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Tag Archives: IT staffing companies

IT Professionals and Ebola In the Workplace

The latest hot news topic- Ebola- has made its way into employment quandaries for IT jobs, IT staffing companies, and IT recruiters.  While it may not seem like a relevant topic for IT recruiting firms and technical recruiters, IT professionals wind up working in all sorts of settings.  These include places like hospitals, airlines, and news publications—all places that have already, or likely will, see a risk of exposure to people actively suffering from the virus.

While Ebola can’t be contracted from casual contact, there are still plenty of questions flying around in industries that may have contact with it.  People are debating the necessity of hazard pay, training, additional safety equipment, insurance, and when it’s acceptable to say no to a potentially dangerous task.  There won’t be any obvious answers to these quandaries for IT recruiting companies any time soon, but the conversation isn’t a bad one to start having.  Whether Ebola becomes a large threat or not in the US, it’s always good for IT staffing agencies to be prepared.

The Best IT Professionals Have These Traits

The IT professionals that IT recruiters love working with, the ones that land IT jobs over and over again, have at least a few traits in common.  Technical recruiters look for great resumes, excellent references, and strong interview skills.  But there are some things that IT staffing firms look for in an IT consultant that are a bit more intangible.  One of the most important things IT recruiting agencies like to find in a candidate is an ability to work well with IT managers.  How can you make sure you’ve got this ability?  Here are some tips.

Firstly, be easy to manage and coach.  IT recruiting companies look for people who make a manager’s job easy.  Take feedback well and be proactive with it.  Think about things from the manager’s, company’s and team’s perspective.  Acting with these things in mind will make your work meet and exceed a manager’s expectations.

Secondly, take up as little of your manager’s time as possible.  Managers are busy and they don’t need employees who require any more of their work day than absolutely necessary.  Keep emails, phone calls, and face-to-face conversations short and to the point (unless it would come off as rude).  Solve as much of your problems on your own as you can.  These are the things that really endear an employee to an IT manager—and to the IT staffing companies they work with.

 

IT Professionals: Don’t Make These 2 Resume Mistakes

Information technology work is often project-based and IT contractors usually have to have their resumes polished and ready to present to IT recruiters and IT staffing companies.  Most IT consultants are well-versed in what makes a great resume—or if they aren’t, technical recruiters usually set them straight pretty quickly.  However, there are some mistakes that people always seem to make in creating their resumes—and they’re not inconsequential.  Avoid these mistakes at all costs, because they’ll sink your chances of getting IT jobs!

Don’t use gimmicky formats.  It may seem like a great way to make your resume stand out, but the truth is that IT managers want to see pretty conventionally-formatted, clean, concise resumes.  If you are the right person for the job, you’ll stand out.  Don’t let a weird format throw off your potential employer and distract them from all your great qualities and experience. 

Don’t give away confidential information, including your references.  If your resume is the first impression a manager or IT headhunter has of you, don’t let it suggest you’re disloyal or untrustworthy.  Putting confidential information on your resume, including the contact info for your references, demonstrates that you’re not willing to or capable of keeping sensitive information to yourself.  Nobody wants to hire that person, so make sure that’s not who your resume suggests you are!

 

IT’s Future: Is it in China?

The information technology industry in the US is booming, with plenty of opportunity for IT recruiters, IT staffing companies, and IT consultants.  However, future US IT jobs may involve another country: China. As one of the largest IT companies in the US, LinkedIn, has recently shown, it’s possible to work with China and all its differences in laws and regulations.

Some companies, like Facebook and Twitter, have had some serious problems doing business in China.  Their refusal to follow Chinese protocol has resulted in either roadblocks that make it hard for their IT consultants to do their work, or out and out blockages.  Companies like LinkedIn have had to make some hard choices about how to deal with China in business—while there are certainly plenty of issues that would make it easy to dismiss as new ground for growth, China’s financial power and potential is too hard to ignore.  It may be that IT recruiters and IT staffing firms find a need for Chinese speakers sooner than they ever anticipated they would.

 

IT Security Jobs- More Important Than Ever

In early October the importance of security in the information technology field became strikingly clear when JP Morgan announced that they’d been hacked.  While IT recruiters, IT staffing companies, and IT contractors have long been aware of the possibility of the major damage hacking could incur, this particular attack was epic in the damage it will and has already wrought.  It’s also troubling to know that JP Morgan Chase wasn’t the only company that was infiltrated—apparently 9 other companies were also hacked by the same group.

If there is any silver lining to be found in this terrible circumstance, perhaps it will bring urgency to corporate America, IT consultants, IT recruiting firms, and prospective IT professionals in building a stronger IT security presence to protect our country’s data.  Clearly more IT jobs focused on security are needed- and fast.  Hopefully this event will inspire people to create, fill, and prepare to fill those jobs in the future so we never have to experience such a terrible attack again.

 

Important Texting Tips for IT Consultants

With smartphones becoming more and more prevalent, IT recruiters and IT consultants are finding that they’re using texting more and more often in their IT jobs and their IT job searches.  While the nature of texting is always a bit more casual, there are a few things IT contractors should avoid when texting with colleagues, clients, or technical recruiters and IT staffing firms.

Firstly, IT professionals should never use texting to schedule things.  You don’t know if your text will be received.  Sometimes texting isn’t a mode of communication somebody uses, or uses frequently enough.  A phone call or email makes things obvious and lets you know that everyone is aware of the date, location and time of a meeting.

Secondly, always double-check your messages before sending them.  Autocorrect can make a mess of a professional, well-worded message.  Don’t risk offending somebody or coming off poorly, especially when they hold your career in their hands.  Take a few seconds to re-read texts before sending them to IT staffing companies, coworkers, or clients.

Lastly, leave all negativity out of texts.  While in a phone conversation you can soften the blow of bad news or any negative statements, you can’t do the same in a text.  It’s better to keep texts neutral or collegial and warm, because you know there is no way you’ll be upsetting the recipient.

Illegal Interview Questions For IT Job Seekers

For IT contractors hunting for new IT jobs, sometimes it’s hard to think critically about the questions interviewers ask.  IT recruiters and IT staffing companies can prepare IT consultants for the questions they’ll be asked.  However, there are always some questions that seem to come out of the blue.  Sometimes, these questions veer away from legal topics, like resumes, technical knowledge, etc, and into the illegal.  IT Professionals can review the below list so they won’t be caught off guard when they’re asked about one of these off-limits topics.

Criminal history:  In some states, while a background check is legal, asking about criminal history is not.  Even if it is legal, this kind of question isn’t really appropriate for interviews.

Marital status: Again, marital status isn’t always illegal to ask about, but it’s pretty much always inappropriate.  Employers may be trying to fish for a few pieces of information that just aren’t fair to judge you on as a potential employee.

Religion: Like marital status and criminal history, this isn’t always illegal.  If you think you’re being asked the question out of discriminatory motives, this is important to note and probably discuss with your IT headhunters.

Age: Sometimes interviewers slip and try to ask about age.  There are plenty of reasons why answering this question outright can be harmful to you as a potential employee.  Check in your state’s laws to see if this question is illegal and consider how you’ll protect yourself if it is.

 

Why a Bad Culture Fit Can Cost A Lot in IT

Good IT recruiters focus on making sure IT consultants are a great fit for IT jobs in terms of the skills on their resumes and in terms of personality.  This isn’t just for the comfort of the IT managers these IT staffing companies work for, it’s for the productivity of the company itself!  Recent studies show that the companies that really invest in their IT professionals and make them feel appreciated see that investment pay back in spades.

Why is this true?  To some extent, the answer is pretty intuitive.  IT contractors who feel appreciated by their companies also feel a sense of loyalty to them and have an interest in seeing them succeed.  This is partially selfish, as somebody who likes their job, managers, coworkers, etc will want to stay in the same spot.  Making sure the company does well makes this possible.  It’s also easier to be productive when you’re relaxed, calm, and happy.  Whatever the main reason, it’s clear that a good culture fit is really beneficial financially.

 

3 Tips for Sparkling IT Resumes

For IT staffing companies and IT contractors, the Holy Grail is usually those pristine, attractive resumes.  While IT recruiters, IT managers, and IT contractors all tend to disagree on what makes the perfect resume, there are a few universal things to keep in mind.  These tips are especially useful if you’re looking to work with technical recruiters in the US.

  1. Forget the fanciness.  Don’t worry about a special format, border, font, etc.  Sometimes making your resume anything but simple will hurt you.  People may wonder if you’re overcompensating for something or it may just be generally distracting.
  2. Really edit your skill section.  Put it front and center.  Make it neat and make it comprehensive.  Don’t lie in it, no matter what.
  3. Consider the length of your resume carefully.  While in most other industries 2 pages is the maximum amount a resume should be, this guideline isn’t quite true in IT.  It is true that you should keep the resume to the shortest length you can.  Include what makes sense for the position(s) you’re applying to and leave off anything else.

Snow Days in IT

With a particularly brutal winter this year, IT Staffing companies (particularly IT recruiters Boston), IT contractors, and IT managers have all been dealing with a few more snow days than usual.  Though there are not a lot of concrete, universal rules about how employers will handle snow days, there are a few things IT consultants, and IT recruiters can pretty safely assume when it comes to snow days.

1. If you’re warned to stay off the road, your employer probably won’t hold it against you to ask to work remotely or stay home that day.  If you’re an essential employee, however, you should make plans to make sure you can still be at work in unsafe conditions.  (Stay over the night before, stay over after your shift, etc.)

2. You will be paid for the full week if you’re an exempt employee, even if your office closes.  You won’t be paid if you’re nonexempt.  Of course, if you worked from home during a snow day, you should get paid for the time you worked.

3. You may be required to use a vacation day if your office closes for a snow day.  While this is a massively unpopular move by employers, it is legal.

4. If  there are no warnings to stay off the roads, consider how often you’ve been absent lately before calling out for the day or asking to work from home.  If you’ve been absent frequently, it may be best to bite the bullet and deal with a long commute.