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Tag Archives: IT staffing agencies

What to Do If You Don’t Understand A Question in an IT Job Interview

So you’ve put in the preparation with IT recruiters and practice for an interview for IT jobs.  But maybe there’s a question you just don’t understand.  Maybe it’s a on a technology your technical recruiters and IT staffing agencies didn’t know you’d be asked about.  Or maybe you just don’t know what kind of answer the hiring manager is looking for.  Take a deep breath and don’t worry.  You can use these tips to help yourself answer the question and avoid embarrassing yourself and your IT recruiting companies and IT staffing firms.

  1. Don’t be afraid to take a beat.  If you’re thrown off by the question, feel free to ask for a moment to think.  It’s not going to hurt you, and it may help you relax and answer the question better.
  2. Ask for a little clarification if you’re unsure what the hiring manager is asking you about or for.  They won’t mind, and they may appreciate seeing that you’re thoughtful and thorough.  These are good qualities in IT professionals.
  3. Lastly, don’t try to fake an answer.  If you don’t think you can answer the question at all, be honest.  If you do think you can start to outline how you’d get to the answer, and then do that for your interviewer.  Sometimes, just demonstrating your thought process and resourcefulness will help.

Try these tips the next time you’re asked a stumper in a job interview.  Your IT recruiting firms and IT staffing companies will appreciate it—and it might just land you the job.

 

Why You Need to Ask Good Questions in IT Job Interviews

Most IT recruiters and IT staffing companies will tell you that you need to come to your interviews ready to ask a few questions.  The candidates IT staffing companies and technical recruiters have an easy time placing in IT jobs are the ones who come to interviews with plenty of relevant questions. Ever wonder why?

The reason IT staffing agencies and IT recruiting firms need people to have questions on hand for interviews is because it demonstrates that they are trying to find the best job for them.  No hiring manager wants to hire somebody who is just looking for the first job they get offered.  This usually results in a poor fit—either in terms of skill or culture.  When IT professionals ask well thought out questions that are clearly relevant to them, hiring managers know they’re seriously considering how much they’d succeed and enjoy the job.  So for your next interview, prepare a few questions, possibly with the help of your IT recruiting agencies. It may win you the job.

 

Use This Helpful Tip in Your Next IT Job Interview

If you’re in the process of interviewing for IT jobs, your IT recruiters and IT staffing firms are probably helping you prepare.  There are some things IT staffing agencies and IT recruiting companies are taking for granted that you’ll know about going into job interviews.  One of these things your IT recruiting agencies may not even mention in your prep conversations is to avoid clichés. Why avoid clichés?  Business is full of easy clichés that seem like the most efficient, satisfactory way to answer interview questions.  The problem is that clichés don’t mean much to hiring managers anymore.  When everybody uses the same phrases, like ‘nose to the grindstone,’ or ‘work hard, play hard,’ to describe themselves, hiring managers begin to have a hard time believing them.  So what can you do in an interview instead of using clichés? Try to think about what you’ll be saying ahead of time.  Your IT recruiting firms are likely going to give you at least a few of the questions or potential questions you’ll be asked. Practice answering them honestly and without using any buzzwords or clichés.  If you find that you can’t avoid using a cliché, take a moment to admit it.  Then suggest what this means about you.  For instance, if you say you’re a ‘hard worker’ then find a unique anecdote that illustrates your work ethic.  Don’t panic if you do find that you have to use a cliché in a job interview.  However, if you do your best to avoid them, you’ll make an excellent impression on your IT staffing companies and hiring managers.

How IT Professionals Should Answer ‘Why Should We Hire You?’

Sometimes in interviews for IT jobs, candidates are given a tough question: Why should we hire you?  The question is very broad and that can be intimidating to IT professionals, but it doesn’t have to be.  If you take a little time to prepare with your IT recruiters and IT staffing firms, you can turn this question into a great opportunity to sell your candidacy.  Here’s how you and your IT staffing agencies can prepare an excellent answer to this kind of question.

Firstly, take a few minutes to talk with your technical recruiters about what’s important to this company—broadly and in this particular role.  Take note if they list a quality or skill that you have and can really demonstrate, especially with a concrete achievement. Practice talking about this skill or quality and giving an anecdote that illustrates it.

Secondly, run through the rest of your accomplishments.   If you want, you can ask your IT recruiting firms for feedback on this part, but this isn’t necessary if you’re a seasoned interviewer.  Pick a few accomplishments that are concretely quantifiable and practice speaking about them.  Think about ways you can connect them to the company you’re interviewing for, and suggesting how these accomplishments are things you might be able to do in this new role.

Lastly, in IT roles, soft skills are actually at a premium.  IT staffing companies are often asked to provide candidates who aren’t just good at the required skills, but also easy and pleasant to work with.  Again, it’s best to be able to illustrate your people skills with (brief) stories or anecdotes.  Find a soft skill or two, illustrate that you have it/them, and you’ve driven home your point.  After hearing these three talking points, Hiring managers will be considering you very seriously and your IT recruiting agencies will be very happy with you!

 

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Tips for IT Job Seekers Over 50

As the economy continues to improve, technical recruiters are finding that the people who still struggle a bit finding IT jobs are those over 50.  What do IT staffing firms suggest that IT professionals over 50 do to help make themselves more marketable to both hiring managers and IT staffing agencies? Here are a few tips.

  1. Clean up your resume—don’t leave every job on there.  The longer your resume, the more it suggests to hiring managers, IT recruiting companies, and IT recruiters, that you’re older.  If you want to avoid making this obvious, as most people do in the IT field, it’s time to take a few jobs off your resume.
  2. Make sure your resume highlights the technologies you’re proficient in, especially current and new ones.  Fair or not, companies sometimes hesitate to hire older IT candidates because they’re concerned about whether their technical knowledge is up to date.  If you can demonstrate that you’re well-versed in current and new technology to IT recruiting agencies, you can make yourself a much more attractive candidate.
  3. If IT recruiting firms call you about jobs, take the time to explain why you’re qualified, but not overqualified, for them.  When you’re older than 50, sometimes this is a concern.  Take a little time to assuage it.

 

What Makes an IT Recruiter Trustworthy?

If you’ve just started your search for new IT jobs, you’re probably a little confused about what IT staffing firms and technical recruiters you should work with.  To some extent, you’ll wind up picking your IT recruiters and IT staffing agencies based on location.  If you want to work in a certain area, you need to work with the IT recruiting companies that have clients there.

Beyond location, however, there are other reasons why IT staffing companies are good or bad to work with.  Firstly, you want to know that the IT recruiting agencies you pick are reputable.  You can do a quick search online, both on Google and LinkedIn.  If you ask well-established IT recruiting firms directly, they will also be more than happy to provide you with references or links to their reviews online.  Besides being vetted, you also want to know that the IT recruiters you’re working with are interested in creating a good relationship with you.  A recruiter who wants to build a good relationship with you truly listens to (or better yet, asks for) your preferences for your next role.  They also contact you somewhat regularly while you’re searching for jobs and might even ask to meet you in person.  The best recruiters want to place you in a job you’re happy with, and they spend time getting to know you so they can do this.

 

 

Don’t Forget to Bring This to IT Job Interviews

Your IT recruiters and IT staffing companies probably gave you a checklist of things to bring to your interviews for IT jobs.  Your technical recruiters likely spoke to you about what to wear, how many copies of you resume to pack, etc. But there’s one thing that your IT staffing agencies may not have told you to bring: your energy.

Though they may not explicitly talk about it, IT staffing firms and hiring managers want you to make a conscious effort to display a good level of enthusiasm and energy in interviews.  While it’s not necessary (or even good) to be as bubbly as a cheerleader, you do need to make sure you display some excitement about the job.  IT recruiting firms have countless stories of candidates who were rejected because they seemed utterly unenthused about jobs or companies.  Don’t be one of those stories—bring your energy with you to your IT job interviews!

 

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.

 

A ‘Hook’ for Your IT Job Interviews

If you’ve got interviews for IT jobs coming up soon, you’re probably preparing the usual things with your IT recruiters and IT staffing agencies.  These things are important, and you should certainly focus on them.  But once you’ve covered all the bases your IT staffing firms and technical recruiters tell you too, you may want to consider developing a “hook” that will make you stand out.  What exactly would that be?

A good hook is something that will make you stand out to your interviewers in a good way.  They’ll remember you for more than just the skills your IT recruiting companies have vetted you for—something quirky like an unconventional hobby or an interesting story you can tell about yourself (that’s still relevant to the topics discussed in the interview).  For instance, if you have done some IT- centered volunteer work for an interesting nonprofit, this is a good hook that your interviewer can remember you by.  If you’re unsure if your hook is appropriate or just a good idea, you can always run it by your IT recruiting agencies. Even if you don’t get this particular job, your hook might impress your IT staffing companies and they might make sure they can place you at another job!