Tag Archives: IT jobs

Why Taking a Counteroffer in IT isn’t Your Best Bet

Information technology’s shorter, project-driven timelines tend to make it more common for IT professionals to find themselves with counteroffers from their IT jobs.  IT recruiters of course often tend to vehemently argue against taking counteroffers.  There are some solid reasons IT contractors should stop and consider this point of view.

The first reason IT staffing companies tend to recommend that IT consultants not take a counteroffer from their employer is that the outcome may not be particularly rosy.  By indicating that you’re ready to leave, you’ve already demonstrated a breach of loyalty and trust.  This won’t be forgotten, no matter how desperately your employer fights to keep you.  Additionally, your counteroffer will certainly make its way around the office, so you may not only lose fans in your managers, but also your co-workers.  Coworkers may resent your heightened compensation and the way you got it.  Research suggests that over 90% of those who took counteroffers wound up leaving their employer anyways after less than a year.  You may also wind up having to leave of your own accord.  Even if your employer fights to keep you and your coworkers are not upset with you, the floor may fall out from under you when they find a new, more loyal replacement for you.

The second reason IT recruiting companies discourage taking counteroffers is that the change you’re seeking won’t likely come with a counteroffer.  If you’ve been hunting for a new job, chances are that money isn’t your only concern.  If your IT managers truly valued you, they’d respond with money or some other arrangement if you voiced concerns.  Or perhaps you’re looking for growth that simply isn’t possible in your role or company.  You may even simply be seeking a change.  No matter the reasons, both the ones that are obvious to you and are more subconscious, you aren’t likely to find them back at your old employer, even with more money or a promotion.  You started your job search because you couldn’t find something(s) at your current position.  It’s time to go pursue those things elsewhere.

Career U-Turns in IT

Information technology requires IT professionals to move IT jobs a bit more often than the average professional for a number of reasons.  But even IT contractors haven’t really considered going back to the previous employers a generally acceptable career move until somewhat recently.  Now, it is far more acceptable for IT consultants to consider jobs from IT recruiters that are at a previous employer.

Should you consider going back to a previous employer if IT headhunters approach you with a job there?  Only if you can honestly say yes to a few criteria:

1. You didn’t leave because of things that are likely still true of this employer.  If you left because a contract ended and things were on good terms, this is an opportunity worth considering.  If you left because the workplace culture was a bad fit and you can’t definitively, without a doubt decide if it’s changed, this is not a good place to return to.

2. You aren’t looking to go back because you don’t like your current employer.  Going back to a previous employer, unless you loved them, is not the best way to remedy your unhappiness with a new job.  IT recruiters would rather you find a job you are happy in and want to stay at and work hard at for your entire contract.  If you were only mildly satisfied at this workplace, it’s best to look elsewhere for a better fit.

3. This job will help you continue moving your career forward, or at the very least won’t move it backwards.  Don’t step back just because it’s comfortable.  You’ll regret it later when you are ready to move forwards in your career.  Change and new challenges can be scary, but it’s best to push through them rather than take a step back.

 

Boost Your Career: Offering and Asking for Help in IT

Asking for help can often be perceived as a last resort in information technology, as can offering help.  These actions might either make IT managers and any other IT contractors you work with perceive you as incompetent, or overly confident and having a workload that is unsuitably small.  However, when strategically done,

IT professionals can make a big impression in their IT jobs by offering or asking for some help.

Ask for some help: IT consultants can create a positive impression with their managers and IT recruiters by seeking out feedback and opportunities for growth.  If you ask for help from a manager in making sure you’re meeting expectations or perhaps figuring out how to take on a bigger role in your team, you’ll earn their devotion.  Another way to ask for help and boost your career is to seek out feedback and learning opportunities from very strong coworkers in your field.  Without impinging on their time and expectations, ask a coworker who is great at a skill you’d like to sharpen or acquire to let you watch them or learn from them.  Your ambition to get better at what you do or add to your skill-set will really impress the people you work with.

Offer some help: This one is far easier to implement with a higher impact.  Without impinging upon your own responsibilities, etc, try to identify a few specific things that you can help coworkers or managers with.  Offering to help with specific projects that you’re confident you can contribute effectively to will make a big impression on managers and coworkers.  It’s easy for them to say yes to your offer, and the results will exceed expectations (that you wouldn’t have participated in this project at all).

Giving Gifts in Your IT Job

As the holidays swiftly approach, some IT professionals may be trying to figure out how to give gifts within their office.  IT contractors should exercise some caution before bringing in presents for people at their IT jobs.  There are a few guidelines IT consultants should consider before they purchase gifts for their IT managers or coworkers.

Cost: Don’t spend above $20 on any one person and try to spend the same amount on everybody.

Rank: When it comes to higher ranks, it’s best for gifts to flow downward.  There are instances when it does make sense to buy a boss or manager a gift, but there are a lot of possible issues with this, so it’s better to avoid it or buy one with a your team.

Appropriateness: As with any other instance in the office, jokes are dangerous territory.  Giving gag gifts or things that might be offensive to the recipient (or somebody else) aren’t worth the risk.

Don’t make people feel left out: If you’re only giving gifts to a few people, be discreet.  Some would advise giving gifts to everyone or nobody, and you may choose to heed that advice.  If you don’t, at least try to make it seem as though you did (so don’t give your selected few gifts in front of everyone).

Why Being Laid Back in IT Makes You More Marketable

A recent study shows that IT professionals who work closely with their coworkers are more likely to dislike them.  IT jobs that require IT contractors to work in a heavily team-oriented environment (versus ones that are more independent in nature) will provide far situations in which IT consultants are more likely to get frustrated with coworkers and their work habits.

Knowing about these risks, IT managers want IT headhunters to seek out particular kinds of people for team-oriented positions.  Technical recruiters are specifically looking for people who not only have stellar resumes, but who are also slow to get irritated or upset.  These are the people who will be less likely to hate their coworkers, no matter what their work habits.  More importantly, these are the people IT recruiters can count on to stay calm and get the job done, no matter how their coworkers behave on the job.

Handling Difficult End Users in IT

IT professionals are often faced with difficult end users in their IT jobs.  Even if these end users are less than easy to please and grateful, IT managers count on IT contractors to handle them with grace and top notch customer service.   IT headhunters also deeply value IT consultants who can tout their interpersonal skills, particularly in difficult situations.  How can you sail smoothly through difficult situations with end users?

Set expectations early.  If time is an issue for the user, be upfront about when they will be likely to receive service and a complete solution for their issue.

Maintain a calm, polite demeanor– no matter what.  Keeping your cool will help your end user also maintain a better attitude.  It will also help you to avoid becoming too submissive or domineering.  If you’re too submissive, you might invite abuse.  If you’re too domineering, you may aggravate the user or garner some very bad reviews about your service later.  Keeping your personal interaction unremarkable will make it easy for the end user to focus on the most important thing: the fact that you solve their issue.

Stay focused and only take information that is valuable from the end user.  Sometimes they can, in an attempt to be helpful, give half-baked theories, extra information, or start trying to make small talk.  As mentioned earlier, don’t be rude or dismissive.  Do attempt to keep your eyes on the prize, though and don’t get distracted by extraneous and incorrect information.  Your goal is to fix the end user’s issue, so filter out everything but the useful data to do that.

 

Keeping Stress in IT at the Office

Sometimes information technology can be a stressful field to work in.  IT recruiters can be required to solve problems in tight time frames or for IT managers or end users who are particularly frazzled.  While technical recruiters often warn the IT contractors they work with about possible stressors in a job, sometimes you just can’t be prepared for something stressful at work.  If IT contractors encounter a lot of stress at work, it’s important from them to find a way not to take it out on family, friends, etc.

While IT jobs can be stressful sometimes, IT professionals should try to avoid bringing that stress home with them if they can.  One way to do this is to seek out support before you can bottle up your frustration or anxiety.  Getting on the phone or out to coffee with a trusted mentor, or even just a friend who is willing to listen, will help.  It’s also better to have a few methods for stress relief on hand for when you need them.  Figuring out that a jog after work will make you feel better will also help you ensure that you don’t take work stress out on your family.  The best part of achieving success in this goal is that it will help make you happier.  Being happier around your family or friends after work will make them happier, and their mood will in turn boost your own happiness.

 

Questions to Ask in an IT Job Interview

In a field like information technology, IT professionals often operate on shorter timelines and do short contracts with various companies.  Because IT consultants leave and enter new companies more often than most other professionals, it’s important they are great at impressing IT managers in interviews.  IT contractors can really wow their IT recruiters, IT managers, and score IT jobs when they consider one key fact in their interviews: Making sure they highlight how they can benefit the interviewing manager and company at large.

The best place to do this is in the questions section of an interview.  If you take the time to ask a few well-phrased questions, you can portray yourself as an invaluable asset to managers and teams.  Ask questions that get to the root of what a manager needs.  For instance, consider asking what you’d do in the role that would make the manager’s job easier.  Another way to impress an interviewer is to ask questions about what their best previous and current employees offer them.  If you show that you’re interested in what a company needs, you will exceed their expectations and show how valuable you can be to the company.

 

How to Keep Up Appearances When Telecommuting in IT

IT professionals are more like to get the opportunity to telecommute because of the progressive nature of the information technology industry.  Taking this option, whether it’s full time or only for a few days a month or once a week, brings a specific responsibility, though.  Because IT managers cannot actually see IT contractors working from home, it’s important they find a way to make sure their value and achievements in their IT jobs are highly visible anyways.  There are a few things IT consultants can do to make sure that their time telecommuting still looks highly productive to their IT managers, and in turn, the IT recruiters they work with.

1.    Be very accessible.  Make sure your coworkers and managers know how to reach you (perhaps with several methods) and be very responsive to all these methods.  If you aren’t physically in the office, it’s imperative to still be easy to contact.

2.    Set expectations with your manager, including setting up things like weekly meetings, phone calls, or email updates.  If you prove to your manager that you’re very interested in understanding their expectations and meeting them, you are actually demonstrating something larger.  The more independently you work, the more of an asset you become as an employee.  Getting work done with little management or supervision is golden.

3.    Make sure people know about your accomplishments and contributions.  Whether it’s coworkers or managers, they need a reminder that you still exist as a functioning part of your workplace.  Avoid being obnoxious about it, but do make sure your work speaks for you even if you don’t occupy a cubicle.

 

Taking Risks in Your IT Career

Information technology demands certain certifications and education as entry tickets, but experience counts just as much for IT professionals when it comes to promotions and expanding their careers.  IT headhunters would advise IT contractors to be wary of taking IT jobs they aren’t prepared for, but the IT consultant who takes a job or project that sounds slightly unappealing or a little more challenging will be deeply rewarded.

Challenging experiences at work can really pay off later in the form of better offers of IT jobs from IT staffing agencies, better pay, and better confidence.  Technical recruiters can certainly vouch for the fact that taking some risks or making some sacrifices at work will pay off in the long run.  In such a hot market, no new IT skill will go unrewarded and getting great references or earning the respect of IT managers and IT headhunters will quickly pay off. So the next time you’re offered or come across a job or project outside your usual skill-set, seriously consider diving in anyways.  It might just propel your career to the next level.