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A Strong Way to Finish Your IT Job Interviews

Your technical recruiters and IT staffing agencies probably have stressed to you the importance of making a great first impression on your interviewers, particularly at the start of the interview.  Did you know that you can also do a lot of damage or really increase your likelihood of nailing your dream IT jobs with the way you finish your job interviews?  Like all humans, your IT recruiters and interviewers are more likely to remember the beginning and end of your interview.  So don’t just start strong, finish strong, too! Here’s one way to really impress your interviewer and IT staffing companies at the end of job interviews.

Start by picking out things that really appeal to you about the job over the course of the interview. Try to remember 2-3 things that your interviewer mentions that you can genuinely tie back to your work style, lifestyle, and career goals.  When you get to the very end of the interview, state to the interviewer that you’d love the job because of these things.

By doing this, you’ll definitely make a strong impression on the interviewer (and by extension your IT recruiting companies and IT staffing firms) for a few reasons.  Firstly, you’ll show that you’re genuinely interested in the job.  Don’t underestimate the importance of this.  You’ll also be showing that you’re a good listener, which is key for most jobs.  Lastly, you’ll be able to showcase that you communicate well and are articulate.  Especially in IT, these skills are at a premium.  Try this at your next job interview.  You’ll leave a lasting impression!

Ask This Question in Your Next IT Job Interview

If you didn’t already know it, your IT recruiters and IT staffing firms probably prepared you to ask questions in your next IT jobs interviews.  Some of the questions you probably plan on asking are for your own benefit—they’re questions about the job that the technical recruiters and IT staffing agencies you’re working with can’t answer for you.  But some of the questions you ask will be to make yourself look good to the recruiter (and to build up your reputation with your IT staffing companies).

The next time you have an interview for an IT job, try asking this question to really polish your impression.  “How has this role evolved over time and how would you ideally want it to continue to grow?” This question will impress your IT recruiting firms and interviewers because it shows that you’re interested in performing well for your potential employers.  Beyond just giving the usual 9-5 bar minimum, this question indicates that you want to be an employee that contributes real value to your next company.  Try asking it in your next interview.  It may just win you the job.

 

Nail your Skype IT Job Interviews

More and more IT recruiters and IT staffing agencies these days are able to offer their job candidates skype (or similar technologies) interviews.  If your technical recruiters or IT recruiting firms set up a skype interview for you, here are some tips to make sure you get offered the IT jobs.

  1. Start by scheduling the interview a day and time when you can be fully prepared.  Your IT staffing companies and IT recruiting agencies want you to succeed in your interviews.  So they’ll understand when you ask them to help you schedule the interview for a day and time when you’ll be able to do the interview with a secure internet connection, have a clean, quiet, and appropriate location to do it in, and be able to wear interview-appropriate clothing.
  2. Make sure you practice interviewing with the technology you’ll be using ahead of time.  It’s not enough to simply practice interviewing.  You want to know how you come across and what it feels like to use this technology.  You also want to know how to use it so you can easily set it up the day of the interview.
  3. Lastly, it may seem obviously, but remember that this interview is just as serious as an in-person interview.  It could be easy to forget this because you’re at home, but don’t!  Stay professional and keep your head in the game—your IT recruiting companies will really appreciate it and so will your interviewers!

 

 

Have an IT Job Interview? Prep At Least 2 of These Anecdotes

If your IT recruiters and IT staffing firms have helped you land some interviews for IT jobs, you’re probably already deep into the preparation process.  Here’s one thing your technical recruiters and IT recruiting companies may not have suggested for you to do though: Gather at least 2 anecdotes about how you solved or contributed to solving a problem.

To really prepare for the interview, your best bet is to practice telling these anecdotes to a friend, family member, or perhaps even a recruiter from your IT staffing agencies.  Focus on making the story short, and effective.  The story should relay how you added value to your team.  IT staffing companies can often land candidates IT jobs when it’s obvious that they can bring a lot to a new role.  If you can tell a couple stories that illustrate this well, you’ll really impress your IT recruiting firms and interviewers.

 

Are You Making These Mistakes in Your IT Job Interviews?

If you’ve spoken to your IT recruiters and IT staffing companies about how to prep for interviews, you’ve probably spoken about the basics: questions you should practice answering, technologies to study up on, etc. Your technical recruiters may not have prepped you on a few subtle mistakes you could be making—mistakes that might cost you IT jobs.  Here are a few things to avoid doing in interviews to make sure you land jobs and impress your IT recruiting agencies.

Don’t wear anything distracting: This includes jewelry, clothing, hair, makeup, or perfume or cologne.  You don’t want the hiring manager to remember any of your wardrobe or grooming habits.  You want them to contact your IT staffing firms ASAP because they can’t forget how skilled and competent you are.

Don’t let your phone make an appearance.  Your IT recruiting companies might advise you of this, but it’s worth repeating.  Keep your phone in your pocket or purse and don’t play with it or answer calls when you’re in the office building for your interview.

Don’t let your confidence waiver.  The best employee is the one that doesn’t need constant management.  IT staffing agencies want to represent job candidates who are confident in their abilities and experience.  Don’t do things like ‘uptalking’ or adding “I guess” onto the end of statements.  These undermining your confidence– and the interviewer’s confidence in you.

IT Jobs Are Now Offering Bring Your Parents To Work Days

Particularly in the world of information technology, ‘Bring Your Parents to Work Day’ has caught on.  IT recruiters have noticed that over 50 companies and organizations in the US are now holding their own days when parents can come in and see their children at work in their IT jobs.  While having your parents tag along to your IT job would have once been a huge issue for IT recruiting companies and indicated a serious lack of professionalism to technical recruiters, this is no longer the case….depending on the company and IT recruiting firms.

There is obviously IT staffing firms that will always see Bring Your Parents to Work Day as a highly unprofessional convention.  However, some IT recruiting agencies and companies see this kind of event as a way to market themselves and to allow parents to finally understand their high tech jobs.  It’s also likely the prevalence of Bring Your Parents to Work Day is made slightly more popular by the way millennials tend to be closer to their parents than previous generations.  Researchers have noted this about millennials for a while, and it would be hard to say this observation doesn’t have any influence on IT staffing companies and the companies and organizations that hold Bring Your Parents to Work Day.

 

 

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.

 

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.

 

How to Give Feedback to Your IT Manager

As in any other field, giving feedback to your manager in information technology can be a dicey thing.  IT contractors and IT recruiters may have completely valid feedback, but delivering it to IT managers in a way that avoids soured relationships or terminations can be tricky.   Below are a few ways IT consultants and technical recruiters can offer negative feedback to bosses without doing permanent damage to their resumes:

  1. Pay attention to time and place: Pick a time that your boss will be at his or her calmest and least stressed.  Pick a place that’s private.  Nobody wants to receive criticism in public—least of all a manager.
  2. Phrase the criticism well: Can it be put into an ‘I’ statement?  Can it be thinly disguised in a story about a fictitious friend or acquaintance?  The less this criticism actually feels like criticism, the better.
  3. Leave any drama out of it.  The easier this conversation is, the better.  Jokes may help, as will keeping any emotion out of it.

 

Why IT Managers Can’t Be Friends with Reports

As in every industry, some IT professionals occasionally come across a moment when they have to make a decision: Can they be friends with their boss?  Or if they’re an IT manager, can they be friends with the IT consultants who report to them?  Whether you’re in information technology or zoology, the answer to this question is pretty much always a resounding no—both for the sake of IT contractors and managers.  Here are a few reasons why managers and their reports need to hold off on friendship—for the sake of their IT jobs and their own mental health.

  1. An imbalance of power.  The nature of friendship is usually that both parties are equal in most aspects.  Things get awkward and uncomfortable quickly when it feels like one person is better in a really significant way.  It’s pretty much guaranteed this will happen between managers and the people whose resumes they heavily influence and judge.  For your own sanity, then, it’s better to hold off on this kind of friendship.
  2. Friendship involves some vulnerability—something you don’t want to have with your manager or reports.  Friends help each other out in tough times or advise each other.  They’re also honest and open about most things.  As a manager or report, you don’t want any of this in the workplace. Managers should be resources, but pretty much only on work-related matters.  Reports should support their managers, but only on work-related matters.  Things will get confusing and awkward quickly when you add personal problems and vulnerability to the mix.
  3. Managers sometimes need to—and do—fire their reports.  Firing somebody or being fired are traumatic enough events.  Adding friendship to the equation makes an already unpleasant circumstance unbearable.  Don’t take that risk, even if things look very rosy right now.