Tag Archives: IT staffing

Should IT Recruiters Respond to Emails on Vacation?

You have planned a week long getaway from the IT recruiting office in another country, far away from hiring managers, ongoing IT job interviews, and IT consultants.  You set up your auto response and request all urgent matters be sent to a fellow technical recruiter.  Before you press save, be mindful of these vacation email response tips.

Spam

Providing an automatic response confirms your email address to potential spammers.  Stop before you give out your account managers’ or technical recruiters’ email addresses in your vacation auto-reply.  You may be unwittingly exposing them to spam.  Instead, try to customize your message for those on your contact list, and then have a template for others.  Also, you may want to set up the response so it only reaches contacts once.  Then they are not repeatedly spammed with your out of office message.

Location

For security purposes, do not provide the location of your vacation or the itinerary unless it’s a trusted family member or friend.  Letting others know your house will be vacant during your absence creates a threat of vandalism and theft.  Also, others outside IT staffing firms simply do not need to know your business.

Warn Ahead of Time

The IT staffing world will go on without you while you are on your holiday, so think twice before you check your email.  Warn others at technical recruiting firms ahead of time for projects that will need your approval, consent, or opinion.  By repeatedly checking and responding to emails while you are away, you’re letting work consume your life and disrupt your time to relax.  By providing a heads up, there will be no excuse, guilt, or blame for when you return.

Incorporating Skype into IT Job Interviews: Candidates

Phone screens are quite common during interview rounds as hiring managers select final candidates for IT job opportunities.  With new information technology, IT recruiting firms may even vamp up their interview procedure with an innovative type of screening known as the Skype screen.  If you are a prospective candidate, read on for information and tips to make the most out of a Skype screening.

Check Technology

Prior to the interview, check your audio equipment and microphone.  Though most laptops come with standard webcam features, you may want to invest in newer equipment so your IT staffing interview runs as smoothly as possible.  Check your network connection for a clear signal and send all attachments to technical recruiters prior to the interview.  Have the attachments and your resume open and ready at the start of the Skype call for quick access.

Dress the Part

Just because the interview is in your home, candidates should not become too comfortable.  Opt for an entire suit rather than a dressy shirt and casual pants while maintaining a business attitude.  Use a professional Skype handle versus personal accounts.  Remember to smile and have natural facial expressions during the conversation with IT recruiters.  Also, the camera is where you will be making eye contact, so do not become distracted by staring at yourself while speaking or watching your IT recruiting audience.

Beware of distractions

Interviewing in the privacy of your own home is a luxury, but remember to keep it a formal interview.  Ask family members and roommates for privacy while keeping pets out of the picture.  Use a blank wall or cleared space for your background.  IT headhunters will find it hard to believe you are organized if they spy a cluttered background or mess!

One of the best reasons to conduct a Skype interview is to record and review it after.  Take notes on areas of strength and room for improvement.  The Skype interview may help candidates of technical recruiting firms better communication skills as you become more comfortable with the experience!

Should You Criticize Your IT Staffing Supervisor?

When your supervisor is slacking or not working efficiently, how do you handle the situation?  Some may take on additional workloads at IT recruiting companies while others openly vent their frustrations.  Before you begin cursing your boss with fellow technical recruiters, bite your tongue.  Here are some tips for making open suggestions and providing feedback to your manager.

Set Example

By bashing your supervisor with IT recruiters, you are not only being disloyal, but you are also making the problem worse.  The only accomplishment of focusing and sharing negatives will bring is a hit to the team moral.  Rather than pinpointing flaws, act as a leader by brainstorming and devising solutions to outstanding problems.

Approach in Private

Prior to your meeting, plan what you will say and how you will say it in the most tactful and respectable manner.  The goal is not to embarrass your IT recruiting manager, but to provide honest feedback from the field.  When the timing is right, ask to speak to your boss in private.  Try to avoid having the discussion around other IT professionals as it may make them feel uncomfortable.

Listen

Keep in mind that your boss is taking the time to listen to your suggestions so hear his reasoning.  You may not be seeing the whole picture from your point of view.  The suggestions you present may have been tried in the past or pose additional concerns.  You may leave the meeting with a more open mind and better idea of IT staffing company goals.

When an entire team of IT headhunters is having an issue with a supervisor who is not open to suggestions, it might be a good idea to approach a trusted manager.  The objective of your constructive criticism is to improve teamwork and technical recruiting output.  Keep the issues strictly IT recruitment related and leave personal matters at the door.

IT staffing firms are always seeking ways to differentiate themselves from competitors.  If you have either suggestions or criticisms, most managers are open to listening!

Is this IT Recruiter Cheap or Frugal?

Being perceived as frugal is a favorable quality, but unfortunately it is also misconstrued as cheap.  At IT recruiting companies, you may know candidates, hiring managers, or fellow technical recruiters who can seem to stretch a dollar while still keeping things classy.  You may also know an individual who tries to get by as inexpensively possible by taking any means necessary.  In an economically troubled society, what crosses the line from frugal to just plain cheap?

Cheapskate

A technical recruiter does not feel like buying groceries.  He relies on the snacks in the IT staffing office kitchen for breakfast.  Lunch rolls around and he is feeling pretty hungry.  He reaches out to a sales representative for an impromptu client lunch… on their tab.  The IT headhunter orders the most expensive meal on the menu and turns his head when the check arrives.  He takes both his and the sales representative’s leftovers for tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s lunch.

When you are saving money at the expense of others, you are being cheap.  A rule of thumb, if it feels like you are cheating the system or taking advantage of another party, you are being cheap.  Stop making others at technical recruiting companies feel uncomfortable and realign your values.  Before you take more than you need, think about how this puts you at an advantage and if it is completely necessary.  Typically those who are cheap are unhappy, so by becoming more flexible with your budget you may easily remove a stressful trigger.

Frugal

IT recruiters decide to go out for lunch together.  Not sacrificing quality over price, they use a coupon they found online to an upper tier restaurant.  After leaving, they realize the restaurant provided extra napkins and utensils with their leftovers.  They bring them back to the IT staffing company for others to use with their lunches.

The difference between frugal recruiters and cheap recruiters is that thrifty IT headhunters use the resources available to them while cheap individuals shamefully take from others. Those who are financially responsible are typically generous, fair, and are often times more happy than those who are cheap.  Their values are more in line with what is important in the quality of life versus what is in their pockets.      

The next time you feel like being cheap, ask yourself if it is actually worth it and what need you will be satisfying.  There are more important things in life than money, so avoid the temptation of greed.  Guaranteed you will feel less stressed and more self assured when fiscal burdens are removed from the equation!

Too Competitive in the IT Staffing World

Almost everyone can recognize the overly competitive and often overachieving technical recruiter.  Rather than being supportive of other’s accomplishments, they hide in their cube and dwell over their latest feat.  When they do not reach their own goals, they punish themselves and others with a severe attitude and immense workload.  When does competitive turn from ambitious to toxic?  Read on for clues that you may be too aggressive in the IT recruiting office.

Me, Me, Me

If you are only concerned with yourself at IT staffing companies, you will bring down the team.  Not utilizing or participating in teamwork is not working effectively or efficiently.  Share resources, make suggestions, and provide feedback to make positive changes for technical recruiters, hiring managers, and candidates.  You will be a more valuable asset to IT recruiting companies than if you are just reeling in revenue and soaring above your peers.  There is nothing wrong with trying to improve yourself by setting realistic, attainable goals, but just make sure you are not hindering other IT recruiters or being selfish in the process.

Short Run Focus

Focusing solely upon the present may bring in leads, interviews, and new IT job opportunites, but are these quality results?  A solid deal that will bring in long term revenue is better than a short term prospect filled with risk and doubt.  Rather than turning to the easy route, challenge yourself by achieving long term goals and assignments.  Remember that that quality of your output is more important than the quantity.

Miserable

Finally, being competitive with your own team is bound to make you unhappy and the added stress unhealthy.  When you are upset that other IT headhunters succeed, you will make the team feel uncomfortable.  Instead of taking on more than you can handle, ration your work and focus on your own goals.  As others achieve, congratulate and ask for tips.

When you begin to feel envious of your co-workers’ accomplishments, focus on your goals and make small steps toward improvement!

 

IT Recruiting: Best Decision Making Tips

When an IT recruiter is presented with multiple options, how does he choose which is best?  Technical recruiters encourage candidates to make the best choices in terms of their careers and opportunities on a daily basis.  For those applicants and hiring managers in frequent limbos, IT recruiters can provide helpful tips to making the most beneficial decisions.  Continue reading on for some useful tips from the elite IT headhunters of AVID Technical Resources.

Make a List

It might sound too basic and simple, but by brainstorming and creating a list of your choices, you can put ideas into perspective.  You may also discover different options you were previously unaware of.  Tweak your list by conducting research and nixing those that are cumbersome or unfavorable.

Pros and Cons

When you have narrowed your selection to a few options, make a second list of pros and cons for each choice’s outcome.  Try to avoid over thinking the process and realize that it is acceptable to make mistakes.  If necessary, approach your IT staffing team for a second opinion after you have gathered your facts.  Involving others from technical recruiting companies in the decision making process takes the burden off of one individual and opens the floor to different, and often better, suggestions.

Intuition

If you find you are still torn between your options, try going with your gut instinct and maintain your confidence.  When you are passionate about an idea, let your intuition guide you in the right direction.  Second guessing yourself typically leads to more mistakes so get an idea and stick to it!

Learn from Mistakes

Never dwell on an error or if a plan does not go as expected.  Making mistakes is one of the best ways to learn at IT recruiting companies.  Next time the issue or project comes up, you will be better prepared to handle it.

Making decisions can be a stressful experience, but by using these tips you can help ease the process!

IT Recruiting Tips: Your Elevator Pitch

When you step into technical recruiting firms for interviews, does your mind draw blanks or do you spill every intimate detail ranging from your professional experience to your personal life?  You never get a second chance to make a first impression, so when hiring managers or technical recruiters request that you tell them about yourself, you instantaneously become vulnerable.  Loosen up and use these provided tips to ease through your IT job interview starting with your elevator pitch.

Prepare

Prepare your elevator pitch by sitting down and writing out your key accomplishments and experiences that are unique to you.  After you have drafted up some points, make it concise by highlighting your education and employment history.  Keep repeating until you have the most important facts along with a theme.  This will be your elevator pitch.

Longer is NOT better: You have the whole interview to discuss your other relevant experience and resume, so leave some material out of your pitch.  Also, after about one minute, the attention span of hiring manager and IT recruiters begin to diminish.  To maintain the spotlight, keep it short by limiting yourself to sixty seconds.

Be Honest

Be honest about your skills and experience.  Do you want your first impression for hiring managers or IT headhunters to be that you are a liar?  Embellishing what you did during your elevator pitch is a slippery slope because you will have to explain yourself later in the IT staffing interview.  Stick to the facts, but do not be too modest by selling yourself short.

There is a difference between talking yourself up and lying.  Eventually, the truth will come out and you will burn bridges in the process if you are dishonest.  Stick to the facts and win over IT recruiting companies with your personality!

Practice

Always practice your elevator pitch so there is a smooth transition from first introductions.  You may be nervous, but the more your practice, the easier it will become.  Try not to make the routine too rehearsed and vary your tone and body movements so it appears natural.

Nearly anyone can memorize a speech, so bring some life and personality to your elevator pitch.  It may be what sets you apart from other candidates and snags you the position!  

Common Email Blunders at IT Recruiting Companies

Gone are the days technical recruiters only needed to worry about spell check as they fired off rounds of messages to IT job seekers.  Now, IT headhunters are concerned about attachments, tone, and character with the IT staffing industry relying heavily on information technology for communication.  Before you send off that final email, here are some tips to not trip up on the every day message.

Not Personalizing

When you send out an email, try to make it as personable as possible.  The downside of emailing is the lack of tone and physical communication.  Let candidates and hiring managers know they are not sending their messages to a technical recruiting robot by adding personal touch with each response.  When mass mailing, be sure to keep email addresses private and the content relevant to the recipient’s interests.

Pressing Send too Fast

It is safe to say most IT recruiters have sent an email mid-message or forgot to include an attachment.  To catch this glitch, wait until right before you send the email to add all recipients’ contact information.  Check that your attachment is included and that it is the appropriate document.  Also, give the content a quick read through because spell check will not pick up typos that are spelled correctly.  When you are ready to go, hit send!

Relying too Much on Email

Sometimes it is easier to pick up the phone and get a response than send out multiple emails.  Emailing too often can cause confusion and more work.  Also, relying too much on email dulls communication.  Next time you have a quick request, instead of sending off an email, approach the person and ask them about their weekend, then ask for the request.

Email is one of the quickest and most convenient forms of communications at IT staffing agencies, but do not fall victim to these common mistakes!

 

IT Recruiters Ask You Cut Back on that Cologne…

At small IT recruiting companies, there is a common culprit who seems to have taken a dip in the perfume or cologne bottle prior to work.  Initially, people do not seem to mind or may enjoy the scent.  By the third hour, the lingering aroma irritates noses and technical recruiters are complaining of headaches and nausea.  How do IT headhunters handle a scent problem without offending the perpetrator?

Brief and Honest

At IT staffing firms, recruiters work in close proximity of one another, around hiring managers, and candidates throughout the day.  When a technical recruiter is wearing an overpowering scent, ask them about it privately.  Point out it is a strong scent and, next time, suggest using a little less.  If the scent is making you sick, ask the IT recruiter to not wear it in the IT staffing office and explain you are sensitive to scents.  The recruiter may be offended at first, but will most likely appreciate hearing it from one of his peers than a supervisor.

Discrete

If you find you do not have the will or way to tactfully approach the smelly IT headhunter, notify your supervisor of the issue.  By having human resources address the problem, management will be less apt to embarrass and pinpoint the recruiter.  Also, by addressing entire technical recruiting companies, other recruiters will be mindful of what they choose to wear and prevent potential scent issues.

You are the Offender

You may be the offender and not realize it because you do not smell it yourself.  Offices have less ventilation than the outdoors and public areas, so try to use less or none at all.  If you choose to use scented products, candles, or lotions, ask others in the office if they mind.

Remember, you are working in small corridors for extended hours.  You and your co-workers have a right to breathe!

Office Gossip in the IT Staffing Industry

To say you have never been the victim of gossip or rumors is a proud feeling.  To say you have never participated in gossiping and spreading rumors is even better.  Unfortunately, most IT headhunters are not perfect and have helped in some way spread non-truths about a fellow  acquaintance.  As rumors begin to circulate about an IT recruiter or yourself, how do you handle the situation?

Address It

When word gets out there will be internal changes in IT recruiting companies or personal matters regarding a technical recruiter, you might seem excited you have been chosen to share the news.  Before you further spread the information, follow up with the facts.  For changes within the IT staffing companies, confirm the changes with hiring managers or the corporate executives. If you are close enough to the victim of the personal rumors, take them aside and tell them what has been said.  The point is not to hurt the victim further or pry for details, but to let him be aware of what is being circulated and allow him to address the problem before it escalates.

Do Not Participate

You can always choose to ignore the rumors or tell other technical recruiters that you are not interested in hearing peers’ business.  If the messenger takes defense, ask why they are telling you this information.  Typically people who participate in gossip do so to feel better about themselves while hurting others.  When they realize they are doing this, they may back down from future IT recruiting office bullying.

Be Positive

As the saying goes if you do not have anything nice to say do not saying anything at all.  When someone has nothing pleasant to say at technical recruiting firms about someone take the initiative and follow up with a positive comment.  The office gossiper will realize you support the victim and will not come to you in the future to get his rumor fix.  Also, it may make the rumor supplier feel guilty about his actions and see the victim from a different perspective.

Office rumors and gossip are more common than one would think, especially with sites such as Facebook and Twitter.  With the support of anti-bullying movement, hopefully the hurtful slander will eventually be put to an end.