Tag Archives: resumes

The High Value of Praise in IT

A recent Pew survey suggests a very bleak view of the information technology and other professional worlds.   Supposedly 70% of most American workers, apparently including IT contractors, IT recruiters, and other IT professionals, are not inspired by their jobs.  While there is much speculation for the reasons for so much disgruntlement, IT staffing companies and IT consultants who dislike their jobs can benefit from some very simple actions.  IT managers can make a huge impact by increasing the praise they offer to their reports and the technical recruiters who work for them.  IT jobs, like any other job, are always made more pleasant when supervisors are encouraging.  Even when resumes and productivity reports suggest somebody is meeting all expectations, hearing praise for it verbally makes a big difference for IT headhunters, IT recruiting agencies, and the clients and candidates they work with.  With a free, easy change to management style, IT recruiting firms and many other kinds of companies can make a big change in their employee job satisfaction.

IT Work Environments: Silence Isn’t Golden

IT managers and IT recruiters have confirmation of what they’ve suspected for a long time: the best work environments for IT contractors are not quiet, but rather have the slight buzz of a public place, like a coffee shop.  Recent studies have shown that IT consultants, and many other professionals who need to think creatively, will benefit from a slightly noisy environment rather than a perfectly quiet one.  Information technology requires IT professionals to think creatively about how to solve problems.  IT jobs not only require resumes full of technical skills, but also more intangible creative ones.  The studies that have been done about noise reveal what IT staffing firms have long known: perfect quiet makes it hard to actually get resolutions to complicated technology-oriented issues.  IT recruiting companies tend to practice this themselves, as well. Technical recruiters often work to the soundtrack of their IT headhunters co-workers’ murmurs and a radio or two.

IT Hiring: Best With Engaged Managers

IT staffing companies and IT consultants often place the burden of making an interview go well on the IT professionals shoulders, not the IT manager’s.  However, the best hires occur when managers take on a significant amount of responsibility in interviewing IT contractors for IT jobs.  The first step a manager can take is utilizing Technical recruiters.  IT staffing firms put a great deal of effort into locating job candidates with great resumes and who perform well in a phone screen.  The next step becomes the responsibility of the manager, though.  IT headhunters can only provide options to a company.  It is up to the company to actively make sure they choose the best of these IT recruiting agencies’ offerings. Information technology is very often a team-driven field, and IT staffing agencies provide candidates who meet this requirement.  It is ultimately up to the company’s interviewer to make sure the candidate is a perfect fit for their team, though.  While IT recruiting companies can suggest good cultural fits, the only person who can find the best cultural fit is somebody from within the company culture.

 

Time for a New IT Job?

Information technology, like any field, has a wide diversity of jobs it can offer.  IT professionals can use this plethora of choices to their credit and they can definitely be vigilant about making sure their IT jobs are right for them.  Technical recruiters, IT managers, and IT contractors should all take time now and then to evaluate if they’re in the right role for them.  Beyond just making sure the skills on their resumes match the ones on job descriptions, IT consultants and IT headhunters should stop and consider if they are performing to their best ability in their role and if they feel motivated to perform to their best ability.    IT staffing companies and the IT job candidates they work with want the same thing:  for the people these IT recruiting companies to like their jobs and excel in them.

Success in IT– More than Just Job Performance

IT Staffing companies and IT managers have plenty of criteria for what makes good IT professionals. Though some of these criteria are obvious from resumes, IT recruiting companies definitely have preferences that extend to more personal areas, like behavior in the workplace.  IT staffing firms definitely prefer to work with IT contractors who are social, but don’t tend to socialize with other employees known for being slackers or doing the bare minimum.  IT recruiting agencies also prefer to work with IT consultants who do things like showing up early, leaving late, and looking focused during the day.  Even if one is getting their work done perfectly, certain behaviors can make them a target for management and make their technical recruiters look bad. IT recruiters Boston to IT recruiters CA all agree that they want to work with people who not only do their IT jobs, but contribute to a healthy, effective, happy work environment.

 

Multitasking and IT? Not Always Compatible

Like most professional fields, information technology has become enamored with the idea of multitasking.  IT managers, IT staffing firms, and IT contractors are all quick to tout the value of working on multiple projects at once.  However, IT professionals and IT recruiters should beware the multitasking-oriented viewpoint as sole indicator of success.  While resumes always look great with more accomplishments listed rather than less, IT staffing firms know that sometimes quality really does trump quantity.  This can be especially true when it comes to projects that IT consultants, like programmers, do that require copious attention to detail.  IT recruiters Boston to IT recruiters CA would do themselves a service to work with somebody who has a stellar record of achievement rather than a long list of projects they did vaguely well on.  Glowing recommendations should guide technical recruiters’ interest rather than the density of a resume.

The Rise of the IT Celebrity

Technical recruiters and IT professionals have noticed a trend in information technology: the making of IT celebrities.  IT staffing firms, IT consultants, and IT managers are often not even remotely famous.  In fact, IT headhunters and IT contractors tend to be anonymous even at work, represented by their email signature or code rather than their actual voice or face.

IT recruiters CA aren’t the only ones noticing a sudden rise in profiles, IT recruiters Boston also have seen big names in IT start making the news.  IT headhunters read about one of Yahoo’s major players from the east coast when her name made news as her status as a cross-country telecommuter was jeopardized.  IT staffing firms are reading countless articles and blogs about people with IT jobs like Sheryl Sandberg and Sean Parker.  IT recruiting firms are noticing that these articles aren’t just focusing on resumes, either.  Sometimes lifestyle details like Sean Parker’s wedding are being read around the Internet by IT staffing companies.

Eye Contact in the IT Workplace

A big way to make an impact at IT jobs is to correctly utilize a seemingly small thing: eye contact.  IT staffing firms and IT managers work with more than just resumes; they work with people.

IT recruiters Boston to IT recruiters CA would all agree that a personable employee who makes a connection is preferable. IT consultants can make a big impression by making sure to maintain comfortable eye contact with co-workers and supervisors.  Especially in the information technology field, where IT contractors might constantly have a screen nearby, keeping their eyes on the person they’re talking to will be deeply appreciated. IT recruiting companies love to work with IT professionals who are especially adept at maintaining the right amount of eye contact: not too much (which can feel creepy) and not too little (which can feel rude).  IT staffing firms also appreciate working with job candidates who can correctly interpret eye contact.  Managers tend to look most at the people who perform well and are reliable in the office.  IT recruiting firms certainly want to work with the kinds of people who work hard to get that approving, interested gaze from management.

Does the Ivy League Matter in IT?

Do IT recruiting companies and IT managers hire based on what school you graduated from?  Does any school name carry value for IT contractors, even an Ivy name?  The New York Times recently published a column suggesting the answer to both these questions may no longer be a vehement “Yes.”

While the column has its own issues, IT staffing agencies have certainly noticed that there is a debate in information technology as to the value of a school’s name on resumes, let alone a degree itself.  Getting IT jobs today requires getting the attention of IT staffing companies as they are inundated with resumes. Sometimes a college name stands out to IT recruiting companies, but sometimes IT consultants are noted more for their skill sets or a demanding recent job. IT recruiting agencies are also finding that more and more IT contractors are attending college than previously.  This makes most college degrees, sometimes even Ivy League ones, seem somewhat devalued to IT recruiting companies.  These IT staffing firms would rather see an advanced degree from almost anywhere than a BA from Dartmouth or Harvard. Then of course, there are always the IT recruiting firms that skip the entire formal education requirement altogether and would prefer a Mark Zuckerberg type instead.

 

IT (and the Rest of the Nation) See a Rise in Women at Work

Like the rest of the nation, IT staffing companies are noticing the increasing growth of women in the workplace.  Information technology has long been a field dominated by male IT contractors and IT mangers, but as the economy slowly recovers, more and more women are showing up for IT jobs.

IT recruiting agencies could cite many reasons for this trend.  Women are becoming IT consultants as education becomes more and more accessible to everyone.  IT headhunters could point to the boom of IT-focused education programs in particular, which show up quite often on resumes.   IT staffing agencies would also note that in a recession, companies will attempt to save money by hiring IT professionals who cost less.  IT recruiters Boston to IT recruiters CA can all agree that women are still cheaper to hire than men.

Overall, IT recruiting companies can’t point to one particular reason, but women are definitely breaking into the workplace in significantly bigger numbers.