Tag Archives: technical recruiters

This Will Land You Help Desk Jobs in 2017

Help Desk jobs are slated to be one of the most common jobs that IT recruiters will be filling this year.  IT staffing firms will get a lot of Help Desk roles to fill for two reasons.  Firstly, there’s plenty of turnover in the field (often because of people moving up into new phases of their career).  Secondly, every company these days needs Tech Support.   (This will be especially true this year as the economy continues to recover from the  past recession and companies grow larger.)  With IT recruiting companies expecting to have so many Help Desk job openings this year, this makes people with the right skills and experience in demand.  However, this is still a competitive market.  IT recruiters find that if any section of the tech field is competitive for job seekers, it’s Help Desk.  Here’s the best way to make sure you’re ready to land the Help Desk job you want this year: Get your CompTIA A+ certification.  While some say the certification isn’t worth it, here are 3 reasons technical recruiters would strongly suggest you get.

1. Employers trust this certification.  IT staffing agencies find that employers will always choose to interview or hire the candidate with the CompTIA A+ certification over the ones who don’t.  This certification is comprehensive (covering important topics like installation, preventative maintenance, networking, security and troubleshooting), vetted, and has been around long enough that it’s recognized and respected by pretty much all employers.  It’s also internationally accepted, which says something about how well-regarded it is.

2. You differentiate yourself in a competitive field.  Since the Help Desk market for job seekers is largely entry level, there are more people who claim to have the skills and experience necessary for these jobs than something higher level (like Data Scientist jobs). If you get this certification, you definitely set yourself apart in a section of the tech job market that it’s hard to stand out in.  Though the certification may be getting more common on resumes, it still provides a strong competitive edge.  Employers will always prefer to have the candidate who comes having already learned the skills they need, rather than one that who might have to learn them on the job.    This can be especially imperative in a role like Help Desk, where end users expect speedy, competent service.  Having a CompTIA A+ certification guarantees employers you already have a good base of skills.

3. You’ll get paid more.  When you do land jobs, employers always pay more for CompTIA A+ certified candidates.  While it costs money to get the certification, it’s well worth it in the gains you’ll make your salary immediately and in the future.  Even if you’re not searching for a new job, your current employer will likely give you a raise if you get this certification.  They may even help you pay for the process of obtaining it!

 

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Getting the CompTIA A+ certification will make you a more desirable Help Desk candidate. Photo credit: StartUpStockPhotos via Pixabay.

 

Good Signs in a Job Interview

Candidates often try to analyze interviews for good or bad signs. This is a pretty natural thing to do, especially if you’re interested in the IT jobs you’ve interviewed for. While there are some things that might indicate that your interviewer liked you, you can never assume you got the job based on any particular signs. Unless your technical recruiters call you with a job offer, there are no ‘signs’ that will definitively indicate that you landed the job.

Taking that into account, there are signs an interview went well. This is worth knowing whether you landed the job or not. If you know you did well in an interview, you can continue performing well in other interviews. Here are three things that IT staffing companies find usually indicate a job interview went well (though not that you definitely landed the job).

1. Your interviewer discusses next steps with you in a non-generic way. This means hearing more than the usual ‘we’ll be in touch with your IT recruiter soon’. While interviewers will often discuss the nitty gritty of the process with your IT recruiting firms, they may share their timeline so you don’t take another offer before it’s done. Things move fast in the tech field and good candidates are often interviewing for multiple opportunities at once. If an employer likes you, they will often share info about next steps with you so they mitigate their risk of losing you to another job offer.

2. Your interview feels more like an interesting technical discussion. Great technical interviews can sometimes be less of a back and forth than just a good conversation about technologies that are relevant to the position. If you find the interviewer seems engaged and you’re both really delving into technical scenarios, hypotheticals, or problems, you may have just had a good interview.

3. Your interviewer is trying to sell you on the work you’ll do in the position, their team, or the company. Because the tech field is such a job seeker’s market, interviewers will often start selling the opportunity if they like the candidate. As mentioned before, good candidates are usually pursuing several opportunities at once. Keeping this in mind, if employers like a candidate they’ll often try to highlight things like the interesting projects their team handles, office perks, or the exciting new technologies they put at employees’ disposal.

 

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Knowing an interview went well helps you perform better in future interviews. Photo credit: PDPics via Pixabay.

 

2 Ways Being Over-Prepared Ruins Your Job Interviews

Here’s one surprising mistake IT staffing companies see too often in job interviews: over-preparing.  While it’s certainly important not to underprepare for you job interview, IT recruiting firms definitely see some candidates rejected for the opposite reason.  Here are 2 ways being over-prepared can hurt your chances of landing IT jobs.

1. The interviewer doesn’t feel like they’re having a genuine conversation with you.  IT staffing firms want you to practice some of your answers or questions, but only to the point where you are familiar with them.  Employers really want to see who you are when they interview you—your personality as well as your technical skills and experience.  When you’re so over-prepared it sounds like you’re delivering a monologue, you’ll probably turn off your interviewer.  Making a good connection with your interviewer and showing off great communication skills goes a long way in the tech field these days.

2. You don’t answer the interviewer’s questions or provide the info they want.  Sometimes being over-prepared can make you come across as inflexible or unresponsive to your interviewer.  Technical recruiters find that being over-prepared can lead you to inadvertently neglect to provide all the information the interviewer wants.  You don’t want to be so busy making the points you practiced that you can’t answer an interviewer’s questions or respond warmly and genuinely to their small talk.  IT recruiting companies suggest you make a conscious effort to let the interviewer lead the interview.  Do this even if it means you may wind up leaving some of the material you prepared or studied by the wayside.   Don’t worry, you can always mention it your thank you note!

 

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Delivering monologues won’t impress your interviewers. Photo credit: Concord90 via Pixabay.

 

Polish Your Resume to Land Remote IT Jobs in the New Year

If you plan on working with IT recruiting firms next year to search for new IT jobs, you’re probably already polishing your resume.  If you want your technical recruiters to be able to submit you to remote jobs, there are a few things you should add to your resume.

1. Prove that you are self-motivated and have taken initiative before.  IT recruiters see plenty of resumes that list the skills employers want remote workers to have.  However, that’s not what will land the job.  What IT recruiting agencies find really works is to demonstrate you have these important skills.  Were you able to complete elements of a project on your own, with no supervision?  Did you debug code without being asked?  Concrete instances of things you’ve done that make you a great remote employee (or things that show you will be a great remote employee) make it easier for employers to picture you doing the same things as a part of their team.

2. Give links to your best work and relevant web presence.  IT staffing companies find that having a great web presence and excellent work product to show off is especially imperative when you’re applying to remote jobs.  Do you have a digital portfolio?  Do you have a LinkedIn profile?  A website?  Make sure it’s easy for employers and IT staffing agencies to see all of them by adding links into your resume.  Part of landing remote jobs is making it easy for employers and IT recruiting companies to see how you’d be a great fit for their role.  Listing relevant links is one way to do that.

3. If you’ve worked remotely before, articulate how you still adhere to workplace standards and keep in communication with your team or managers.  Again, giving concrete examples of your ability to be a great remote worker will go a long way in helping employers picture you in their open IT jobs.  For instance, if you’re a developer, have you still participated in stand-up meetings via conference call?   Do you use an internal messaging service?  Helping employers and IT staffing firms see that you’ve thought about how to still be an effective member of a team, even when remote, will help you land the jobs you want.

 

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Want to land remote IT jobs? You have to demonstrate that you have the skills. Photo credit: Life-of-Pix via Pixabay.

 

 

Why You Should Make Job Offers Faster

If you’re working with IT recruiting firms to fill open jobs on your team, you know it’s hard to find great talent.  The tech field has really been a job seeker’s market for a while now.  Recent unemployment rates for IT professionals illustrate this well.  As of last April, the unemployment rate in IT went as low as 2%.  This is less than half the national unemployment rate for all other fields combined (around 4.9%).  One thing IT staffing firms suggest to increase your chance of landing great tech talent is to make your job offers faster.

Why would making a job offer quicker help you hire more and better IT professionals?  There are two main reasons. Firstly, making a quicker job offer, especially one in the first 24-48 hours since an interview, makes a candidate feel really valued.  Especially in this field, IT recruiting agencies find that candidates are expecting quicker responses from potential employers.  To ensure the candidate feels desired, you need to extend job offers faster than in other industries.  The more interest a candidate perceives from an employer, the more likely they are to take your offer.  IT staffing companies see that candidates often respond well to job offers where they feel like the employer is excited about their skills and experience.  Never underestimate the power of making a candidate feel valued.

The second reason IT recruiting firms suggest you make your job offers faster is to make sure you don’t miss out on your second or third choice candidates.  If your first choice candidate declines, making a slower job offer to them means you’ll make an even slower offer to your second or third choice candidates.  As mentioned above, it’s definitely more of a job seeker’s market.  Technical recruiters usually find that their candidates are often high in demand and receive more job offers than candidates do in other fields.  So losing out on your first choice candidate after a slow job offer could also mean losing out on your second and third choice candidates!

 

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Faster job offers will help you land the tech talent you need. Photo credit: tookapic via Pixabay.

 

Tips for Exit Interviews

If you’ve been working with your IT recruiters to find a new position, the last step of your transition won’t be giving your notice.  Employers often want to conduct an exit interview before you leave.  These may seem like a time to vent with impunity, but the truth is that you could do some serious damage to your reputation if you handle one badly.  Here are a few tips that IT staffing firms suggest following as you go through exit interviews.

1. Approach an exit interview as seriously as you do a job interview.  Just like you would in a job interview, IT recruiting companies suggest you be professional, keep things positive, and be cooperative.  Especially with all the back-door references that LinkedIn enables, it’s important to perform exit interviews as the kind of IT professional you to be known as.  Check your emotions at the door, even if it’s tempting not to.  You never know if your words will make it back to other’s ears and burn bridges for you. (Some technical recruiters suggest venting to a trusted friend or family member before the exit interview so you get it out of your system.)

2. This isn’t a time to improve the company or give much feedback.  Even if exit interviews are sometimes presented this way, it’s often pretty ineffective to share criticism about an employer.  In fact, IT staffing agencies find that doing this will usually just hurt you.  If you’re leaving to seek out IT jobs that pay more, have a better work culture, let you do more interesting work, etc, now isn’t the time to say it.  The best time to ask for a raise, to give feedback about the workplace, or to ask for more interesting projects, was when you were actually an employee.  It’s often just going to be viewed as a slight if you detail all the reasons why you worked with IT recruiting agencies to get out of your current employer.  And as mentioned above, it’s always a bad idea to slight people.  You might unwittingly be burning an important bridge you need in the future.

3. Leave your future employer out of it.  Your IT staffing companies wouldn’t suggest you spend much time talking about how excited you are to join your new employer.  Even if you don’t mean to, people may assume you’re belittling your soon-to-be employer by comparison.

4. Lastly, try to say a few positive things about your soon-to-be ex employer before you go.  While it’s not helpful to say something that feels fake or forced, you can probably find one or two positive things to genuinely note.  Perhaps you had the opportunity to learn more about a new technology, or got to work on an interesting project.  Taking a moment to mention these things you’re grateful for will make you look professional and gracious.

 

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Take the exit interview as seriously as the job interview. Photo credit: multifacetedgirl via Pixabay.

 

Graduating in May or June? Recruiters Can Help You Now

If you’ll be graduating from college this spring, you could benefit from calling IT staffing agencies this month.  While it may seem too early, there are a few things that good IT recruiting firms can do for you so you’re even more prepared to land great IT jobs when you graduate.

Help with your resume. If you’re graduating from college or grad school, you may be creating your resume for the very first time.  While your career center can advise you on basic resume templates, IT staffing firms can tell you exactly what the employers in your field are looking for.  Because they have close contact with employers, technical recruiters can help you build exactly the resume they want to see— the first time you create your resume.

Guidance building a portfolio, LinkedIn profile, website for job searching, etc. Since you have about 6 months before graduation, you’ll have plenty of time to start creating things like a digital portfolio, a website, or any other materials to show off your technical skills.  As mentioned before, IT recruiters have plenty of contact with employers, so they can help you create materials that will make you all the more employable.

Guidance on what to study.  With 6 months to graduation, you may have enough time to focus your studies on particular technologies, programming languages, certifications, etc.  Even if your classes have already been decided on, you might want to consider learning these things in your spare time or refreshing your familiarity with them.  Whatever the case may be, IT recruiting agencies know what technologies are in demand with employers.  They can help you prepare to meet these demands so you’re a hot commodity on the job market when you graduate.

 

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You may still have 6 months of college or grad school left, but you can be prepping for your job search now. Photo credit: Pexels via Pixabay.

 

Rescheduling and Cancelling Job Interviews

IT recruiters find that a surprising number of candidates ask to cancel or reschedule interviews for IT jobs last minute.  This might not seem like a big deal, but IT staffing firms see that it has some big repercussions for job seekers.   Here’s why technical recruiters suggest you never try to cancel or reschedule an interview last minute.

Cancelling the interview with very little notice (less than a few days) will definitely burn some bridges for you with potential employers and IT recruiting firms.  It’s almost always viewed as evidence that you’re possibly untrustworthy, disorganized, unreliable, or just plain rude.  (There are some exceptions to this rule, like medical or family emergencies, but these are obviously very rare.) Employers and IT staffing agencies often put a note in their system that you’ve done this.  They’ll usually blacklist you for it.  While you may not want to work for this employer right now, you never know about the future.

Asking your IT recruiting companies to reschedule an interview at the last minute may not totally burn bridges, but it won’t help you land jobs.  When you ask to reschedule an interview with less notice than a few days, employers will wonder if the job is a high priority for you.  (Again, there are exceptions to this rule, including family or medical emergencies, but these are rare.)  No companies want to hire people who aren’t excited about the opportunities they offer.  Depending on the reason you offer and how last minute you’re asking for a rescheduled interview, your IT staffing companies may also respond by submitting you to less jobs or sending you on less interviews.

So what should you do instead of cancelling or rescheduling last minute?  Start by making sure to really consider a job before letting your IT recruiting agencies submit you for it.  Is the commute ok with you?  Do you think you have the skills and experience to handle the work?  You don’t want to cancel the interview at the last minute because you’ve decided you don’t like something about the job or employer after all.  Next, when you give availability, make sure it’s not something that will change.  If you’re not positive you’re free on a certain day, it’s better not to take that risk.  Lastly, don’t lie about it if you do cancel last minute.  Some candidates do lie to their IT recruiters and fake a family or medical emergency.  If people find out you’ve lied, you’ll definitely burn a bridge with them and/or potential employers.

 

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Don’t try to reschedule an interview on short notice. Photo credit: Basti93 via Pixabay.

 

Java Developers: Your Value is Rising in 2017

It may seem like Java is long overdue to be a less imperative skill for IT recruiting firms and employers.  There are newer, more exciting languages out there.  IT staffing companies find that many developers tend to prefer languages like Python or C++ for the projects they work on outside of their formal IT jobs.  Perhaps most tellingly, Java is also no longer the first language many programmers clamber to get under their belts.  But Java will continue to be high on IT recruiting agencies’ and employers’ lists in 2017 for 2 main reasons:

1. Java makes good sense for businesses. Even if other languages like Ruby, PHP, or Node are faster to develop with, Java has some assets that IT recruiters find businesses value more.  For one thing, Java is often more compatible with older applications.  While many businesses would like to be on the cutting edge, they can’t always get there– or get there with every tool they use.  Being cutting edge can be costly, and Java is a great language to use if a company needs to continue to use older tools, software etc.  Speaking of cost, Java is free.  To a business owner, there is no sweeter word.  IT staffing firms find that controlling costs with a programming language that is very reliable and free is undeniably appealing to the client companies they work with.  (It’s also a better value because it makes for faster, easier updates to software because it’s an open source language.)

2. Android Apps will drive a need for Java. It’s obvious mobile is the place for businesses to focus their energy.  It’s also obvious that Android phones are overtaking Apple.  Actually, this may be debatable.  But that fact that it’s debatable at all is telling.  To even be able to threaten Apple means something good about Android’s strength.  To follow the money, technical recruiters would suggest learning or brushing up on your Java.  Plenty of employers will be very excited to see it on your resume in 2017 and beyond.

 

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Java isn’t losing popularity with employers any time soon. Photo credit: Meditations via Pixabay.

 

How to Write Resumes Recruiters Love

As you might guess, resume formats aren’t magic: if you have few technical skills and little experience, it’s hard to mask that with a great resume.  However, IT recruiters definitely see some candidates with amazing skill-sets and experience post resumes that don’t do them much justice.  Here are 3 tips to write a resume that will attract technical recruiters and land more IT jobs.

Write a resume, not a novel.  It’s definitely true that in IT you’re allowed to post a resume longer than a page.  IT staffing firms certainly don’t mind longer resumes.  However, sometimes tech professionals will take this too far.  IT recruiting companies definitely see resumes that stretch well beyond 5, 10, or even more pages.  In the end, you’re probably burying important information in less relevant details when you write resumes this long.  You’ll also potentially turn off hiring managers that IT staffing firms submit your resume to.  Extra long resumes can suggest that you don’t understand professional norms at all, that you have poor communication skills, or that you’re arrogant.  Edit your resume down to the most important information.  Leave off most of the technical details of projects or things like personal information, hobbies that are unrelated to your professional aspirations, etc.  You can explain previous projects and achievements in more detail during an interview.  You’ll also share relevant personal information with your interviewer if it comes up.

Put your technical skills at the top of your resume.  Create a short, well-organized section at the very top of your resume that lists all of your technical skills.  This will help IT recruiting agencies see right away that you might be a fit for the jobs they have.  Try categorizing skills by headings like ‘languages’, ‘frameworks’, ‘operating systems’, etc.  This is probably the most important section of your resume, so remember to keep it updated, organized, and easy to read.

Use your bullets to show your worth.  Don’t waste a single bullet on your resume.  Use them to show IT staffing companies what value you’ve brought to your previous employers.  Focus on achievements and major successes you’ve participated in, rather than just listing your duties.  As mentioned before, you can talk about things like daily duties in an interview or a phone screen.  Your resume is really mean to catch recruiters’ eyes.

 

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Write a resume recruiters will love. Photo credit: dosenwelten via Pixabay.