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IT recruiting

Why You Should Be Open and Honest With Your Technical Recruiter

If you’re working with IT recruiters and IT staffing agencies for your IT job search, you’ve probably talked to them at least once on the phone or in person.  Sometimes, IT candidates are concerned about what they tell IT staffing firms and technical recruiters.  They apply the same polite, guarded etiquette you’d use with a hiring manager or interviewer.  However, it’s actually in your best interest to be as open and honest with your IT recruiting companies as possible.

Why should you be an open book with IT staffing companies and not with hiring managers? Because you want your IT recruiting firms to know everything you can relay about your ideal next IT jobs.  If you hide your preferences for particular work environments or embellish your actual certifications, skills, or experience, it will only hurt you.  You want your IT recruiting agencies to know what kind of job you can be successful and happy in.  If you hide any of this information or omit it, you’ll be preventing IT recruiting firms from getting you that kind of job.  You may even be guiding them to place you in a job that makes you unhappy, stressed, or potentially a job you even fired from.  Nobody wins in this scenario– not you, your IT recruiting companies, or the employer.  So don’t hold back.  Tell your recruiter everything that you think will help them find your dream job.

What Is Working With an IT Recruiter Like?

Why do so many IT candidates work with technical recruiters to help them find their next IT jobs?  It makes their search faster, easier, and more effective.  Good IT recruiters and IT staffing firms will work with you to make sure they understand exactly what you’re looking for in your next role.  This doesn’t just include the work, but also the kind of work environment, team, and bosses you thrive with.  If you’re honest with your IT recruiting companies and give them a full picture of the kind of jobs you really succeed in, they will present these kinds of opportunities to you.

Once IT staffing agencies find opportunities that match what you’ve described, they’ll start setting you up for interviews.  These will differ a little from job interviews you’ve done without IT recruiting agencies for a few reasons.  Firstly, your IT recruiting companies will really be the ones to handle compensation negotiations for you.  You’ll communicate with them about your preferred rates, benefits, etc, and they’ll go to bat for you.  Secondly, your IT recruiting firms may even walk you into the interview and make sure you have a good start to the experience.  This leads to the last difference.  Your IT staffing companies will be advocating for you as well.  Since they probably have a good relationship with the hiring company, their word will be trusted and add an extra oomph to your candidacy.  If all of these differences sound good to you, think about contacting an IT staffing firm like AVID Technical Resources.  You have nothing to lose.

 

Is Job Experience Important for IT Job Seekers?

If you’re a recent grad working with IT recruiters and IT staffing firms to find your next IT jobs, you’re probably wondering if it’s best to add job experience to your resume, or use up that space with information about your studies and certifications.  While both are certainly important to IT staffing agencies and hiring managers, it’s important to know what exactly is valued in the IT industry.

The truth is that while IT recruiting firms and hiring managers need you to list the relevant skills for jobs, job experience, even if it’s not particularly relevant, should still be listed.  Recent studies show that without work experience, your chances of getting a job are severely diminished. The experience is actually just as important as your degree.  This holds true even in fields like IT, where degrees in things like computer science are highly regarded by IT staffing companies and technical recruiters.  So don’t let your work experience drop off your resume—it may just be what gets you the job!

Don’t Say This in IT Job Interviews

For most interviewees for IT jobs, no matter how much you prepare with your IT staffing firms and technical recruiters, questions about your greatest weakness are still intimidating.  The most common answer that hiring managers and IT recruiting agencies tend to hear seems like a good idea: “my weakness is that I’m a perfectionist.” Don’t be tempted to actually give this answer, though!

Because it’s such a cliché answer, telling your interviewer that you’re a perfectionist will mean that you’ve totally wasted that moment in your interview.  Even if you are indeed a perfectionist, you won’t impress your interviewer or your IT recruiting firms by saying it’s your biggest weakness.  Since it’s heard so often, it’s hard for anybody to take that answer seriously.  In fact, you may be letting your IT staffing agencies down by giving such an unimpressive answer.  Your interviewer may ding you a few points for giving such a meaningless response to their question.

So what should you say?  Work on a real, honest answer with your IT recruiters. Name a skill that’s not essential to the jobs you’re interviewing for and give an action plan for how you’re addressing it.  Something like this will actually impress an interviewer, especially if your action plan is thorough.

Don’t Make This Mistake When Going to IT Job Interviews

You’ve probably spent quite a bit of time prepping for IT job interviews—both on your own and with your IT staffing companies and IT recruiters.  Maybe you’ve laid out your suit and mapped out how to get to the interview.  Here’s one last tip: don’t bring more than a single, small bag with you.  Why?

It’s not something your technical recruiters are likely to discuss with you (mostly because they’re probably assuming you already know about it). However, your IT staffing firms and IT recruiting agencies want you to make sure you edit what you take with you to a job interview because it reflects poorly on you and on them if you bring too much with you.

If you bring much more with you to a job interview than a small bag, you’re likely saying one of two things.  Firstly, you could be suggesting that the interview isn’t that important to you—it’s just one thing in a long list of errands.  You give off this impression in particular if you come in with things like shopping bags.  Secondly, you’ll make a bad impression for yourself and your IT staffing agencies if you bring a lot of stuff with you because it looks disorganized.  Fair or not, your interviewer may assume that you’re not organized if you need to bring a ton of stuff with you to an interview. They have very little to go on (besides what your IT recruiting firms tell them) and they may just go off of gut feelings from your brief meeting with them.  Having to shuffle around a couple bags or jackets won’t give them the impression that you’re cool, calm, collected, and in control.  So leave everything home but a small bag when you go to your next IT job interview.  It may be the difference between losing and winning your dream IT jobs.

 

Subtle IT Job Interview Do’s and Don’ts

If you’ve gone on interviews for IT jobs, you probably already have at least a general idea of what you should be doing.  Maybe you learned these job interview do’s from your IT staffing firms and technical recruiters, or maybe you learned them from some of your own online research.  No matter where you learned these do’s from, there are some nuances you may not know about.  Here are some subtleties of interview do’s that your IT staffing agencies and IT recruiters want you to know.

Firstly, you know the general rule is to dress well for job interviews.  However, it’s also important to dress well for the company’s culture.  Particularly in IT, dress codes can wildly differ.  Talk to your IT recruiting firms about exactly what you should wear to your interview.  You don’t want to just assume you should come in a suit.  It may cost you the job.

Secondly, you probably already know no to badmouth a boss or former company to your interviewer.  What you may not know is to extend the same rule to your colleagues and coworkers.  If you trash talk your current or previous coworkers, hiring managers may wonder if you’re actually a team player or able to work well with others.  Do yourself and your IT recruiting agencies a favor: don’t lie, but do avoid saying anything unfavorable about your former or current coworkers, employers, or bosses.  By keeping their reputations pristine, you do the same for your own.

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Questions NOT to Ask in Your IT Job Interviews

IT recruiters and IT staffing firms will usually help you prepare questions to bring to your IT job interviews.  Your technical recruiters can talk to you about what will interest and impress your interviewers. However, most IT recruiting companies will assume that you know what questions not to ask.  Check out this list to make sure you aren’t making a misstep and embarrassing yourself and your IT recruiting firms in the question part of your interviews.

Don’t ask any basic questions about the company.  If your IT staffing agencies don’t tell you directly, assume that you should research more about the company online yourself. It’s your job to know about the company—at least the basic info you could get from a quick Google search.  So don’t embarrass yourself and your IT staffing companies by making it obvious you haven’t done this research.

Don’t ask any questions that make you look like a clock watcher. Companies want somebody who is committed to and interested in their job.  If you appear to be interested in spending as little time as possible on the job at the interview, you’re definitely not going to impress your interviewer (or your IT recruiting agencies).

Lastly, don’t ask any questions about raises or promotions.  As mentioned above, hiring managers are looking for somebody who is interested in the job they’re trying to fill.  If you start asking questions that suggest you only see that job as a stepping stone, they’ll quickly want to end the interview.

 

Don’t Forget to Do This in IT Job Interviews!

If you’re interviewing for new IT jobs, you’ll benefit from watching your interviewer for signs of how well or poorly the interview is going.  You can prep ahead of time with your IT recruiters and IT staffing agencies.  But you’ll do yourself (and your technical recruiters and IT recruiting agencies) a disservice if you don’t watch for these possible signs your interviewer is disinterested.

Their body language and tone of voice show disinterest.  You don’t need your IT staffing firms to tell you that if your interviewer seems uninterested during your interview and their body language gives the impression they’re closed off and not engaging with you, the interview is going poorly.

They mention other qualified candidates.  If your interviewer makes a pointed mention of other candidates, they may be attempting to lower your expectations. It’s not a sure sign, but it’s something to take into account.

They don’t make any mention of the next steps you or your IT staffing companies should take.  Again, this isn’t a sure sign, but it’s something to take into account.  Your interviewers may just directly contact your IT recruiting firms with the next steps, but if they’re very interested in you, it’s possible they make some mention of the rest of their hiring process to let you know they’re interested in you.

Never Do These Things in an IT Job Interview

Your IT recruiters and IT staffing agencies have probably prepared you well for what you should do during job interviews.  Study up on these technologies, wear a suit (or something more casual), be prepared to answer these questions, and so on.  But there are some things your IT recruiting agencies and technical recruiters may assume you already know: what not to do.  Just in case, it’s worth checking out this list of don’ts that IT staffing firms hope you know:

Don’t forget to turn your cell phone off and put it away for the duration of the interview.  Interviewers and IT recruiting firms are definitely not impressed with anybody whose cell phone ring interrupts an interview.

Don’t ask about compensation or benefits in the interview.  Firstly, it’s best to use the time wisely and focus on painting yourself as the best candidate for the IT jobs you’re interviewing for.  Secondly, this is what your IT recruiting companies are for.  You can talk to them about benefits and compensation.

Don’t be too casual.  Don’t swear, tell off-color jokes or share personal information.  You don’t want to be cold and rude with an interviewer, but to give your best impression, make sure you act as though you’re in a business setting.  The interviewer isn’t your friend; they’re your potential boss.

 

How to Get Your Dream IT Jobs: After the Interview

If you’ve worked with your IT recruiters and IT staffing firms to get some great job interviews, what do you do next?  How can you make sure you really wow your IT recruiting companies, hiring managers, and get the IT jobs?  Technical recruiters would all recommend one step: writing an excellent thank you note for your interviewers and sending it to your IT staffing companies to pass on to them.

It’s important to note that the faster you send your IT recruiting firms for your interviewers, the better an impression you’ll make.  Thank you notes sent within a few hours are ideal.  If you can’t do it that quickly, 24 hours is the latest you should send a thank you note.  It doesn’t have to be long (in fact it shouldn’t) and it shouldn’t take you an exorbitant time to write it.  So hustle and get those thank you notes out—your IT recruiting agencies will love you for it and so will your future employers!