Tag Archives: IT consultants

The Ice Bucket Challenge Reaches the IT Field

IT professionals all over the information technology field have been talking about the infamous ice bucket challenge.  While the ice bucket challenge has certainly made it into the social media feeds of professionals everywhere, IT consultants and IT recruiters are particularly likely to have seen it because social media is so prevalent in the field and often actually used as part of IT jobs.

While we know the ice bucket challenge has become popular with IT contractors and IT headhunters everywhere, it’s especially surprising that some big CEO’s of IT companies are doing the ice bucket challenge now, too! Most recently, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Tim Cook, and Mark Zuckerberg have all gotten drenched for the cause.  The high level of participation in this creative campaign highlights the can-do, up-for anything attitude that IT tends to have.

3 Ways to Be a Hit in Your New IT Job!

In a field like information technology, where people tend to move jobs a bit more often, IT consultants are often starting new IT jobs.  While just landing a new job is a success, IT contractors shouldn’t view this as their opportunity to slack off.  The first few months of a new job are crucial for IT professionals.  Performing well in this window of time could yield a few benefits: creating a great relationship with coworkers, and bosses, as well as adding onto a good reputation that will impress IT recruiters and IT staffing firms.  Be vigilant about these things in your first few months of a job.

-Follow the rules to a T.  Don’t break the dress code, even if everyone else might.  Don’t come in late or leave early.  Take your allotted lunch time only. Leave your cell phone in your desk drawer during work hours.  While you can (probably) ease up on the rules in the future, it’s better to give the best impression you can initially.  Be a model employee while all eyes are on you, the newbie.

-Build a strong understanding of your job and how you fit into the company.  Get training on your job if it’s offered and learn everything you can about what you can do to succeed in your role.  But don’t stop there.  Figure out what’s going on in the company at large so you have a better understanding of what you’re doing and how it impacts the company.

–Figure out the corporate culture.  Fitting into the corporate culture can have a far higher impact on your job performance than you might think.  Pay attention to how things are done and not done at your new company.  You don’t have to conform completely, but changing your ways to fit the culture will go a long way with your coworkers and superiors.

 

 

Don’t Get Hired for the Wrong IT Job for You!

Bad hiring mistakes happen (and they are definitely terrible for all IT consultants, managers, coworkers, and technical recruiters involved). However, as an IT professional, you can take steps to protect yourself from being hired for the wrong IT jobs. Beyond polishing your resumes and working with only the best IT recruiters and IT staffing firms, here is what you can do:

-Don’t rush things. Your job search isn’t a race and you’re more likely to wind up a in a bad job if you are moving too fast. Really consider every job offer you get before accepting. Make sure it meets all your needs and you meet all the company’s needs.

-Don’t take a role you aren’t sure you can totally fill. If you’re fully confident you can do everything in the job description, or at least have the skills to learn a few things you haven’t done before, it’s a good fit. If you’re not sure about most of the job requirements, this may not be the right job for you.

-Keep a balance in emphasis on cultural fit/perks and everything else. If you love the corporate culture and/or perks but aren’t sure about the job, the commute, the compensation, or something else, stop and think about it. Working with coworkers you love is important. It’s not going to fix larger issues, though.

 

Are You Asking These Important Questions at Your New IT Job?

Most IT contractors find themselves starting new IT jobs more often than professionals in fields outside of information technology.  There are plenty of ways IT staffing firms and IT headhunters can help prep you for your first day at a new job, but there are certainly some questions that IT consultants should be sure they ask their new coworkers and bosses.  Here are some questions below that will help IT professionals succeed in a new job.

1. What are some of the biggest challenges people in our department face?  How can I prepare for them?

2. How will I know when I’ve been successful at this job?  How will I know when I’m not meeting expectations?

3. What can I do to match my work style to our manager’s?

4. What can I do to match my work style to my team’s?

5. Is there any advice you’d give to somebody starting my job?

Are You Actively Preparing For Your IT Interviews?

IT contractors who have been on the hunt for IT jobs before are probably used to being pretty passive, especially if they worked with IT recruiters or IT staffing agencies.  The process can feel very much like the employer is in charge, not the IT consultants interviewing.  However, if you take a more active role in your search, whether you’re working with technical recruiters or not, you’ll be more likely to find a role you love.  Here’s how:

Firstly, make sure you get a few pieces of information from your IT headhunters who set up your interviews.  Ask them not only where you’re going and when, but also who you’ll be meeting with, how long the interview is likely to be and what materials you can prepare or study beforehand.  Most IT staffing firms will make sure you have this info.  If you’re not working with IT recruiting firms or you just didn’t get this info, it’s your responsibility to ask!

Next, work through this info to help yourself prepare.  Research the company, the people you’ll be meeting with, and any topics you were alerted to be ready to speak on.  You may not use all the info you find, but at least some of it will be useful.  Perhaps you have some connections on LinkedIn in common with your interviewer, or you have a few alum from your school working at the company.  This information is worth having in your pocket in case the opportunity comes up to mention it.

Lastly, prepare all the easy things for yourself ahead of time.  Make sure you set aside everything you’ll need for the interview ahead of time.  Resumes, portfolios, suit, nice shoes, etc should all be set aside and ready at least the night before the interview, if not a day or so earlier.  It’s also ideal to actually practice getting yourself to the interview site ahead of time if you can.  Be aware of any traffic patterns that might get in your way and avoid them.

 

3 Quick Ways to Improve Your IT Job Search

The information technology industry is constantly changing and to some extent, so are the ways IT contractors find IT jobs.  While IT consultants can always count on IT recruiters and IT staffing agencies to provide them with great connections to companies that are hiring, there are some things that IT professionals can do to make sure they’re the most marketable candidate on their technical recruiters’ rosters.

1. Modernize and optimize resumes.  Take out objectives and any jobs that are older than the last decade or so.  Both date you too much in an industry that tends to favor youth over experience.  Do put a ‘Technical Proficiencies’ section at the top of your resume, listing all technologies and skills you are current on.   This will garner attention from IT headhunters and hiring managers alike.

2. Polish your interview skills.  Be prepared for phone interviews, face-to-face interviews, or even skype or other forms of interviews.  Be ready to answer questions about the technologies you specialize in.  Recruiters can prepare you to some extent, but having the basic skills already down can make a big difference.

3.  Know what you want.  Have a clear idea about what you want in your next position.  Nobody can help you get the best new job for you if you don’t have good ideas about what kind of work, compensation, environment, coworkers, and bosses you do best with.

 

How to Spot the Best IT Bosses for You

IT consultants change IT jobs more frequently than most other professionals.  With more frequent job changes, come more frequent changes of bosses.  IT professionals need to sharpen their abilities to spot not only the kinds of jobs that fit their resumes, but the kinds of bosses that fit their work styles.  While IT recruiters and IT staffing firms can help with this, it’s important for IT contractors to be able to spot a great boss for them without help from technical recruiters.  Here are two signs somebody will be a great boss for you:

They let you complete your work and solve problems in ways that challenge and interest you and are within your abilities.  Obstinate bosses who might respond to your work style with rigid rejections are going to be a bad fit in the long run.  Try asking about their management style in your interview.

They don’t rule by fear.  A boss can be loved or feared.  The best bosses are the ones who inspire great things in their employees because of good relationships.  The worst ones force employees to perform under pressure all the time.  This isn’t sustainable long term and it’s also incredibly unpleasant.  You can get an idea of whether a manager is appreciated or feared by his employees by looking on Glassdoor, checking any contacts you might have within that company, or asking about why the previous person in your potential job left.

 

Add these Words to Your IT Resume for 70% More Attention!

Creating perfect resumes isn’t easy, no matter how experienced your IT recruiters may be.  It seems like there’s always some new trick that fellow IT contractors’ IT headhunters gave them.   Today it’s your turn to be one of those IT consultants with the newest info on how to create the resume that gets you your dream IT jobs! A recent survey revealed some exceptionally effective words you can make sure are in your resume.  It’s likely these words will bring you 70% more attention from IT staffing firms and hiring managers.

  • Experience
  • Management
  • Project
  • Development
  • Business
  • Skill
  • Professional
  • Knowledge
  • Year
  • Team
  • Leadership

 

Don’t Make These Mistakes at Your IT Job!

You don’t have to be in one of your first jobs in information technology to be making some mistakes that really hurt your career.  IT contractors could easily wind up missing some social cues for workplaces that really hurt their reputation with other IT consultants they work with or the IT recruiters they want to work with in the future.  Even if IT headhunters find IT professionals with sparkling resumes who ace interviews, they’ll likely not want to work with them if they make these huge mistakes at their IT jobs.

  1. Your managers and superiors aren’t your friends.  While they’re trained to be friendly and make you feel comfortable, it’s important not to overstep your employee-manager boundaries.  This includes at work, on social media, and at work functions.
  2. Be careful about venting.  Don’t vent about the difficulties of your job to anybody at work, and try to hold off from doing it in public.  This also includes social media.  If you wouldn’t want your boss or clients to hear it, don’t make it possible it could get back to them.
  3. Don’t overshare.  Be stringent with personal information you share.  This is for your sake and your coworkers and managers.  It’s usually best to keep personal information to yourself, especially in a new workplace.  You never know who might spread information or who you might be making uncomfortable with your own personal stories.

 

Things You Should Never Say In IT Job Interviews

IT recruiting firms will always put plenty of time into prepping IT consultants and their resumes for interviews for IT jobs.  However, there are some things IT contractors need to do to prepare themselves on their own.  Below are some of the things that technical recruiters may not warn you about, but you should never say in a job interview—whether in the information technology field or any other field.

1. Coarse language.  It’s obvious but it’s worth noting.  Even if your interviewer lets a curse word drop, try to abstain yourself.  It’s better to avoid anything but perfectly neutral, professional language in an interview.

2. Don’t portray yourself as a victim.  Employers want to see potential employees who can solve problems themselves.  Victims succumb to their problems and are overwhelmed by them.  They tend to require a manager’s valuable time and energy to be ‘saved’ from issues. Don’t be a victim.  Be empowered and an ideal employee.

3. Avoid placeholder words and imprecise words.  Anything like ‘uh, um, whatnot, you know, etc.’ don’t do much to help you.  The best thing to do if you’re having trouble completing a sentence or thinking of what to say is to pause.  Your silence will connote a real attention to presentation and detail.  Haphazardly throwing out a word so you can move on in the sentence says something a little less flattering about you.

Don't say 'um' in IT job interviews!
Stop saying ‘um’ and other placeholder words in interviews. They’re hurting you more than you know.