Tag Archives: IT recruiting companies

This Will Land You Help Desk Jobs in 2017

Help Desk jobs are slated to be one of the most common jobs that IT recruiters will be filling this year.  IT staffing firms will get a lot of Help Desk roles to fill for two reasons.  Firstly, there’s plenty of turnover in the field (often because of people moving up into new phases of their career).  Secondly, every company these days needs Tech Support.   (This will be especially true this year as the economy continues to recover from the  past recession and companies grow larger.)  With IT recruiting companies expecting to have so many Help Desk job openings this year, this makes people with the right skills and experience in demand.  However, this is still a competitive market.  IT recruiters find that if any section of the tech field is competitive for job seekers, it’s Help Desk.  Here’s the best way to make sure you’re ready to land the Help Desk job you want this year: Get your CompTIA A+ certification.  While some say the certification isn’t worth it, here are 3 reasons technical recruiters would strongly suggest you get.

1. Employers trust this certification.  IT staffing agencies find that employers will always choose to interview or hire the candidate with the CompTIA A+ certification over the ones who don’t.  This certification is comprehensive (covering important topics like installation, preventative maintenance, networking, security and troubleshooting), vetted, and has been around long enough that it’s recognized and respected by pretty much all employers.  It’s also internationally accepted, which says something about how well-regarded it is.

2. You differentiate yourself in a competitive field.  Since the Help Desk market for job seekers is largely entry level, there are more people who claim to have the skills and experience necessary for these jobs than something higher level (like Data Scientist jobs). If you get this certification, you definitely set yourself apart in a section of the tech job market that it’s hard to stand out in.  Though the certification may be getting more common on resumes, it still provides a strong competitive edge.  Employers will always prefer to have the candidate who comes having already learned the skills they need, rather than one that who might have to learn them on the job.    This can be especially imperative in a role like Help Desk, where end users expect speedy, competent service.  Having a CompTIA A+ certification guarantees employers you already have a good base of skills.

3. You’ll get paid more.  When you do land jobs, employers always pay more for CompTIA A+ certified candidates.  While it costs money to get the certification, it’s well worth it in the gains you’ll make your salary immediately and in the future.  Even if you’re not searching for a new job, your current employer will likely give you a raise if you get this certification.  They may even help you pay for the process of obtaining it!

 

helpdesk jobs
Getting the CompTIA A+ certification will make you a more desirable Help Desk candidate. Photo credit: StartUpStockPhotos via Pixabay.

 

2 Ways Being Over-Prepared Ruins Your Job Interviews

Here’s one surprising mistake IT staffing companies see too often in job interviews: over-preparing.  While it’s certainly important not to underprepare for you job interview, IT recruiting firms definitely see some candidates rejected for the opposite reason.  Here are 2 ways being over-prepared can hurt your chances of landing IT jobs.

1. The interviewer doesn’t feel like they’re having a genuine conversation with you.  IT staffing firms want you to practice some of your answers or questions, but only to the point where you are familiar with them.  Employers really want to see who you are when they interview you—your personality as well as your technical skills and experience.  When you’re so over-prepared it sounds like you’re delivering a monologue, you’ll probably turn off your interviewer.  Making a good connection with your interviewer and showing off great communication skills goes a long way in the tech field these days.

2. You don’t answer the interviewer’s questions or provide the info they want.  Sometimes being over-prepared can make you come across as inflexible or unresponsive to your interviewer.  Technical recruiters find that being over-prepared can lead you to inadvertently neglect to provide all the information the interviewer wants.  You don’t want to be so busy making the points you practiced that you can’t answer an interviewer’s questions or respond warmly and genuinely to their small talk.  IT recruiting companies suggest you make a conscious effort to let the interviewer lead the interview.  Do this even if it means you may wind up leaving some of the material you prepared or studied by the wayside.   Don’t worry, you can always mention it your thank you note!

 

IT job interview mistakes
Delivering monologues won’t impress your interviewers. Photo credit: Concord90 via Pixabay.

 

Polish Your Resume to Land Remote IT Jobs in the New Year

If you plan on working with IT recruiting firms next year to search for new IT jobs, you’re probably already polishing your resume.  If you want your technical recruiters to be able to submit you to remote jobs, there are a few things you should add to your resume.

1. Prove that you are self-motivated and have taken initiative before.  IT recruiters see plenty of resumes that list the skills employers want remote workers to have.  However, that’s not what will land the job.  What IT recruiting agencies find really works is to demonstrate you have these important skills.  Were you able to complete elements of a project on your own, with no supervision?  Did you debug code without being asked?  Concrete instances of things you’ve done that make you a great remote employee (or things that show you will be a great remote employee) make it easier for employers to picture you doing the same things as a part of their team.

2. Give links to your best work and relevant web presence.  IT staffing companies find that having a great web presence and excellent work product to show off is especially imperative when you’re applying to remote jobs.  Do you have a digital portfolio?  Do you have a LinkedIn profile?  A website?  Make sure it’s easy for employers and IT staffing agencies to see all of them by adding links into your resume.  Part of landing remote jobs is making it easy for employers and IT recruiting companies to see how you’d be a great fit for their role.  Listing relevant links is one way to do that.

3. If you’ve worked remotely before, articulate how you still adhere to workplace standards and keep in communication with your team or managers.  Again, giving concrete examples of your ability to be a great remote worker will go a long way in helping employers picture you in their open IT jobs.  For instance, if you’re a developer, have you still participated in stand-up meetings via conference call?   Do you use an internal messaging service?  Helping employers and IT staffing firms see that you’ve thought about how to still be an effective member of a team, even when remote, will help you land the jobs you want.

 

IT jobs remote
Want to land remote IT jobs? You have to demonstrate that you have the skills. Photo credit: Life-of-Pix via Pixabay.

 

 

Tips for Conducting Technical Interviews

Finding great tech talent for the right price is hard.  Even with IT recruiting companies to help you find a candidate pool, it can still be hard to find the best people to fill open IT jobs in your company.  Here are a few tips IT staffing firms suggest using as you conduct technical interviews.

1. Consider ditching any tests or exercises.  IT recruiting firms find that many candidates who are great employees don’t always do well in a timed, pressure-filled exercise or multiple-choice test.  Some candidates will even be less likely to want to continue the process if there’s a coding test or exercise as part of the interview.  With such a limited market, you don’t want to limit your candidate pool further.

2. Aim to have an interesting technical conversation.  The less a technical interview feels like an interview, the more you’ll get a real understanding for what the candidate is like.  One way IT staffing companies suggest doing this is by asking the candidate to talk about a project they loved working on.  Letting them pick the project they discuss will allow the candidate to show you their passion and their strengths in an authentic way.

3. Don’t forget to sell the position to the right candidates.  While your IT recruiting agencies will certainly help you sell the position to the candidates you like, it’s also important they catch your enthusiasm.  They will be sold if you can share what you like about working on your team, your project, etc.  If you have members of your team sit in on the interview, make sure they’re all people who can genuinely convey why it’s great to work at your company or organization.  Nothing sells an IT job better to a candidate than seeing current employees who enjoy the work and culture of a company.

 

technical job interviews
You may limit your candidate pool with a difficult coding test. Photo credit: PIXI1861 via Pixabay.

 

Tips for Exit Interviews

If you’ve been working with your IT recruiters to find a new position, the last step of your transition won’t be giving your notice.  Employers often want to conduct an exit interview before you leave.  These may seem like a time to vent with impunity, but the truth is that you could do some serious damage to your reputation if you handle one badly.  Here are a few tips that IT staffing firms suggest following as you go through exit interviews.

1. Approach an exit interview as seriously as you do a job interview.  Just like you would in a job interview, IT recruiting companies suggest you be professional, keep things positive, and be cooperative.  Especially with all the back-door references that LinkedIn enables, it’s important to perform exit interviews as the kind of IT professional you to be known as.  Check your emotions at the door, even if it’s tempting not to.  You never know if your words will make it back to other’s ears and burn bridges for you. (Some technical recruiters suggest venting to a trusted friend or family member before the exit interview so you get it out of your system.)

2. This isn’t a time to improve the company or give much feedback.  Even if exit interviews are sometimes presented this way, it’s often pretty ineffective to share criticism about an employer.  In fact, IT staffing agencies find that doing this will usually just hurt you.  If you’re leaving to seek out IT jobs that pay more, have a better work culture, let you do more interesting work, etc, now isn’t the time to say it.  The best time to ask for a raise, to give feedback about the workplace, or to ask for more interesting projects, was when you were actually an employee.  It’s often just going to be viewed as a slight if you detail all the reasons why you worked with IT recruiting agencies to get out of your current employer.  And as mentioned above, it’s always a bad idea to slight people.  You might unwittingly be burning an important bridge you need in the future.

3. Leave your future employer out of it.  Your IT staffing companies wouldn’t suggest you spend much time talking about how excited you are to join your new employer.  Even if you don’t mean to, people may assume you’re belittling your soon-to-be employer by comparison.

4. Lastly, try to say a few positive things about your soon-to-be ex employer before you go.  While it’s not helpful to say something that feels fake or forced, you can probably find one or two positive things to genuinely note.  Perhaps you had the opportunity to learn more about a new technology, or got to work on an interesting project.  Taking a moment to mention these things you’re grateful for will make you look professional and gracious.

 

exitinterviewtips
Take the exit interview as seriously as the job interview. Photo credit: multifacetedgirl via Pixabay.

 

Write Technical Job Descriptions that Attract Candidates

One of the things IT staffing firms find that employers often struggle with is writing the descriptions for the IT jobs they need to fill.  Here are 3 tips IT recruiters suggest for writing the kinds of job descriptions that will help you attract great tech talent.

1. Write a job title that’s functional, rather than creative. Titles with ‘Rock Star’ or similar words may sound fun, but IT recruiting firms find these often don’t attract top-tier candidates.  What candidates respond to most is a title that clearly states what kind of work the role handles.  These titles help candidates picture themselves in the role.  They also appreciate these roles because they have currency in their next job search.  It’s easier to tell future employers that you’re a UX Director (versus a UX Rock Star).

2. Make a clear list of technologies you’ll require a candidate to have and a one for technologies you’d prefer a candidate to have. IT staffing companies find that when required technical skills and experience are lumped with preferred, it creates a job description that is too intimidating for candidates.  Especially with a shortage of tech talent in the US, it’s important to write a description that IT professionals will see and be able to picture themselves succeeding at.  Attracting great talent starts with helping them see a job that is actually do-able.

3. Lastly, try to sell your corporate culture and any projects the candidate will get to work on. IT recruiting companies find that great candidates are looking for projects that will further their career and companies that are fun, engaging, and stimulating to work at.  If you can offer them either, it’s important to emphasize this in the job description.  Since it’s a job seeker’s market, you want to write a job description that doesn’t just accurately portray what you need.  IT staffing agencies suggest appealing to tech professionals in these job descriptions, especially in terms of the kinds of work they’ll get to do and who/where they’ll get to do it with.

 

writign-it-job-descriptions
Make a clear list of required technical skills and preferred technical skills. Photo credit: webandi via Pixabay.

 

How to Pick a Good Coding Boot Camp

If you’re thinking about a coding boot camp, you’re not alone.  IT staffing companies have seen an explosion in boot camp popularity in the last few years.   IT recruiters certainly find that many candidates seeking new IT jobs (especially their first programming roles) have a boot camp on their resumes.  The questions is, are they worth it?  The tuition for many of these boot camps is often in the thousands, so it’s imperative you make back that money with some great IT jobs.  Here’s how to make sure you pick the best boot camp for you.

1. Do research on the job market in the area you live in. What are the most in-demand programming languages?  Just as importantly, what are the most in-demand programming languages for the kinds of roles you want?  IT staffing firms would advise you to make sure you understand not only what skills are marketable, but what skills are marketable and will land you a job you will at least moderately enjoy.  You don’t want to realize that you hate the kinds of roles you paid thousands of dollars to be able to land.  IT recruiters find that people who hate their jobs rarely succeed at them, or at least succeed at them long-term.

2. Seek out recommendations. Ask people in your network if they have gone to, or know of, boot camps that are effective.  Check online at sites like Course Report.  You might also reach out to your IT staffing agencies to see if they can recommend any great local boot camps for the kinds of roles and skills you’d like in the future.

3. Once you find some programs that look good, IT recruiting agencies suggest that you step back and look them over one last time. Ask questions about them, including these:

  • What is the rate at which grads land their ideal roles?
  • What is the rate at which students graduate?
  • Do these boot camps offer connections to internships, projects or potential employers?
  • Can you handle the final cost of this boot camp, or will it be too expensive of a risk?

4. Based on all these steps, make a choice.  IT recruiting companies would urge you to consider the fact that sometimes, your best choice may be to skip the coding boot camp (at least for now).  Sometimes there truly aren’t any coding boot camps that would be a good investment in your career.  Though boot camps are being hailed as the new gold rush, there are many that won’t help you land the IT jobs you want. The wise IT professional sees this– and saves their time and money.

 

it-jobs-coding-boot-camps
Coding boot camps  are always intense, but they aren’t always worth the money. Photo credit: skeeze via Pixabay.

 

3 Reasons Cyber Security Jobs Will Increase

IT recruiters are seeing an increased demand for IT jobs in cyber security.  While this area has been hot for IT staffing firms for at least the last few years, it will likely grow at an even faster pace in the near future for 3 reasons.

Firstly, IT recruiting companies will see more job openings in cyber security because there will likely be more attacks.  The recent Dyn attacks are a good indicator of an increase in the kinds of all-out attacks that will become more frequent– and vicious.  Cyber attacks will also increase because they’re a new frontier for terrorists.  Cyber attacks that affect community sources of electricity, water, power, etc are likely to become a new method for terrorists.

The second reason IT staffing agencies will see more job openings in cyber security is because there will be more regulations and laws created for protection against cyber attacks.  Recent events have shown cyber security to be a top concern—one that people will be forced to deal with for their own good.  Businesses, governments, and other organizations that have pushed cyber security to the bottom of their to-do lists will be required by insurance carriers and laws to start paying more attention.  This means IT recruiting firms will be searching for more tech professionals with the skills to help employers meet these laws and regulations.

The last reason that IT staffing companies will see an uptick in cyber security jobs in the near future is because it makes good business sense.  Some businesses won’t need laws or regulations to take these threats seriously—it’s already affecting their business.  These employers will look to IT recruiting agencies to help them make an investment in an important, somewhat new, business practice: protecting their data.

 

cyber-security-it-jobs
Companies that haven’t taken cyber security seriously will soon be forced to by laws and regulations. Photo credit: TheDigitalWay via Pixabay.

 

Rescheduling and Cancelling Job Interviews

IT recruiters find that a surprising number of candidates ask to cancel or reschedule interviews for IT jobs last minute.  This might not seem like a big deal, but IT staffing firms see that it has some big repercussions for job seekers.   Here’s why technical recruiters suggest you never try to cancel or reschedule an interview last minute.

Cancelling the interview with very little notice (less than a few days) will definitely burn some bridges for you with potential employers and IT recruiting firms.  It’s almost always viewed as evidence that you’re possibly untrustworthy, disorganized, unreliable, or just plain rude.  (There are some exceptions to this rule, like medical or family emergencies, but these are obviously very rare.) Employers and IT staffing agencies often put a note in their system that you’ve done this.  They’ll usually blacklist you for it.  While you may not want to work for this employer right now, you never know about the future.

Asking your IT recruiting companies to reschedule an interview at the last minute may not totally burn bridges, but it won’t help you land jobs.  When you ask to reschedule an interview with less notice than a few days, employers will wonder if the job is a high priority for you.  (Again, there are exceptions to this rule, including family or medical emergencies, but these are rare.)  No companies want to hire people who aren’t excited about the opportunities they offer.  Depending on the reason you offer and how last minute you’re asking for a rescheduled interview, your IT staffing companies may also respond by submitting you to less jobs or sending you on less interviews.

So what should you do instead of cancelling or rescheduling last minute?  Start by making sure to really consider a job before letting your IT recruiting agencies submit you for it.  Is the commute ok with you?  Do you think you have the skills and experience to handle the work?  You don’t want to cancel the interview at the last minute because you’ve decided you don’t like something about the job or employer after all.  Next, when you give availability, make sure it’s not something that will change.  If you’re not positive you’re free on a certain day, it’s better not to take that risk.  Lastly, don’t lie about it if you do cancel last minute.  Some candidates do lie to their IT recruiters and fake a family or medical emergency.  If people find out you’ve lied, you’ll definitely burn a bridge with them and/or potential employers.

 

rescheduling-job-interviews
Don’t try to reschedule an interview on short notice. Photo credit: Basti93 via Pixabay.

 

The 2 Highest-Paying IT Jobs

Most IT jobs pay well and are stable, even in a tough economy.  However, if you’re seeking roles with the best paycheck, recent studies have shown that you should consider being a Software Architect or Data Scientist.  IT recruiting firms see a huge boom in these two roles and believe it will continue into the future.

Software Architect: IT staffing agencies see trends that show that being a software architect is likely to give you the highest paycheck on average.  There are a few reasons for this.  Firstly, Software Architects almost always have a college degree in Computer Science (or a similar field) and an additional professional certification.  These qualifications alone are somewhat rare in the US.  Secondly, IT recruiting companies find that Software Architect roles require two very different kinds of skills.  Software Architects need high proficiency in technical skills including Engineering and Computer Science, but they also need great communication skills, particularly in highly corporate environments.  Often the more technical somebody is the less they want to be client-facing.  Software architects are some of the few IT professionals that not only walk this line, they embrace it.  This combination of skills is rare enough to warrant a high salary. Lastly, Software Architects are leaders.  They help direct the vision of projects and often supervise others in bringing it to life.

Data Scientist: IT recruiting firms find that Data Scientists are routinely listed as the second-highest paid role in tech because of the extreme demand for Big Data in pretty much every industry.  There are few companies that don’t want to be gathering and measuring client data to improve their performance.  Perhaps more notably, big companies with huge budgets for talent, like banks or oil companies, are setting the bar high for Data Scientist compensation.   Another reason why IT staffing firms find that Data Scientists are so well-paid is that Big Data can also help companies streamline their own processes to save time and money.  Lastly, Data Scientists usually have the education to demand high salaries.  More often than not, Data Scientists have a Master’s or Doctorate in Computer Science, Math, Statistics, or a similar area.

 

it-jobs-big-data
Big Data is a hot commodity, as are Data Scientists. Photo credit: Tumisu via Pixabay.