Tag Archives: IT recruiting companies

The Top Rated ATS Systems for IT Recruiting Companies

Applicant tracking systems, or ATS, are critical to the success of IT recruiters and IT staffing companies.  Given the sheer abundance of IT recruiting firms, more and more companies are developing ATS systems and even their own CRM that eventually get packaged and sold out of the box to IT staffing firms.  There are numerous ATS systems out there, IT recruiting companies need to test drive each and identify the one that meets their needs.

In order for IT recruiting companies Boston to set up their IT recruiters Boston for success,  here are some of the key components that IT staffing agencies should consider:

1)  Resume search:  Your data is only valuable if your IT recruiters San Diego can find the resumes.  One of the most important parts of an ATS, make sure the candidate search is strong.

2)  Relational database:  In today’s technical world, most ATS’ should have the ability to tie all emails and activity to both the client contact and the candidate’s.  By doing so, it cuts down the time it takes IT recruiters Los Angeles to search for information – thus saving time and money.

3) Mass mail capabilities:  Send an email message to thousands of contacts with just one click of the button.  This feature should be standard with Applicant Tracking Systems.  Make sure the one you choose has this capability if your technical recruiters like the idea of mass mailing information technology candidates or IT managers.

4)  Crawlers:  This is a key bonus to any ATS as it help build your resume database virtually around the clock.  The only drawback for technical recruiting firms is the fact that most job boards will give you a max amount of resume views so you could burn these allotment up very quickly.

5)  Support:  No ATS is perfect and most IT recruiting companies MA want to customize their system based on the needs of their technical recruiters Boston.  Therefore, make sure your ATS has unlimited support.

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.

Monster: Still the Premiere Resume & IT Job Board

IT staffing companies across the country rely heavily upon technical job boards such as Monster, Dice, CareerBuilder and Linkedin.  IT recruiters Boston have their favorites, their go-to sites, to find information technology professionals.  After discussions with many IT recruiting agencies and their technical recruiters, there is one site that still remains the premier IT job board:  Monster.

Monster still dominates the resume database and IT job posting industry and is far and away the leading resource for IT recruiting companies.  While Dice has carved out a strong IT niche, CareerBuilder is a distant competitor.  Ultimately, from the perspective of technical recruiters, if the candidate has their technical resume posted on CareerBuilder, he or she also has it posted on Monster.  Therefore, for IT staffing firms, why pay the cost for both Monster and CareerBuilder?

One site that is gaining momentum and closing the competitive gap is Linkedin.  While Linkedin is not a traditional resume database, it ultimately is becomming a stronger and stronger search tool for IT recruiters Los Angeles.

Ultimately, from fiscally strong IT staffing agencies to single person IT recruiting firms, the best spend of our IT recruiting job board budget is Monster.  If you have the budget, invest in a Linkedin upgrade for your IT recruiters.

Resumes: Consistency is Key

One of the most important aspects to writing a strong resume is consistency.  IT recruiters working for various IT staffing companies will tell you that a clean, consistent and condenced resume can make the difference between getting that all-important first interview or not be selected at all.  We asked a number of technical recruiters for more specific feedback:

1)  Font:  This is the most obvious key to a sharp resume and the easiest to make consistent.  Highlight the entire IT job resume and choose a font.  Make sure it’s consistent throughout.  There is nothing more frustrating to IT recruiters San Diego than to see inconsistent font.  It’s a clear sign of laziness or lack of attention to detail.

2)  Spacing:  If you skip one space between Objective or Education or Work Experience, be consistent throughout. Single space the resume – there is no need to make a long resume even longer.  IT recruiting firms look for consistent spacing before sending the resume to their clients.

3)  Company info/title:  Whether you bold the company name or that of the various IT recruiting companies that you worked for, then underline your IT job titles (or vice versa), just be consistent.  Do not bold the IT recruiting firm under one past employer, then not the next.

4)  Dates:  If you use months and years (recommended by most IT staffing firms) to accurately show the dates of your employment, be consistent throughout your resume.  Don’t use the month and year under one past employment, then not the next.  Additionally, just using years is frowned upon by most IT recruiters CA as it appears as though the IT job candidate is trying to hide a gap in employment.

5)  Margins:  Lastly, check the margins in your resume and make sure they all line up.  There’s no need for significant spacing on top or the bottom of the resume.  Keep both to a half inch to an inch.

For more questions about resume writing, contact one of our IT recruiters Boston or one of the many IT staffing agencies Boston.

IT Recruiters Weather The Storm – Literally

While the northeast has been pounded with wind, rain and now even snow, many businesses and industries have come to a virtual stand-still over past two weeks.  Some IT recruiting companies have even been shut down.  Luckily for IT recruiters, it isn’t critical their IT staffing office be open.  Technical recruiters just need to find a place with power, internet and a phone (with the latter being the least important).  In today’s information technology age, with most VMS, ATS and job boards being web-based, IT recruiters CA can virtual do the exact same job from any computer.

When Hurrican Sandy pounded the northeast, many IT recruiters Boston and technical recruiters NY amandoned their powerless homes to friends or family upstate or inland who had power.  While the health and safety is of foremost concern after a natural disaster, returning to normalcy (and even work) is important once clean up begins.  For people who working in the technical recruiting industry, this will not take long.  It’s their clients, many of which who may have structural damage, that they need to worry about.

A Critical Position Inside IT Recruiting Companies

One might be surprised that one of the most important positions within IT recruiting firms and IT consulting companies is not IT staffing salespeople or even technical recruiters.  This position isn’t even a revenue generating role, it typically doesn’t have management or executive powers either.  The position is a Customer Support Representative or payroll admininistrator.  Simply put, it’s the person who speaks with the IT consultants on a weekly basis and enters their hours/compensation into payroll.

IT contractors are the lifeline of IT recruiting companies.  Therefore, any role that virtually has direct interaction with the IT consultants on a daily basis is of critical importance.   His or her customer service skills, attention to detail and organization must be exceptional, otherwise IT recruiting agencies run the risk of losing their technical consultants.

Therefore, if you’re an IT recruiter Boston or technical recruiter CA, go out of your way to thank your CSR as he or she may be the glue that keeps IT staffing agencies together.

IT Recruiting Firms Weathering the Economic Storm

For those IT recruiting companies that made it through the recent economic recession, the key to success can likely be attributed to their IT staffing salespeople as opposed to their IT recruiters.  While the IT recruiters CA likely played a key role in sustaining revenue, in a severe downturn like we experienced, the salespeople played a critical role.  Ultimately, a recession = fewer IT jobs.  With a vast number of IT staffing companies vying for fewer technical jobs, ultimately it came down to what IT staffing salesperson worked harder to get their hands on the IT job openings.  With a vast number of information technology professionals on the market, finding the candidates was not as difficult.

While IT recruiting firms could not sustain revenue without IT recruiters filling the IT job requirements, ultimately their success came down to their account managers.

Coming from a technical recruiting company who has weathered two recessions, the key to success in any downturn is IT staffing salespeople.  Even further, the key to each individual salesperson’s success is activity.  The more calls they make, the better their odds of finding that next job for their IT recruiters Boston to work on.

Can IT Recruiters Work From Home?

The IT staffing world has evolved over the years, as has the ability of IT recruiters to do much of their work from the comfort of their own home.  An internet connection, computer and phone are ultimately the only required tools of the job in today’s information technology world.  With many IT recruiting firms using a web-based ATS and CRM, IT recruiters CA can access their IT staffing company database from virtually anywhere.

Since popular search sites such as Monster, CareerBuilder, Linkedin and Dice can be accessed from any computer, in any location, ultimately IT recruiters Boston can do their job from anywhere.

Having said that, for those who have worked remotely on a consistent basis, there is a dark, lonely aspect to performing the IT recruiting job from home.  While waking up and commuting to your living room to work might sound appealing, of the course of time it can suffocating.  Regardless of whether you work for any one of the IT recruiting companies, or are employed in a different industry, most people need interaction.  They need to be around other technical recruiters – to feed off the energy, absorb information and collaborate on the spot.  In short, most people need human interaction.

It’s All About Activity in the IT Staffing Industry

In the IT recruiting industry, success typically comes down to hard work.  The more time IT recruiters spend searching for resumes, equates to the more candidates they ultimately speak with, which leads to more submittals to their IT jobs, then ultimately the more client interviews and confirmed hires for their IT staffing company.  Therefore, while it’s a pretty black and white numbers game, ultimately success comes down to hard work.

Take two poplulations of IT recruiters Boston.  One group makes half the calls and subsequently sends out half the emails as the second technical recruiters Boston.  While the first group of technical recruiters CA may find some success, ultimately the first group will exceed productivity.  Over the course of time, the IT recruiters CA with higher activity will produce more than those IT recruiting firms who make less calls.

While there are a number of variables associated with successful recruiters working for various IT recruiting companies.   Communication, articulation, organization, follow up and drive/determination are among a few attributes that encompass successful IT recruiters MA.  However, the most important trait is hard work – which ultimately translates to high activity.

Therefore, if you want to be successful in the IT staffing industry, pick up the phone, make the calls and spend as much time as possible searching IT job boards and resume databases for the best candidates possible.

IT Staffing is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

For IT recruiters Boston, it’s a marathon not a sprint.  Many technical recruiters enter the IT staffing industry full of energy and vigor, but fade fast.  Many technical recruiters Boston simply get burned out.  The IT recruiting industry is a marathon – you must be in it for the long haul to truly succeed and reap its many rewards.

Successful IT recruiters place hundreds of candidates over their first 4-5 years.  As time passes, many of these placements will climb the corporate ladder and ultimately become hiring IT managers (that will ultimately need to utilize IT recruiting companies to fill their technical needs).  Therefore, as time passes, successful IT recruiters CA keep in close touch with their placements (IT recruiting tip:  utilize Linkedin.  It makes keeping tabs on your placements easy); ultimately becoming the IT staffing resource for these contacts.

The technical staffing industry has it’s many ups and downs.  Technical recruiters CA have to expect the roller coaster ride of emotion that comes with the job and perservere through the tough times.  The IT recruiting firms that are in it for the long haul understand that the industry is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.