Go Beyond Basic Questions in Your IT Job Interviews
The IT professionals who perform best at interviews for IT jobs are often the ones who ask great questions. IT recruiters understand why you want to ask some of the basic questions. You shouldn’t hesitate to ask the (appropriate) questions that you are genuinely interested in answers to. However, technical recruiters would absolutely recommend that you ask some questions that go beyond this information. Here’s one that will make a great impression on your interviewer: Do you have a busy season or seasons? Are there any major deadlines coming up that you can anticipate for projects, etc?
Why do IT staffing agencies recommend you ask questions like this? Firstly, it shows that you’re considering the role in a more comprehensive way. IT recruiting companies have the best luck placing candidates who are thinking about every aspect of the role and if/how they could succeed in it. Asking about busy times and deadlines shows a more detailed consideration of the expectations for this role.
Secondly, IT staffing companies would suggest that asking a version of this question shows foresight and an ability to plan. It helps your candidacy to show that you’re the kind of person who is organized, plans things out, and pays attention to other people’s schedules. IT recruiting firms find that candidates who can show initiative and manage their own time are especially valuable, as they can do things like meet deadlines in big projects or respond to client or end user inquiries quickly with minimal oversight.
An Interview Question That Could Land You the IT Job
IT recruiters want to know that their candidates are prepared with some questions to ask in job interviews. There are plenty of questions IT staffing firms would be happy with their candidates asking, but here’s one that might really impress your interviewers and technical recruiters: What skills, beyond the technical skills and experience we’ve already discussed, would be crucial to succeeding in this role?
Why would IT staffing agencies want you to ask this question (or some form of it)? IT recruiting companies have an easier time placing candidates who possess more than just the concrete, technical skills needed for a role. Since many IT jobs may require contact with clients, end users, or even heavy customer service, soft skills are becoming more and more imperative. When you ask about other skills that an IT role may require, you’re signaling to your interviewer that you understand this.
To make the question even stronger, consider trying to identify a few soft skills that could be relevant in the role. Perhaps patience, written and verbal communication skills, or the ability to calm down upset users might be imperative in the role. You might ask your interviewer if they believe any of these kinds of skills will be important to success in the job. Your IT recruiting agencies are much more likely to hear positive feedback about your interview if you can show that you understand the role may be more than just the technically-oriented responsibilities.
Ask This Question at the End of Your IT Job Interviews
The questions you’ll ask your interviewers at the end of interviews need them to accomplish a couple things. Obviously they should inform you. IT staffing agencies would never recommend you ask a question you don’t really care about the answer to. It will always come across as fake and make a bad impression on your interviewer. Yet while you don’t want your interviewer to feel like you’re working hard to impress them, you do want your questions to impress your interviewer and IT recruiting companies. This question will achieve both of these goals: What do you think will be the biggest challenges in this role and why?
Why will this question impress your interviewer and IT recruiters? Your IT staffing companies will be glad you asked this question is because it shows that you’re really considering what it will be like to take on this role. Technical recruiters see plenty of candidates who spend interviews focusing on selling themselves. This is only part of what you need to do to succeed. To impress hiring managers, you need to show them that you’d be a great fit for the role, but also that this role would be a good fit for you. When you ask questions like this one, you show potential employers and IT recruiting firms that you’re really trying to suss out if this role will be a great fit for you, too!
Don’t Forget to Do This Before Your IT Job Interviews
If your IT recruiters set you up for IT job interviews, you’ve probably spent plenty of time preparing. You probably studied relevant technologies and practiced answering the questions your technical recruiters told you to be prepared for. You probably got background info on the company, both via your own research and from your IT staffing agencies. But there’s one thing you may not have done that can really make a difference: practice getting yourself to the office you’ll be interviewing at.
Why would IT recruiting firms suggest that you do this, especially if you already know where that office is? Firstly, you want to do everything you can to ensure you’re on time for your interview—not too early, not too late. IT staffing firms would suggest you practice making your way to the interview site around the same time you’d do the interview, if you can. (A commute that takes 30 minutes in the middle of the morning may take an hour in rush hour traffic!) If you practice getting to the interview site, you’ll have a better idea of how much time it will take. This means you can be able to guarantee that you show up just on time– and make a good first impression on your interviewer!
Secondly, IT recruiting agencies would suggest you practicing getting to the interview site in order to make it easier for you to relax the day of the interview. If you’ve practiced, you can be confident and familiar in your route to get there. This will leave you free to mentally prepare to ace your interview. If you don’t practice, you may have unforeseen issues (perhaps a certain road has construction, the train is never on time etc). You could wind up feeling stressed and panicked before you even start interviewing. Your IT recruiting companies want you to be ready to do your best in your interviews for IT jobs. Don’t let your journey to the interview site get in the way of that!
Is Your Email Address Hurting Your IT Job Search?
If you’re ready to start working with IT recruiters to find a new IT role, you’ve probably already started doing the usual things in preparation. You’ve polished your IT resume, you’ve updated your LinkedIn profile with any new IT jobs, and you’ve started reaching out to IT staffing firms. There might be one step you’re skipping though: Creating an email address to use for your job search.
Of course, not everybody needs to create a new email address before reaching out to IT recruiting agencies to start their job search. Plenty of people have email addresses that are unique and professional enough that technical recruiters wouldn’t bat an eye at them. How do you know if you need a new email address for your job search? Ask yourself these questions.
Would your email address be better on a dating site? If it’s too flirty or gives information that belongs in a dating profile (you love dogs, you’re an avid skier, a single woman, etc) don’t use it. This is too distracting for IT staffing agencies and hiring managers. It’s also not the most professional way to present yourself, especially when you are presenting so little about yourself. Little things like this make a big impact.
Is your email address entirely yours? Don’t give an email address you share with your spouse or partner. You also shouldn’t give an email address that has your work domain. If you don’t have an email address that is entirely yours, create one! Your IT recruiting firms need to be able to easily communicate with you alone about your search. Your don’t want anybody else involved in the conversation, even if you think your spouse or company wouldn’t read these emails.
Make sure your email address doesn’t trigger spam filters. Extra punctuation or characters and certain words will make it more likely that IT recruiting companies never see your emails. Don’t derail your job search for a few characters. Create a new email address and get cracking on your job search with your IT staffing companies.
Get These Languages Under Your Belt For a New IT Job in 2016
2016 is in full swing and so is the job hunting season. If you plan to look for new IT jobs this year, IT recruiters and IT staffing companies are seeing a plethora of new jobs. If you’re still polishing up your resume and skills before you start working with IT recruiting firms, plenty of sites have put out predictions for the skills that will be most in demand. For programmers, these are projected to be top languages in demand 2016 (as predicted by Coding Dojo’s blog):
SQL
Java
JavaScript
C#
C++
Python
PHP
Ruby on Rails
iOS/Swift
The top programming language isn’t much of a surprise to IT staffing agencies or IT professionals. SQL is ubiquitous for a few reasons, but the explosion in the need for mobile apps could be a big factor. Whatever the reason, most IT recruiting agencies are working on a job that requires it at any given time.
What is a bit of a surprise is how far in popularity Ruby on Rails has slipped in the last few years. This is apparently due to an over saturation in the market of qualified programmers who can confidently tell IT staffing firms they’ve got the language under their belt.
If you’re looking to increase your technical skills, consider adding a few of these languages — it just might help widen your options for IT roles in 2016!
Ace your IT Job Interviews with Nonprofits
More and more nonprofits are hiring IT professionals. While the nonprofit sector may not be the first place you’d think of for IT jobs, there are plenty of benefits to working with these organizations. IT recruiters fill jobs like this with benefits that include a more comprehensive health insurance package, increased vacation and PTO time, and flexible hours or work from home policies. If your IT staffing agencies offer you an opportunity to interview for nonprofit roles, here is one important tip to consider: remember to emphasize your connection with their mission.
While technical recruiters will always want you to show enthusiasm for the mission of a company—nonprofit or for profit—it’s especially imperative for nonprofits. These organizations are mission-driven. Thus they are counting on IT recruiting companies to help them hire people who are not only able to do the job, but also care deeply about its goals and values. How do you make sure you convey this?
Consider this the second part of your interview preparations (in addition to your usual interview preparation and practice). Ask your IT recruiting firms for as much information about the nonprofits mission as they have. Google their website and research it extensively. Become well-informed enough on the work they do that you can easily talk about it with your interviewer. Next, try to think about your personal connection to this work. If you’ve volunteered for similar organizations or have some other connection, this is something to bring up in your interview. Don’t reach for answers here or make something up. Neither will impress hiring managers.
Lastly, pull all of this work together and practice talking about why you’d want to work for this organization. Focus on being sincere and well-informed. You don’t want to give a completely rehearsed monologue, but you’ll increase your odds of success if you can genuinely speak to an interest and familiarity with the organization. Take these steps, and your IT staffing companies will be more likely to tell you that you got the job!
Tips for Second Round IT Job Interviews
Sometimes when you’re working with IT recruiting firms to find new IT jobs, you may have to go through a second round of interviews. IT staffing companies find that IT professionals may not necessarily be as well-prepared for a second round of interviews. Here are some things IT recruiters would suggest you keep in mind as you complete second (or third, etc) rounds of interviews.
- Be patient. Your technical recruiters are sending you for a second round of interviews for a good reason. Even if you wind up answering questions for a second time, the hiring managers may need this information to make their decision. You wouldn’t want to be hired for a job you’re not a good fit for anyways—this almost always ends in a firing, quitting, or just general discontentment and discomfort on one or both sides. You want your IT recruiting agencies to place you a job you can succeed in and enjoy. It might take a couple interviews for hiring managers to be sure about that.
- Prepare again—and this time bring some new material. Be ready to answer questions or show off your technical proficiencies. Prepare some new questions or anecdotes to share with your interviewers. Treat this interview as thought it was just as important as the first. IT staffing firms would suggest that it’s almost helpful to think of this as a first interview—just don’t forget what you learned at your last one!
2 Ways to Relax Before IT Job Interviews
IT staffing firms see firsthand that plenty of IT professionals get nervous before interviews— no matter how many IT jobs they’ve had. Here are two tactics that might help you relax before your IT recruiters send you to your interviews.
1. The first tactic that IT recruiting agencies would recommend is to stop playing the ‘what if’ game. You don’t have to be in IT to know what this means, because most people play the ‘what if’ game at some point in their lives. This involves letting your mind wander to all the negative possible outcomes of a circumstance. It’s particularly easy to think this way before your IT recruiting firms send you on an interview, as you need to perform well. You’ll actually do much better, though, if you don’t allow your mind to winder as much. Remember that your IT staffing companies wouldn’t send you for the interview if you weren’t qualified for the job. Remember the preparation and practice you’ve done for this interview. You may even want to try meditating for a bit before the interview, as this is shown to reduce stress. Focus on performing in the interview, rather than anticipating all the ways you’ll mess up.
2. Remember that the worst case scenario still isn’t that bad. Your IT staffing agencies will continue to send you for interviews if you don’t land this job. Your IT recruiting companies don’t want you to approach interviews too casually. However, it’s easier to relax and perform well when you remember that you won’t land every IT job you interview for—and that’s ok.
How to Trim Your IT Resume
As experienced IT professionals update their IT resumes, keeping them concise is often an issue. IT staffing firms and hiring managers certainly understand that IT professionals aren’t beholden to the 1 page resume rule that many other professionals are. However, you certainly won’t attract more IT recruiting companies and technical recruiters with an absurdly long resume.
How can you decide what to keep on your resume and what IT recruiters will consider a waste of space? Here are some basic priorities to consider. Firstly, make sure your list of technical skills is complete and near the top of the resume. This is one of the most important parts of your resume, as it helps IT staffing companies see at a glance if you might be a fit for IT jobs. Don’t cut from this area.
Secondly, keep all relevant jobs and projects on your resume. When it comes to cutting material, irrelevant jobs (or at least excessive bullets below them) should be the first to go. You’ll also want to cut any jobs that were more than 10 – 15 years ago. Even if they’re relevant, they likely won’t strengthen your candidacy because they were just too long ago.
Lastly, don’t hesitate to cut volunteer activities, interests, or other personal information that isn’t directly related to your career path. Interested in hiking? You don’t need to add this on your resume. Volunteering at a coding class in your community? IT staffing agencies will want to read about this on your resume.
