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IT recruiters notice that most candidates who are skilled at job interviews tend to have a few things in common.  One thing IT staffing companies notice good interviewers do is highlight key qualities about themselves.  Here’s one key quality IT recruiting companies suggest you highlight in a job interview: that you’re reliable and will stick around for your whole contract (or at least a few years if it’s a permanent role).

Why is it necessary for you to make this obvious to your interviewers?  Wouldn’t they assume that you won’t leave before a contract ends or in a particularly short time?  In the tech field, the truth is that this isn’t a given.  IT recruiting agencies find that far too often, companies hire candidates who will leave a job early to pursue other opportunities, move, etc.   While this is certainly a problem in other industries, IT staffing firms find this kind of behavior is especially hard on companies in the tech field.  Often employers are trying to complete projects by certain deadlines.  Unexpectedly losing a member of their team makes it hard to do this.  There’s also often a fair amount of training that goes into getting IT professionals up to speed to work on a project.  So when they leave before it’s done, this makes it even harder to replace them with somebody fast enough.  Basically, IT recruiting firms find that employers trying to fill IT jobs are (usually justly) worried that the people they hire will not be reliable and stick around a decent amount of time— thus costing them time, money, and causing a great deal of stress.

Taking this employer perspective into consideration as you interview can really make you stand out as a candidate.  When you go into job interviews, take some time to demonstrate that you are ready to stick around until your contract is done, or at least a few years if the job is permanent.  Take a minute to show how you’ve been reliable for past employers to really drive this point home.  Showing your interviewer that you are capable of being reliable and sticking around will go far in building your candidacy.  Even if they don’t ask about this topic, technical recruiters would highly suggest you make sure to drive this point home for your interviewer.  It will make you stand out as an excellent candidate.