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92% of IT Job Seekers Will Work with a Recruiter to Get Their Next Job, Finds TEKsystems

May 18, 2010 | HANOVER, MD | For media inquiries, please contact us at media@TEKsystems.com.

HANOVER, MD – May 18, 2010 – In an effort to increase the odds of finding a good match, the vast majority of job seekers will work with a recruiter to secure their next position. According to the 2010 TEKsystems Staffing Customer and Consultant Surveys, 92% of IT professionals searching for new employment will utilize a recruiter for assistance with seeking a role that fits their skills and career goals. Given this trend, IT organizations would benefit from utilizing professional staffing services firms that have more access to greater pools of IT talent and therefore can be more selective in identifying the right fit.

TEKsystems, the nation’s leading technology staffing and services company, partners with Loyalty Research Center (LRC) to conduct an annual survey of approximately 1,900 IT staffing customers and 4,500 IT consultants. The survey provides TEKsystems with key insight into the IT services market, allowing it to optimize its internal processes and advise IT staffing buyers on the most effective talent management strategies.

While automated HR systems and online job boards have produced efficiencies in the staffing industry, the 2010 survey results found that it’s critical for organizations to respect the human elements involved in effectively attracting and retaining talent. Beyond compensation, IT consultants value their recruiter’s service more than any other attribute of their staffing provider.

“Many IT professionals are tired of submitting their resumes into an online system or posting them to a job board with little success or feedback,” says TEKsystems’ Director of Marketing, Rachel Russell. “The survey found that what they really want is a recruiter, a human being, to be their personal and professional advocate through the job seeking process. They’re looking for a real person who takes a sincere interest in their career, provides specific details about open assignments – beyond the rate and the job description – and who helps them stand out in a crowd of applicants.”

Significantly, the desire for human contact is also apparent in customer feedback, although not without some controversy. Nearly 100% of IT hiring managers rate the staffing account manager’s understanding of their business and culture as critical in building a successful partnership; yet 53% of organizations restrict a talent management firm’s ability to speak directly with hiring managers about open positions.

“When we are not permitted to speak with the hiring managers, it’s a big challenge to ensure we screen candidates appropriately. It also distances IT consultants even more from the detailed information they need to make informed career decisions,” states TEKsystems’ Director of Technical Professional Programs, Michelle Webb.

The desire of an IT consultant to rely on a recruiter grows clearer when considering the increasingly varied stakeholder landscape in which more organizations manage their contingent workforce. Today, the hiring of an IT consultant is not the IT hiring manager’s decision alone. In fact, more than 60% of survey respondents say that HR, Procurement and / or a Vendor Management Office also play a central role in the process. While all stakeholder groups cited the “quality of the placement” as their top staffing provider selection and evaluation criteria, the survey shows that each group possessed a somewhat different opinion of how to define “quality.”

“Some groups emphasize pre-placement quality criteria gauged through the resume and interview process. Others emphasize post-placement support such as performance reviews and quality touch points to ensure the consultant is happy and progressing relative to the goal,” says TEKsystems’ Senior VP of Sales, Greg DeLuca. “The best staffing providers help their consultants navigate the entire placement lifecycle to satisfy all stakeholder definitions of quality.”

While it may be possible to build a sound understanding of an open position or an organization through in-depth research or a detailed job description, these channels don’t appear to outweigh a knowledgeable recruiter in terms of value and impact. As TEKsystems Senior VP of Staffing Operations, Mike McSally, summarizes, “Recruiting technical professionals is about more than technology. People are not commodities and organizations that understand this fact will be far more effective in securing the IT talent necessary to stay competitive.”

Note to Media: Certain names, products, and services listed in this document are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective companies. All TEKsystems news releases are available on the Internet, via the TEKsystems Web site at http://www.teksystems.com. Additional information on TEKsystems can be accessed online or by sending an email to media@teksystems.com.

About TEKsystems

People are at the heart of every successful business initiative. At TEKsystems, an Allegis Group company, we understand people. Every year we deploy more than 80,000 IT professionals at 6,000 client sites across North America, Europe and Asia. Our deep insights into IT human capital management enable us to help our clients achieve their business goals–while optimizing their IT workforce strategies. We provide IT staffing solutions and IT services to help our clients plan, build and run their critical business initiatives. Through our range of quality-focused delivery models, we meet our clients where they are, and take them where they want to go, the way they want to get there.