IT staffing firms find candidates often forget to do: bring a pen and notepad.

In a digital age, especially in the tech field, why would IT recruiting firms suggest you really need to bring a pen and notepad with you to interviews?  There are 2 reasons: it helps show that you’re engaged and interested and it helps you write a killer thank you note after the interview.  To start with the first reason, IT staffing agencies want you to take notes because it helps a manager see you as organized and engaged in your interview process.  Perhaps more importantly, taking notes helps your interviewers picture you bringing these qualities to the IT jobs you’re interviewing for.

The second reason IT recruiting agencies want you to bring a pen and notepad to your interviews is to make sure you take down the information you’ll need to write an excellent thank you note.  IT staffing companies see too many candidates underestimate the power of a great thank you note.   You’ll want to bring a notepad and pen to write down details that you can use in your notes.  You could jot down are reminder of important topics you discussed, perhaps a question you wanted to expound on a bit more, or maybe just something that you really liked about their team or corporate culture.  Considering how long, stressful, and overwhelming a job interview can be (especially a technical one where you might whiteboard an answer, get quizzed on technical skills, etc) it’s a bad idea to assume you’ll remember these kinds of details.  Bringing your notepad and pen lets you prep to write thank you notes that go beyond the generic ones that IT recruiting companies are too often given to pass on to interviewers.  Why not take this chance to differentiate yourself?

 

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Don’t forget this item on your list of steps to prep for your IT job interviews. Photo credit: inspirexpressmiami via Pixabay.

 

Be Ready for this Question in IT Job Interviews

The best job interviews are almost always the ones you feel prepared for.  While you can’t be ready for everything, here’s one thing IT recruiters can warn you to be ready for: questions about what you like or will miss at your current IT job.

IT staffing firms find that these kinds of questions are usually common, but some interviewers do ask some iteration of ‘what do you enjoy about your current IT role?’  IT recruiting agencies find that it’s easier to answer this kind of question correctly when you understand why it’s being asked. Technical recruiters find that this kind of question is usually asked for two reasons: to ascertain what makes you happy in IT jobs and sometimes to gauge your relationships or general performance at your current job. Taking that first motive into account, IT staffing agencies would suggest you try to speak directly to it.  Come to your interviews armed with a couple of things you actually do enjoy about your current job.  Is it the work?  Your coworkers?  Being able to list a few things, especially things you think will also be present at the role you’re interviewing for, will help your interviewer picture you enjoying (and thus more likely to succeed at) the job.

On to the second reason why this kind of question is asked: to gauge your relationships or general performance at your current job. To satisfy this motive and make yourself look like a great candidate, make sure you answer this question positively and professionally.  Even if you’re working with IT recruiting firms to find a new role because your current boss is evil and the workload is unmanageable, IT staffing companies would suggest you find something positive to say here.  It will help maintain an image of you as somebody with a positive attitude that understands professional norms.  Saying something negative here (or saying nothing) would reflect very negatively on you.  It might  even hurt your chances of landing the IT job!

 

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Don’t be caught unprepared to answer this kind of question in IT job interviews. Photo credit: NDE 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!

 

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

 

 

Take Notes During Your IT Job Interviews

Even if you’re completely engaged during your interviews for IT jobs, there are still little details you could miss or forget later.  IT recruiters would absolutely suggest taking notes as you interview.  Here are two guidelines IT staffing agencies would suggest you follow to take notes for your own reference later.

  1. Write down info for your thank you note. IT recruiting companies have seen time and time again how powerful a good thank you note can be.  To write a good one, you’ll probably need to have some things written down to refer to after the interview.  Start with the names of all your interviewers.  (Your IT recruiting firms may not know who your interviewers were if you can’t remember their names—and this will make it impossible to deliver a thank you note!)  Then make sure to note any major concerns that are brought up about your candidacy, any questions you feel you may be able to answer better or expand upon, or just any particularly good moments/connections you may have had with your interviewer(s).  These are all the kinds of things that you want to address in a thank you note.  They will show that you were deeply engaged in the interview.
  2. Write down any questions you have for your technical recruiters. These are the things you don’t feel comfortable asking your interviewer.  Or  perhaps these are things you think may not help you give your best impression to the interviewer.  This is exactly what IT staffing companies are for.  If you have concerns about the job, it’s best to talk with your IT recruiting agencies about them so you can be more candid.  If you have questions about compensation, perks, vacation time, benefits, etc then save them for a conversation with your IT staffing firms.

 

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Great thank you notes start with great notes taken during IT job interviews. Photo credit: Condesign via Pixabay.

Ask IT Recruiters About This Topic, Not Interviewers

IT recruiters are seeing more and more IT professionals who want some kind of flexible work or work-from-home arrangements in their next roles. Due to the nature of IT jobs, this is actually possible relatively often.  However, you can safely assume you’ll seriously hurt your chances of getting one of these jobs if you ask about it during the interview.

First, why do IT staffing companies advise against asking your interviewer about work-from-home and flexible hours arrangements?  IT recruiting firms don’t want you to ask about work-from-home and flexible hours perks in an interview because it suggests that your focus is on the perks (rather than the actual work, the team, the company, etc).  Interviewers want to see that you’re assessing if (and proving) that you’d succeed in the role.  They’re working with IT staffing agencies to find candidates who are a great fit for the work, the corporate culture, etc.  If you use the little time you have with an interviewer to focus on the perks (like flexible hours or work-from-home options) you won’t help your candidacy at all.

If IT recruiting companies don’t want you to ask interviewers about work-from-home and flexible work arrangements, how will you make sure you land a job with these benefits?  You can talk directly with your technical recruiters about it.  This is a big perk of working with IT staffing firms:  they want to know your wish list for your next job.  You can speak frankly with your IT recruiting agencies about your wish list and they work to negotiate on your behalf.  This lets you focus on advocating for your candidacy and landing your dream IT job.

 

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Want to work remotely? Talk about it with your IT recruiters, rather than your interviewers. Photo credit: tookapic via Pixabay.

 

Don’t Ask About This in IT Job Interviews

IT recruiters often advise their candidates to have questions to ask at the end of interviews.  There are a lot of great questions your IT staffing firms want you to ask, but here’s one topic you should not ask about: vacation time andor your upcoming vacation plans.

Why do technical recruiters advise against asking about vacation time or asking if you’ll be able to take a vacation you’ve already scheduled?  There are few reasons.  Firstly, your time in interviews is precious.  Your IT recruiting agencies start by advocating for your candidacy, and you should consider pretty much every minute of your job interview your chance to do the same. Don’t waste that time asking about things you could clear up with your IT recruiting firms, like benefits and vacation time.

Secondly, when you ask about vacation time or talk about your upcoming vacation plans in your interviews, you’re actually hurting your chance of landing the IT jobs you’re interviewing for.   If you focus any of your questions on your vacation time, rather than the job itself, you give the impression that you’re not interested in the job.  Worse, you may even give the impression that you’re just generally lazy.

Lastly,  IT staffing agencies advise against asking about vacations because you may make the interviewer feel like you’re wasting their time.  Since IT staffing companies and human resources are often the ones who handle negotiations for vacation time and other benefits, it’s very possible your interviewer knows nothing about these items– nor do they likely care about them.  Add to that the fact that your interviewer is likely interviewing you on top of an already full day of work.  Any unnecessary questions you ask may actually make the interviewer feel that you aren’t valuing the time they have taken out of their day to talk to you.

 

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Ask your IT recruiters about vacation time, not your interviewers. Photo Credit: PublicDomainPictures via Pixabay.

 

 

Don’t Ignore These in IT Job Interviews

Sometimes in interviews for IT jobs, hiring managers bring up concerns they have about your candidacy.  It can be tempting to quickly wave off these concerns off, especially if they seem small or not legitimate to you. IT staffing firms would suggest you don’t ignore these, though.

Here’s why you can’t wave off an interviewer’s concerns:  IT recruiting companies don’t want you to respond in a cavalier way to an interviewer’s concerns because, even if it’s something that seems small, it probably has been an issue in the past for them.  It’s important to take these concerns seriously and respond to them thoughtfully.  IT staffing agencies would also caution that minimizing an interviewer’s concerns can make you look like you have poor communication skills or are generally difficult to manage.  IT professionals who succeed at their jobs are able to make the managers, end users, or clients they speak with feel heard.  They’re also willing to adjust their priorities to fit those of their team, company, client, etc. If you brush off a hiring manager’s concerns about your candidacy, you may be signaling that you’re not capable of any of these things.  That will certainly make it less likely that your interviewer tells your IT recruiters they want to move forward with you in the hiring process.

Here’s how IT recruiting agencies would suggest you respond if an interviewer expresses concerns about your candidacy.  Start by making sure you acknowledge them and show that you’re listening. Next, make sure you completely understand the concern.  If you’re unsure, ask for clarification.  Now move forward by making a case for why these concerns aren’t applicable to you, or what you’d do to compensate for them.  The more specific you can get here, the better.  Technical recruiters certainly see employers hire candidates they were initially unsure about.  These candidates are usually just excellent at advocating for themselves in interviews.

 

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Brushing off an interviewers concern can make it see like you have poor communication skills. Photo credit: Hans via Pixabay.

 

Avoid This Topic During IT Job Interviews

It’s rare for IT recruiters to work with candidates who aren’t at least a little nervous to interview for IT jobs. Even for candidates who have been interviewing for years, the process can still be uncomfortable.  IT staffing firms certainly see nervous candidates come through and land the job anyways.  The key is to appear calm and stay focused on performing well.  A big part of this is not talking about being nervous with your interviewer.

Why would IT recruiting firms strongly suggest that you not tell your interviewer you’re nervous? For some IT jobs, working under pressure at least occasionally is part of the job.  A job interview is a great time to demonstrate your ability to do this.  Even if it’s not an explicit part of the job description, IT staffing companies still suggest that appearing calm and giving your best performance in a job interview, a fairly high pressure situation, will still strengthen your candidacy.

Secondly, IT recruiting agencies would suggest you not talk to your interviewer about being nervous because it won’t look professional.  Professionals are able to focus on what’s important and put their feelings aside, even in uncomfortable situations.  Additionally, plenty of IT jobs also require good communication skills, whether with coworkers, end users, or managers.  Derailing an interview with a conversation about your nervousness might give your interviewer a bad impression of your communication skills.

So the next time you’re tempted to tell your interviewer about how you nervous you are, remember this advice from IT staffing agencies suggest and hold off.  Use your precious interview time to show your interviewer you’re a great candidate.

 

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Don’t let your nervousness derail your performance in IT job interviews. Photo credit: Lindsay_Jayne via Pixabay.

 

Don’t Let Tough Questions Sink You in IT Job Interviews

If you’re working with IT recruiting companies to find your next IT job, your IT recruiters will likely give you some idea of questions to prepare for before interviews.  Even with plenty of practice and research, most IT professionals do encounter some questions that are just uncomfortable to answer.  For instance, IT recruiting agencies often find that candidates who have been fired don’t enjoy answering ‘Have you ever been fired before?’  Here’s how IT staffing firms would suggest you deal with it if you get asked a question that you don’t feel good about answering.

  1. Don’t be vague or try to hide anything. Your technical recruiters don’t want you to spill your guts about every gory detail of a firing, unpleasant situation, weakness, etc.  However, they also want you to make your interviewer feel like you’re untrustworthy.  Interviewers can usually tell when you want to hide something, and they don’t give your IT staffing companies good feedback when that happens.
  2. Try to stay calm. You can guide how your interviewer feels about your answers to a question by appearing comfortable yourself.  If you are visibly nervous, ashamed, or upset by something, your interviewer is all the more likely to feel like it’s a bad thing.  IT staffing agencies want you to remember that everyone has flaws.  Seeing those flaws clearly and having a plan for how to work on them is what sets you apart.

Don’t assume your IT recruiting firms will always tell you that you lost IT jobs because you’ve had to divulge less than flattering info about yourself.  Whatever the question, there’s usually a way to respond to it honestly, but without reflecting poorly on you.  (For example, if you’ve been fired before, you can state that simply– and mention what you learned from it.)  It’s even possible to turn uncomfortable questions into an opportunity to show something positive about yourself as an IT professional.

 

Tough Questions IT Job Interviews
Don’t be afraid. If you’re calm and open, you can answer tough questions at your IT job interviews. Photo credit: SEVENHEADS via Pixabay.