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Are You Doing Enough to Retain Your Top IT Talent?

Retaining the best talent is one of the most important parts of the recruiting and hiring process. It’s important to be able to attract qualified talent; however, you want to make sure they’ll stay and support your business. This is particularly true for quality IT employees – advancing technology often means there are more job openings than there are qualified applicants. Here are the most important things to consider when working on your retainment strategy.

  1. Salary: What you pay matters. It’s important to make sure that your salary ranges are competitive within the industry and they are regularly reviewed to adjust for cost of living and performance raises.
  2. Employee Engagement: Employees want to stay with businesses who they think are invested in them and care about them as people. Engaged employees are productive, committed employees. What works for engaging employees will vary, but some company initiatives might include a company-wide monthly lunch that updates everyone on the business, paid time off for team volunteering or after-work happy hours. Anything that shows your company is committed to communication and employee well-being in and out of the workplace.
  3. Culture and Environment: It’s important to cultivate the kind of culture and physical environment you know employees want to work in. This doesn’t necessarily mean having a ping-pong room and a zen cave, but getting creative with ways to make work a more engaging place to be can be a good retention strategy. Not every company can afford a slick facility with a gym and spa, but what about a stipend for group exercise classes or monthly on-site yoga? What about offering standing desks for employees to stretch their legs and break up the day in a cubicle? Small changes and perks can make a big difference.

Your talent makes up the foundation of your business and is critical to your success. It pays off to have a retention strategy that will keep your people with you as your business grows and changes.

If you need help attracting and recruiting the best talent – and want some time back to focus on your retention strategy – give us a call today.


5 Tips to Overhauling Your Resume

Your resume is still the best tool to get noticed by recruiters. It’s a streamlined way to showcase your career and education highlights in an easy format to quickly send off to employers. It’s a good idea to keep your resume updated at all times – even if you’re happy in your current position or only passively looking for a new role. This way if a can’t-be-missed or once-in-a-lifetime opportunity ever comes up, you’ll be ready with resume in hand.

Here’s how to overhaul or improve your resume.

  1. Pay Attention to Format: Whether you’re handing out print copies of your resume or sending them through email and job portal uploads, the top of the page matters most. This is what recruiters and hiring managers see first. Make sure the most relevant information is at the top of your resume.
  2. Get a Second Opinion: Have a resume writer or other qualified person take a look at your resume and ask for input. Whether it’s giving you information on what a 30-second review tells them or offering advice on how to format your experience for maximum impact, you can get a lot out of third-party outlook.
  3. Make it Match: Even if it’s not a highly designed resume, make sure it looks clean, professional and consistent. Ensure your fonts in the header section match the body of your resume and take time to match your cover letter to your resume.
  4. Edit Your Experience: If you feel like your experience section is lacking, incorporate more kinds of experience to fill it out. Everything from volunteer work to part-time jobs to freelance and contracting positions can help make your resume more robust and showcase a broader skill set.
  5. Use More Data and Facts: Describing your experience with qualifying information is key – how many projects did you work on and what were the results? If you oversaw a software installation that improved productivity of a department or entire business unit, note the percentage increase on your resume. Showcasing accomplishments that can be linked to hard data is one of the best ways to stand out and solidify your experience.

Improving your resume can ensure that you are taken seriously as a candidate and can qualify you for the best possible positions. Performing an overhaul or making significant changes to your current resume can make sure it’s ready for wherever your career path takes you.

If you’re looking for your next job opportunity, get in touch today. Our expert staffing professionals can help connect you with the next step in your career.


Top Cities for the IT Professional Looking to Relocate

The tech industry shows no signs of slowing down. All across the country, most technology-related jobs continue to see growth, and new positions continue to pop up on job boards. So, where’s the best place for an IT professional to settle down and grow a career? Are there cities worth uprooting and moving to in search of a dream job?

Student Loan Hero notes that certain IT jobs are more common and abundant in certain areas of the country. According to their study, computer programmers have the best chance of finding work in the southern region of the US, while web developers and systems analysts have more success in the Midwest.

Overall, the south is home to 47 of the top 100 cities that are best for those seeking tech jobs to find work. Not only is work readily available in these growing areas, but the cost of living to salary ratio is also higher than in other areas. If you’re looking to relocate for your tech career, you might consider making your home in one of the following U.S. cities:

  • Hinesville, GA
  • Charlotte, NC
  • Hattiesburg, MI
  • New Bern, NC
  • California, MD

Another 2018 survey found that tech workers are also finding work in other major cities, all experiencing population growth and new business development, including:

  • Dallas
  • Seattle
  • San Francisco
  • Houston
  • Miami

Whatever your dream IT job is – cybersecurity, business intelligence, programming, web and mobile development or another focus – you don’t have to settle for what’s available within your zip code. Many companies are short on good talent, particularly in certain areas, so it might actually be easier to find your dream job outside of your closest major metropolitan area. Don’t limit your job search to your immediate vicinity. Finding an innovative company in an up and coming city can help accelerate your career, so it’s worth considering spots outside of your current neighborhood.

If you’re looking for your next IT job, we can help. Our expert recruiters are connected to a large network of businesses looking for IT talent and experienced candidates just like you. If you’re working towards your dream job and need some help with your search, get in touch today.


What to Do When A Qualified Candidate Interviews Poorly

Just like incredibly intelligent people can test poorly, sometimes a great candidate gives a bad interview. When a qualified candidate you’re excited to interview doesn’t give a stellar interview performance, it can feel like a major red flag. Here’s how to know whether it should worry you or if you should continue the process.

  1. Consider the Position: Certain people gravitate to certain careers, and some of these personality types can interview better than others. Customer service, marketing or sales professionals, for instance, are often gregarious and outgoing, which serves them in their career path. IT professionals, programmers, and developers – who often spend hours working solo on detailed projects – can be more reserved. This might be a factor in an interview and less of an issue in a day-to-day job.
  2. Check References: If the candidate struggles with conversation under pressure, reach out to former bosses and co-workers. Hearing the perspective of someone else who’s worked with the candidate can help you understand if they’d be a good fit. It’s also a way to help verify an applicant’s resume and experience.
  3. Try Again: If you’re not sure, you can bring the candidate back in for another interview – but this time, change the format or consider having another person conduct the interview. Maybe a video conference is a less-stressful way for a candidate to share their experience or maybe another interviewer with different questions can help you get a better response.

Everyone has bad days, and a bad interview shouldn’t spoil a qualified applicant’s chances of contributing their strengths to your organization – or ruin your chances of connecting with a potentially great employee who can make an impact in your business. Considering other ways to learn about or interact with a candidate can help you make sure you’re not shortchanging yourself.

We can put you in touch with top talent in your field. Get in touch today to start your candidate search.


Benefits to Working With an IT Recruiter

Looking for a job can be a full-time effort. Uploading resumes, writing cover letters, endless searches on job boards. A recruiter can be an amazing resource in your job search. Here’s why an IT recruiter might be the secret weapon to advancing your career.

  1. Better Connections: Applying for a job online is hit or miss. The chances of hearing back from a company about a position you feel you’re qualified for really depend on too many factors to feel confident about moving along in the process. Using a recruiter means they’re going to pass on your information to someone who wants to hire and trusts the recruiter to only suggest qualified candidates. This increases your chances of getting that initial interview.
  2. Interview Prep: A recruiter will often interview candidates to get to know them, but also to work through questions and concerns that a candidate has about interviewing with a company. The recruiter likely knows the company well and certainly is familiar with the position, so they can help you understand what to focus on and how to frame your experience in a conversation with a hiring company.
  3. Better Feedback: Recruiters are going to follow up with the hiring manager or interviewer after you meet with them to get their feedback. Whether it’s positive or negative, a recruiter can report back to you what worked and what didn’t, so you can learn from your experience.
  4. Access to More Openings: Some companies work with recruiters before they ever post a job online. These jobs, therefore, are only available when working through a recruiter, giving you access to hiring managers when they’re still excited about the search and not worn out after dozens of rounds of interviews.

Working with a recruiter can save you time and energy and reduce your job-search stress. Our expert staffing team can help you find the right fit for your skills and experience. Contact Us today so we can help you start your search.