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Tag Archives: IT recruiting agencies

Avoid These Issues in IT Job Interviews

IT recruiters can often give IT contractors direct feedback on why they don’t get IT jobs, but sometimes the reason is more nebulous.  Technical recruiters may not even hear from the company about these reasons, but sometimes companies will disqualify a candidate for things that are hard or awkward to explain.  While IT staffing firms can prepare you for the basic requirements of IT job interviews, only you can try to prevent yourself from disqualification for one of these reasons.

You were desperate.  If you reek of desperation, interviewers will unfortunately be turned off and question whether you could do a great job.  This is a hard thing for IT recruiting companies to help candidates avoid, but you can do a few things on your own to mitigate coming off as desperate.   Try relaxing and focusing only on the questions at hand.  Make sure to take a breath before you speak and speak slightly slower than you may normally.  Most people speak quickly when they’re nervous.  Lastly, if you’re feeling desperate, try to hold yourself back a bit and really edit what you say or do.  Showing enthusiasm is fine and IT staffing companies certainly want you to look interested in the job.  However, you want to avoid seeming like you think the job is too good for you.  Your interviewer will pick up on this and wonder the same thing!

You weren’t  likeable.  Again, this is hard thing to even begin to qualify, let alone for IT recruiting firms to help you avoid.  But, you can do a few things to make yourself more likeable.  Smile, try to relax, and engage in small talk if your interviewer does.  Hold back any possibly controversial opinions, stories, or speech.  Offending your interviewer is the easiest way to destroy your image as likeable.

You smelled or looked odd.  This seems like a small thing, but it really is important.  IT staffing agencies will likely not be able to tell you that you smell, but this is something to think about before you go to the interview. Make sure to shower and avoid wearing any strong cologne or perfume.  Sometimes people are allergic , or simply don’t like these things.  Wear clothes that are conventional for the industry.  Check in with your IT recruiting agencies if you’re unsure, but usually a simple, conservative suit that fits well will work.  Bright colors or patters aren’t your best bet here.

 

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.

 

The Best IT Professionals Have These Traits

The IT professionals that IT recruiters love working with, the ones that land IT jobs over and over again, have at least a few traits in common.  Technical recruiters look for great resumes, excellent references, and strong interview skills.  But there are some things that IT staffing firms look for in an IT consultant that are a bit more intangible.  One of the most important things IT recruiting agencies like to find in a candidate is an ability to work well with IT managers.  How can you make sure you’ve got this ability?  Here are some tips.

Firstly, be easy to manage and coach.  IT recruiting companies look for people who make a manager’s job easy.  Take feedback well and be proactive with it.  Think about things from the manager’s, company’s and team’s perspective.  Acting with these things in mind will make your work meet and exceed a manager’s expectations.

Secondly, take up as little of your manager’s time as possible.  Managers are busy and they don’t need employees who require any more of their work day than absolutely necessary.  Keep emails, phone calls, and face-to-face conversations short and to the point (unless it would come off as rude).  Solve as much of your problems on your own as you can.  These are the things that really endear an employee to an IT manager—and to the IT staffing companies they work with.

 

3 Little Things IT Contractors Should Know about IT Job Interviews

Most IT consultants know that there’s a certain etiquette for interviewing for IT jobs.  There are the easy rules, like what to wear, what to bring with you, and what not to say.  However, IT contractors will make their IT recruiters and IT staffing firms very happy if they are aware of some of the smaller, more nuanced rules of interview etiquette as well.  Here are some things that seem small, if you pay attention to them it will really impress your IT recruiting agencies and technical recruiters—and it may just land you that dream job.

  1. Be on time, but don’t be too early.  Especially in information technology, you won’t be doing yourself a favor to show up 30 minutes early.  If anything, you may really inconvenience your interviewers, since they may feel rushed to meet with you.  If you’re more than 10 minutes early, walk around the block or grab some coffee to kill time.
  2. Speaking of that coffee, don’t bring it into the building with you.  It’s distracting and makes it look like you’re not prepared to start interviewing.  Don’t bring any snacks or cell phone calls with you either.  Just sit patiently and quietly in the reception area, so it seems like you’re ready to go, but at your interviewer’s leisure.
  3. Lastly, be kind and polite to any receptionists, drivers, etc you may encounter in your potential employer’s building.  Some companies, like tech giant Zappos, actually speak to these people about you later.  If you’re rude or difficult, that could lose you the job!

 

Interview Thank You Note Tips for IT Consultants

Most IT consultants hunting for new IT jobs know a lot about how to polish resumes and ace interviews.  However, it’s almost as important for IT contractors to do something they rarely do: write excellent thank you notes after interviews. Here are some pointers that will help you write thank you notes that wow IT recruiters, IT staffing firms, and hiring managers.

Write a timely thank you note, but take your time writing it.  Whether you send the thank you note yourself, or your technical recruiters or IT recruiting agencies send them for you, make sure the note is free of errors and thoughtful.  It will make a far worse impression to just dash a note off for the sake of doing so—no matter how good the interview may have gone.

Don’t cross any boundaries. Being overly friendly or familiar in your note will make the hiring managers uncomfortable and your IT staffing agencies upset with you.  Remember to remain professional in the note.

Make sure the note highlights not only why you’d be a great candidate, but also shows that you paid attention and learned more about the company.  Making the note all about your own candidacy will make you look like less than a team player.

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.

Does Being Late Always Hurt Your IT Career?

For things like interviews, all IT recruiters require their IT contractors to be on time– or preferably, early.  But when it comes to day-to-day events or meetings, can IT professionals be late without hurting their reputations or losing their IT jobs?  The answer seems to be less than straightforward.

While no IT recruiting agencies would recommend that IT consultants be late on a regular basis, or really ever, it seems to work out alright for some IT managers.  Yahoo star Marissa Mayer is said to be constantly late for meetings.  Most Google execs are also often late to meetings, according to urban legend.  So perhaps the lesson here is that lateness is ok– if you’re a superstar.  Then again, maybe not!

 

 

How to Network Better in IT

Even in a field largely populated with introverts, like information technology, it’s important to know how to network.  IT contractors need to be able to network with IT recruiters, IT managers, and other IT professionals.  There are ways for even the most introverted IT consultant to network effectively, though, whether with IT recruiting agencies or other IT professionals.

  1. Make your networking goal-oriented—towards the right goal.  Good networking is done to help others, not oneself.  If  you have a purpose in conversation, mainly to see how you can help somebody else, you will have a far less awkward and uncomfortable conversation.  The payoff will obviously come later when you operate with this goal, but it will come in spades.  People will remember you fondly and be eager to return the favors you’ve done in the future.
  2. Focus on the quality of your connections, not the quantity of them.  Don’t spread yourself too thin.  Have a manageable number of contacts that you can reliably offer to help once in a while.
  3. Find venues that you enjoy.  You don’t have to network at ‘networking events.’  Meeting new people who are in your field can be done anywhere.  Keep business cards on you even when you’re off duty.  Be open to small conversations in unexpected situations.  These will make for the best connections anyways—they will be the most memorable.

 

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.

 

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.