Tag Archives: IT recruiting firms

Don’t Do This in IT Job Interviews

Here’s one way to guarantee that your IT recruiters hear that you aren’t getting the role: badmouth any of your bosses, coworkers, or end-users/clients.  While most technical recruiters mention this at some point to candidates, there are still a staggering number of IT professionals who forget this advice in interviews.

Why is this a terrible mistake to make?  There are a few reasons why IT staffing firms would recommend you never, ever say negative things about your employers, cowokers, etc. It might seem like you’re making the people you badmouth look bad, but you’re really making yourself look bad.  Your interviewers might wonder if you have hard time getting along with people.  Particularly in a lot of IT jobs, being agreeable and easy to work with is important.  Sometimes you might be supporting a wide range of coworkers, end-users, or bosses.  Perhaps you have to work closely in a team; or even code with a partner.  Whatever the case, you want to look like you’re very easy to work with. Another reason you should never badmouth coworkers, bosses, etc is that you want to look like a positive person overall.  Sometimes jobs will be difficult.  Whether it’s a difficult coworker or a tough program to debug, your hiring manager needs to know that you’ll be emotionally resilient and work hard.

How do you avoid doing this mistake in the future?  Let’s say you genuinely want a new job because your boss is abusive or your coworkers are truly difficult to deal with.  If you’re asked why you’re working with IT recruiting firms to find a new job, you can go with a different (but still valid) reason.  Perhaps you can mention your IT staffing companies are helping you find a job with new challenges, or you want to gain experience working with a specific technology. If you’re not asked at all about this, simply don’t mention it.  Your IT recruiting agencies and IT staffing firms set the stage to make you look great for the job— use your time with an interviewer to continue this work.  Don’t waste it saying negative things about other people.

 

angry IT job interviews
Showing anger and frustration in an IT job interview is a big no-no. Photo credit: PublicDomainImages via Pixabay.

 

Did You Make This Mistake in Your IT Job Interview?

You might have done everything right as you prepared with your IT recruiters for your interviews.  You might have done the research, practiced answering questions your technical recruiters suggested, and prepared some good questions to ask the interviewer.  Maybe your IT staffing firms got some bad feedback anyways and you didn’t land the role.  What went wrong?  Unless your IT recruiting companies got very specific feedback (which they often don’t), you’ll have to guess what went wrong.  Here’s one reason you may have messed up: You came across as too desperate.

How can it be bad for the interviewer to know that you really, really want the role?  IT recruiting firms do want you to show interest in the role.  But especially in IT, where the unemployment rate is so low, coming across as desperate might make it seem like you’re having a hard time landing IT jobs (in a great market).  Another problem with wanting the job too much is that you probably miss expressing how much you can do for the company or team.  A good match is one in which both the IT professional and the company think they’d benefit.  A good hire is balanced– which it cannot be if you are too desperate for the role! Your IT staffing agencies will have a much easier time placing you in a job if you come across as interested in a role, but also confident that the company will be interested in you.

 

Mistake IT Job Interviews
Desperation is sure to end your role to IT job interview success. Photocredit: Geralt via Pixabay.

 

1 Way to Stand Out in IT Job Interviews

In interviews for IT jobs, IT recruiters can tell you a million ways to make sure you stand out to your interviewers.  Here’s one way you can make a big impression and ensure that your IT recruiting firms get some good feedback about you as a candidate: Make sure to tell a story or two about how you do things beyond your team and/or job description.

Why is this necessary?  Isn’t it enough to be able to talk about how you helped your team and succeeded at your job? Of course technical recruiters would advise you to be able to detail how you succeeded at your job and within your team.  However, a hiring manager’s dream candidate, the kind that IT staffing agencies have a very easy time finding new roles for, stretches beyond their job description.  IT recruiting agencies regularly hear rave reviews about candidates who are not only interested in succeeding in their role, but don’t mind thinking about what helps the whole company succeed, too.  You don’t have to invest much time or effort in this kind of activity to impress somebody.  Maybe you spent a few minutes on your lunch break to help somebody out from another team with a technical (or non-technical!) issue.  Maybe you volunteered to be your team’s CPR-trained employee.  What matters is that you show that you’re not the kind of employee who whines ‘that’s not my job’.  This is exactly the kind of candidate that IT staffing firms never want to represent!

 

IT Job interviews stand out
Want to stand out? Make sure you can talk about going beyond your job description! Photocredit: Colin00B via Pixabay.

 

 

How To Describe Yourself in IT Job Interviews

One question that IT recruiting firms will want you to be ready for in IT job interviews is something along the lines of ‘How would you describe yourself ?’  (A common variation on this is ‘How would your colleagues describe you?’).  There are a lot of ways to answer this question, of course.  It’s worth knowing, though, that there are a couple things you need to avoid saying so that your IT staffing agencies and IT recruiters don’t get bad feedback.

Firstly, IT staffing companies would advise that you don’t give an answer that is too subjective.  It will be hard to say something completely objective.  However, especially in IT, where things are constantly backed up with numbers, percentages, and hard data, the best answer will be something you can back up with a story, accomplishment, or example.  For instance, don’t say that your coworkers think you’re funny.  This doesn’t really advance your candidacy, nor is it something you can back up well.  Instead you might say that you’ve got good communication or relationship-building skills.  Then back it up by saying that you’ve made great relationships throughout your previous companies (which of course helped you succeed in these IT jobs).

Secondly, technical recruiters would advise you to avoid answering this question with things that will make you sound arrogant or difficult to work with. You do want to highlight skills and achievements that would make you a great candidate.  But there are ways to describe yourself as competent without sounding full of yourself.  For example, there’s certainly a difference between calling yourself brilliant and saying that you are confident in your abilities in particular technologies or programming languages.  IT staffing firms have a much easier time placing people in jobs when they’re both competent and pleasant people to work with.

 

it job interview questions
You might be funny, but IT job interviews aren’t really the time to talk about it. Photo credit: 1095178 via Pixabay.

 

2 Things You Should Ask About in Your IT Job Interviews

There are a lot of factors that IT professionals use to decide what IT jobs they want to interview for and what they tell their IT recruiters they’d like to pass on. Here are 2 factors that you may not have on the wish list you give your technical recruiters and IT staffing agencies, but are worth asking about in IT job interviews. They might not be immediately obvious, but these factors will definitely impact how much you like your job.

1. Ask your interviewers about how much collaboration you’ll be doing with team members, end-users, etc. Most IT professionals have some idea of how much they enjoy working with others—and who they like working with. Your IT recruiting firms aren’t necessarily going to be able to tell you exactly how much collaboration you’ll have in the jobs you’re interviewing for, or who you’ll be collaborating with. This is something to make sure you talk to your interviewers about and really consider if you get a job offer.
2. Especially in the IT field, continued learning can be very important. Not keeping up with the latest technologies, programming languages, etc could be detrimental to your career. The interview is a great time to ask about what opportunities this role will offer for continued learning. While your IT staffing firms may have some ideas about this, your potential employer can likely give you much more information.

 

IT jobs collaboration
Do you like teamwork in your IT jobs, or do you prefer to work alone? Photo credit: Geralt via Pixabay.

 

 

2 Questions You Should Never Ask in IT Job Interviews

Most IT professionals hear from their IT recruiters and IT staffing companies that it’s really important to be prepared to ask questions at the end of IT job interviews.  While technical recruiters and IT recruiting agencies would rather you ask pretty much any question rather than none, there are some questions that are truly detrimental.  Here are two questions that would severely hurt your chance of getting IT jobs.

  1. Don’t ask any questions about the company that you could have found the answers to on their website, via Google, or by asking your IT staffing agencies. Make sure you take time to do your own research and get some quick background info from your IT recruiting firms. You don’t want to look like you’re unprofessional, lazy, or unprepared.
  2. Don’t ask if they’ll want to run drug tests and/or background or credit checks. Your IT recruiting companies will let you know if these steps are necessary.  These questions also might make it look like you have something to hide. Especially if you don’t have anything to hide, this is an unnecessary risk to your candidacy.

 

IT job search research
Don’t ask any questions you could find from some basic online research. Photo credit: ChristianHoppe via Pixabay.

 

 

 

1 Tip for Telling Interviewers Why You’re Interested in IT Jobs

One common question in interviews is ‘Why does this role interest you?’ IT recruiters and IT staffing companies see plenty of candidates who get asked this question as they interview for IT jobs.  While everyone will answer this question a bit differently, there’s one tip that will really impress your interviewer and technical recruiters:  Make sure part of your answer addresses the company and/or team, not just your interests.

Why is this necessary?  You might have plenty of great reasons why this role fits well into your career path and interests, technical proficiencies, etc.  However, your IT staffing agencies and IT recruiting firms still need you to stress that there is something about this company and/or team in particular that appeals to you or that you feel you can be impactful in.  IT professionals that do really well at their jobs usually do so not just because their skill-sets are compatible with the job.  Their success also comes from how well they fit into their team, like the company or its work, culture, mission, etc.  Your IT recruiting companies and IT staffing firms will have a very easy time getting you IT jobs if you can make it clear in interviews that you’re interested in a role because of the company itself as well as the work.

 

IT job interviews answer
If you’re not mentioning the company or team, you’re missing a key piece of the puzzle in your answer. Photo credit: Wilhei via Pixabay.

 

 

Doing This on Your LinkedIn Profile Won’t Help Your IT Job Search

LinkedIn profiles have arguably become one of the strongest assets for IT professionals in their search for new IT jobs. Technical recruiters and IT staffing agencies often contact candidates based on the strength of their LinkedIn profiles, rather than their resumes. The best profiles, the ones that attract hordes of IT recruiters and IT staffing firms, are like elegant code: concise and powerful.

Most IT recruiting firms have drilled into their candidates that a resume needs to be as brief as possible (without sacrificing quality).  IT recruiting companies are looking for even briefer LinkedIn Profiles. This means that it’s crucial to delete unnecessary information. One prime example of information that you should definitely take out of your profile is a listing of college or grad school courses.

IT staffing companies do want to see your certifications and relevant trainings (this usually means courses outside of school).  However, you’re definitely going to risk losing their interest with a list of other courses that aren’t completely relevant to your career goals. You can save this list for your resume, which IT recruiting agencies will likely ask you for later. When it comes to your LinkedIn profile, keep things a bit leaner than your resume—it will make a big difference in how recruiters see you.

 

IT job search classes
Don’t list all your programming classes on your LinkedIn profile. Photo credit: srfparis via Pixabay.

 

 

Fix Your LinkedIn Profile, Kick Your IT Job Search into Gear

In 2016, one of the best things you can do to attract IT recruiters and IT staffing agencies is to update your LinkedIn profile. While technical recruiters and IT recruiting companies will definitely need a resume, your LinkedIn profile is almost as important. Here is one major mistake to avoid as you update: Giving excessively long descriptions of all the IT jobs you’ve ever held.

Why is this a problem and what should you be doing instead? Firstly, consider your LinkedIn profile akin to a movie trailer for your real resume. IT recruiting firms tend to see hundreds upon hundreds of LinkedIn profiles. Make it easy for IT staffing agencies to decide you’re a great candidate to contact.  Very briefly list the best information about your career. If your profile is long and full of extensive details, it’s less likely that you’ll get a call from IT staffing firms.

Here’s how to clean up your profile a bit if you have too much information under each IT job. Copy all the material to a new document so you can start fresh. Now use that info to create only a handful of statements that are all about your accomplishments at these IT jobs. Check out this blog post for some great verbs to help you build powerful sentences. With fewer bullets that really showcase your worth, get ready to impress IT staffing companies and kick your job search into gear!

 

LinkedIn Profiles IT Job Search
Time is of the essence, so cut down descriptions of your IT jobs on your LinkedIn profile! Photo credit: steinchen via Pixabay.

 

 

Use These Verbs to Revamp Your IT Resume

The New Year is a great time to polish up your resume for your IT recruiters and IT staffing firms.  Employers often hire much more in January than November or December.  To make the most effective bullet points, put the verb at the front of the sentence.

The first kind of verb that will really wow employers and IT recruiting firms are verbs that show a dedication to great customer service.  IT staffing companies often are tasked with filling IT jobs that require not only great technical skills, but also excellent communication skills and abilities with end users or clients.  Some verbs that you might want to use for these bullet points might include: Delivered, Enhanced, Expedited, Improved, Accelerated, and Outpaced.

The second kinds of verbs that will impress your IT recruiting companies and IT staffing agencies are verbs related to significantly improving something (perhaps a process, software, websites, etc).  Listing concrete achievements like this will help employers see your worth and envision you at their company.  Try using verbs like Customized, Merged, Modified, Overhauled, Refined, Remodeled, Restructured, Streamlined, and Upgraded.

The last kind of verb that will impact your resume is one that shows leadership.  Whether it’s a project you officially led, or simply a project you showed some initiative on, make sure to show off a bit and mention them as bullets under your relevant jobs.  Try to use verbs like Designed, Developed, Initiated, Instituted, Launched, Pioneered, and Spearheaded.

 

IT resumes accomplishments
What have you achieved at previous IT jobs? Don’t forget to list it on your IT resume! Photo credit: Foundry via Pixabay