IT recruiting

How to Get an IT Job You Love

A staggering percentage of American workers currently hate their jobs.  While it’s unknown what percentage of them are IT professionals, it’s safe to say that there are probably quite a few IT consultants who do hate their IT jobs.  When it’s time to look for a new job, IT contractors will really benefit from making sure they prioritize the right qualities in their search.  Here are the factors that will make the most difference in how much you’ll appreciate your job.

-Does the job feel significant?  It doesn’t matter who it’s significant to or on what scale, but if you feel like your job is impactful to people, you’ll feel good about it.  Maybe as a desk support technician your work is important to the people you help all day.  Maybe as a CTO at a big company, your work is imperative to people all throughout the company.  Either way, it will mean you’re that much more likely to report back to your IT recruiters that you love your job.

-Did your IT headhunters place you with manager and coworkers you like and respect?  Especially in information technology, when things are so often team-oriented, it’s imperative to like the people who you work with and for.  If you don’t, you will probably call your technical recruiters seeking a new job soon.

-Lastly, does the job challenge you in a way that you can still succeed?  If you’re challenged in a way that’s impossible, that will simply feel stressful and unmanageable.  If your job doesn’t challenge you at all, you’ll become bored and tired of your job quickly.  However, if you are learning new things often and constantly solving problems that interest you, you’ll enjoy your work.  This might mean you should make sure you work with particular technologies or with a certain pace of work.  Figure out if job descriptions are describing a job that you can succeed at, but is not too boring, and you’ll be ensuring that you really enjoy it for a long time to come.

 

The Ice Bucket Challenge Reaches the IT Field

IT professionals all over the information technology field have been talking about the infamous ice bucket challenge.  While the ice bucket challenge has certainly made it into the social media feeds of professionals everywhere, IT consultants and IT recruiters are particularly likely to have seen it because social media is so prevalent in the field and often actually used as part of IT jobs.

While we know the ice bucket challenge has become popular with IT contractors and IT headhunters everywhere, it’s especially surprising that some big CEO’s of IT companies are doing the ice bucket challenge now, too! Most recently, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Tim Cook, and Mark Zuckerberg have all gotten drenched for the cause.  The high level of participation in this creative campaign highlights the can-do, up-for anything attitude that IT tends to have.

3 Ways to Be a Hit in Your New IT Job!

In a field like information technology, where people tend to move jobs a bit more often, IT consultants are often starting new IT jobs.  While just landing a new job is a success, IT contractors shouldn’t view this as their opportunity to slack off.  The first few months of a new job are crucial for IT professionals.  Performing well in this window of time could yield a few benefits: creating a great relationship with coworkers, and bosses, as well as adding onto a good reputation that will impress IT recruiters and IT staffing firms.  Be vigilant about these things in your first few months of a job.

-Follow the rules to a T.  Don’t break the dress code, even if everyone else might.  Don’t come in late or leave early.  Take your allotted lunch time only. Leave your cell phone in your desk drawer during work hours.  While you can (probably) ease up on the rules in the future, it’s better to give the best impression you can initially.  Be a model employee while all eyes are on you, the newbie.

-Build a strong understanding of your job and how you fit into the company.  Get training on your job if it’s offered and learn everything you can about what you can do to succeed in your role.  But don’t stop there.  Figure out what’s going on in the company at large so you have a better understanding of what you’re doing and how it impacts the company.

–Figure out the corporate culture.  Fitting into the corporate culture can have a far higher impact on your job performance than you might think.  Pay attention to how things are done and not done at your new company.  You don’t have to conform completely, but changing your ways to fit the culture will go a long way with your coworkers and superiors.

 

 

Don’t Get Hired for the Wrong IT Job for You!

Bad hiring mistakes happen (and they are definitely terrible for all IT consultants, managers, coworkers, and technical recruiters involved). However, as an IT professional, you can take steps to protect yourself from being hired for the wrong IT jobs. Beyond polishing your resumes and working with only the best IT recruiters and IT staffing firms, here is what you can do:

-Don’t rush things. Your job search isn’t a race and you’re more likely to wind up a in a bad job if you are moving too fast. Really consider every job offer you get before accepting. Make sure it meets all your needs and you meet all the company’s needs.

-Don’t take a role you aren’t sure you can totally fill. If you’re fully confident you can do everything in the job description, or at least have the skills to learn a few things you haven’t done before, it’s a good fit. If you’re not sure about most of the job requirements, this may not be the right job for you.

-Keep a balance in emphasis on cultural fit/perks and everything else. If you love the corporate culture and/or perks but aren’t sure about the job, the commute, the compensation, or something else, stop and think about it. Working with coworkers you love is important. It’s not going to fix larger issues, though.

 

Are You Asking These Important Questions at Your New IT Job?

Most IT contractors find themselves starting new IT jobs more often than professionals in fields outside of information technology.  There are plenty of ways IT staffing firms and IT headhunters can help prep you for your first day at a new job, but there are certainly some questions that IT consultants should be sure they ask their new coworkers and bosses.  Here are some questions below that will help IT professionals succeed in a new job.

1. What are some of the biggest challenges people in our department face?  How can I prepare for them?

2. How will I know when I’ve been successful at this job?  How will I know when I’m not meeting expectations?

3. What can I do to match my work style to our manager’s?

4. What can I do to match my work style to my team’s?

5. Is there any advice you’d give to somebody starting my job?

Are You Actively Preparing For Your IT Interviews?

IT contractors who have been on the hunt for IT jobs before are probably used to being pretty passive, especially if they worked with IT recruiters or IT staffing agencies.  The process can feel very much like the employer is in charge, not the IT consultants interviewing.  However, if you take a more active role in your search, whether you’re working with technical recruiters or not, you’ll be more likely to find a role you love.  Here’s how:

Firstly, make sure you get a few pieces of information from your IT headhunters who set up your interviews.  Ask them not only where you’re going and when, but also who you’ll be meeting with, how long the interview is likely to be and what materials you can prepare or study beforehand.  Most IT staffing firms will make sure you have this info.  If you’re not working with IT recruiting firms or you just didn’t get this info, it’s your responsibility to ask!

Next, work through this info to help yourself prepare.  Research the company, the people you’ll be meeting with, and any topics you were alerted to be ready to speak on.  You may not use all the info you find, but at least some of it will be useful.  Perhaps you have some connections on LinkedIn in common with your interviewer, or you have a few alum from your school working at the company.  This information is worth having in your pocket in case the opportunity comes up to mention it.

Lastly, prepare all the easy things for yourself ahead of time.  Make sure you set aside everything you’ll need for the interview ahead of time.  Resumes, portfolios, suit, nice shoes, etc should all be set aside and ready at least the night before the interview, if not a day or so earlier.  It’s also ideal to actually practice getting yourself to the interview site ahead of time if you can.  Be aware of any traffic patterns that might get in your way and avoid them.

 

3 Quick Ways to Improve Your IT Job Search

The information technology industry is constantly changing and to some extent, so are the ways IT contractors find IT jobs.  While IT consultants can always count on IT recruiters and IT staffing agencies to provide them with great connections to companies that are hiring, there are some things that IT professionals can do to make sure they’re the most marketable candidate on their technical recruiters’ rosters.

1. Modernize and optimize resumes.  Take out objectives and any jobs that are older than the last decade or so.  Both date you too much in an industry that tends to favor youth over experience.  Do put a ‘Technical Proficiencies’ section at the top of your resume, listing all technologies and skills you are current on.   This will garner attention from IT headhunters and hiring managers alike.

2. Polish your interview skills.  Be prepared for phone interviews, face-to-face interviews, or even skype or other forms of interviews.  Be ready to answer questions about the technologies you specialize in.  Recruiters can prepare you to some extent, but having the basic skills already down can make a big difference.

3.  Know what you want.  Have a clear idea about what you want in your next position.  Nobody can help you get the best new job for you if you don’t have good ideas about what kind of work, compensation, environment, coworkers, and bosses you do best with.

 

How to Spot the Best IT Bosses for You

IT consultants change IT jobs more frequently than most other professionals.  With more frequent job changes, come more frequent changes of bosses.  IT professionals need to sharpen their abilities to spot not only the kinds of jobs that fit their resumes, but the kinds of bosses that fit their work styles.  While IT recruiters and IT staffing firms can help with this, it’s important for IT contractors to be able to spot a great boss for them without help from technical recruiters.  Here are two signs somebody will be a great boss for you:

They let you complete your work and solve problems in ways that challenge and interest you and are within your abilities.  Obstinate bosses who might respond to your work style with rigid rejections are going to be a bad fit in the long run.  Try asking about their management style in your interview.

They don’t rule by fear.  A boss can be loved or feared.  The best bosses are the ones who inspire great things in their employees because of good relationships.  The worst ones force employees to perform under pressure all the time.  This isn’t sustainable long term and it’s also incredibly unpleasant.  You can get an idea of whether a manager is appreciated or feared by his employees by looking on Glassdoor, checking any contacts you might have within that company, or asking about why the previous person in your potential job left.

 

Summer Fridays in IT are Dead?

IT staffing firms, IT contractors, and IT managers may be basking in the glow of Summer Fridays, but all things considered, they are merely a mirage these days (and not just in information technology, but in most fields).  IT recruiting companies can testify to the fact that IT consultants are no longer just reachable on the clock.  They’re also generally available on cell phones and email, no matter the day or hour.  (IT headhunters themselves are also often expected by IT staffing companies to be available 24-7 via various methods of contact.)  A willingness to be constantly available at work is so common IT recruiting agencies often see it on resumes.

Obviously this trend alone tends to make the Summer Friday more of an idea than a practice in various IT jobs.  Perhaps the upside of this death of actual Summer Fridays means the birth of a kind of ‘Summer Everydays’.  When technology allows for work to be done outside of work, technical recruiters are seeing flexible work arrangements on a stunningly regular basis.  Even if constant availability is a necessity of ‘Summer Everydays,’ IT staffing agencies should remember all the benefits of an equally constantly flexible schedule.