Tag Archives: resumes

Skills You’ll Need for Your First IT Job

This spring’s recent college graduates in information technology are likely starting new IT jobs or just started them this summer.  While IT contractors fresh from college may have resumes chock full of skills and experience using particular technologies, their skills as IT professionals may not be nearly as polished.  Here are a few skills IT consultants should work on acquiring to excel at IT job interviews, in their first real jobs in the field, and to impress IT recruiters and IT staffing firms.

-Learn not to take things personally.  Negative feedback about how you interviewed, your resume, or how you’re doing at work is all going to help you in the future.  Try not to let it sting too much personally, because your feelings will get in the way of your ability to take that feedback and use it.  You’ll also appear a lot less professional if you respond emotionally or defensively to negative feedback.

-Avoid looking entitled.  Whether you’re old or young, this will rub people the wrong way. Having a humble, willing approach at work will make all the difference.  Managers and coworkers want to work with people who are easy to get along with and don’t mind pitching in to help the team.  Be that person and you’ll quickly gain a strong reputation in your field and ace your IT job interviews.

-Don’t give up easily.  If you have a problem, work hard to solve it yourself.  The best employees are the ones who don’t bother their bosses or coworkers over anything but the most imperative issues.  Needing to have your hand held often won’t make you look good in the future—at your first job or others!

First IT job skills
You graduated! Now it’s time to get ready for your first IT job!

Are You In Danger of Getting Fired from Your IT Job?

In a field like information technology, there’s no room for useless IT contractors in a company. Business is too fast and demanding for a company to continue to pay IT consultants who aren’t contributing to the bottom line and doing their IT jobs well. How do you know if you’re one of those IT professionals who’s just not cutting it at work? Here are a few signs: 1. You’re not sure if you’re meeting expectations. Sure, your resumes match up perfectly to the job description and your IT recruiters said you’d be the best candidate for the job.  But you can’t tell how well you’re actually performing. Don’t wait to find out. Talk to your IT recruiters who’ve placed you and your managers if you can. Get feedback on how you’re doing and what you could be doing better. 2. You don’t feel confident about the work you’re doing. If you’re regularly asked to do tasks that you just don’t have the background knowledge to do (or at least figure out how to do), you may not be a good fit for this job. 3. You don’t like what you’re doing—and it shows. Even the most capable employees can be fired by their employers for having a poor attitude. Make sure you’re avoiding this easy problem.

Your Hobbies: Your Opportunity to Shine in IT Job interviews!

Ever been in interviews for IT jobs and been asked about your hobbies? Most IT contractors have probably had to answer this question at least once in their careers. Maybe they even have it listed on their resumes. It seems like a softball, an easy question meant to put IT consultants at ease before having to answer the hard questions. But IT professionals can use their hobbies as one more way to show IT recruiters, IT staffing firms, and hiring managers how perfect they are for jobs. How?

Pay attention to a few things when you’re applying to a job. Try to figure out what the corporate culture is like at the company or organization the job is at. Also try to get a better idea of what kind of personal qualities would really help in the job functions (like being great at teamwork, for instance). Once you get a clear picture of these things, run through your hobbies in your mind. Do any of them give you qualities that would be an asset here?

Here are a few examples.  For a team lead position, you may want to highlight an activity that very obviously helps you develop leadership skills (like being a team captain for a recreational sports team). Another example: perhaps you do something in your spare time that requires a lot of discipline. Don’t be afraid to mention that (although try not to spend more than a few moments mentioning it in passing!) when interviewing for a job that requires you to work independently and reach goals.

Your hobbies cannot miraculously make up for any professional or experiential deficiencies. They can add a few extra points in your favor if you find the right way to talk about them, though!

Are You Lying on Your IT resume?

Recent studies seem to show that IT professionals lie far more often on their resumes than their counterparts in industries outside information technology.  While this may seem like an extreme conclusion to come to, it’s actually not hard to find instances in which IT recruiters spot inconsistencies in their IT consultants’ resumes.  Sometimes it’s a big lie, but often these lies are really just IT contractors seeking to impress IT headhunters or land IT jobs they are almost (but not quite!) qualified for.

What are some of these lies that IT staffing firms have found on resumes?  They include things that seem harmless like embellished skills and job responsibilities.  These lies are definitely not helping anybody, though—least of all, the job seeker.  Landing a job you’re not actually able to do as well as you say you can is no picnic.  Not only can it be stressful and unpleasant, you may wind up being fired from it and hurting your career overall.  So think twice about lying on your resume—for your own good!

Don’t Get Hired for the Wrong IT Job for You!

Bad hiring mistakes happen (and they are definitely terrible for all IT consultants, managers, coworkers, and technical recruiters involved). However, as an IT professional, you can take steps to protect yourself from being hired for the wrong IT jobs. Beyond polishing your resumes and working with only the best IT recruiters and IT staffing firms, here is what you can do:

-Don’t rush things. Your job search isn’t a race and you’re more likely to wind up a in a bad job if you are moving too fast. Really consider every job offer you get before accepting. Make sure it meets all your needs and you meet all the company’s needs.

-Don’t take a role you aren’t sure you can totally fill. If you’re fully confident you can do everything in the job description, or at least have the skills to learn a few things you haven’t done before, it’s a good fit. If you’re not sure about most of the job requirements, this may not be the right job for you.

-Keep a balance in emphasis on cultural fit/perks and everything else. If you love the corporate culture and/or perks but aren’t sure about the job, the commute, the compensation, or something else, stop and think about it. Working with coworkers you love is important. It’s not going to fix larger issues, though.

 

Are You Actively Preparing For Your IT Interviews?

IT contractors who have been on the hunt for IT jobs before are probably used to being pretty passive, especially if they worked with IT recruiters or IT staffing agencies.  The process can feel very much like the employer is in charge, not the IT consultants interviewing.  However, if you take a more active role in your search, whether you’re working with technical recruiters or not, you’ll be more likely to find a role you love.  Here’s how:

Firstly, make sure you get a few pieces of information from your IT headhunters who set up your interviews.  Ask them not only where you’re going and when, but also who you’ll be meeting with, how long the interview is likely to be and what materials you can prepare or study beforehand.  Most IT staffing firms will make sure you have this info.  If you’re not working with IT recruiting firms or you just didn’t get this info, it’s your responsibility to ask!

Next, work through this info to help yourself prepare.  Research the company, the people you’ll be meeting with, and any topics you were alerted to be ready to speak on.  You may not use all the info you find, but at least some of it will be useful.  Perhaps you have some connections on LinkedIn in common with your interviewer, or you have a few alum from your school working at the company.  This information is worth having in your pocket in case the opportunity comes up to mention it.

Lastly, prepare all the easy things for yourself ahead of time.  Make sure you set aside everything you’ll need for the interview ahead of time.  Resumes, portfolios, suit, nice shoes, etc should all be set aside and ready at least the night before the interview, if not a day or so earlier.  It’s also ideal to actually practice getting yourself to the interview site ahead of time if you can.  Be aware of any traffic patterns that might get in your way and avoid them.

 

3 Quick Ways to Improve Your IT Job Search

The information technology industry is constantly changing and to some extent, so are the ways IT contractors find IT jobs.  While IT consultants can always count on IT recruiters and IT staffing agencies to provide them with great connections to companies that are hiring, there are some things that IT professionals can do to make sure they’re the most marketable candidate on their technical recruiters’ rosters.

1. Modernize and optimize resumes.  Take out objectives and any jobs that are older than the last decade or so.  Both date you too much in an industry that tends to favor youth over experience.  Do put a ‘Technical Proficiencies’ section at the top of your resume, listing all technologies and skills you are current on.   This will garner attention from IT headhunters and hiring managers alike.

2. Polish your interview skills.  Be prepared for phone interviews, face-to-face interviews, or even skype or other forms of interviews.  Be ready to answer questions about the technologies you specialize in.  Recruiters can prepare you to some extent, but having the basic skills already down can make a big difference.

3.  Know what you want.  Have a clear idea about what you want in your next position.  Nobody can help you get the best new job for you if you don’t have good ideas about what kind of work, compensation, environment, coworkers, and bosses you do best with.

 

How to Spot the Best IT Bosses for You

IT consultants change IT jobs more frequently than most other professionals.  With more frequent job changes, come more frequent changes of bosses.  IT professionals need to sharpen their abilities to spot not only the kinds of jobs that fit their resumes, but the kinds of bosses that fit their work styles.  While IT recruiters and IT staffing firms can help with this, it’s important for IT contractors to be able to spot a great boss for them without help from technical recruiters.  Here are two signs somebody will be a great boss for you:

They let you complete your work and solve problems in ways that challenge and interest you and are within your abilities.  Obstinate bosses who might respond to your work style with rigid rejections are going to be a bad fit in the long run.  Try asking about their management style in your interview.

They don’t rule by fear.  A boss can be loved or feared.  The best bosses are the ones who inspire great things in their employees because of good relationships.  The worst ones force employees to perform under pressure all the time.  This isn’t sustainable long term and it’s also incredibly unpleasant.  You can get an idea of whether a manager is appreciated or feared by his employees by looking on Glassdoor, checking any contacts you might have within that company, or asking about why the previous person in your potential job left.

 

Add these Words to Your IT Resume for 70% More Attention!

Creating perfect resumes isn’t easy, no matter how experienced your IT recruiters may be.  It seems like there’s always some new trick that fellow IT contractors’ IT headhunters gave them.   Today it’s your turn to be one of those IT consultants with the newest info on how to create the resume that gets you your dream IT jobs! A recent survey revealed some exceptionally effective words you can make sure are in your resume.  It’s likely these words will bring you 70% more attention from IT staffing firms and hiring managers.

  • Experience
  • Management
  • Project
  • Development
  • Business
  • Skill
  • Professional
  • Knowledge
  • Year
  • Team
  • Leadership

 

Don’t Make These Mistakes at Your IT Job!

You don’t have to be in one of your first jobs in information technology to be making some mistakes that really hurt your career.  IT contractors could easily wind up missing some social cues for workplaces that really hurt their reputation with other IT consultants they work with or the IT recruiters they want to work with in the future.  Even if IT headhunters find IT professionals with sparkling resumes who ace interviews, they’ll likely not want to work with them if they make these huge mistakes at their IT jobs.

  1. Your managers and superiors aren’t your friends.  While they’re trained to be friendly and make you feel comfortable, it’s important not to overstep your employee-manager boundaries.  This includes at work, on social media, and at work functions.
  2. Be careful about venting.  Don’t vent about the difficulties of your job to anybody at work, and try to hold off from doing it in public.  This also includes social media.  If you wouldn’t want your boss or clients to hear it, don’t make it possible it could get back to them.
  3. Don’t overshare.  Be stringent with personal information you share.  This is for your sake and your coworkers and managers.  It’s usually best to keep personal information to yourself, especially in a new workplace.  You never know who might spread information or who you might be making uncomfortable with your own personal stories.