Tag Archives: IT recruiting firms

Avoid Asking Illegal Interview Questions

IT recruiters find that even when employers are experienced at interviewing to fill IT jobs, they may still wind up mistakenly asking illegal questions.  In fact, a recent study shows that 1 in 5 employers asks illegal questions when they’re interviewing.  While asking these questions doesn’t automatically mean you’ll get sued, IT staffing agencies would strongly suggest you take time to make sure your interviewers are fully versed on what they can and can’t legally ask.  It may save you a great deal of trouble (and money) in the future.  Here are some basic guidelines IT recruiting firms would suggest you follow in formulating your questions.

1.    Don’t ask about their family structure.  Asking whether a candidate is married, has children, expecting, etc may lead you into muddy waters.  Often interviewers aren’t asking these kinds of questions with bad intentions.  However, IT recruiters would suggest you choose other topics for friendly chit chat instead.

2.    Don’t ask about their religion, gender, or sexual orientation.  These are some of the most important areas IT staffing firms would suggest you avoid.  Even if you’re just trying to make a connection with the candidate, these areas are the most dangerous in terms of potential lawsuits.

3.    Don’t ask if English is a candidate’s first language or if they’re a US citizen.  The IT recruiting agencies your company works with will be able to let you know if a candidate needs sponsorship or is authorized to work in the US.  Let your IT staffing companies protect you here—let them look into this information for you.

 

Interview Questions IT Jobs
Don’t risk asking illegal interview questions. A lawsuit is too expensive. Photo credit: OpenRoadPR via Pixabay.

 

Is it Time to Speed Up Your Hiring Process?

IT recruiters find that one of the biggest misconceptions employers have about hiring IT professionals is timing.  The amount of time employers take to hire in most industries is simply too slow when it comes to hiring for open IT jobs.  Sometimes by the time a company is ready to have the IT staffing firms they’re working with make an offer to a candidate or ask for an interview, the candidate has moved on to other opportunities.  Here’s why hiring a little faster with your IT recruiting agencies will help you find the best candidates to round out your team!

1.    The tech field is really a job seeker’s market.  The truth is, the unemployment rate for IT professionals is incredibly low.  In fact, IT staffing companies often wind up working with passive candidates who are already in jobs.  This means that candidates are often pursuing more opportunities and getting offers faster.  They come on the market for new jobs (or in some cases don’t because they’re passive candidates) and leave rapidly. With this kind of market, it’s imperative to speed up your hiring process to keep up with the pace of the candidates you want to hire!

2.    Candidates expect quicker feedback in the tech field.  Technical recruiters find that many IT professionals are used to companies quickly deciding whether to interview candidates or move them on in the hiring process.  When companies move at a pace that might be normal for other fields, candidates will read this (perceived) slowness as disinterest.  Even when IT recruiting firms suggest a candidate be patient, this doesn’t always work.  If you like a candidate and want to interview them or move them on to the next step in your hiring process, IT recruiting companies suggest you wear your heart on your sleeve.  Let the candidates know– and do it quickly.  If you don’t, you may lose out!

3. The quicker you hire, the sooner your team can start achieving more! Especially in tech, deadlines for projects and deliverables can be all the more intense.  When you speed up your hiring process, you can get more manpower on a project sooner– and thus get results for your company sooner.

 

Hire Faster IT Jobs
The pace of hiring in IT is faster than in most other industries. Photo credit: fancycrave1 via Pixabay.

 

2 Ways Candidates Blow Job Interviews

IT recruiting agencies have heard some interviewing horror stories from IT professionals and interviewers alike.  Sometimes even when candidates have prepped and studied the technologies their IT recruiters recommended, things can still happen that make it hard (or impossible) to land the job.  The worst stories technical recruiters hear are about the times candidates blow interviews for IT jobs by saying something controversial or talk about compensation in a counterproductive way.

How can you avoid making either of these mistakes?  IT staffing agencies would suggest you start by making sure you don’t talk about politics, religion, or make any remarks that could be construed as intolerant of a particular group.  You never know how your interviewer feels about any of these topics– and thus whether you may be offending them.  Even if you don’t personally offend the interviewer, you may still lose your chance at landing the job.  The interviewer might still tell your IT recruiting firms that they find you deeply unprofessional (and thus unemployable).  Don’t take any risks in what you say—it’s simply not worth it.

When it comes to money, hold off on discussing it in the interview.  The truth is, this part is really your IT staffing companies’ responsibility.  Since interviewers often don’t want to discuss compensation, benefits, etc until they extend an offer, you’ll be breaking professional norms if you broach the topic during the interview.  IT recruiting companies also find that since candidates take their compensation so personally (as they should), they have a hard time discussing the topic in a productive, professional way.  Letting your IT staffing firms handle the negotiation for your compensation package is the best way to ensure that you don’t risk putting off your interviewer.

 

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These mistakes can send even the best interview performance up in flames. Photo credit: stones via pixabay.

 

 

How to Answer This Tough Job Interview Question

Technical recruiters find that IT professionals are often stumped by one question in a job interview: how would you improve our company, product, website, etc?  If this question stumps you, here are some interview tips IT staffing firms would suggest trying.

1.    Practice answering this question.  It might be obvious, but IT recruiting agencies would suggest that if a question truly intimidates you, practice.  Practice responding with a family member, friend, or in front of the mirror.  You’ll feel better prepared to answer it and may not even feel nervous if your interviewer asks it!

2.    To answer the question, most IT staffing companies would suggest that you start with a compliment—the more specific, the better.  Starting your answer on a positive note helps here.  If you can make the compliment show off your own knowledge, all the better.  Maybe the website has features you particularly admire since you’ve tried to create similar ones in previous roles.  Perhaps the product is user-friendly in a way that competitors’ aren’t.  Remember to keep this compliment efficient and on the shorter side so you have time to actually give your idea for improvement.

3.    Now give the criticism or idea for improvement in the most positive way possible.  This doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice confidence—IT staffing agencies often find that you’ll make a better impression on an interviewer if you give all your answers with confidence.  The way to keep a positive spin on it is to focus on the advantage of the change you’re suggesting rather than the cons of the way the company/website/product/etc currently exists.  Obviously IT recruiting companies would suggest you really need to avoid making negative comments about the company/website/whatever in its current state.

4.    Finish your answer by actively bringing the interviewer into the conversation.  Ask if your ideas have been considered, if the company has done something similar previously, or just try to get their feedback.  Again, this isn’t about breaking confidence.  You simply want to show your interviewer that you’re a collaborative person who’s capable of taking in criticism, new ideas, etc.  IT recruiting firms often find that the best candidate is usually the one that has a great technical background, but is also easy to work with and has good communication skills.

 

Stumped IT Job Interviews
Don’t be stumped by this interview question! Photo credit: airesa66 via Pixabay.

 

Is Your Resume in The Wrong Format?

Technical recruiters receive resumes from IT professionals that are built from all kinds of resume templates.  Most resume templates are fine (even the free resume templates), but there is one type of format that IT recruiters usually cannot use: a functional format resume.

What is a functional format resume?  It’s a resume that shows IT recruiting agencies and hiring managers your skills and duties and the top or bottom of the resume and lists your past IT jobs in a separate section.  Sometimes IT staffing firms find that the candidate will list the years they held positions, sometimes not.  Basically, this format seems like an easy way to write a resume if you’ve held similar positions for a while.

The problem is that the IT recruiting companies usually can’t submit you for IT jobs with this kind of resume.  There are a few things hiring managers and recruiters hate about this resume template.  Firstly, hiring managers tell IT staffing agencies that these templates don’t show the progression of your career very well.  To truly understand how you’ve progressed in your career, a manager wants to see the variation in your duties at each job.  That means you’ll need to list what you did at each job, not just give a general notion of what you did at all jobs in one spot at the top or bottom of the document.

Secondly, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage by using a functional format resume.  This kind of resume format doesn’t really let you list your major professional achievements.  IT recruiting firms find that the candidates who really impress employers are the ones who list their big contributions to each employer.  This will require a little more work on your part and a more traditional format for a resume, but it’s worth it.  This kind of resume lets hiring managers and IT staffing companies really see that you’ve been a valuable employee to each one of the places you’ve worked.

Lastly, resumes like this make hiring managers and IT recruiters feel like you’re trying to hide something.  Particularly when you don’t give dates, it can look like you’re trying to quickly gloss over your professional history without giving much detail or information.  This isn’t the first impression you want your resume to give anybody.

 

resume format IT jobs
Writing a functional format resume may be easier, but it won’t get you further in your job search. Photo credit: Line-tOodLinGfc via Pixabay.

 

Don’t Do This When Working With IT Recruiters

Technical recruiters find that some candidates will make some desperate moves to ensure they land IT jobs.  Sometimes this means being a bit too pushy and overbearing in the interview.  Sometimes this means trying to reach out directly to the hiring manager too much after the interview.  Probably the worst mistake you can make when working with IT staffing agencies, though, is to apply for the same jobs both with them and on your own.

Why would applying to the same job twice be a bad thing?  Isn’t it just showing extra motivation and ensuring that you do the most comprehensive, best job search that you can?  The truth is, when you apply for the same job both with IT recruiters and on your own, you usually wind up taking yourself out of the running for a job completely.  Most hiring managers will actually nullify an application that comes from both IT staffing agencies and directly from the candidate.  The reason they do this is that generally these candidates become too complicated to consider hiring from a legal standpoint.  Since most employers have plenty of candidates to look at for the jobs in IT they’re trying to fill—ones that don’t come with legal complications—they’ll simply skip over your resume and move on to the others.

There’s also another reason this tactic is a bad idea: it reflects poorly on you as a professional.  When you work with IT recruiting firms, you make a commitment to follow certain professional norms.  Your IT staffing companies will handle certain elements of the hiring process (like negotiating salary, scheduling the interview, and getting your resume in front of the hiring manager).  You will handle the interview, writing a thank you note, etc.  When you apply to the same job on your own after IT staffing companies submit you, you’re  not showing extra initiative.  You’re showing a few negative qualities as a candidate.  You’ll show an inability to follow directions, an inability to follow professional norms, and you’ll be creating extra work for the hiring manager.  (Most hiring managers barely have time to read a resume once—never mind twice!)    No hiring manager is pleased when you try to jump the line or do things against their usual hiring process.  So when you apply to a job both with your IT recruiters and on your own, you’re not increasing your chances of landing the job.  Truthfully, you’re hurting your chances– if not taking yourself out of the running entirely.

 

ITJobSearchMistakes
Applying twice is a quick way to get your resume thrown out. Photo credit: fill via Pixabay.

 

2 Seemingly Small Things That Hurt Your Job Search

Sometimes IT recruiters find that candidates make mistakes that seem small, but actually have a big impact on their job search.  Here are two mistakes that seem pretty insignificant, but will likely make it hard to land IT jobs.

1.    Your email signature has an inflammatory or unprofessional quote. IT recruiting companies do find that from time to time people will have quotes in their email signatures.  This looks pretty innocuous, but it becomes a problem when the quote is about controversial things like politics, religion, or is just plain rude or unprofessional.  When you email with IT recruiting agencies and hiring managers, they know very little about you.  For this reason, your emails wind up making a big impression on the IT staffing firms and interviewers you send them to.  So to make sure you’re doing your best job search: take out all the quotes in your email signature.  Don’t risk either making technical recruiters uncomfortable or leading them to possibly conclude anything negative about you.

2.    Did you leave track changes on the resume you sent to your IT recruiting firms?  Some IT recruiters will look the other way.  However, to some IT staffing agencies, this is a sign that you aren’t very detail-oriented or polished.  Considering how important it is in the tech field to pay attention to little details, making this mistake could send a bad message about you.  There’s also a chance that you’ll wind up leaving some unflattering, negative, or unprofessional material on your resume if you don’t turn off the track changes function.  Maybe one of the comments on your resume suggests that you not add a certain technology because you’re weak in it.  Perhaps a comment has a curse word in it.   Double check to make sure that the track changes function is off and that you’ve made all the changes you need to for your resume to sparkle.

 

IT job search mistakes
Hold off on the quotes in your email. It could hurt your IT job search. Photo credit: maialisa via Pixabay.

 

Are You Making This Huge Job Interview Mistake?

Technical recruiters see plenty of candidates who are perfectly suited for IT jobs but still don’t get them.  Perhaps they don’t interview well, got nervous, or arrived very late.  The most egregious mistake though, the one that makes IT staffing firms never want to work with a candidate, is when they act arrogant in job interviews.  No matter how amazing your technical experience is or how impressive your digital portfolio, IT recruiting agencies will not want to work with you if the hiring manager finds you arrogant.

What does this mean exactly?  IT staffing agencies find that today’s hiring managers want people with both technical acumen and great communication/people skills.  Things like a deep knowledge of C# may be important to some jobs in IT, but it’s likely IT staffing companies also need the person in that role to be easy to work with, too!  Arrogance is a strong mark of somebody that nobody will want to work with.  If you go to an interview and seem arrogant, you’re essentially showing that you’re missing a very key skill, even if it’s not technical.

It seems like avoiding appearing arrogant would be pretty straightforward.  Here are a couple easy tips that IT recruiting companies would suggest you consider, though.  Firstly, let the interviewers, their coworkers, even receptionists that you encounter, be in control and show them respect.  Don’t try to lead the interview.  Don’t ask the receptionist for coffee.  Don’t mention it if you’re inconvenienced or have to wait for anyone.

Secondly, if you don’t feel you’re treated well or are frustrated by something, wait to go back and talk about this with your IT recruiters.  They’ll help you decide if it’s a toxic work environment, the interviewer was acting out of character.  This is the advantage of working with IT recruiting firms.  They can help you figure these things out, without you having to risk appearing rude or arrogant to your interviewer. IT recruiters want you to land in the best IT job for you– and that includes a  job that you’ll be happy in.

 

Job interview tips
Arrogance will mean your resume gets tossed in the trash every time. Photo credit: Ramdlon via Pixabay.

 

Tips for Responding to Counter-offers

From time to time, IT recruiters do work with candidates who receive counter-offers from their employers.  While counter-offers seem pretty flattering, the truth is that IT staffing agencies would suggest you proceed with caution.  The promise of more money is always exciting, but there are 2 major cons to consider.

Con 1: Accepting a counter-offer may mean that you burn a lot of bridges. Firstly, obviously the IT recruiting firms you’re working with will terminate your relationship if you take a counter-offer.  All IT staffing companies have is your word.  If you break their trust and negate all their work in searching for your new IT job, they’ll likely never work with you again.

Secondly, you’ll also ruin your reputation with your potential new employer and perhaps other companies in the same industry.  IT staffing firms never find that employers are ok with it when a candidate takes a counter-offer.  In fact, that candidate is usually blacklisted at that employer.  Sometimes, this reputation carries on to companies that are connected to this employer, too.  Social media and LinkedIn make it especially easy for word to spread when you do something like accept a counter-offer.  In the age of a quick LinkedIn check for unofficial references, taking a counter-offer could seriously damage your professional reputation and hold you back from getting top IT jobs later on.

Lastly, with your current employer, you’re likely to have seriously damaged their trust in you as a loyal, reliable employee.  They may try to replace you quickly with somebody cheaper, they may retaliate in small ways, or you might find that you’re held back from future raises, promotions, training opportunities, transfers, etc. All of this makes it hard to be happy in your current IT role long term, which leads to con number 2.

Con 2: You’re likely just be delaying the inevitable and creating more work for yourself.  You reached out to IT recruiting companies for a reason: to find new IT jobs.  Technical recruiters rarely see a candidate who wants to leave their job solely for more money.  There are usually other things at play like work environment, maybe a bad boss, or an unreasonable work load.  You might feel ok with a pay bump now, but it won’t change any of the other factors for you long term.  Nobody loves job searching and all the work that comes with it.  Accepting a counter-offer will really just mean you have to search for jobs in IT all over again later when you realize you’re still unhappy at your current job (even with the pay bump).

 

Counter offers IT jobs
A counter offer might seem like a great idea for your wallet, but there are so many drawbacks. Photo credit: Geralt via Pixabay.

 

Don’t Say This When You’re Interviewing

IT recruiters see candidates say unfortunate things in interviews for IT jobs all the time.  Mistakes happen and IT staffing companies rarely come across candidates who can give a perfect interview.  (In fact, perfect interviews are so rare that some hiring managers will tell IT recruiting agencies they’re rejecting a candidate because their interviewing felt suspiciously perfect!)  Here’s one mistake that is very easy to avoid, though: saying you’re a hard worker (especially when you say it’s one of your strengths or selling points).

Why do hiring managers and IT staffing agencies think this is a mistake in a job interview?  What if you actually are a hard worker? The problem is that this phrase isn’t easily proven.  While it’s easy for you to prove that you have experience with particular programming languages, or understand what great customer service for an end user requires, it’s not easy to prove that you are a hard worker.  It’s something that others must decide about you, particularly because it’s such a subjective thing.  So when you list being a hard worker as one of your main strengths as a candidate, you’re basically wasting your time to sell yourself in an interview.

What would IT recruiting firms suggest that you say instead of this?  As mentioned before, it’s better to point to things you can prove.  Especially in the tech field, being able to quantify your professional achievements can really go far with an interviewer.  Maybe you consistently deliver code ahead of the deadlines.  Maybe you regularly get feedback from end users that you provide excellent and efficient service.  These are the kinds of things that IT staffing firms suggest you talk about with hiring managers.  Clichés that are hard to prove (like saying you’re a hard worker) are just a waste of your time and the hiring manager’s time.  So avoid this easy mistake the next time your IT recruiting companies set you up for an interview!

 

Mistakes IT Job Interviews
Saying you’re a hard worker isn’t going to help you in IT job interviews. Photo credit: Geralt via Pixabay.