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Technical recruiters, IT contractors, and IT managers alike all encounter difficult people at their IT jobs.  Information technology, like most professional fields, is not exempt from unfortunate work relationships or clients.  In particular, IT professionals are likely to handle difficult clients who are upset that their technology isn’t working.  The good news is that there are plenty of tactics IT recruiters and IT contractors can employ in dealing with difficult clients, co-workers, or managers.

The most comprehensive approach to dealing with difficult people is to remember that co-workers, managers, etc are more than their resumes.  They have their own personal concerns, values, and communication styles.  If IT staffing agencies try to mirror the communication styles of difficult clients, they will suddenly get much further with them.  IT recruiting companies will also find far more success with difficult clients if they try to understand their priorities.  IT headhunters can easily overcome a difference in priorities once it’s identified.  Lastly, IT consultants and IT staffing companies will find a great deal of success keeping interactions with difficult people as short as possible without being rude or incomplete in their work.  Letting any kind of abuse or anger build is not necessary and won’t make the interaction any better or more productive.  This also means the less response IT recruiting firms give to difficult people’s tantrums, the sooner they are over.