So, you’ve decided to work with a recruiting firm to help you find the right IT job. Great decision! Now it’s time for the next decision: which firm to work with. How can you choose? Here are four tips for finding the firm that will get you the best possible jobs and contracts.
- Find an agency that actually offers the jobs they say they’re filling. You may have been tricked in the past by an agency that has lured you in with an attractive job posting, only to tell you that “that position has been filled, but here’s what else we have.” Recruiters who use this kind of bait and switch routine are not trustworthy.
- Find an agency that understands that their success is dependent upon your success. Seems like a no-brainer, right? But some agencies just want to know if you have the right skills, based on keywords that they see on the job description in front of them. They don’t ask screening questions or give you any tests. They may ask how many years of experience you have, without caring what level of competence goes along with that experience. They may slot you according to how much money you want to make, not on whether you’re the right fit for a job. Notice what’s missing from this scenario? Any discussion of your desires or what gives you satisfaction on the job.
- Find an agency that asks the right questions. A good agency will want to know a lot about you. And they should assign someone to manage your job search. That person should ask you questions like:
- What are you good at? (and then test you on it.)
- What do you love to do?
- What are your career goals, and do you know what to do to reach them?
- What do you really want to do?
- What’s most important to you at a job?
- What do you want in a workplace environment? And why?
- Are you looking for the opportunities found in a large corporation?
- Do you prefer the anonymity found in a large corporation?
- Do you want to feel the sense of ownership that small companies offer?
- Are you looking for a steady paycheck or would you like additional benefits?
A good, knowledgeable recruiter will discuss your answers to these questions, test your skills, give you advice on both the current market and competitive salaries, and give you a good idea of what the agency can do for a person with your skill sets and experience.
- Find an agency that works hard for their candidates. You don’t want to sign on with a firm that sits and waits to get requisitions from their clients. Ask them how they work with their clients and how they get new assignments. Or whether they’ve ever pitched a candidate to a client when that client didn’t have any known openings. And how many companies do they work with?
Any questions? Call Synerfac! We pride ourselves on being one of the best, most respected technical recruiting firms east of the Mississippi.