Tag Archives: IT recruiting firms

Ace your IT Job Interviews with Nonprofits

More and more nonprofits are hiring IT professionals.  While the nonprofit sector may not be the first place you’d think of for IT jobs, there are plenty of benefits to working with these organizations.  IT recruiters fill jobs like this with benefits that include a more comprehensive health insurance package, increased vacation and PTO time, and flexible hours or work from home policies.  If your IT staffing agencies offer you an opportunity to interview for nonprofit roles, here is one important tip to consider: remember to emphasize your connection with their mission.

While technical recruiters will always want you to show enthusiasm for the mission of a company—nonprofit or for profit—it’s especially imperative for nonprofits.  These organizations are mission-driven.  Thus they are counting on IT recruiting companies to help them hire people who are not only able to do the job, but also care deeply about its goals and values. How do you make sure you convey this?

Consider this the second part of your interview preparations (in addition to your usual interview preparation and practice).  Ask your IT recruiting firms for as much information about the nonprofits mission as they have.  Google their website and research it extensively.  Become well-informed enough on the work they do that you can easily talk about it with your interviewer.  Next, try to think about your personal connection to this work. If you’ve volunteered for similar organizations or have some other connection, this is something to bring up in your interview.  Don’t reach for answers here or make something up.  Neither will impress hiring managers.

Lastly, pull all of this work together and practice talking about why you’d want to work for this organization.  Focus on being sincere and well-informed.  You don’t want to give a completely rehearsed monologue, but you’ll increase your odds of success if you can genuinely speak to an interest and familiarity with the organization.  Take these steps, and your IT staffing companies will be more likely to tell you that you got the job!

 

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Speaking to a nonprofit’s mission is just as important as proving your competency. Photo credit: AmberAvalona via Pixabay.

 

Tips for Second Round IT Job Interviews

Sometimes when you’re working with IT recruiting firms to find new IT jobs, you may have to go through a second round of interviews.  IT staffing companies find that IT professionals may not necessarily be as well-prepared for a second round of interviews.  Here are some things IT recruiters would suggest you keep in mind as you complete second (or third, etc) rounds of interviews.

  1. Be patient. Your technical recruiters are sending you for a second round of interviews for a good reason.  Even if you wind up answering questions for a second time, the hiring managers may need this information to make their decision.  You wouldn’t want to be hired for a job you’re not a good fit for anyways—this almost always ends in a firing, quitting, or just general discontentment and discomfort on one or both sides.  You want your IT recruiting agencies to place you a job you can succeed in and enjoy.  It might take a couple interviews for hiring managers to be sure about that.
  2. Prepare again—and this time bring some new material. Be ready to answer questions or show off your technical proficiencies.  Prepare some new questions or anecdotes to share with your interviewers.  Treat this interview as thought it was just as important as the first.  IT staffing firms would suggest that it’s almost helpful to think of this as a first interview—just don’t forget what you learned at your last one!

 

Second Interview Prep
Don’t slack on second round IT job interviews. Prepare for these, just like your first ones. Photo credit: Unsplash via Pixabay.

 

 

 

2 Ways to Relax Before IT Job Interviews

IT staffing firms see firsthand that plenty of IT professionals get nervous before interviews— no matter how many IT jobs they’ve had. Here are two tactics that might help you relax before your IT recruiters send you to your interviews.

1. The first tactic that IT recruiting agencies would recommend is to stop playing the ‘what if’ game. You don’t have to be in IT to know what this means, because most people play the ‘what if’ game at some point in their lives. This involves letting your mind wander to all the negative possible outcomes of a circumstance. It’s particularly easy to think this way before your IT recruiting firms send you on an interview, as you need to perform well. You’ll actually do much better, though, if you don’t allow your mind to winder as much. Remember that your IT staffing companies wouldn’t send you for the interview if you weren’t qualified for the job. Remember the preparation and practice you’ve done for this interview. You may even want to try meditating for a bit before the interview, as this is shown to reduce stress. Focus on performing in the interview, rather than anticipating all the ways you’ll mess up.

2. Remember that the worst case scenario still isn’t that bad. Your IT staffing agencies will continue to send you for interviews if you don’t land this job. Your IT recruiting companies don’t want you to approach interviews too casually. However, it’s easier to relax and perform well when you remember that you won’t land every IT job you interview for—and that’s ok.

 

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Consider trying mediation before IT job interviews to reduce stress. Photo credit: Meditation geralt via pixabay.

 

Delete These 2 Words from Your LinkedIn Profile and IT Resumes

One strong tactic you can use is to polish up your LinkedIn profile and resume is deleting words that will turn off technical recruiters and potential employers.  Here are two words that won’t attract IT recruiters or hiring managers if you have them in your LinkedIn profile or resume – particularly in a summary or objective section.

  1. Don’t waste space in your summary or your taglines on LinkedIn with the word ‘motivated.’ Because it’s been so overused, it doesn’t mean much to IT staffing firms or interviewers.  What really carries weight with IT recruiting companies and hiring managers are demonstrations of your motivation.  Did you move up the ranks in a help desk department at a previous employer?  Did you volunteer for some extra projects at your last IT jobs? Listing actions and results like this on your profile is a much better use of space!
  2. In the same vein, you won’t be impressing any IT staffing agencies or potential employers by calling yourself ‘driven’ on your LinkedIn profile or resume. Again, the word is far too over-used to be effective.  It’s also not interesting to IT recruiting firms when you call yourself driven.  If you had a reference call you driven, it would carry far more weight.  However, since it’s a quality that’s hard to define, it’s important to consider that your opinion can’t really count here. You are, of course, biased about your own employability.  When you pronounce yourself driven on your LinkedIn profile or IT resume, you’re really just stating something that IT recruiting agencies already know: you think you’d be an asset as an employee.  Use the space on your LinkedIn profile or IT resume to tell them something they don’t know.  What’s your technical background?  What projects have you led?  What have you achieved in your career?  This is the kind of information that IT staffing companies want to see—not that you think that you are driven.

 

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Don’t leave ‘motivated’ on your IT resume! Photo credit: gustavofer74 via Pixabay.

 

The IT Job Interview Challenge That Doesn’t Look Like a Challenge

Most IT professionals are trying to prepare for the challenges they’ll face as they interview for IT jobs.  They prepare for the technical and non-technical questions that their IT recruiters anticipate.  They prepare so they won’t be late for their interviews, even if there’s bad traffic or bad weather.  (Because lateness is a cardinal sin to hiring managers and IT staffing firms).  They practice with family members, friends, or technical recruiters so that their nervousness can’t overwhelm them.  But here’s a challenge that you may not even recognize as a challenge: a very friendly interviewer.

How is a friendly interviewer a challenge?  Your IT recruiting agencies probably won’t warn you about this.  Nor do most tip sheets for interviews.  In fact, this sounds like a nice thing.  The truth is, though, a friendly interviewer can make you feel comfortable enough that you make a couple key mistakes.

One of the worst mistakes you might make with a friendly interviewer is losing your professionalism.  You want to make sure that, while you’re not overly stiff or unpleasant, you don’t forget to be your best, most professional self.  Never curse or tell inappropriate jokes.  Even if you have a great connection with the interviewer, they still aren’t your friend in that moment.  Don’t treat them like a friend.  Treat them like somebody you must impress.

The second mistake, one that IT staffing companies find is easier to recover from, is talking too much and/or getting off track.  Again, this is all about remembering that your interviewer is somebody to impress.  Stay focused in your answers.  Highlight the important points and relay that you have the qualities and technical background to succeed in the job.  When you go off on a long tangent about one thing (especially something irrelevant, like small talk) you are losing time to strengthen your candidacy.  Don’t let a friendly interviewer tempt you to spend 20 minutes talking about your hobbies! It’s important to remember that your IT recruiting firms don’t want you to totally skip small talk.  Some small talk is important because it shows that you are a pleasant, easy person to work with.  But your IT recruiting companies won’t hear that you got the IT job unless you keep your eyes on the prize in your interview.

 

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Don’t let a friendly interviewer let you lose your focus in IT job interviews. Photo credit: ArtWithJustin via Pixabay.

 

 

How to Answer This Scary IT Job Interview Question

IT recruiting firms hear about a lot of hard interview questions.  Usually, these questions are very technical.  However, sometimes IT recruiters hear about basic interview questions that really stump candidates.  Here’s one question that often strikes fear in the heart of IT professionals as they interview for new IT jobs: Have you ever been fired?

Obviously if you’ve never been fired before, this question is easy to answer.  However, if you have been fired before, this question sounds pretty terrifying.  The truth is, though, if you answer it correctly, it can be a chance to help cement your candidacy.  While a firing is not necessarily a good thing, technical recruiters hear about it relatively often.  Most IT staffing firms have seen at least a few perfectly competent, capable professionals fired (and then hired elsewhere!).  It’s merely a part of professional life.  As you answer this question, remember that.  Don’t lie and don’t panic as you answer the question.  Your IT recruiting firms and hiring managers would much rather you honestly answer yes, rather than lie about having ever been fired.

Your IT recruiting agencies will also want you to keep your answer short and neutral.  Don’t be tempted to bash your former employers, nor should you go into a long-winded, defensive explanation of your firing.  A quick, one sentence answer should be just fine! A good answer here will demonstrate that you can be professional, positive, and honest.  These are all qualities that your IT staffing companies (and hiring managers!) would love to have you demonstrate in an interview.  Thus you can take a question that seemed designed to hurt your candidacy and use your answer to actually strengthen it.

 

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Don’t panic yet! Your interviewer probably won’t count it against you if you were fired from a previous IT job. Photo credit geralt via Pixabay.

 

An IT Resume Mistake that Designers Often Make

IT recruiters often work with various kinds of designers and creative professionals to find IT jobs.  Often, technical recruiters come across resumes for these IT professionals that are done with pictures, unconventional formats, and multiple types of font.  If you’d like to attract IT staffing firms and hiring managers, doing this with your resume may actually be hurting you.

Why would it turn off IT recruiting agencies and potential employers to showcase your design skills and creativity on your resume?  For one thing, it may make it harder for IT staffing agencies to find the information they need to decide you’re a great candidate for particular roles.  Since IT recruiting firms often sift through hundreds of resumes daily, their time is limited.  They may not have time to decipher a format that is anything beyond simple and conventional.  The same is true for potential employers—except even more so.  Hiring managers are interviewing, and usually doing so on top of a large workload.  Their time to read through resumes will be even more limited.  Make it easy and fast for IT staffing companies and employers to decide you’re an interesting candidate by using a conventional, clean resume format.

The second reason a creative resume format may hinder your job search is that it may suggest that your skills and experience aren’t strong enough to speak for themselves.  Gimmicky resumes are often used by professionals who aren’t as confident in their own candidacy.  Use a conventional format and showcase your experience, technical proficiencies, and other skills.  You can always showcase design skills in a portfolio or links to relevant work.  If you use a more conventional resume format, you will get more attention from IT recruiting agencies and hiring managers.

 

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Fancy fonts don’ belong on your IT resume, even if you’re looking for creative and design-oriented roles. Photo credit: ClkerFreeVectorImages via Pixabay.

 

 

Don’t Get Caught Off Guard by These 3 IT Job interview Practices

Sometimes when you’re working with IT recruiters to find new IT jobs, you might encounter some surprises.  Here are 3 parts of the job interview process that IT staffing agencies find surprise candidates – and how to deal with them.

  1. Coding tests: Your IT staffing firms will usually be able to at least warn you that you’ll have to take a coding test or some exercise similar to it. Technical recruiters find that candidates are often taken aback by it when they’re asked to take a test. It’s important to remain calm and flexible as you go through the process to find new IT roles.  While it may not be your first choice to take a test, it is likely worth your time to do so.  After all, what is 20 minutes’, or even an hours’ effort if you get a job you enjoy more and/or get paid more to do?
  2. Personality assessments: Again, many IT recruiting agencies find that candidates are often surprised when they’re asked to complete these tests. As with coding tests, the best way to approach these is to try to be patient and flexible because your efforts could be rewarded with a great IT job.  It’s also noteworthy that these kinds of tests protect you as well.  If you’re not a good fit for a job, it’s better to find this out ahead of time.  You wouldn’t want to be hired for a job where your work style is too out of sync with the company.  That’s not comfortable for you and it may even result in you losing your job later on.
  3.  Video interviews: Lastly, IT staffing companies find that sometimes they must ask IT professionals to be ready to do a video interview. This kind of interview is slowly becoming more and more normal.  However, many candidates express surprise, or even discomfort, when they are asked by their IT recruiting firms to do a video interview.  The best way to be prepared for these kinds of interviews is to have your personal computer or laptop set up for Skype.  Practice using it with friends and family so it becomes more natural.  A video interview is ultimately the same as an in-person interview.  It’s just a new medium to get used to.

 

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You won’t be uncomfortable doing a video interview for IT jobs if you’ve practiced first. Photo credit: Vitamin via Pixabay.

 

 

Make This Mistake and You’ll Totally Blow Your IT Job Interviews

Most IT recruiters have had at least one IT professional who bombs an interview unexpectedly.  Perhaps they don’t know as much about certain technologies as they thought, or perhaps they don’t know as much about interview etiquette as they (and their technical recruiters) thought.  There is one mistake that will instantly kill an interview and guarantee that your IT staffing agencies get bad feedback about you: taking a phone call or playing with your cell phone during the interview.

Why would answering a call immediately ruin interviews for IT jobs?  The most obvious reason is that it’s rude.  IT staffing companies can sell your technical skills and experience.  However, when you go into an interview, it’s your job to really sell yourself as polite and easy to work with.  When you answer a call or text in the middle of an interview you, definitely destroy that impression.

Here’s a second reason why this mistake really embarrasses you and your IT recruiting firms: it makes you look uninterested in the role itself.  Your IT staffing agencies want you to go into interviews and show some passion for the work you’d be doing, the company, the team, or some combination of these.  If you aren’t fully focused on the interview, you ruin this impression.

The best way to avoid this mistake? Turn off your phone and put it away once you’re at the interview.  You’ve likely spent plenty of time preparing, both on your own and with your IT recruiting agencies.  Don’t risk letting that preparation go to waste!

 

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Turn that phone off and put it away when you get to an IT job interview. Photo credit: jeshoots via Pixabay.

 

A Surprising IT Resume Mistake

IT recruiters see a lot of good resumes, but they also see plenty of bad resumes.  One mistake that technical recruiters see far too often is when IT professionals include references on their resumes.  Here are a couple reasons why IT staffing firms and hiring managers don’t want to see your references on your IT resume.

  1. You’re wasting space. While IT resumes don’t necessarily have to be kept to a page or 2 pages, IT recruiting companies want to see that resumes are kept as concise and brief as possible.  It won’t help you to represent yourself with an overly long resume.  It may even turn off IT staffing agencies or hiring managers who were considering your candidacy.  They may not have time to wade through a resume that takes too long to sell your candidacy.  Keep your resume as brief as possible and just use the space on it to talk about your achievements, technologies you’re proficient with, and education or certifications.
  2. IT recruiting firms and hiring managers might assume from this mistake that you’re not aware of professional norms—and thus possibly not as professional as you could be. Including references on your resume means you’re exposing contact info for all these people unnecessarily.  It also means you’re simply not aware of correct resume formatting.  Either way, IT staffing companies or hiring managers might conclude from this resume mistake that you’re lacking in professionalism in other ways.  Don’t take that risk.

 

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It might look harmless to include references your resume, but it could hurt your job search. Photo credit: Lindsay_Jayne.