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As most IT professionals know, the information technology industry isn’t immune to the influence of office politics.  Everyone, from IT recruiters, to IT managers, to IT contractors, are aware of the powerful impact of office politics on IT jobs.  So how should IT consultants and technical recruiters engage with office politics effectively?

1. Know who is important. Often you’ll find that you have some peers who are more influential than you’d think.  Or perhaps one manager is more in charge than another.  Try to notice these things.  Show the right deference to the right people and know who can help give your projects or ideas the best boost.
2. Know alliances.  You don’t have to know them in-depth, but be aware of who is friends with whom in the office.  You don’t have to strategically make friends, but you do have to make sure you don’t badmouth somebody to their friend.
3. …And when it comes to badmouthing: Don’t. Knowing the general structures of office politics doesn’t require playing into it.  Keep yourself above any nasty disagreements and hold off on venting or saying anything less than positive about coworkers, projects, etc to anybody in your office.