Why IT workers deserve better from recruiters
January 30, 2017 | By Lisa Dare, TEKsystems Digital Content Strategist
So, maybe you’re a Java developer with eight years of finance industry experience. You get calls, emails and LinkedIn messages every day from recruiters. They read something like this:
Dear [INSERT CANDIDATE’S NAME],
I saw your resume and was really impressed with your 3 years of JavaScript experience. I think you’d be a great fit for an exciting front-end developer opportunity with an innovative energy client. It’s a two-month contract with competitive compensation. And it’s in Alaska! Please contact me ASAP.
After a few messages like this, you may have started tuning out recruiters. We get it.
After all, you’re more than a list of skills and keywords. What you bring to the game can’t always be quantified in bullets, and your past skills may not reveal where you want to go.
You deserve better. You worked hard to acquire skills that employers need, and yet sometimes you’re treated like a commodity. And the short-term thinking that leads some staffing agencies to try to fill every job with a new candidate—instead of developing long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with top IT candidates—isn’t a great approach to relationships or business.
We know there’s a better way. We’ve been working hard not just to distinguish ourselves from the spammy recruiters, but also to raise the bar on what the entire professional recruiting industry offers to every worker. For instance, we undertook a major realignment of our recruiting team—most of our recruiters specialize in particular skill areas, allowing them to become experts in your skill and industry. We’ve invested more in training and mentoring, and we’ve changed the behavior we measure and grade on to emphasize quality metrics over sales.
So if you don’t know what a truly professional recruiting relationship looks like, it’s something like this:
What you should expect from your IT recruiter
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Yes |
No |
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To meet with you in person to develop a clear idea of what you have to offer beyond keywords, and where you want to go in your career |
Landing you a fabulous gig without a resume, interview or references (but wouldn’t that be great?) |
|
Someone who doesn’t try to buttonhole you into a position, but instead presents several different opportunities |
Springsteen tickets |
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Help preparing for your interview, including client and manager insights you can’t find yourself |
Moving help … although a few dedicated recruiters have been known to take candidates apartment hunting |
|
Help getting acclimated once you’re placed |
That Valentine’s Day reservation you forgot to make |
|
Training and development opportunities |
The willpower to resist going back for the second half of that donut |
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A deep understanding of your profession and the local market dynamics |
Help checking every GameStop in America for the last NES Mini |
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Real efforts to keep you continuously employed so you don’t have to worry |
A job at Google (actually, that one’s a distinct possibility) |
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