Tag Archives: IT staffing

IT Staffing Sales is Like Fishing

IT staffing sales can be like fishing.  Ultimately, the more lines that you cast in the water, the better your odds of catching that big fish (client).  From the perspective of IT recruiting companies, the more calls that their salespeople put out, the more clients….and ultimately IT jobs….they’ll likely receive.  While there are a number of important intangibles needed to be a successful salesperson in the technical recruiting industry, the one constant is activity.

If you’re considering working in a sales capacity for any of the local technical recruiting companies, you’ll have to understand that it takes heavy call volume to be successful.  However, while many of the calls to prospective information technology managers are cold, they don’t all have to be.  With the advent of Google and Linkedin, IT staffing salespeople can research the client company as well as the manager’s background before each call to try to find a commonality or value-add.  Maybe IT recruiting firms Boston worked with the company in the past or the hiring manager worked at a pervious client.  Whatever the reason, any knowledge can turn the call from cold to warm.

Not many IT recruiters truly like to cold call.  However, the most successful IT recruiting firms teach their salespeople that it is a means to the end.  It’s a means to make money.  Therefore, if you’re going to go fishing, cast as many lines in the water as possible.

IT Recruiters Work Late

The IT staffing industry is certainly not a 9-5pm.  IT recruiters typically get into the office at 8am, then work until 6-7pm at night.  The most successful technical recruiters then check their Blackberry or iPhone throughout the night and respond back to any strong/interested candidates for their IT jobs.  The very best IT recruiters Boston also jump back online to conduct additional IT job searches from the comfort of their own home.

Due to the fact most all job boards, such as Monster, Dice, Careerbuilder and now Linkedin, and now many IT recruiting companies also have web-based databases such as Bullhorn, technical recruiters Boston can do much of their work from home and see the same user interface as they would in the office of their respective IT recruiting firm.

Therefore, if you’re entertaining becoming an IT recruiter, be sure you know what you’re getting into and the hours you’ll need to commit to in order to be successful.  The harder technical recruiters MA work, the more commissions they ultimately make.

Identifying Top IT Talent

There’s an old saying that the best candidates are typically working and that that has never been more true than it is today in the world of Information Technology.  With all of the gloom and doom that we are constantly being fed by the media about the economy, someone outside of the IT staffing industry would be forgiven for thinking that there would be an abundance of high tech candidates competing over a few IT job openings.  That couldn’t be further from the truth.  For that last few years as the economy as continued to falter, the demand for IT resources has increased at a rate that IT staffing companies and IT recruiting firms have struggled to keep pace with.  While you won’t find most technical staffing firms and technical recruiting companies complaining about being one of the few positive growth areas throughout the recession, it has provided the unexpected challenge of finding, then retaining, IT candidates for their clients.

While most IT staffing firms and IT recruiting agencies will still use the traditional methods of searching for candidates such as the job boards and their proprietary database, the lack of quality information technology talent has forced many of the successful companies to go back to their roots and harvest candidates like they had to in the pre-internet days by doing a better job with networking, asking for referrals, and mining passive candidates.  While some IT recruiters find some of these “old school” activities to be outside of their comfort zones, those IT recruiters Boston that have embraced these method have found themselves becoming increasingly successful.  Gone are the days where a recruiter could be successful with a Monster password alone, today’s technical recruiters have to be much more aggressive and proactive and truly think outside of the box.

Great candidates are out there, and they are likely working, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be found or that they don’t want to be found.  The difference is how we have to search.

Evaluating IT Staffing Companies

When it comes to choosing the right IT recruiting firm (among hundreds of IT staffing companies) to represent you with your job search, there are many options.   A quick internet search for an IT staffing or IT recruiting company in any given location can yield overwhelming results.  This can be a particularly challenging issue for many IT job seekers as choosing the wrong company can make the difference between getting their ideal job, or getting the runaround.

There are many factors one should consider when reaching out to IT staffing agencies or technical recruiting companies but here are a couple of quick tell-tale signs that let you know if you are on the right track.  First off, doing a little research on a company can prove very revealing. Typically, where there’s smoke there’s fire so if you see a number of negative Google or Yelp reviews that should serve a good indicator for what you may be getting.  It takes time for someone to add a review (good or bad) so if someone has taken the time to share their experiences with others, they’ve typically felt pretty strongly about what happened to them.

Next, what happens when you finally connect with IT recruiters.  Do they seem genuinely interested in helping you with your career, by asking you questions about your past positions and experiences, in addition to your goals and aspirations moving forward.  Or do they seem more interested in the positions they are currently working on and if you’ll be a fit for any of those openings.  Reputable technical recruiters will want to spend a great deal of time getting to know you and what drives you, so they find the best opportunity for you.  If you’ve determined any follow-up steps after your initial call or meeting some IT headhunters, does the IT recruiter call and/or email as scheduled.  If they don’t do these basic things and appreciate and respect your time then there’s little chance that things will improve.  You only get one chance to make a first impression and if this is a snap shot of the recruiter at their best, then you wouldn’t want to see them at their worst.

Ultimately, it’s very important for a candidate to remember that while IT staffing firms will be evaluating them as they search for a new position, they should also be evaluating the IT staffing agency.  Making the wrong decision can seriously impact a candidates career.

All IT Staffing Companies Are Not Created Equal

If you’re an information technology professional, you know that there are a countless number of IT recruiting firms to choose from when you’re in need help of your next assignment.  Therefore, when searching for the best technical recruiting agency to partner with, consider some of the following as not all IT staffing companies are created equal:

1)  How long has the IT recruiting firm been in business?
– Was the company created after the recent economic recession or did they make it through the downturn?   Unfortunately, or fortunately, recessions typically weed out the weaker technical staffing companies and only the strong survive.

2)  How many IT recruiters and/or IT staffing offices does the company have?
– This would be a good indication of the size of the IT staffing agency, and potentially the attention that you’ll receive.

3)  Google the IT staffing firms and find out what clients and prospective IT job seekers have written about them.  In the information technology age, there are a number of ways to get feedback.

4)  Do the IT staffing comanies have a vertical industry niche that matches your background or a strong footprint with local companies that you’re interested in working for?

IT Recruiters Monopolize the IT Job Market

There are so many IT recruiting companies Boston to choose from it can be overwhelming.  Due to the sheer volume of technical recruiters, it seems like virtually every information technology position from a client company has at least one IT recruiting agency working on it.  Therefore, knowing IT recruiting firms Massachusetts have a virtual monopoly on the local IT job market, prospective candidates should utilize IT staffing services.

When considering what IT headhunters to contact, see our blog posted on July 27, 2012.  You can start by simply doing a Google search for IT recruiters Boston or find a list of IT recruiting firms Boston on the Massachusetts Staffing Association website.  Given there are so many IT recruiters to choose from, be sure to find a technical staffing company that fits your needs and who you feel comfortable with.

What Characteristics Make Up Good IT Recruiters?

I’m often asked the question “what characteristics make up a good IT recruiter.”  My honest answer, and immediate response, is always “hard work.”  You cannot substitute hard work in the IT staffing industry.  The harder (and often longer) technical recruiters work during a day, the more prospective high-tech candidates they reach out to, thus the better the odds of finding that perfect IT consultant for our clients.

In addition to hard work (and dedication – which goes hand in hand), successful IT staffing recruiters are also very organized.  Technical recruiters can talk to hundreds of candidates each day.  However, if they can’t organize themselves, and find the candidates in the future, what good does it do?

Strong IT recruiters are articulate and well-spoken (especially in the current email age).

Finally, the best IT recruiters Boston treat people the way they would want to be treated in return.  Good IT headhunters call back every candidate and keep people updated or give a courtesy call back when someone is waiting for feedback on any number of IT jobs that he or she interviewed for.

Give any one of our technical recruiters a call today and see if we possess these traits!

Coping with Competitive Atmospheres in the Technical Industry

Technical candidates have a range of company atmospheres that best match their personal comfort levels. Some IT pros prefer finance environments, which tend to be fast-paced & high-stress, while others find working at a nonprofit or educational institution more their preference. Regardless of what point on the scale of competition a company lies on, however, what most companies will have in common is some range of competition – between coworkers, between competitors, or simply as a team effort to achieve company goals. How technical candidates cope with stress will determine whether it drives them forward or holds them back. Technical recruiters, who are familar with coping techniques for stress because the nature of their jobs is high on competition, deadlines & unexpected turns of events, are in an ideal position to advise technical candidates entering a potentially stressful work environment on best managing within the atmosphere.

Technical Career Development

Technical candidates can make use of a variety of tools as they seek to map map out a path to career advancement. Technical professional development can happen through membership in a technical organization, through networking with other technical professionals, or through mentorship. Technical recruiting companies can provide key tools to technical candidates to facilitate their potential for success. Among the interview prep services an IT staffing firm can provide to boost a talented technical candidate’s chances of interview success is interviewing role play. Especially for technical positions that involve a phone screen & face-to-face interview stage, a technical recruiter willing to guide a technical candidate through a practice run of each type of interview will have a much higher chance of placing a solid candidate than IT recruiter who preps a technical candidate minimally.

When IT recruiters coach technical candidates for interviews, they should be sure to cover several main topics. Environment is key subject for a technical recruiter to go in-depth on, as a candidate who is technically proficient, but not a culture fit won’t pass final interviewing rounds. Another often overlooked, but significant factor to familiarize a technical candidate with is the company’s organizational structure, and more importantly, the hierarchy structure of the specific company group the technical candidate would be working with. Sample interview questions will also help a technical candidate to formulate answers that are concise & consistent – crucial for a good interviewing “story”. Reviewing common questions such as inquiries about long-term goals will help a candidate respond effortlessly when the real deal comes around. Finally, a little positive encouragement never hurt anyone’s interviewing chances! Letting a candidate know they’re a natural fit for the role (if it’s your genuine opinion) & that they’re in a great position to perform to win during the interview will be a plus for a technical candidate & IT recruiters’ chances of a successful placement.

Leading in Technical Engineering

Technical recruiters who want to best understand how to identify top candidates for technical engineering positions should have a good understanding of the role of a technical engineering leader. The ability to recognize leadership traits & categorize leadership ability or potential separately from other good professional qualities will make recruiting for management-level technical engineering roles easier. Directors in technical recruiting understand that there are technical, functional & interpersonal aspects of technical leadership. A technical engineer in a leadership function needs to have a range of skill-sets that a technical professional in non-management levels of the same role may not have, or need — at least until he or she advances into a leadership role!

The important skills – what should IT recruiters know about the skills a technical engineer should have when coaching a technical canditate seeking to enter a leadership role for the first time? A technical engineer expecting to enter a management role should be prepared to collaborate with product management to define a product roadmap, hiring motivated employees, interfacing regularly with senior management, and adressing budgeting concerns. Management in IT is different from non-management technical positions, so technical recruiters and technical candidates who understand what’s involved to make the leap will be best positioned to reap the benefits of the preparation.