Tag Archives: IT Recruiters Boston

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.

Programming a bridge over the Gap (Model)

Could IT Professionals use some practice communicating?  IT staffing firms Boston to IT recruiting companies CA have long been aware of “The Gap” model— A method of looking at the gap between IT consultants and the IT recruiters they serve.  Hiring managers and IT headhunters are certainly looking for IT contractors who can deeply comprehend and create what IT recruiters Boston need.  However, there tend to be a few barriers that obstruct great communication between those who hold IT jobs and the IT recruiters San Diego they serve.  Generally, the Gap Model tends to note that IT consultants tend to have a higher reliance on logic and rationality, lack empathy for less experienced information technology users, have less of a need for social interaction, have a higher propensity for perfectionism when it comes to technological issues, and to operate on ‘IT time,’ or to take longer than expected to complete IT tasks.  Of course, these qualities tend to be the opposite of what technical recruiters possess, creating a conflict in work styles and communication within IT staffing agencies themselves.

When people discuss the Gap Model, they tend to compare these communication barriers between users and IT recruiters MA to the kinds of communication conflicts caused when people are actually speaking different languages.

Whether the comparison is an exaggeration or not, the Gap Model certainly suggests an important problem—one that the information technology industry, including the IT staffing industry, IT contractors, and hiring managers would all do well to consider.  Resumes, Linkedin and Monster profiles, and IT job interviews would be great places for prospective candidates to make sure they stress their willingness to communicate with a variety of IT recruiters LA.  With some of that trademark IT professional obsession and perfectionism, the Gap Model could easily become a thing of the past.

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.

Arming IT Staffing Salespeople with Technology

IT recruiting firms do their best to stay atop of trends and provide their IT recruiters and IT staffing salespeople with as much technology as possible to help make them more efficient and ultimately profitable.  Pagers are out, while PDA’s are pretty much mandatory for IT recruiting companies as technical recruiters need to be accessible around the clock.  Web-based CRM’s such Salesforce  that allow IT recruiters Boston the ability to log into their resume database from virtually anywhere is also a necessity.  However, there is one growing trend that continues to catch on with IT staffing companies:  arming their account managers with iPads.

With built-in wireless, iPads are giving IT staffing salespeople the ability to bring up information technology resumes right there in a client meeting in front of an IT manager.  Some salespeople might even turn over the controls to the manager to let him/her see what type of resumes they can find in a resume database such as Bullhorn.  Other technology advances include resume crawlers that work around the clock to populate the databases of IT recruiting firms.

Ultimately, IT staffing firms should evolve and align with their technology-driven industry.  IT recruiters San Diego can be more productive and and drive more revenue if armed with the same, or more tools, than other competitive IT recruiting agencies.

A Look Back at IT Staffing in 2012

Now that we’ve entered a new year, it’s a good time to look back and reflect what was for IT recruiters and the best IT staffing companies in 2012.  For all intents and purposes, 2012 was a solid year for most IT recruiting firms.   While most industries struggled to overcome one of the worst recessions in our nation’s history, the IT staffing industry stood strong.  IT recruiting agencies were not only stable, many of them grew over the past year.  This speaks volumes to the strength of the IT recruiting industry, the niche need of IT consultants and the importance of technology in today’s business world.  All three are key ingredients to success for IT staffing agencies.

As most companies enforced a budgetary freeze on spending, there were mission-critical IT projects (which required the need for IT recruiting companies to provide technical consultants) that could not be ignored.  Since many companies rely upon e-commerce as a main (and sometimes only) source of revenue, utilizing IT staffing firms to help deliver these projects were critical to their success…and survival.  To put into perspective, if Reebok needs to spend a couple of million in IT recruiting resources for a neccessary application development project tied into the sales of their sneakers online, the return could be in the ten’s or hundreds of millions.  Therefore, spending the money and utilizing IT recruiters Boston to find them IT consultants to help deliver the project is a no-brainer.  Once again, it’s the technology industry that drives the spend on mission-critical projects.

Therefore, if you’re looking to enter the recruiting world, take a good hard look at IT staffing.  As we saw during 2012, and over the course of the entire economic recession, IT recruiting companies MA not only remained stable, many of them grew.  There are very few industries that can say the same.

IT Recruiters Can Work From Anywhere

Back even a couple of years ago, technical recruiters could work from anywhere with an internet connection.  However, in today’s information technology age, IT recruiters San Diego can work from virtually anywhere there is a wireless signal as they can use their cell phone as a modem.  How times have changed.

Back even five years ago, IT recruiters Boston were forced to come into their IT staffing office to do all of their work and conduct searches.  However, with web-based systems, what IT recruiters can work remotely and from the comfort of their own home.

Additionally, as technology advances and people continue to utilize email or texting over talking to IT recruiting companies, technical recruiters Boston can do more and more without even picking up their phone (this means late night emails and IT recruiting).  Having said that, no candidate should ever be submitted to a client without having spoken to an IT recruiter live on the phone.  At the end of the day, regardless of the technology advances, there is no substitute for screening out a candidate live or on the phone.

Therefore, if you’re considering working for any number of local IT recruiting firms, and a career as a technical recruiter, then you will have the ability to work at virtually any time of the day.  Ultimately, what you put into working for IT staffing companies is what you’ll get out of it.

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.

Finding Ideal Office Space for IT Recruiting Companies

Finding the right office space for IT recruiting companies can be challenging.  Typically, most IT staffing firms like to have a large bullpen where all of their IT recruiters can sit.  This space is usually wide open so technical recruiters Boston can hear the conversations and easily interact with other IT recruiters Boston.  There should not be any columns or walls to divide, the desks should include very low cubicles.  Surrounding the pit should be offices for the IT staffing salespeople.  Offices are needed as client conversations sometimes should be kept private and without any loud disturbance/noise (music, other technical recruiters or IT staffing salespeople, etc) in the background.  Of course, this may not be possible for IT staffing companies who reside in a large city as the space is limited.

The Manager of Branch IT Recruiting and the Manager of Branch IT Staffing Salespeople should sit somewhere in the pit, while the Director of Operations should have a corner office.  All other administrative personnel should be in the pit as well to ensure an easy flow of communication.

Given these ideal parameters of office space for IT recruiting firms, it makes the search extremely difficult.  Factor in the commutes for your IT recruiters San Diego and IT recruiters LA, proximity to nearby highways, sandwich shops and restaurants, the list of possible locations becomes even smaller.

Lastly, budgets obviously play a major factor.  While most companies would like to have an office in a major city to draw young professionals looking for a career in technical recruiting, the rents can be extremely high.  Thus an IT staffing office in the subburbs might make more sense.

The Highly Competitive IT Staffing Industry

IT staffing is a very lucrative industry that gives IT recruiters the opportunity to make six figures + (most at a very young age).  Subsequently, there are thousands of IT recruiting companies and tens of thousands technical recruiters.  Therefore, IT staffing companies must find ways to differentiate themselves from the competition.  One of the ways to do so is to provide exceptional customer service.  No matter how many IT recruiting firms out there, client companies and candidates alike will gravitate towards the IT staffing agencies that treat them well.

Unfortunately, because of the abundance of IT recruiters Boston, coupled with their ability to produce significant returns, technical recruiters Boston have developed a bad name.  The consistent feedback is that IT recruiters San Diego will only call a candidate when they need them (ie when they can make money off of them).

Once again, IT staffing firms can differentiate themselves by providing better customer service.  Simply put, IT recruiters CA should treat candidates the way they would want to be treated in return.  This means, if an IT recruiter submits a candidate’s resume to any number of IT jobs, they should follow up with the candidate on a weekly basis at a minimum.  Even if technical recruiters have not received feedback from their client, they can simply pass along a message to the candidate that says they’re trying and that he or she hasn’t fallen through the cracks.

Ultimately, it doesn’t take much for IT recruiting agencies to separate themselves from other technical recruiting companies.  Their IT recruiters just need to provide better customer service than their competition.

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.