Tag Archives: IT recruiting companies

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.

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.

Are Suits Becoming a Way of the Past?

The reality is that business attire is becoming more and more casual.  IT recruiting companies that once mandated suits are now requiring just dress pants and a collared shirt.  However, is that setting IT recruiters up for success?  Opinions vary, there are two schools of thought:

Pro’s:
1)  Play it safe:  IT recruiters Boston are continually meeting with IT managers to solicit working on their IT jobs.  While most hiring managers are in casual dress, IT staffing companies understand that they are there to ask for their business.  Therefore, why take any chance of underdressing for a meeting?  If technical recruiters find themselves in a very casual environment, they can always take off their tie.  However, if IT recruiters CA find themselves underdressed for a meeting, they can’t suddenly put on a tie in front of the manager (or if the IT recruiter happens to have one with him, he should have worn it in the first place).

2)  Dress for success:  IT recruiters San Diego are always meeting with clients and prospective information technology candidates.  They’re always looking to make a great first impression to both as it could lead to future business or placements.  Therefore,  many  IT staffing firms prefer to put their best foot forward with business attire.

3)  Feel the part, be the part:  Simply put, if you dress the part, and feel the part, technical recruiters Boston will be the part.

Con’s:

1)  Unnecessary:  As mentioned, many clients are business casual these days.  In most sales scenarios, people like to mirror their clients so dressing in a full suit might be too extreme.

2)  Uncomfortable:  I don’t know any IT staffing salespeople that enjoy a tie bound closely to their throat and neck.  It can be uncomfortable…and hot in any warm client or summer months.

3)  Expensive:  Suits are expensive.  With many IT recruiters being recent college graduates, multiple suits are likely outside of their financial means.

Depending upon the environment or culture of various IT recruiting firms, the pro’s of business professinal attire seem to outweight the con’s.  However, for many IT staffing agencies, suits are becoming a way of the past.

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.

“Typical” Hours in the IT Recruiting Industry

If you have worked for any number of IT staffing agencies you’ll know that IT recruiting is not a 9-5pm industry.  It’s anything but that.  When IT recruiters leave at the end of the day, typically he or she leaves their IT staffing office with numerous open IT jobs still on the board.  Ultimately, their work is never done.  Having said that, while typical hours are atypical in the technical recruiting industry, most IT recruiting companies open their doors between 8-9am with their IT recruiters Boston leaving between 6-7pm.

Having said that, the most successful IT recruiters CA will beat other technical recruiters to the punch by getting in early and staying late or working from home.  This is why there really aren’t any typical hours in the IT staffing industry.  IT recruiters San Diego and IT recruiters LA are constantly outdueling one another to find the best IT consultants and information technology professionals on the market.

The best IT recruiting firms acknowledge the hard work of their technical recruiters CA and set up goals or days in which their technical recruiters Boston can leave early to help balance the late nights and long hours.

If you’re looking at becoming an IT recruiter or entering the technical staffing industry then make sure you’re prepared to put in the time.  If you’re able to work long hours, the fruits of your labor will pay off.