Tag Archives: IT staffing agencies

Why Were You Rejected from that Tech Job?

January 9, 2018

So you polished up your resume, you built a stellar list of references, and you got yourself submitted to some IT jobs that look perfect for you. But lo and behold, your IT staffing firms called you to let you know you didn’t land the job (or maybe even the interview). What happened? What should you do? Here’s a little insider info from IT recruiting firms.

Why didn’t you get the job? There are a lot of factors why people are rejected from the hiring process. You may never know which reasons apply to you, but it can be a comfort to know them, because many of them are completely out of your control and have nothing to do with your marketability as an IT professional. Here are the main reasons IT recruiters see people rejected from a job.

The project or the role changed. This happens all the time, especially with more technical roles. The kinds of projects that IT professionals work on are subject to change for all the usual reasons a company’s project changes, but also because technologies themselves change so quickly. Perhaps a company plans to use Angular for a project, but decides they’d like to move on to a hotter new technology and use Angular 2. That means the roles they’re hiring for drastically change, just like that! Roles will also change if they’ve been open for a long time. If a company is having a hard time finding the perfect software developer, the life cycle development of a project still won’t stop. A team could need a software developer with different skills as the project progresses.
You weren’t a culture fit. This may seem like a small thing compared to technical acumen, but IT staffing agencies find that it’s not. In fact, one of our own technical recruiters estimates that culture fit issues account for 50-60% of the candidate rejections he sees! The days of heads-down coders are over and Scrum and Agile are all the rage. Companies usually want a team that gels well, because they’ll be working together closely. For roles that are client-facing or customer service oriented, this becomes all the more imperative. If, for instance, you’re applying for a Helpdesk role or Sales Engineer role, having a warm, engaging personality is one of the explicitly stated job requirements.
Maybe other candidates really were just better. It’s natural to feel like you’re the best candidate for the job. The truth is, though, you’ll almost always be competing against other candidates. You never know if your completion has more experience, a better arsenal of technologies at their disposal, or is just more pleasant to work with. You may always feel like you’re the best fit for the job, but statistically speaking, you can’t always be the best fit for the job. Sometimes another candidate is a better match.

What can you do if you don’t get the role?

You can start by politely asking your IT recruiters for feedback. If they have it, they’ll often be happy to share. It could be that you can get actionable feedback, like a suggestion to get more experience with a particular technology, or that you came across as rude in your interview. On the other hand, sometimes there is no feedback.
It’s important not to try to argue your candidacy with the recruiter, and especially not the hiring manager. This strategy never lands somebody the job. In fact, often it burns a bridge and blacklists you at that company in the future. Hiring managers don’t appreciate being told that they don’t know how to make good decisions for their teams. They also don’t want to hire people who look arrogant. You will likely accomplish one or both of those if you push back when a hiring manager rejects you.
Try to remember that if you don’t land a job, it’s like dodging a bullet. Whether you’re rejected by IT staffing companies at the application stage or later after an interview, what you’re essentially hearing is that the employer doesn’t have confidence you’d be successful in the role. Even if you could do the role just fine, who wants to work in a job where their boss isn’t sure they can hack it? A rejection is just saving your from pain down the road and opening you up for a job that you can succeed and be happy in.

How IT Recruiting Firms Can Help You Relocate

October 26, 2017

Sometimes you have reasons to move across the country: your spouse or partner got a new job, you want to be closer to family, or maybe you just need a change of scenery. When it’s time to make a huge move like this, getting a new job will be a big piece of the puzzle. To figure out this part of your moving plan, you should seriously consider working with IT staffing companies. In fact, IT recruiting firms are especially helpful with this kind of task. Here are 2 reasons why:

They’re local to the area. Reaching out to IT staffing firms can be a great way to conduct your job search if you’re picking an area that you’re not familiar with. Or perhaps you’re looking at an area that you’re a little familiar with but haven’t been back to in a while. Either way, good IT recruiters will advise you on what jobs can give you a good commute or they can advise you on what part of town you should live in to optimize your options for IT jobs.
They can help you find the job that suits you. Besides knowing the area geographically, IT recruiting agencies know detailed information about the employers in it. They can tell you what technical skill-sets is in-demand in each area so you can build up or tailor your resume. They can also tell you which companies have good reputations as employers (and what companies don’t). This is the kind of information you need to be able to find a job that you can be happy and succeed in. It’s not just about landing any job that will hire you! You want a job that values your skills and experience and has a corporate culture you fit into and enjoy. It can be hard to find this on your own, but luckily you don’t have to. Good IT staffing agencies build strong relationships with local employers. They make it their business to know what technical skills and experiences these employers need, as well as what kind of work environment they offer. You can capitalize on this insight when you build a good relationship with technical recruiters wherever you relocate.

Can Your Parents or Spouse Call Employers for You During Your Tech Job Search?

September 6, 2017

Occasionally IT recruiters and hiring managers get calls or emails about jobs from a strange place: a job seeker’s spouse or parents. IT recruiting agencies and employers will get everything from initial inquiries, follow up calls or emails, actual job applications from an IT professional’s wife, mother, boyfriend, etc. While it may seem like this is a just a supportive gesture from a loved one, it can actually hamper one’s job search, if not a candidate’s reputation. Here’s why you need to make sure you are the point of contact for your own job search—as well as what your family members can do to help with your job search effectively.

Having your parents, spouse, etc reach out to employers and IT staffing firms on your behalf makes you look less professional and/or unmotivated. As with most other elements of the job search, there are basic expectations about who speaks for you. Professional norms dictate that either you or your technical recruiters submit your applications, follow-ups, inquiries, etc. Anything else will be confusing and make it look like you aren’t aware of this (and thus probably other) professional norms. Hiring managers might assume that if you have your parent or spouse call on your behalf, then you aren’t ready to participate in the workforce because you just don’t understand how to interact with employers.

Besides making you look unprofessional, a call or email from your parent or spouse will make you seem unmotivated. IT recruiting companies and hiring managers want you to make these calls and emails because you’re ultimately invested in landing new IT jobs. If somebody else is calling for you, it could look like you’re not interested enough to do it yourself. Especially in tech, where a passion for the work, the company, the team, or some combination of all of these is so imperative, you don’t want to present yourself as possibly disinterested in your own candidacy. Show you care about the jobs you’re applying to (or discussing with your recruiters) by making all calls and emails yourself. Don’t ask your spouse, parents, etc to do it for you.

Having your spouse or parents reach out to employers and IT recruiters on your behalf could ruin your reputation. The tech field can be a small place. Between the popularity of LinkedIn (which can help connect all hiring managers to each other) and the small number of qualified IT professionals who move around to similar jobs and companies, your reputation can be paramount. It’s very easy for a manager to do a back-door reference on you or for IT staffing companies to blackball you. Thus if you continually make a mistake, like having your parents call on your behalf about your job application, many people might hear about it. Even if you find a job now, you’ll likely be looking for one in the future. Don’t hurt your chances of finding IT jobs by becoming known as the unprofessional candidate who outsources their job search to the wife, husband, parents, etc.

What can a spouse, parent, or family member do to successfully help you with your job search? IT staffing agencies suggest that you tell well-meaning loved ones to help by doing a few things behind the scenes. A parent or spouse can find and send you jobs to apply to (while not completing the application themselves!), suggest companies you may want to apply to, or find IT recruiting firms you might want to work with. They can also help write your resumes and cover letters or practice for interviewers. Of course, as the candidate, you will have to be your own advocate. Employers and recruiters should speak with you and only you. But that doesn’t mean that your loved ones can’t help prepare you to interact with employers and recruiters. In fact, it’s often encouraged, especially when it comes to interview preparation!

IT job search tips — Tell your spouse to hold off on calling that recruiter for you! Photo credit: JESHOOTS via Pixabay.

Don’t Miss This Step When You Interview Candidates

July 27, 2017

Hiring managers are often nervous about giving feedback to job candidates. They’re concerned about getting stuck in long, protracted arguments with candidates about why they would be a good fit for a job. Or worse, managers afraid of getting sued by a rejected candidate. Instead of risking any unpleasant dealings with candidates, IT staffing firms find that managers often give no feedback at all—sometimes not even an email or call rejecting them. With the popularity of sites like Glassdoor, Indeed and LinkedIn, though, it’s becoming imperative for hiring managers to change their approach. The best way for employers to reject candidates is to give at least a little feedback, even if it’s very vague.

Why should you give some feedback to candidates (instead of nothing)? There are two reasons for this.

Sites like Glassdoor and Indeed have all made a company’s reputation as an employer (and interviewer) very accessible. Anybody can look up your company online before they interview or even apply there. If candidates never hear from you after an interview, they may leave an angry review (and bring down your average score). Giving some feedback, even if it’s brief and vague, is a kindness that all candidates will appreciate. IT staffing companies suggest that you invest the extra time in doing what you can to make the hiring and application process positive for candidates. It pays off when it comes to your online reputation.

The tech field can be small, especially when it comes to the job market. There are only so many candidates who have the qualifications to do IT jobs in certain areas. LinkedIn has made it even smaller. With all the connecting that LinkedIn encourages, it’s easy for candidates to hear what your application and hiring process is like. Make sure people only have good things to say about you. Don’t leave candidates hanging, waiting for a reason why they didn’t land the job—or waiting to hear they didn’t land the job at all!

So what should you do? Try to give feedback to every candidate who applied, and definitely give feedback to candidates who have interviewed. Here are some examples of effective ways IT staffing agencies suggest giving feedback to a candidate.

Vague responses might include:
“We decided to move forward with another candidate”

“We decided to move forward with another candidate with more experience.”

“We didn’t feel the job would be a good fit, but we wish you the best of luck in your search.”

You can also choose to give more specific feedback to a candidate. This works as long as you focus on particular skills or experience that can’t be disputed. You might say something like:
“We moved forward with a candidate who had more experience in Linux environments.”

“We needed a candidate who has more exposure to Cloud-based technologies.”

Interview mistakes — Don’t miss this step! Photo credit: jessica45 via Pixabay.

2 Tips for Hiring Tech Talent

July 21, 2017

It can be tough to fill open tech positions at your company. The US still has a shortage of qualified professionals to fill the new IT jobs which open up or are created daily. IT recruiting firms find that the tech field is still very much a job seeker’s market. How can you make sure your company stays competitive in attracting and hiring the best talent? Here are 2 tips from IT staffing companies on best practices for hiring tech talent.

1. Focus on building a great corporate culture. Tech employers used to compete for great talent with their perks. In the beginning of the Dotcom boom, stocked kitchens, catered lunches, subsidized commuting costs, etc used to be a huge draw. Now it seems that many other industries have jumped on this bandwagon. Exciting perks are much more available at many employers, and thus aren’t really as a big of a draw to IT professionals.

The new commodity that’s harder to come by, and thus a bigger draw, is great culture. Glassdoor and its anonymous, unfiltered reviews has probably played a big hand in making job searchers more aware of this. IT recruiters find that candidates often ask about the management and corporate culture at a potential job right after they hear about the work. Having an open, innovative culture that allows employees some agency in shaping their life at work is a huge draw. If you want to attract technical talent, IT staffing firms suggest building a management team with great communication skills, an interest in helping their employees grow and build their skill base, and who prioritize their employees’ happiness.

Building great corporate culture might be one of the hardest ways to attract employees, but technical recruiters suggest it because it’s effective and it also helps retain employees down the road. Instead of investing in gimmicky perks, take time to make your company a workplace where people are generally happy. It will pay off now, and in the future.

2. Move faster in your hiring process. IT recruiting agencies caution employers against moving at too slowly for hiring all tech positions. As mentioned before, the tech field is a job seeker’s market. The unemployment rate for IT professionals is notoriously low—often as low as half the national average. If a candidate comes on the market, they could be gone in as little as 2 weeks. (Highly sought after IT professionals like DevOps and Big Data Engineers, as well as Full-Stack or CRM Developers might be off the market even faster than that!) IT staffing agencies find that many candidates aren’t even ever unemployed or looking. They’re passive candidates who are lured away from their current job with a pay raise, better commute, etc. So if you want to hire the best tech talent, you’ll have to move fast. Respond to applications and submittals by IT recruiting companies as soon as you can. Make offers in days, not weeks. IT recruiters see employers lose out on the candidates they really want all to frequently because they just took too long.

Hiring tech talent can be tough in such a job seeker’s market. Photo credit: Pexels via Pixabay.

Tips for Your Summer IT Job Hunt

July 20, 2017

Unlike some fields like Education or Retail, hiring trends in the Tech sector usually stay steady in the Summer. Because technology is vital to most business operations, and because innovation is necessary to a competitive business, Tech employees are indispensable. Replacing them or adding new ones often cannot wait until after Labor Day. Your job search in the summer may be a different beast than the rest of the year, though. Here are two tips for tailoring your search for IT jobs when the weather gets hot and everyone is on vacation.

Take advantage of the strong market for passive job seekers. If you’re in the Tech field, you have the option to be more of a passive job seeker than in other fields. Even if you don’t apply to jobs directly, you probably still get contacted by IT recruiters. Between LinkedIn, Monster, and other similar web sites, it’s very easy for IT staffing firms to find you. If you’re looking for a new job in the summer, but want to spend more time outside than on your job search, take advantage of this passive job seeker market. Reach out to IT recruiting agencies with your updated resume. Turn on the ‘interested in other opportunities’ switch on your LinkedIn profile. Post your resume on Indeed and Monster. Add a line to your LinkedIn profile about being open to new opportunities. One caveat: don’t do any of these things if you think your boss or coworkers will see and respond negatively! You don’t want to endanger your current employment.

Ask for timelines when you’re interviewing, waiting for feedback, etc. You’ll need to walk a fine line with this, but having better expectations will make the process easier. Hiring for permanent jobs in the tech sector can be extra slow in the summer. Companies may be forced to wait on managers and their vacation schedules to set up interviews, make hiring decisions, get feedback, etc. If you’re working with IT recruiting companies, this is exactly the kind of advantage they’ll provide. You can ask them when they think managers will make a decision and what the next steps in the process are with impunity. There’s no risk that you’ll look desperate or bother a hiring manager. If you’re not working with IT staffing agencies, you can still ask for timelines on hiring decisions, scheduling interviews, etc. The key is to do so judiciously. Ask once. Don’t ask somebody like the CEO of the company, or a very high up manager. Try asking somebody like HR or the internal recruiter, who won’t mind answering questions like this at all.

IT jobs summer — Your summer IT job search could have some sweet results if you work with an IT recruiting firm. Photo credit: Fruitnmore via Pixabay.

How to Deal With Negative Interview Feedback

June 27, 2017

One of the advantages of working with IT recruiters is that they can sometimes pass along feedback from interviewers who don’t hire you. Even though it can sting a little to hear you didn’t land some IT jobs, the feedback can be golden. Here’s what to do with it.

1. Stop and really listen. If your IT staffing companies can provide feedback on why you didn’t land the job, take every word in. Ask questions if you don’t understand. The point is to get as much information as possible, because this is a window into a hiring manager’s view of you.

2. Don’t take it personally. While this feedback is helpful and should be taken seriously, it doesn’t mean you’re an inadequate candidate. IT recruiting firms work on thousands of jobs every day. These jobs require different skills, different kinds of personality, a different work style, etc. If you aren’t what the hiring manager wants, that’s ok. You want to be hired for a job where you have what the hiring manager wants because you want to be hired for a job you will succeed in. Think about children’s puzzles where you fit shapes into the corresponding holes. You would never shove a square peg into a round hole. It would break the peg or puzzle over time. You want to work with your IT staffing agencies until you find the kind of job that you’re a great fit for. Find the square hole for your square peg.

3. Don’t argue if you disagree with the feedback. Even if you think the hiring manager is patently wrong, you shouldn’t argue with your technical recruiters. There are a three reasons for this.

a. Firstly, you won’t be able to change a hiring manager’s mind. Most hiring managers rely on their gut, and you simply can’t argue with this. Even if the hiring manager is wrong, they will always think of you as having this deficiency.

b. The second reason you shouldn’t argue with the feedback is that it can provide a chance to better yourself. Do you need to brush up on that technology? Are your communication skills with higher level executives rusty? Even if you didn’t initially think so, take this opportunity to do so now. This is a chance to make yourself even more marketable to the next interviewer!

c. The third reason not to argue with feedback from a job interview is that you’ll want to continue to get this feedback! You want IT recruiting companies to feel the feedback they give is appreciated and taken seriously. When you argue with it, most IT recruiters will decide they never want to give you feedback again. Why deny yourself this valuable tool in improving your candidacy?!

Want to see our open IT jobs? Follow us on LinkedIn. We post new jobs daily!

job interview tips — Don’t argue with interview feedback. Listen to it! Photo credit: Hans via Pixabay.

Tips for Second Job Interviews

June 14, 2017

When you’re working with IT staffing firms to find a new role, sometimes you’ll have to do a second in-person interview. Since second job interviews aren’t as common, candidates often feel unsure about how to approach them. Here are some tips from IT recruiting companies on handling second in-person job interviews.

How to dress: Dress in a suit or other business professional attire. Even though dress codes in many companies are becoming more relaxed, the suit is still king for interviews. Sometimes, candidates will go to a first in-person interview and find that everyone is wearing jeans. Don’t let this throw you off. Technical recruiters find that candidates make a better impression when they dress professionally at all stages of the interview. You want to show respect to the company and their hiring process. Following the dress code is part of that. If you get the job, you can dress down when you start the job.

How to prepare: Do two things in particular this time. Firstly, research the company a bit more deeply. Secondly, prepare new questions. Your second interview will likely differ from the first. First interviews are often more about establishing your technical skills and experience. You might do white-boarding or coding tests. The second in-person interview is much more about how well you fit into the team and/or company. Start your preparation by doing a deeper dive into researching the company, product, and corporate culture. Your IT recruiting firms might have some thoughts on web sites to visit, as you do this. They may also be able to tell you who your interviewers will be. If so, it’s a good idea to do a little research on your interviewers, too. The more you know about the company, its products or services, and your interviewers, the more you can show an interest in them. In the tech field, a deep passion for the work, the company, and the products or services will go far!

The second thing you should do in your preparations for your interview is to come up with new questions. You can use some of your research about the company to come up with these questions. You can also just come up with other questions about the role, management styles, etc. It will be important for you to have different questions than you asked in your first interview. For more ideas about interview questions to ask, check out this blog post.

How to answer questions: Focus on bringing something new to the table and really let your personality shine in this interview. Even if you’re asked the same questions again, there are many ways you can tweak your answers to be different. Be patient if you’re asked a question twice or asked something similar. You may be meeting with a mix of new and old people who will unwittingly repeat each other. You want to answer questions so people who have already interviewed you hear something new that strengthens your candidacy. You also want to try to be understanding of this if they repeat questions or discussions. If you are impatient about it, you won’t land the job. Nobody wants to work with somebody who is rude or difficult. IT staffing agencies advise you to remember that your personality and your ability to fit into the culture of the team and company are what hiring managers are focusing on in this second interview. Make sure you present your best self here.

Want to see our open IT jobs? Follow us on LinkedIn. We post new jobs daily!

IT job interviews — Your second job interview is all about culture fit. Photo credit: miranijenish via Pixabay.

3 Tips for Better Interviewing

June 8, 2017

There’s a lot of bad advice about how to interview candidates. This has gotten even worse in the tech sector since Google’s unorthodox interview questions were leaked. People have been rampantly speculating on (and misinterpreting) how the coveted employers in the IT field conduct interviews. If you’re hiring for your open IT jobs, check out these 3 tips from IT recruiting companies on how to interview without scaring away your candidates.

Don’t use gimmicky formats or tests. Don’t make your candidates do trendy personality tests. Don’t force them to answer every question in a very short time frame. Don’t put them through any cut-throat group interviews/competitions. The point of your interview is to get a sense of what kind of employee the candidate is. When you make them uncomfortable with unexpected activities, you’re not going to get this information. All you’re going to do is make the candidate uncomfortable….and maybe inspire them to tell their IT recruiters and everyone who visits Glassdoor all about the bizarre ordeal you put them through.

Don’t be a jerk. There are a lot of trendy techniques out there that center around purposely being rude to a candidate to see how they operate under stress. Some say you should order a candidate’s lunch incorrectly to see how they handle potential conflict. Some say to make an effort to be mean to the candidate to see how they handle working with difficult people. There are likely many other variations of this. The problem is that all of these scenarios will send good IT professionals running in the opposite direction. Especially since the tech field is a job seeker’s market, IT staffing agencies strongly caution against disrespecting the candidate. The US is still experiencing a real shortage of good, qualified IT professionals. Keep in mind that candidates are using an interview to decide what working at your company will be like. If you’re awful to them in an interview, they’ll decide to seek out other IT jobs where they will be treated well. It’s important to note that you can always ask a candidate and their references how they handle difficult people or stressful situations. Most people are very forthcoming about this because if they don’t handle it well, they won’t want a job where it’s prevalent!

Don’t ask trendy questions just to ask them. If you don’t know why you’re asking a candidate what animal they’d be at the zoo, don’t ask them. Some employers do have answers or thought processes they’re looking for when they ask these questions. Others just ask these questions because they think it will be be fun to ask or doing so might convey that the company culture is creative and fun. If you want to convey that you have a fun, creative culture, IT staffing agencies suggest that you just say so. Or point to your Glassdoor reviews. Or introduce the candidate to happy members of your team. There are many ways to do this. Keep in mind that interviews are already stressful for candidates. Don’t make them even more uncomfortable by forcing them to answer questions that confuse them or surprise them.

Want to see our open IT jobs? Follow us on LinkedIn. We post new jobs daily!

Interview tips for hiring managers — Don’t make your candidates feel uncomfortable in job interviews– even if it’s trendy. Photo credit: Jarmoluk via Pixabay

Are You Ready for Your Technical Job Interview?

June 2, 2017

If you have some interviews for IT jobs coming up, try using this checklist to make sure that you’re ready.

1. Did you lay out, wash, and iron, a professional outfit? Even in the tech sphere, where many companies allow jeans and a t-shirt, IT recruiters still recommend wearing a suit to your interviews. Make things easy for yourself and make sure it’s ready to go right when you need it.

2. Did you talk to your technical recruiters about the commute? Did you look at your best routes on Google? Are you leaving yourself enough time for traffic, train trouble, bad weather, etc? Are you leaving early enough to meet your recruiter first (if they request it) or to do a security check if necessary? It’s also worth noting that if you’re unsure about doing this commute regularly, consider trying it out during a day and time with comparable traffic patterns. IT staffing firms see people quit jobs all the time because their commute is miserable.

3. Did you study up on relevant technologies? Sometimes IT recruiting firms find that candidates will just assume their ‘rusty’ skills are enough to get them through an interview. Be honest with yourself and study up on a technology if you need to before you go to your job interview.

4. Did you practice some basic interview questions? You’re going for a technical interview, but you’ll still be asked things like, ‘What’s your greatest weakness?’ Or ‘What’s your greatest strength?’ IT staffing companies suggest that you role play with a family member or friend just to be ready for these questions. If you put time into sharpening your technical skills, you should put time into sharpening your general interviewing skills, too! Don’t assume answering these questions is something you can do off the cuff.

5. Did you print out copies of your resume, or will your recruiters bring them for you? Figure this out so you can be prepared in case a hiring manager needs them. If you don’t have access to a printer before your interview, most IT recruiting agencies will bring you a few copies with no issue.

6. Did you prepare a few questions to ask the interviewer? IT staffing agencies find that the candidates who really impress interviewers are the ones who have a few great questions in their back pockets. If you don’t have any to ask, you’ll look disinterested or unprepared. Questions like ‘What would success look like in this role?’ aren’t just for you—they help the interviewer see what kind of employee you’re ready to be!

Want to see our open IT jobs? Follow us on LinkedIn. We post new jobs daily!