Tag Archives: information technology

Brooklyn: IT’s Newest Home

IT staffing agencies and IT headhunters are used to seeing an ever-growing concentration of information technology companies (particularly startups) in California, but Brooklyn seems to be starting its own colony of startups now, too.  IT recruiting agencies and IT recruiters are finding more and more interesting opportunities for their IT contractors on the East coast as the Brooklyn Tech Triangle slowly expands.

The Brooklyn Tech Triangle, arguably the start of this Brooklyn boom, was started in March 2012 by some local non-profits seeking to build the economy of the area.  Since this very successful launch, a steady flow of tech companies have come to Brooklyn, seeking a haven for like-minded companies, IT consultants, and IT managers, as well as surprisingly low rents.  In addition to boosting the local economy, the companies have also brought with them some new career possibilities for minorities in New York City and its surrounding suburbs.  The number of minorities in IT has jumped significantly.  Brooklyn, New York City and its citizens, and IT all seem to be winning with this newfound home on the East coast.

 

How to deal with Distractions in IT

Information technology as a field is already fraught with distractions for IT professionals.  Add in the effect of technology itself, including smartphones, social media, and the ever-increasing allure of the internet, and IT contractors and IT managers are constantly under siege from distractions.  Some studies show that the average worker is distracted every 3 minutes, to be exact.  Below are some methods by which IT consultants and IT headhunters can reduce distractions at their IT jobs.

Carve out time for deep thinking:  Blocking off time to work alone and without distraction from the phone, coworkers, or the internet can be incredibly useful.  It’s easy to get through because it’s finite—you aren’t unavailable all day, just for perhaps the length of a meeting or a long meeting.

Talk to people in person or on the phone: Making inquiries on social media or via email can mean several interruptions in the form of messages.  Have one conversation in which you deal with all aspects of an issue in person or on the phone.  Then move on to get the work done.

Reduce and schedule email time: Emails are distracting.  If possible stop answering them as they come in.  This only increases your emails in the future.  Instead, schedule a few times a day and answer and write emails then and only then.  Turn off email notifications and try to make people aware of your system if it helps them.  They may even want to try it themselves!

 

Weird Questions in IT Job Interviews

Periodically all IT professionals and IT recruiters encounter odd questions in interviews for IT Jobs. Questions like “What kind of cereal would you be?” or “What is the color of money?” are common, if not the prevalent in interviews for IT consultants and IT managers.  What is their use, though?

IT contractors and IT staffing agencies should take these odd questions seriously because they demonstrate a few important things about a candidate that resumes do not.  For one thing, IT jobs, especially customer-service oriented ones like tech support, tend to require the ability to think on one’s feet and respond to unexpected and sometimes stressful situations.  Questions that are bizarre can be the opportunity to test that in a job interview.

Another imperative reason to take these questions seriously is that they can be a moment to demonstrate how you are a cultural fit for an organization.  More than anything, these questions are good moments to showcase your personality.  If you know you’re interviewing at a team-oriented company or perhaps a company that really values creativity, these questions are the moment to show you have these qualities (rather than simply tell somebody you have them).  So be prepared to really give these questions a go—they might be the ones that get you the job!

 

Yahoo and the Country: Looking for a Magic Bullet in IT

IT Professionals, along with professionals in fields other than Information Technology, have been closely watching Yahoo and its semi-celebrity CEO Marissa Mayer for a long time.  Its ups and downs took on a whole new level of scandalous when Mayer’s first big hire, Henrique de Castro was fired by the famed CEO herself.  While Yahoo’s stock prices haven’t been particularly hard, the company is certainly hurting from the recent move.

In some ways, the company seems to be a stand-in for the country at-large as it tries to turn itself around from a terrible economy.  Like Yahoo, the US has been trying to find a road back to prosperity on the wings of new technology.  Everyone from IT contractors, IT recruiting agencies, to IT managers can testify to the ramped-up demand for IT consultants and work in places they’ve never been used before.  And with this new magic bullet, the economy has fared about as well as Yahoo: some success, some steps backwards, and plenty of speculation about what is to come.  IT turns out that both a tough global market and a record-breaking recession are not easily vanquished by even the magic bullet of technology—no matter how dazzling or quickly-evolving it may be.

 

Soft Skills IT Professionals Should Acquire

Having strong resumes in the Information Technology field is obviously imperative to nabbing IT jobs.  However, having some key soft skills carries a surprising amount of weight in the interview process for IT managers and IT recruiters.   While the value of these soft skills is different depending on the IT recruiting companies and jobs, the list of skills below are all worth working on as an IT professional.

Service skills: Working on these skills pay off particularly well in support positions or positions with a lot of client/end user interaction.

1. Flexibility/adaptability
2. Problem-solving skills
3. Positive attitude
4. Customer service

Internal Employee skills: These skills will serve anybody well within the office.  Whether it comes to how managers or co-works view you, these skills will come in handy.

1. Confidence
2. Independence and work ethic
3. Ability to accept and use feedback
4. Creativity
5. Time management
6. Teamwork

 

Professional Failure in IT

Failure actually holds a high place in information technology.  IT professionals are constantly testing programs, code, potential solutions, etc.  Every time a test fails, IT consultants learn something.  IT contractors and IT managers could also learn quite a bit from embracing failure as professionals, too.  Having pristine resumes certainly attracts IT recruiters and lands jobs quickly.  However, making mistakes at work and even getting fired a time or two will teach you quite a bit.

It’s worth finding the value in the lessons that can be learned from making professional mistakes.  Obviously there are costs to these mistakes and the aim is to avoid them on the whole.  When they happen, though, we can learn a lot about our strengths and weaknesses as professionals.  We can also learn about how to become more resilient in the face of hardship so that future hiccups aren’t as difficult to deal with.  There are plenty of interesting articles about the coping tools we can develop to deal with failure and rejection, and these are worth checking out.  It’s also imperative to just start accepting that failure is inevitable sometimes and the best thing we can do is learn to appreciate its effects on our lives.  Learning more about our jobs, professional field and skills, or just about ourselves, is certainly not a bad thing.  And in the long run, that’s exactly what you can frame past failures as: learning opportunities.

 

How to Be a Better IT Leader

The most prized IT professionals that IT recruiters want to work with are the ones with not only stellar resumes, but stellar leadership skills.  Because the information technology field is overrun with project-based work, IT managers often prefer to use teams to accomplish tasks.  IT contractors that can effectively lead their teams to success are thus highly prized.  What are some ways IT consultants can sharpen their leadership skills?

One surefire way to become a better leader is to make sure your focus is shifted from hierarchy and job descriptions to the goals of the team.  The most effective leaders are the ones who are not seeking a title and glory, but success for the entire team in their goals.  If you provide guidance for your team members in orienting them towards the team’s goals and helping them contribute towards these goals, even if it means straying from original job descriptions or doing tasks that might feel ‘beneath you,’ you will earn a great deal of respect as a leader.

Another way to improve your leadership abilities is to maintain a positive and warm demeanor.  Sometimes leaders are not just responsible for their written duties or making sure their team gets to the finish line, so to speak.  Sometimes, their responsibilities are slightly more intangible.  Research consistently shows that positivity and being relatable are some of the most important traits in a leader.  If you can keep the right attitude at work, you can inspire your teammates to do the same and to avoid the distractions and destruction of negative thoughts and attitudes.  Being relatable makes it easier for your teammates and followers to trust you.  Combined, these two traits, no matter how ‘fluffy’ they might seem, are invaluable for leaders of IT teams.

 

Should IT Professionals Shake Hands During Cold and Flu Season?

IT recruiters and IT professionals from Boston to Los Angeles are finding themselves in the midst of cold and flu season.  While there are plenty of issues that come with cold and flu season, one of the most surprising is dealing with handshakes.  Everyone in the Information technology field, from IT headhunters to IT managers to IT consultants, all are likely to be faced with a situation that requires a handshake.  Sometimes it’s for interviews for IT jobs or sometimes it’s merely for an introduction. Whatever the case, though, a simple gesture becomes a bit of a minefield when one party is sick.

So what should be considered if IT contractors or IT professionals find themselves in a moment where a handshake is necessary, but they or the other party is sick?  The handshake is a surprisingly important gesture in American business culture.  It’s best to do everything you can to not avoid making it.  Washing your hands ahead of time, taking cold or flu medication, and using hand sanitizer discreetly are all acceptable ways to sanitize a handshake so it’s safe for both parties.   Doing these and still shaking your business acquaintance’s hand is preferable to withholding a handshake.  If you are the one who is well, simply shake the other person’s hand and proceed to wash your hands well afterwards.   The likelihood of avoiding a cold simply by avoiding a handshake is relatively low anyways.  Most viruses are airborne or wind up being unavoidable during this season.  Why possibly hurt a business relationship for only a slightly likely edge for your health?

 

Keeping Your Speech Professional at Your IT Job

IT professionals tend to work behind the scenes in less formal settings, but even those who do can make missteps in their speech and hurt their professional reputations with their IT recruiters, IT managers, or coworkers.  Below are a few things for IT contractors to avoid and suggestions to improve the way they communicate at their IT jobs.

Speed:  IT consultants who speak at a moderate, even pace, especially during stressful times, will give off the best impressions.  It’s easy to speak too quickly, particularly when you’re nervous or the people around you are nervous.  Maintaining an even pace helps you to stay calm and gives off a calmer air to everyone else.  This calmness can also be very effective in giving people the impression that you are competent and trustworthy because people who feel confident in their abilities to deal with a situation will usually sound pretty even-toned.

Pauses: Obviously resumes full of relevant skills and experience are the best way to demonstrate your competence to IT recruiting companies and managers.  However, a well-timed pause can go a long way to this goal, as well.  If you replace every “um,” “ah,’” “like,” or “you know” with a simple pause, you can increase other’s confidence in you.  People would rather you say nothing as you consider the next thing you’re saying rather than reach for a verbal stall like “um.”  The switch seems small, but it will make a big difference.

Cursing:  The rule of thumb with cursing is to generally avoid it.  There is a big caveat here, though.  A rare and well-timed curse in front of the right people can help you bond a bit with coworkers or possibly clients.  Sometimes it’s helpful for everyone to drop their professional demeanor for a moment and reveal their more human side.  If you think it’s a good time or place to do that, a mild curse can help.  Exercise caution with this tactic, though.

 

How IT Managers Can Deliver Negative Feedback Effectively

One of the toughest duties managers in information technology take on is delivering negative feedback to the IT contractors who report to them.  IT jobs can be high stress and difficult in their own right, so the best IT professionals in management positions know how to give negative feedback in a way that does not exacerbate any existing stressful circumstances.  There are a couple of major things to seriously consider so that IT consultants receive negative feedback in a constructive way.

IT managers should start by making sure that negative feedback is given in a conversation full of positive feedback, as well.  Starting with an honest, genuine compliment will put the IT professional at ease.  Ending the conversation with one will also help keep the entire experience a positive, constructive one.  People tend to remember endings and beginnings better than any other part of a conversation.

The second thing to consider is how the negative feedback can be approached.  If you approach it as an issue that you as the manager and your report need to deal with together, things will be better.  Giving the report the feeling that you’re truly on their team will make them feel more open to finding solutions.  Speaking of solutions, it’s also important that the conversation revolve around those.  It’s important to identify the problem, but making sure it gets fixed and doesn’t happen in the future is far more important.  Note that both of these tips require a face-to-face interaction.  You can’t create a team and solution-oriented feeling over an email in the way that you could in person or on the phone (at the very least).