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Tag Archives: IT headhunters

Could You Do an IT Job From Home?

IT recruiters all over the US are pretty familiar with one request when it comes to IT jobs: IT professionals very often want the option to work from home some of the time, if not all the time.  IT recruiting agencies certainly do get their fair share of jobs that allow at least some flexibility to work from home.  However, technical recruiters can’t just fill these jobs with anybody.  IT recruiters search for somebody with some particular skills and a set-up at home.  This is what IT staffing firms will look for if you want to talk about jobs that allow you to work from home.

Firstly, IT recruiting firms look for a proven ability to work with little-to-no supervision.  This is might seem simple, but it requires real discipline and problem-solving skills.  IT staffing agencies need to know that the people they submit for work from home jobs will be able to stay on track with their work even if they don’t have their boss checking in every 5 minutes.  They also need to know that these people can direct their own work, solve problems on their own, and generally save their bosses the burden of having to do much managing.

Secondly, IT staffing companies need to know that the people they submit for work from home jobs have a good setup to get their work done.  A home office is optimal, but not entirely necessary.  However, childcare arrangements are necessary.  Workers need to be able to focus entirely on their jobs, and childcare will almost always conflict with this.

Lastly, IT headhunters are looking for people who will make themselves available to their coworkers, clients, managers, etc.  Working from home requires a lot of independence, but the best employees who work remotely make themselves easily accessible for work questions.  Being physically absent from the office is no excuse for being difficult to reach—in fact, it makes this quality all the more imperative.

 

Information Technology Hiring Projected To Increase This Quarter

While the information technology field has still certainly kept afloat in the past recessions, it looks like things are about to get even better for IT consultants, IT recruiters, and IT managers.  Recent projections show a probably uptick in hiring IT contractors for this quarter.  What should IT professionals do with this information?  Act on it!

If you’re looking for new IT jobs, or have even vaguely considered the possibility, now is the time to make yourself available to technical recruiters and IT staffing firms.  Polish up your resumes and contact your favorite IT headhunters today.  Even if hiring takes a week or month to actually pick up, you’ll be ready when it does.

 

Do You Answer This Question Right in IT Job Interviews?

IT contractors may encounter some tough questions in interviews for IT jobs.  One of the toughest questions IT consultants may have to answer isn’t about their resumes and isn’t one that IT recruiters or IT staffing firms are likely to prepare them for.  It is (or is some form of) ‘What do you see yourself doing in 5 years?’ 

While IT staffing agencies and technical recruiters can remind you to study up on relevant technologies or to practice basic interview questions, it’s up to you to practice a good response to questions about your long term goals.  The key to answering this question well is making sure the job you’re interviewing for is a part of it, but not just a stepping stone.  Giving the impression that you’ll be in and out of the company quickly would be a bad way to respond to a question like this.  Practice answering this question with your IT recruiting companies and IT headhunters or perhaps just with a trusted, knowledgeable friend or family member.  If you have a basic answer practiced, you’ll be ready to answer any iteration of this question well.

 

A Tip to Make Your IT Job Interviews Even Better

The art of acing interviews for IT jobs is complex—IT contractors have to be well-versed on their information technology knowledge, their knowledge of the company of they’re interviewing at, and in interview etiquette.  This is all pretty standard stuff that IT consultants know to practice and IT recruiters and IT staffing agencies know to help prepare them for. There are some things that will help IT professionals go above and beyond, though and really impress their interviewers and technical recruiters.  Here is an important tip to set you apart at your next interview.

Stretch your interviewing muscle and get warmed up. In some ways, interviewing for a job can be like playing a sport.  Try practicing a few interview questions within the hours before you got to the job interview.  Do it with a friend, family member, your IT headhunters you’re working with, or just in front of a mirror. Start cutting any inappropriate interview language out of your speech so you’re already used to it when you show up at your potential employer’s office.  Get your head in the zone as you travel there.  Interviewing requires a different mind-set and you’ll do yourself a favor if you’re already in it the moment you arrive at the interview.  Think about the way professional sports players have been running drills for at least 30 minutes before a big game and apply that to your next interview.  It will help you really hit a home run.

 

Important Texting Tips for IT Consultants

With smartphones becoming more and more prevalent, IT recruiters and IT consultants are finding that they’re using texting more and more often in their IT jobs and their IT job searches.  While the nature of texting is always a bit more casual, there are a few things IT contractors should avoid when texting with colleagues, clients, or technical recruiters and IT staffing firms.

Firstly, IT professionals should never use texting to schedule things.  You don’t know if your text will be received.  Sometimes texting isn’t a mode of communication somebody uses, or uses frequently enough.  A phone call or email makes things obvious and lets you know that everyone is aware of the date, location and time of a meeting.

Secondly, always double-check your messages before sending them.  Autocorrect can make a mess of a professional, well-worded message.  Don’t risk offending somebody or coming off poorly, especially when they hold your career in their hands.  Take a few seconds to re-read texts before sending them to IT staffing companies, coworkers, or clients.

Lastly, leave all negativity out of texts.  While in a phone conversation you can soften the blow of bad news or any negative statements, you can’t do the same in a text.  It’s better to keep texts neutral or collegial and warm, because you know there is no way you’ll be upsetting the recipient.

Emails Your IT Coworkers Will Always Read and Respond To

All IT professionals have, at some point or another, had a tough time getting their IT managers or coworkers to read or respond to an email. Information technology is a busy field, and sometimes IT contractors are too swamped to be able to respond to all their emails quickly. In these cases, IT consultants should want to get attention with their emails, but not be too aggressive and build bad reputations (perhaps tarnishing their chances of working with IT recruiters again or getting new IT Jobs). Here are some ways to make sure that your emails are read, but IT headhunters and IT staffing firms don’t know you as the one who’s ‘difficult to work with.’

1. Start with a really positive re line. If you use things people want to hear, like ‘Good news,’ you’ll definitely increase the likelihood your emails will be seen and responded to. It’s always easier to respond to a pleasant, positive email.

2. Make a reference to a request they’ve made or one of their top priorities (if it’s actually relevant) in your re line and early on in your email. It’s always a sure way to get somebody’s attention if you write your email with their perspectives and values in mind.

3. Keep it quick. Whatever the content you use, keep your email short. Shorter emails are easier to respond to. In a time crunch, the easier your email is to deal with, the more likely you’ll get a response.

 

IT Contracting- More Popular Than Ever

Information technology has always had a lot of contracting, but as of late IT professionals are finding themselves in contractor positions even more.  Why are IT recruiters and IT staffing firms searching for more IT contractors than ever?  There are a few reasons.

Firstly, more and more start-ups are growing and starting in the recovering economy.  This means that IT headhunters are more likely to look for IT consultants to work at these start-ups.  Since a bad hire can be particularly disastrous for a small company in its early years, hiring contractors is a good way to minimize this risk.  Companies and professionals can make sure the fit for IT jobs is good before really making a binding employment commitment.

Secondly, plenty of companies that aren’t strictly in the IT sector are finding a need for IT professionals to do small projects for them.  Rather than needing these professionals full time, they only need them for a short period of time, thus making contracting a popular option.

Lastly, it’s worth reiterating that IT has always been a contractor-heavy industry.  As it grows (and it is definitely growing) so will its demand for contractors. 

 

 

Don’t Say These Things As You Quit Your IT Job!

Since a lot of work is project-oriented in information technology, most IT contractors find themselves leaving IT jobs somewhat frequently. What IT consultants say on the last day of the job, whether their IT recruiters and IT staffing firms have found them a new job or not.  Here are a few guidelines for IT professionals on what they should not be saying on their last day at job.

Don’t blast the company, job, your boss and coworkers, or the product or service.  Assume anything negative you say will eventually get back to somebody.  IT can be a small industry, and you’d never want to burn a bridge or tarnish your own reputation.  It’s not worth it– no matter how good it would feel to let the criticism fly.

Don’t say anything about counteroffers and try to end all conversations about them ASAP.  In the long run, nobody is actually happy at a place that gives them a counteroffer.  It’s not worth getting into any haggling over one, either.  Keeping things civil and clean is your best bet.

Don’t frame your decision to leave as something related to money.  This will make things awkward and potentially do a lot of harm to your reputation.  IT recruiters and IT staffing agencies don’t like to work with  IT professionals who just jump from job to job, seeking the highest compensation. Don’t make it seem possible to view you in that light.

 

Words IT Professionals Shouldn’t Use in Their LinkedIn Profiles

Any IT contractors looking for new IT jobs know that their LinkedIn profile is almost as important as resumes are.  IT recruiting agencies and new potential employers alike are drawn to IT consultants with concise, effective LinkedIn profiles that clearly demonstrate their experience in the information technology industry.  Here are some key words to scrub from your profile (and resumes) so technical recruiters and IT staffing agencies start calling you nonstop.

  1. Buzzwords: People-pleaser, synergy, team player, go-getter, etc.  Just hold back on these.  They don’t actually do you any favors because they’ve been used so frequently that they’re pretty meaningless.  It’s also far more effective to show you have these qualities through any achievements at work or recommendations you get from previous bosses, etc.
  2. I, Me, My, She, He, and other pronouns.  Generally, you don’t need to be speaking about yourself or others directly.  Doing so can get awkward at best and look downright narcissistic in the worst case scenario. While it wasn’t always true, IT companies currently tend to really value hiring somebody with a great personality.  Don’t risk making it look like you don’t have one by using pronouns in your LI profile.
  3. Ninja and other ‘creative’ titles.  While these might fit into your culture at work right now, they may turn off IT headhunters or potential new IT managers.  Better to keep your profile pretty conventional—your skills and experience is what will really turn heads.

Illegal Interview Questions For IT Job Seekers

For IT contractors hunting for new IT jobs, sometimes it’s hard to think critically about the questions interviewers ask.  IT recruiters and IT staffing companies can prepare IT consultants for the questions they’ll be asked.  However, there are always some questions that seem to come out of the blue.  Sometimes, these questions veer away from legal topics, like resumes, technical knowledge, etc, and into the illegal.  IT Professionals can review the below list so they won’t be caught off guard when they’re asked about one of these off-limits topics.

Criminal history:  In some states, while a background check is legal, asking about criminal history is not.  Even if it is legal, this kind of question isn’t really appropriate for interviews.

Marital status: Again, marital status isn’t always illegal to ask about, but it’s pretty much always inappropriate.  Employers may be trying to fish for a few pieces of information that just aren’t fair to judge you on as a potential employee.

Religion: Like marital status and criminal history, this isn’t always illegal.  If you think you’re being asked the question out of discriminatory motives, this is important to note and probably discuss with your IT headhunters.

Age: Sometimes interviewers slip and try to ask about age.  There are plenty of reasons why answering this question outright can be harmful to you as a potential employee.  Check in your state’s laws to see if this question is illegal and consider how you’ll protect yourself if it is.