There’s plenty of other great discussion out there on the relative merit of IT Certifications. Here’s a few interesting takes:

• ‘10 Best IT Certifications’ from ZDNet
• ‘IT Certifications May be Declining in Value’ from eWeek
• ‘True Value in the Person not the Certification’ from Millenium Technology Consulting

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If you’re new to the independent contracting game and have visions of forming your own IT project management firm, a good way to sample the marketplace is by aligning yourself with an IT recruiting/staffing firm like Hudson IT in Chicago. “It’s a win-win situation for everyone,” says Todd Harootyan, a senior IT recruiter at Hudson. “The end client gets a substantially lower price tag on the resource, the contractor gets a well paying short-term project, and the recruiter makes his margin.”

Harootyan couldn’t be specific about the recruiter’s share of the contractor’s hourly project rate, but he did say the industry standard ranges between 10 percent and 20 percent (so do the math!). IT project managers’ hourly price tags can vary dramatically depending upon experience level, expertise and certifications.

New contractors can reap undeniable benefits by using an IT recruiter to land gigs. The biggest advantage is sitting back and waiting for projects to come to them. The toughest part of landing projects for contractors is selling themselves to companies. Whether it’s a big or midsize firm, the first hurdle is getting in the door and finding out who to pitch to. “This is what we do best,” says Harootyan. “We identify the opportunities and sell the services. Once they’re in the company, it’s up to them to provide value by doing a first-rate job.”

The IT recruiting firm also does the billing, collection and payment–another headache that is taken off the contractor’s shoulders. So take the hint: Hooking up with a well-entrenched and respected IT recruiting/staffing firm amounts to a good move in the beginning. Once finances are buoyed, contacts made and knowledge of the marketplace gained, then it’s time to consider flying solo. By then, the future can be planned with some assurance of success.

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2. Ask Mark Vogt: There’s a Big Future in Sharepoint.
3. Using a Recruiter vs. Job Boards for Your Job Search

If you need a quick fix to your professional network, here some simple guidelines to get you started.

Start By Showing You Are Serious
Have you updated your resume? If you haven’t, how are portraying yourself as a serious job seeker if you have not started with the simplest form of advertising your credentials … your resume! If it’s been awhile since sprucing up your resume, make sure you’re up to date on the best to present your technical skills.

Be Professional
Practice your approach with several contacts that are not the “Big Fish” in your network. Ask them for honest feedback. Here is an interesting article on networking approaches - 10 Tips for Networkers. 

Get Organized
Start a list. Who have you stayed in touch with? Who have you lost contact with? Don’t rule anyone out - they may now be an executive at one of your target companies. They may have once been a little crazy in college, but, so what, you might have been too. People do grow up and change, but that connection will always be there, so use them now.

Have A Personal Touch
Don’t just create a mail merge spreadsheet and blast a standard note to your old contacts. Personalization can go a long way in reconnecting. Getting a job is not just about who you know but how well you know them. Include personal information in your outreach, such as where you met or the person’s favorite sports team. Also, remember it is important to be honest. The initial reconnecting email should include personal information, as well as clearly stating that you are looking for a job. “Networking the Non-Spread Sheet Activity” illustrates the importance of personal touch.

Make It Easier Online
To avoid the potentially awkward re-introduction process, especially if you are shy, one smart way to track down your contacts is to build your network online. It’s now much easier and quicker to reconnect using the tools already built into social media sites. These sites were built to maximize efficiency when managing large networks. Search for your contacts online, a very popular professional networking site is LinkedIn, for personal connections tap into Facebook and for industry knowledge tune into Twitter.  Not to sure how to approach contacts using social media? Check out this quick segment from The Today Show.

Once you have rebuilt your professional network of IT contacts, don’t let it fall apart again in the future. Networking is all about staying in touch and continuing to build and expand your connections. And return the favor. Someday soon, you may find yourself as someone’s long lost contact who you can aid in their job search. By sharing information, you can become a great “connector.”

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LinkedIn

LinkedIn is not only a place to upload an online profile and resume, you can also engage and connect with other LinkedIn users through groups. Groups are formed around interests, industries, location, etc. Hudson has their own group, Hudson Network, with over 1,259 members ranging from clients, candidate and employees. If you were looking for a job at Hudson, or any company with a group, participating in a group discussion is an easy way to get your foot in the door. Once a group is formed it can update its users with tips, articles, and even job postings.  These groups can be essential for job seekers, as well as a means to keep oneself updated on the latest changes in technology. Some more technically related LinkedIn groups are:

• LinkedIn: Java Developers is a place where Java Developers can share information, ideas, and grow professionally. Visit their website at http://javapgmr.net for discussion posting guidelines prior to posting discussion topics and java code puzzles. They are one of the fastest growing groups on LinkedIn.
• LinkedIn: The IT Developer Network is group for professionals with an interest in IT development technologies (Java, J2EE, .NET, C, C#, C++, VC++, VB, ASP, Coldfusion, Sharepoint, HTML, PHP etc).
• Linked .NET Users Group (LIDNUG) was formerly the “C# Professionals Group.” This group is meant to be for professionals using or interested in the Microsoft .NET technologies and the C# language in particular.
• LinkedIn: .NET People is the place to meet other.NET professionals around the world. Join this group to connect and share knowledge on .NET. Please post discussions on .NET Technologies.

These LinkedIn groups are all great for IT job seekers, but you never know where the opportunities may lie. I encourage you to join groups based around your interests, specifically your industry. To find a group pertinent to you, login in (you first have to have a LinkedIn profile!), select “Search Groups” and enter terms associated with your area of interest or expertise (i.e. Java, .Net, Oracle, SQL, Data Warehousing, Project Management, etc.) and join!  Can’t find the group you’re looking for, here is a directory. Still can’t find it? Start your own!

Twitter

If you have been following our posts on ITHireWire  you may have read, ‘Building Your Network of Followers on Twitter‘ which explains that your success with Twitter depends on your following and how you engage them. Here are few Twitter users who post job listings. You might want to start following them to hear about the latest IT jobs out there:

•  UX Jobs
• technologyjob
• ITXing
• HotJobSearch

Here are a few other informative people who can guide you on how to conduct your job search utilizing social media:

• Job Searching: Allison Doyle is a great person to follow. The blogger for About.com’s Job Search and Employment Guide tweets about just about everything you need to know from job searching at a party to writing a killer resume.
• Personal Branding: With all of these social media sites, it’s more important now than ever to strategically manage your personal brand. Dan Schawbel is an expert in personal branding, his Tweets are a gold mine of “how to’s” and tips. To see how your personal brand measures up, figure out your Google Quotient.

Twitter is a great resource to find a job and have questions answered immediately. If you are following these people and Tweet a job related question, you can be sure they will answer you. Better yet, you can @ reply and DM (Direct Message) them! Of course there is always Hudson. If you are interested in a career in IT send me a Tweet, @toddharootyan!

Other Social Sites

Twitter and LinkedIn are both great ways to build and maintain your network. Here are a few other social sites that will enable you to properly showcase your work by harnessing the power of Web 2.0.

• Jobster is a networking platform that connects you to hiring managers through jobs posted on the site. It allows you to create your profile, as all SM sites do, but Jobster also allows you to tag your skills. Once you apply for a job, the site allows you to connect with the person who posted it and add them to your network.
• Visual CV can bring your static resume into Web 2.0 with a Visual CV. It is a site that allows you to create your own resume webpage using various forms of media to showcase your work samples such as video, audio, images, charts and graphs. You can send it to recruiters by downloading it into a PDF or linking to it. The site also has a job search feature that allows you to directly apply with your page.
• JobFoxdeveloped a system that creates a suitability profile by learning about candidates through the skills, experiences, and goals they post on the site and then matches candidates with jobs that fit, similar to online dating.

As they say, job seeking is a full time job in itself, especially if you are managing all of these various social networks. While it may take sometime to get your “networks” optimized and built, eventually you just might find success and land yourself a job. Don’t believe me? Twitter to Job is just one of many social media success stories that display the power of networking and personal branding online.

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1. IT Professional Networking 101
2. Establishing an Online Personal Brand with Social Networking
3. Social and Professional Networking . . . How Often Will I Change My Mind?

Over the last several months during the trials and tribulations of the economy and the recession (we can finally call it that), it was believed that the healthcare sector would escape the hardships facing many companies. This argument is often similar to what Bob Wachter mentions on The Healthcare blog:

“The bottom line is that people will keep getting sick, no matter where the Dow is.”

Unfortunately, the healthcare industry may not be “recession proof.” Recently, we are seeing many of our healthcare clients place more scrutiny on their current and future 2009 IT projects, which has resulted in many positions being canceled and current staff being reduced. Often this has led to current staff now handling the roles and responsibilities of their own job, as well as another’s.

A recent article in the Chicago Tribune by Bruce Japsen validates that the healthcare sector may not avoid the slump.

“Moody’s sees fewer patients seeking medical care, particularly elective surgeries, while more people could lose their health-care coverage altogether. Such trends will lead people to delay getting medical care or avoiding treatment.”

“Health insurers, too, may face credit issues, Moody’s said, citing “operational, economic and political challenges that will lower margins and hamper growth.”

BusinessWeek.com’s Catherine Arnst predicted back in March that Healthcare is Not So Recession-Proof. Perhaps she uncovered the impending softness in IT:

“On top of all that, it’s difficult for hospitals to cut staff or salaries given the extreme shortage of nurses and other health-care workers. “We’re essentially a fixed-cost business,” says Beth Israel’s Levy. The only choice many hospitals have will be to delay or cancel capital investments.”

The long and the short of it is that if people lose their jobs, they often lose their health benefits.  If they lose their health benefits, people postpone elective treatment.  If people postpone treatment, hospitals and other health providers lose revenue.  Furthermore, if people lose their benefits, the healthcare payers see drops in their enrollment membership, which cuts into their revenue and therefore their profit margins.  This cycle will inevitably lead to reduced spending on IT systems and infrastructure and decrease the opportunities for employment within these companies.  It is a turbulent cycle but one that exemplifies how interconnected our economy truly is.  With payers and providers clenching their budgets a bit, let’s hope it is a cycle that is short-lived.

Photo by JasonRogers

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When it comes to posting your resume, what you don’t know might be hurting you. To best market your resume, you must first understand how recruiters like me find you in the first place on these job boards.

Here are five tips to ensure that I find you when I’m searching for my next great candidate for one of my job openings.

1. Spell out your job titles - To find resumes, I perform Boolean searches using keywords such as, “Project Manager.”  If you insist on shortening your title down to “Project Mgr,” guess what, your resume will not be matched to my search query.  Therefore, you might be missing out on potential positions.  
2. Use keywords strategically - After performing a resume search, the resulting resumes are returned to me in a prioritized manner based on keyword relevance. So candidates whose resumes contain the higher frequency of my keywords, such as “Java or J2EE,” will be at the top of the list.  Include those “buzz words” in your resume!  Just don’t go overboard and list “Java” 500 times because your resume will look ridiculous.  Check out this great blog entry on Resume Search Optimization for how to do this well.
3. Update your resume profile often (at least once or twice a month) - I often search resumes based on its posted date.  If it has been 5 weeks since you last updated your resume or profile and I am searching for active candidates within the last month, your resume/profile will not even be returned in my search results.
4. Say what you really want in a job - If you are only interested in hearing about “Permanent Positions”, don’t select “Contract/Temporary” or vice versa when completing your candidate profile.  Why do you want to get calls for contract jobs if you are not interested in direct employment?
5. Keep your employment situation up to date - Don’t put “To Present” if you are not still working there!  If I need a candidate to start tomorrow, often times I do not even call candidates that are currently working.

While participating in professional networks or applying to job ads are good ways to get your next job, placing your resume in an online database can be an excellent way to get some opportunities cooking fast. You just need to do the right things so that I can find you!

photo by moriza

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Job Seekers in today’s increasingly complex employment market often ask me, “Should I use job boards or a recruiter for my job search?”  “Are they mutually exclusive?”  In my opinion, the best approach for any job seeker is to strategically use both recruiters and job boards to successfully find your next position. Using the internet to do your research, just like you would for any other major life decision or purchase, and backing that up with an experienced professional recruiter could give you the career results you are looking for.
 

The advantages of using a recruiter are:

• You get a personal advocate and partner in your job search.  Don’t forget, we recruiters typically aren’t compensated unless we actually get you a job!  Furthermore, we are someone you can follow up with regarding your search instead of the “submit and forget” scenario often faced with replying to job postings.
• Recruiters offer an intimate knowledge of the hiring practices of many of the employers you might be targeting in your search.  With this knowledge, we may be better able to navigate the obstacles (i.e. Human Resources) and channels it takes to pursue a position with one of your target companies.   Furthermore, we may be able to target companies that you are not aware of, and who are not using the job boards to advertise their openings.
• You can delegate (basically outsource) your job search efforts to us! Applying to jobs, following up with hiring managers and setting up interviews can take a ton of time. Recruiters take care of the legwork for you.
• You get an accurate assessment of your skills and marketability, which will result in a fair salary negotiation.
• If you are out of work, open to contracting, and/or actively looking, a recruiter is a great source of employment opportunities for you.

Be aware when using recruiters that you:

• Work with established recruiters that are Preferred Vendors of the client.
• Document the jobs you have been submitted for and enforce the policy of “don’t submit my resume without my permission.”
• Avoid double-submittals to the same client when working with different recruiters.

The advantages of using job boards:

• You control your search and apply to the positions you are interested in pursuing.
• You might find a position with a company that is not utilizing the services of a recruitment firm.
• Direct connection to the hiring manager (in some cases)

Your strategy also depends on how “active” or “passive” of a job seeker you are. If you are an active seeker, a recruiter may be your best ticket to immediate employment. If you are passively seeking employment, browsing through job ads on national or niche job boards can give you a sense for what’s out there. I think the gains you might reap from working with a recruiter far outweigh trying to do it alone. Of course, as a recruiter working for a staffing agency like Hudson IT, I may be a little biased!

photo by thomas pix

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What Has Remained the Same

• Candidates still want to be treated respectfully and professionally. In fact, the standard is much higher today, because there are many more recruiting companies out there these days competing.  So in order to survive and flourish, you must constantly be setting the new standard of customer service.

• You need to listen! You have to listen and understand why your candidates need or want a new job, and you have to listen and understand as to what jobs they might be interested in their current search.  If you don’t, they will find someone who will.
• The market is constantly changing There will always be some great new technology that every company wants candidates to have experience with, but no one does because of the very nature of the technology being new to the market.
• Lists. Lists. Lists. Companies will always give you a need-to-have “laundry list” of skills they feel are required for the job.
• I can do it! You still have the candidates that think they can do everything and reply with “I can do that,” regardless of the skill or technology.
• You’re welcome. You will always have the candidates who sincerely and thankfully appreciate your assistance in finding them a new job opportunity, as well as those who feel like they did you a favor for taking the position.
• Resumes matter! Resumes are still important (now you just email them or submit them via an online tool rather that faxing them or, gasp, hand delivering it!)
• Networking helps too. Candidate referrals are still the best and the most likely candidates to fill a job.

 What Has Changed

• The sources. The sources for candidates are always changing.  Back 13 years ago, it used to be newspaper classifieds, job fairs, and good old-fashioned networking (i.e. asking for referrals and making a name for yourself).  I can still remember the day they connected our office’s first PC to the Internet and struggling to search the web for resumes.  Now these resume and job posting sites are the norm and we are witnessing new channels of recruiting through networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and The Ladders.  It will be interesting to see what is next.
• Contracting is now a good thing. The concept and opportunities for contracting/temporary positions have steadily increased and become more commonplace.  Temp jobs used to be reserved for administrative and clerical jobs, and “contractors” used to be the people who built your house.  These days, candidates have a multitude of employment opportunities ranging from contract work to direct hire search firms that cover all sorts of professions including IT, Legal, Healthcare, Financial, and many more.
• The employment market is always changing. I have seen the emergence of new technologies like client/server, relational databases, data warehouses, business intelligence, and many more which always have an effect on the ever changing IT job market as the supply and demand for these skills is always changing.  I have seen the challenge of Y2K (do kids these days even know what this acronym is?), the debate of H1B visas, the Internet boom and bust, the recession of post-9/11, the “outsourcing” model, and am anticipating the “labor shortage” expected when all the “baby boomers” finally retire.  What is next that will change the demand for IT talent?

What have you seen and witnessed?  What will I see in other 13 years?  Time will tell. In the meantime, I’m back to trying to find someone a new job!

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