IT recruiting

How to Pick a Good Coding Boot Camp

If you’re thinking about a coding boot camp, you’re not alone.  IT staffing companies have seen an explosion in boot camp popularity in the last few years.   IT recruiters certainly find that many candidates seeking new IT jobs (especially their first programming roles) have a boot camp on their resumes.  The questions is, are they worth it?  The tuition for many of these boot camps is often in the thousands, so it’s imperative you make back that money with some great IT jobs.  Here’s how to make sure you pick the best boot camp for you.

1. Do research on the job market in the area you live in. What are the most in-demand programming languages?  Just as importantly, what are the most in-demand programming languages for the kinds of roles you want?  IT staffing firms would advise you to make sure you understand not only what skills are marketable, but what skills are marketable and will land you a job you will at least moderately enjoy.  You don’t want to realize that you hate the kinds of roles you paid thousands of dollars to be able to land.  IT recruiters find that people who hate their jobs rarely succeed at them, or at least succeed at them long-term.

2. Seek out recommendations. Ask people in your network if they have gone to, or know of, boot camps that are effective.  Check online at sites like Course Report.  You might also reach out to your IT staffing agencies to see if they can recommend any great local boot camps for the kinds of roles and skills you’d like in the future.

3. Once you find some programs that look good, IT recruiting agencies suggest that you step back and look them over one last time. Ask questions about them, including these:

  • What is the rate at which grads land their ideal roles?
  • What is the rate at which students graduate?
  • Do these boot camps offer connections to internships, projects or potential employers?
  • Can you handle the final cost of this boot camp, or will it be too expensive of a risk?

4. Based on all these steps, make a choice.  IT recruiting companies would urge you to consider the fact that sometimes, your best choice may be to skip the coding boot camp (at least for now).  Sometimes there truly aren’t any coding boot camps that would be a good investment in your career.  Though boot camps are being hailed as the new gold rush, there are many that won’t help you land the IT jobs you want. The wise IT professional sees this– and saves their time and money.

 

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Coding boot camps  are always intense, but they aren’t always worth the money. Photo credit: skeeze via Pixabay.

 

Graduating in May or June? Recruiters Can Help You Now

If you’ll be graduating from college this spring, you could benefit from calling IT staffing agencies this month.  While it may seem too early, there are a few things that good IT recruiting firms can do for you so you’re even more prepared to land great IT jobs when you graduate.

Help with your resume. If you’re graduating from college or grad school, you may be creating your resume for the very first time.  While your career center can advise you on basic resume templates, IT staffing firms can tell you exactly what the employers in your field are looking for.  Because they have close contact with employers, technical recruiters can help you build exactly the resume they want to see— the first time you create your resume.

Guidance building a portfolio, LinkedIn profile, website for job searching, etc. Since you have about 6 months before graduation, you’ll have plenty of time to start creating things like a digital portfolio, a website, or any other materials to show off your technical skills.  As mentioned before, IT recruiters have plenty of contact with employers, so they can help you create materials that will make you all the more employable.

Guidance on what to study.  With 6 months to graduation, you may have enough time to focus your studies on particular technologies, programming languages, certifications, etc.  Even if your classes have already been decided on, you might want to consider learning these things in your spare time or refreshing your familiarity with them.  Whatever the case may be, IT recruiting agencies know what technologies are in demand with employers.  They can help you prepare to meet these demands so you’re a hot commodity on the job market when you graduate.

 

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You may still have 6 months of college or grad school left, but you can be prepping for your job search now. Photo credit: Pexels via Pixabay.

 

Java Developers: Your Value is Rising in 2017

It may seem like Java is long overdue to be a less imperative skill for IT recruiting firms and employers.  There are newer, more exciting languages out there.  IT staffing companies find that many developers tend to prefer languages like Python or C++ for the projects they work on outside of their formal IT jobs.  Perhaps most tellingly, Java is also no longer the first language many programmers clamber to get under their belts.  But Java will continue to be high on IT recruiting agencies’ and employers’ lists in 2017 for 2 main reasons:

1. Java makes good sense for businesses. Even if other languages like Ruby, PHP, or Node are faster to develop with, Java has some assets that IT recruiters find businesses value more.  For one thing, Java is often more compatible with older applications.  While many businesses would like to be on the cutting edge, they can’t always get there– or get there with every tool they use.  Being cutting edge can be costly, and Java is a great language to use if a company needs to continue to use older tools, software etc.  Speaking of cost, Java is free.  To a business owner, there is no sweeter word.  IT staffing firms find that controlling costs with a programming language that is very reliable and free is undeniably appealing to the client companies they work with.  (It’s also a better value because it makes for faster, easier updates to software because it’s an open source language.)

2. Android Apps will drive a need for Java. It’s obvious mobile is the place for businesses to focus their energy.  It’s also obvious that Android phones are overtaking Apple.  Actually, this may be debatable.  But that fact that it’s debatable at all is telling.  To even be able to threaten Apple means something good about Android’s strength.  To follow the money, technical recruiters would suggest learning or brushing up on your Java.  Plenty of employers will be very excited to see it on your resume in 2017 and beyond.

 

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Java isn’t losing popularity with employers any time soon. Photo credit: Meditations via Pixabay.

 

The 2 Highest-Paying IT Jobs

Most IT jobs pay well and are stable, even in a tough economy.  However, if you’re seeking roles with the best paycheck, recent studies have shown that you should consider being a Software Architect or Data Scientist.  IT recruiting firms see a huge boom in these two roles and believe it will continue into the future.

Software Architect: IT staffing agencies see trends that show that being a software architect is likely to give you the highest paycheck on average.  There are a few reasons for this.  Firstly, Software Architects almost always have a college degree in Computer Science (or a similar field) and an additional professional certification.  These qualifications alone are somewhat rare in the US.  Secondly, IT recruiting companies find that Software Architect roles require two very different kinds of skills.  Software Architects need high proficiency in technical skills including Engineering and Computer Science, but they also need great communication skills, particularly in highly corporate environments.  Often the more technical somebody is the less they want to be client-facing.  Software architects are some of the few IT professionals that not only walk this line, they embrace it.  This combination of skills is rare enough to warrant a high salary. Lastly, Software Architects are leaders.  They help direct the vision of projects and often supervise others in bringing it to life.

Data Scientist: IT recruiting firms find that Data Scientists are routinely listed as the second-highest paid role in tech because of the extreme demand for Big Data in pretty much every industry.  There are few companies that don’t want to be gathering and measuring client data to improve their performance.  Perhaps more notably, big companies with huge budgets for talent, like banks or oil companies, are setting the bar high for Data Scientist compensation.   Another reason why IT staffing firms find that Data Scientists are so well-paid is that Big Data can also help companies streamline their own processes to save time and money.  Lastly, Data Scientists usually have the education to demand high salaries.  More often than not, Data Scientists have a Master’s or Doctorate in Computer Science, Math, Statistics, or a similar area.

 

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Big Data is a hot commodity, as are Data Scientists. Photo credit: Tumisu via Pixabay.

 

Love Sports? You Could find Your Next IT Job in that Field

There are a few industries that are obviously creating more and more IT jobs each year.  Healthcare and the Insurance industry for instance, have both obviously embraced the ways that big data and security technologies can improve their best practices and drive more business.  The sports and athletic industry is a more surprising industry that IT staffing companies will see an uptick in hiring for in 2017 (and beyond).  Here are some jobs that IT recruiting firms will likely be filling in the near future in sports and athletics.

Mobile Developers: IT staffing agencies will likely see a need for more mobile developers for all kinds of sports apps.  Fans are using their mobile devices to engage more with their favorite teams, whether they’re at a game, the office, home, etc.

Data Engineers, Big Data Engineers: Technology is becoming a hot new tool in sports medicine and training.  Coaches and trainers can use things like wearable devices to track activity, improvement, or even analyze or prevent injuries.  This means that IT staffing firms are likely to see a real need for Data Engineers and Big Data Engineers.

Video Engineers: Fans are streaming games live, watching and sharing clips later, or going back to archived games and matches.  This all translates to IT recruiting agencies seeing a big uptick in Video Engineers for the sports industry.

Web Developers: As teams are finding more global fans, IT recruiting companies will see a real need for web developers to help create web sites for fans to easily access.  The more recent popularity in fantasy sports leagues will also create a drive for web developers.

 

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Love basketball? You might be able to do mobile development for fantasy basketball website. Photo credit: Jeffjuit via Pixabay.

 

Do You Need to Move to Get a New IT Job?

IT recruiting firms find that IT professionals often wonder if they need to move to get new or better IT jobs.  The answer to this question may leave you happily surprised.

As is probably obvious, technology has become widely accepted as one of the most powerful tools for businesses and organizations.  This means that most, if not all businesses and organizations around the US use IT staffing companies to find tech professionals.  There are plenty of companies or organizations that you may not associate with technology, but these companies do use it quite a bit.  They use various technologies to interact with and attract consumers, streamline their business operations, connect their employees, and so much more. Some industries that you might not expect to use IT recruiting agencies to employ a lot of IT professionals include retail, healthcare, and education.

Taking all of this into account, you probably don’t have to move to find a new IT job with your technical recruiters.  Particularly if you’re near a big city, you’ll be near businesses or organizations that need Programmers, Systems Engineers, Business Analysts, and a wide variety of other IT professionals.   If you’re not close to a bigger metro area, your IT recruiting companies may suggest that you simply need to consider a slightly longer commute. All of this doesn’t even include remote options, which are certainly growing.

So before you resign yourself to moving, call your IT staffing firms.  You never know what jobs may be in your own backyard– literally.

 

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Will you need to move to get a new IT job? Probably not! Photo credit: MikeBird via Pixabay.

 

3 Tips for Hiring Top Tech Talent

1. Rethink your tech stack.  IT recruiters find that great tech talent can often be sold on a position by the technologies they’ll get to use in IT jobs.  The best candidates usually tell IT recruiting companies that they want their next role to be more than just a paycheck and perks.  They want their next roles to help them advance in their career.  If you’re using an old tech stack, your technical recruiters may have a tough time attracting amazing talent for you.

2. Brag about your company culture and perks online.  Even though your IT staffing firms will help sell your company as a great place to work, candidates still usually do some research online.  Places that have no trouble attracting top tech talent make sure that candidates see great things about them when they do this research.  What does your Glassdoor page look like?  Have you built it out and added pictures?  Do you have reviews there?  Consider asking happy employees to leave reviews, because they are your best advocates.

3. Have candidates meet their potential coworkers.  IT recruiting firms find that the employers who introduce candidates to the team they’d work on have an advantage.  As mentioned above, your current workforce can be some of your best advocates to new talent.  Meeting potential coworkers helps a candidate visualize working at your company.  IT recruiting agencies also find that if your team is relatively happy, they can share the value of working at your company in terms the candidate really appreciates. Even if a candidate doesn’t like a member (or members) of the team and decides not to work there, this is still a good practice.  IT staffing agencies find that when a candidate doesn’t like the team enough to work somewhere, it would have been a bad hire anyways (which can be awfully costly).

 

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Is your tech stack going to attract great talent? Photo credit: markusspiske via Pixabay.

 

 

How to Land Jobs With Your Ideal Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance is becoming increasingly important to IT professionals, especially for some tech positions that may require odd shifts, being on call, or long hours.  To make sure you land in IT jobs that have a  good work-life balance for you,  take the right steps to communicate with your IT recruiting agencies and potential employers.  Here are three tips for landing a job with your ideal work-life balance.

1. Talk to your technical recruiters about exactly what you need in your next role. Do you need time to care for children?  Have a sick relative you’re taking care of?  Or do you just find that being on-call on the weekends makes you miserable?  Be upfront with your IT recruiters about things like this.  While you need to be reasonable in your expectations, your IT staffing companies can’t submit you to positions that have the kind of work-life balance you desire if you don’t ask for it.

2. Keep talking to your IT recruiting firms about these things before you go to an interview. Confirm before you go the interview that the job requires the kind of work-day, work-week, etc that you’re seeking.  Ask if these potential employers are likely to require you to be reachable after-hours, on weekends, etc.  Your IT staffing firms may not know the answer to every question you ask, but they should have a general idea.

3. Ask your remaining questions in the interview—but this time, with a more professional tone. You can still ask questions about work-life balance with your interviewer, but the tone needs to be very different.  With your IT staffing agencies, you want to be completely honest and open.  Good IT recruiting firms are partners who want to help you find a job you’re happy in.  Your interviewer isn’t solely focused on what you want.  They need to hire for their team’s needs, projects, etc.  With your interviewer, you want to make sure they feel like you’re ready to work hard and meet expectations.  Your focus is on making sure you convey that you’re a great fit for the job (if it truly is a good fit for you, of course).  Ask questions you have about work-life balance, but be careful to avoid looking like you’re making demands or are lazy.

 

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Be open with your IT recruiters about what you really need in your next role. Photo credit: paulbr75 via Pixabay.

 

One Easy Job Interview Mistake to Make– and Avoid!

IT recruiting agencies find that candidates make some mistakes in interviews that are pretty egregious.  Maybe they are particularly late, rude, or can’t answer technical questions.  However, IT recruiters also see candidates make subtler mistakes in interviews.  Here’s one mistake you may not even know you’re making as you interview for IT jobs:  not giving your interviewer a genuine weakness (if they ask for one).

What does this mean exactly?  IT staffing companies find that often, candidates are tempted to give a weakness that isn’t actually a weakness.  IT recruiting firms see candidates give weaknesses like “perfectionism”, that aren’t really weaknesses.  The problem with giving answers like this when an interviewer asks for a weakness is that it comes across as disingenuous. Interviewers actually do want to hear a weakness from you.  They need to see that you’re being open and honest with them in the interview. They also need to see that you’re a good fit for the job—so when you can’t list a weakness, it’s hard for them to ascertain if you’d do well in the role.

So how would IT recruiting companies suggest you tell an interviewer about a weakness in a genuine, effective way?  Start by thinking about a weakness that wouldn’t affect your ability to do the job you’re interviewing for.  For instance, for a job that doesn’t require you to manage anybody else, you could say you have a hard time sharing or delegating tasks.  For a programming job that doesn’t require any client interaction, you might mention that your customer service skills are lacking.

The next step is to briefly talk about steps you’ve taken to improve on this weakness.  You don’t want to go into excessive detail, but this part is important.  Technical recruiters find that what really impresses interviewers is evidence that you’re able to improve upon your performance as an employee.  This helps them to picture you as a self-motivated employee on their team, always striving to do better.

IT staffing firms suggest you wrap up your exchange about weaknesses by painting an optimistic picture of the future.  Just a sentence here would suffice.  You want to show your interviewer that you can see yourself continuing to improve on this weakness, perhaps using this improvement to enhance your performance at work.

 

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Are you giving a fake weakness? It’s not going to land you the IT job. Photo credit: PeteLinforth via Pixabay.

3 Things Recruiters Will Need for Your Best Job Search

When you work with IT recruiting firms to find new IT jobs, they’ll be doing most of the work.  They’ll find opportunities that you’d be a great fit for, set up interviews, etc.  However, even with the best IT staffing companies, there are still some tasks you should be prepared to do:

1. Update and polish your resume. IT recruiting companies will help you edit your resume a bit, but this will mostly fall to you.  There are a few reasons for this.  Firstly, nobody understands your experience and skills the way you do.   Your IT recruiters can help shape a resume to fit a job opening better, but they don’t know about every project you’ve worked on or certification you’ve earned.

2. Research salary expectations for yourself before you call IT staffing agencies. It’s hard for Technical recruiters to get you a salary or rate you’re happy with if you don’t have at least a little input.  And you can’t have valid input without doing some research to see what people with comparable skills and experience make in your area.  Think of it this way:  You’ll never be happy with the salary your IT recruiting companies get if you think it doesn’t pay you what you’re worth in your area.  And you can’t know what you’re worth in your area if you don’t look into it.

3. Be ready to possibly take brief tests, submit some sample code, etc. Not all IT jobs require this, but some do.  Obviously IT staffing firms can’t do either of these for you.  And truthfully, you wouldn’t want anybody else to do them.  These kinds of tests protect you from landing in a job you can’t succeed in.  If you can’t pass a required test, you wouldn’t want that job, anyways!

 

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Did you research salary expectations? Your IT recruiters can’t get you what want you want if you don’t know what you want.  Photo credit: kaboompics via Pixabay.