Tag Archives: IT job

Americans Aren’t Convenient to Overlook in IT Field

Recently the news has noted quite a bit of American opposition to the H-1B reforms, especially in the information technology industry.  IT contractors have been alleging that technical recruiters already have a track record of favoring alien workers over American workers to fill IT jobs (even when they should not be).   IT staffing firms, they say, will only overlook American IT consultants more as H-1B reforms take place.

While the issue is obviously very complicated, IT recruiting firms obviously do not intend to overlook all American candidates, and very often are presented with a dearth of them.  IT headhunters follow the laws regarding H-1Bs and puts as much energy as possible into finding American workers because it’s in America’s interest and in IT recruiting agencies’ best interest to do so in terms of business.  IT staffing agencies can save a significant amount of time and money if they do not focus their efforts on IT contractors who require sponsorship. The hours, energy, and fees  IT recruiting companies might have to spend with immigration attorneys, clients, and job candidates are certainly not desirable when IT staffing Boston can find American workers who don’t require any of that. IT jobs, like the rest of the field, tend open and fill quickly, so time is of the essence to IT staffing companies.  All across the country, IT recruiters Boston to IT recruiters CA know that an American candidate is much easier to place in an IT job.

How Europe Affects IT Recruiting Firms

As illustrated in last week’s exploration of Israel as nursery of a surprising portion of America’s information technology industry, IT recruiting firms, IT managers, and IT consultants are often impacted by global trends.  The Big Data Revolution, a driving force in creating the plethora of IT jobs that IT staffing agencies have been filling most recently, has been affected pretty heavily by global trends.  Europe in particular has affected the way American IT recruiting agencies and IT contractors experience the Big Data Revolution.

Europe’s main effect on Big Data has been in the way they protect consumer data.  Europe’s laws and policies are, depending on your source, more protective of the consumer than the laws and policies America’s.  Even if you disagree with the sentiment, the method Europe uses to protect consumers is different from US methods—different enough to warrant a dialogue between the US and EU on how to achieve the task of protecting consumers as the Big Data Revolution washes over our respective continents. How does all of this affect IT recruiters Boston and the IT consultants and IT managers they serve?  The way data is controlled, culled, and utilized is changing and will continue to change until the US and EU have more compatible, if not similar laws and policies protecting consumer privacy.  This change will be reflected directly in the tasks that IT contractors carry out daily, the descriptions for  an IT job that technical recruiters seek to fill, and possibly the amount of IT jobs IT staffing firms are given. 

Generally speaking, IT headhunters, It contractors, and IT managers should not be ignoring the information technology industry news in Europe or any other part of the globe.  It could, and likely will, affect their own jobs.

Keep Cautious and Carry On: Social Networking Policies and IT Professionals

What’s in your Facebook news feed?  Freedom from restrictive IT staffing workplace policies.  Well, limited freedom, anyway.  IT recruiters and IT consultants have long extolled the value of having a blog or Twitter account to display one’s information technology acumen for potential IT jobs.  The well-edited, visually appealing blog or Twitter stream is nothing short of a living extension of resumes.  However, even as social networking technologies are becoming the new breeding grounds for IT contractors and IT recruiters MA, caution rules the content.  Workplaces scrambling to protect the reputations of their IT recruiters Boston and IT staffing companies have been implementing policies that can run the gamut from lenient to incredibly restrictive.  IT recruiters CA, of course, have always advised acting on the safe side and following these Policies, no matter how much they might hinder one’s expression.

A recent article in the New York Times seems to indicate some freedom for bloggers, tweeters, facebookers, and other social networking technology users.  The National Labor Relations Board has taken several noticeable stands on the issue lately, including re-instating workers who were terminated for (allegedly) incorrect social media usage and pressuring companies to write more lenient social media use codes.  Facebook, Twitter, and their ilk should all be given the same freedom of expression that we have around, say, a water cooler. Extending the water cooler metaphor, IT recruiting companies would caution IT consultants to exercise the prudence that a newbie at work might have.  A newbie at an IT job wouldn’t freely vent about supervisors or co-workers at the water cooler (even though it is technically allowed) because they are concerned about making a solid, positive first-impression.  IT headhunters would rather that IT contractors, who are particularly vulnerable as they search for IT jobs or begin new ones, keep the content of their “living resumes” as palatable as possible to hiring managers and IT staffing agencies.  Venting about workplace issues or co-workers at IT jobs is still a risky move for those seeking IT job opportunities.  Even as the National Labor Relations Board brings new freedom to social media use, technical recruiters would suggest that IT consultants and IT contractors post, tweet, etc. with care.

Hot New Thing: The Internet of Things

What’s really driving IT job growth in the IT staffing sector right now?  Things.  The Internet of Things, or Machine to Machine (commonly referred to as M2M) has exploded and in its wake lie whole new sectors of the IT recruiting field.  Part of the Big Data Revolution, M2M information technology essentially allows IT recruiters to track data from brand new places: things.  M2M has been nicknamed the “Internet of Things.”  This new “thing”-derived data is usually in the form of information from IT recruiting companies that can be taken directly from the products (generally equipped with wireless censors of some sort) that IT staffing companies produce, often as they are being used by their technical recruiters.  Wireless Carrier, Auto Insurance, IT recruiting firms and Energy Management companies are some of the most prevalent users of the technology, but its applications are boundless, bringing new connections between IT staffing firms and the customers they want feedback and data from.  Some IT recruiters CA are even suggesting that M2M might revolutionize not only the technical recruiting world, but the non-profit world and developing countries.

Want to make sure you’re not only professionally relevant, but in demand in the IT consulting field?  Finding opportunities to work on M2M projects will bolster your experience in this hot area.  Professional roles in M2M jobs have a generously wide range, giving a myriad of IT professionals a chance to jump on the Internet of Things bandwagon.  One could definitely say M2M is the thing to do!

Running Late for an IT Job Interview

Trains, plains and automobiles.  All are means of transportation that people have to take to get to an IT job interview….and all can be unreliable.  Therefore, while IT recruiting firms understand that delays happen, whether unexpected accidents clogging up up the highways or just an abnormal amount of congestion on the roads, many times the commutes are out of people’s control.  Subsequently, IT recruiters Boston should not hold any delays against their information technology candidate……if he or she calls the IT recruiting company to inform the IT recruiters that they are running late.  It’s quite simple, in today’s age where everyone has a cell phone, if you find yourself runnng late to meet with IT staffing firms or direct client companies, simply call one of your technical recruiters.

There are no excuses for candidates that walk through the doors of IT staffing companies after their scheduled IT job interview time.  Even if you’re a minute or two behind schedule – call.  IT recruiters CA meet with dozens of candidates each week and speak with countless more.  If you run late for an interview, you’re simply (and rightfully) going to be passed over for their IT jobs.

Conversely, if you find yourself more than 15 minutes early to meet with IT recruiting companies, take a walk around the block or grab a coffee.  Showing up too early for an interview with technical recruiters Boston is a red flag as well.

Therefore, give yourself plenty of time to account for traffic, accidents or other potential delays….and if you find yourself at the IT staffing company well before your scheduled interview, walk around the block, kill some time to ensure you’re not too early for the IT job interview.

How Technology Has Impacted IT Recruiting

A dozen years ago IT recruiters relied upon paper resumes and referrals to identify IT consultants for various technical jobs.  There were very few, if IT job boards and CRM’s to make the job of technical recruiters easier.  The landscape today has changed dramatically.  Here are the biggest advancements that have ultimately transformed the IT staffing industry:

1)  CRM’s:  This allows IT recruiters Boston the ability to organize their candidates and efficiently find/contact them for various IT jobs.  CRM’s today all IT recruiters MA the ability to mass mail – thus sending one email to hundreds to thousands of candidates.

2)  Monster:  Still the premiere technical job board on the market today, Monster is the #1 resource for prospective candidates and IT recruiting companies alike.

3)  Linkedin:  Allows IT recruiters CA the ability to find passive candidates, while giving IT staffing salespeople the ability to find hiring managers within their target accounts.

These 3 technologies have transformed the IT recruiting industry.  Most all IT staffing companies have access (or upgraded accounts) to each.  If you’re looking at a career in technical recruiting, make sure the IT staffing firms you meet with provide their IT recruiters San Diego access to these sites.

Do IT Recruiting Firms Typically Meet Their Candidates?

Most IT recruiting firms say their technical recruiters meet with every candidate for their IT job submittal.  However, that claim is unrealistic and often a stretch of the truth.  The reality is that IT recruiters cannot meet with every candidate.  Not necessarily because the IT recruiters Boston are too busy to meet with prospective information technology candidates.  Instead, it’s typically the candidates who are too busy or just don’t want to take the time to meet technical recruiters Boston.

From a candidate’s perspective, they’re not sure the IT recruiters CA can help them or guarantee the meeting with produce a submittal of their resume never mind an interview or a new IT job.  Since, many IT staffing companies simply just require a face to face meeting with their IT recruiters San Diego, even if they don’t have any IT jobs, candidates are hesitant to commit time out of their day without certainty of a submittal.  While there certainly is value in building relationships with IT recruiters, one can understand the hesitation.  Instead of IT recruiting companies requiring their technical recruiters meet with every candidate, they should simply require a face to face meeting only after they have identified the candidate as someone they would like to submit for an actual position.  However, while this approach sounds good in theory, even this has it’s flaws.   Waiting for a face to face meeting could delay the s process and ultimately contribute to missing out on the IT job.  Since most needs are immediate, especially in contract IT staffing, the technical job could be filled before the candidate’s resume even makes it to the client’s inbox.

Ultimately, IT staffing firms should not make statements like they meet with every candidate.  Instead, they should claim they try to meet with candidates whenever possible.  Meanwhile, candidates should not avoid meeting with IT recruiters LA.  Instead, they should be selective as to whom they meet with and make sure the meeting is worth their time.

IT Recruiting Around the Holidays

IT recruiting companies slow down around the holidays as a direct result of their clients closing down or running with a reducted staff.  However, while there are fewer IT job placements, the holidays are a great time for IT recruiters to identify prospective candidates simply because most people are off work and home.  Therefore, the very best technical recruiters will actually step it up and focus on connecting with information technology professionals that might not otherwise have the chance to speak with various IT staffing companies.

The holidays are also a great time for IT staffing salespeople.  Ultimately, their clients and IT managers are typically in more festive moods, which translates into a willingness to meet with various representatives of IT recruiting firms.

Finally, the holidays also give IT recruiters Boston and IT staffing companies MA a chance to say thank you to the IT contractors and client companies that supported them over the past year.  While some clients cannot accept gifts, all IT managers can accept a simple thank you and a hand-shake.

Therefore, for all IT recruiters San Diego in the IT staffing industry, be sure to capitalize on the holiday season, thank you clients and put in some extra work to find prospective candidates.

Technical Recruiters Typically Aren’t All That Technical

Most IT recruiting companies have a team of technical recruiters that really aren’t technical at all.  Most IT recruiters are college graduates who have been trained how to recruit information technology professionals and ultimately talk their technical language.  Therefore, the question that arises is whether IT recruiters Boston can qualify technical candidates for their clients.  The answer  is yes, but it needs further explanation.

Technical recruiters Boston that aren’t technical will never be able to full qualify a candidate from an abilities perspective.   However, there is more to the IT staffing than just “teching” out a candidate.  Furthermore, given every client has a different technical environment, much of the technical screening should come from their IT managers and people conducting the interviews.  Instead, it’s the job of IT recruiters CA to screen out the non-technical questions and the variables that arise in most IT job searches to ensure their clients time is not wasted if they take the time to interview the candidates.   Examples of a screening out candidates would include whether they’re interviewing elsewhere and what stage are they at with each IT job interview.  Additionally, technical recruiters can also dig into the commute and even dress code and typical hours.  IT recruiting firms Boston would also want to know the candidate’s motivation to make a move if they’re currently employed and whether they’re committed to an interview if their resume is submitted to the client.  All of these questions are critical for IT staffing companies as they don’t want to ever dangle a carrot in front of their clients only to pull it back.

Additionally, IT recruiters San Diego can still technically screen candidates by phrasing their questions properly.  Asking open-ended questions about a person’s background can uncover a number of technical deficiencies.  By making a candidate explain their technical skills, IT recruiters MA can discern whether the candidate is being honest and confident about their abilities.

Tailor Your Resume For Each IT Job!

Imagine IT recruiters, HR or IT managers sorting through dozens and dozens of resumes for each IT job.  If you put yourself in their shoes, you’d be more aware of the importance of a nice clean resume….and one that bleeds the position you’re hiring for.  Prospective candidates who send one standard template resume for all IT jobs and to all IT recruiting companies are not setting themselves up for success.  Remember, not all IT recruiters Boston or HR professionals are technical.  Therefore, make sure you tailor your resume towards that technical job you’re applying to.  For example, if you’re a developer with Microsoft .NET experience, and you’re applying to a .NET developer role, change your title from “Software Engineer” to “.NET Developer.”  Once again, your resume should bleed the IT job (without fabrication of course).

IT recruiting firms generally recommend using bullets with a short, precise description of your IT job duties.  These bullets should also mirror the technical position.  Add as many of the technologies that the IT recruiting company or client requires.  Also utilizes a “Skills & Technologies” section in your resume to make sure all of your technical experience is included (and thus ensures your resume pops up in any IT job search that IT recruiters San Diego or technical recruiters Los Angeles put into their search on Monster, Dice or Careerbuilder).

IT recruiters CA look through hundreds of resumes each day for their various technical jobs.  Remember, the ones that stand out are the resumes that are clean, clear and hit as many of their key words as possible that were entered into their search.