How To Work With Us
About the Author: T. Brad Kielinski is the Founder & CEO of IT Pros – Philadelphia, a technology consulting and staffing organization focused on local emerging companies who need subject matter expert consulting, contract, temp-to-hire and permanent employment services.
There are a few myths that need to be debunked, as to why certain candidates and employers work with us.
1. Myth: Contact A Recruiter When You Are Unemployed
Debunked: When you become unemployed a recruiter may view you as competition, as you are now searching and applying to jobs on a full-time (or close to it) basis. It’s the job of a recruiter to find talent that employers can’t find. Why would an employer pay thousands of dollars to a recruitment firm if they can find you directly?
Exception: Contractors – recruiters love working with ready to hire talent.
2. Myth: I’m Happily Employed…Stop Calling Me About New Employment Opportunities
Debunked: Yes, you may be happy now, but what happens when a more ideal opportunity comes along that the recruiter you just told off has available for you? What happens when your happy employment status becomes sour? Sudden layoffs? The list goes on. Treat recruiters as your eye in the field. They have tremendous industry insights (if they are good) that they can share with you on certain employers, the job market, salary market rates, etc. Think before you discard a recruiter.
Plus, most employers view happily employed talent in a very positive light versus the unemployed (no matter the circumstance). This usually means a pay increase and puts you in the driver seat.
Exception: N/A
3. Myth: Recruiters Get Paid To Place Me, So Get To Work
Debunked: Yes, recruiters do get paid when they successfully place you, however they get paid to place the right people. It’s as simple as that.
Exception: There are none.
4. Myth: My HR/Recruitment Department Can Find My Next Hire
Debunked: I will let you debunk this one on your own.
Exception: Your HR/Recruitment department engages a professional recruitment firm to assist them.
5. Myth: “We Do Not Work With Staffing Agencies”
Debunked: This is the most infamous phrase heard around the industry and the most absurd. Basically what you are saying is that you will not pay for the right talent to increase your business success because of what…the fee, the mark-up, the payment terms, the candidate guarantee…? The majority of the right employers will pay for the right candidate, as they understand the importance of hiring the right people. Those who don’t understand this will become prime targets for recruiters to attract their most talented people from. Don’t be a target.
Certain staffing firms have flexible terms and conditions that make our services affordable and a great return on your investment.
Exception: You have a gun pointed to your head.
Moving On From Resumes
About the Author: T. Brad Kielinski is the Founder & CEO of IT Pros – Philadelphia, a technology consulting and staffing organization focused on local emerging companies who need subject matter expert consulting, contract, temp-to-hire and permanent employment services.
First, let’s explore Wikipedia’s definition of a résumé (sometimes spelled resume) is a document used by individuals to present their background and skill-sets. Resumes can be used for a variety of reasons, but most often to secure new employment. A typical resume contains a summary of relevant job experience and education. The resume is usually one of the first items, along with a cover letter and sometimes job application packet, that a potential employer encounters regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an interview, when seeking employment. The resume is comparable to a curriculum vitae (CV) in many countries, although in English Canada and the United States a resume is substantially shorter than CV.
Now we have that out-of-the-way, how many times do you think one composes a resume in their career?
Based on my own experience (having viewed hundreds of thousands of resumes), it averages to be approximately 12 times per career (give or take for contractors vs. consultants vs. permanent staff). That doesn’t make anyone an expert on them unless, of course, they hire an expert.
That being noted, a resume should convey to an employer relevant job duties/experiences, education/training/certification(s), accomplishments (no matter the profession, which Wikipedia forgot to mention) and skill-sets (which should be broken down based on expertise, in my opinion). Right?
You also have a cover letter, which I rarely read because no one ever seems to do them correctly. In short, a cover letter should explain to the employer why they fit the specific position…not a generalized cover letter that’s sent to various employers stating that you are a “hard worker”, which gets trashed immediately. Correct?
No. It’s all wrong. Here’s why:
Time. Wait…What? Yes, time. It takes too much time to advertise a job posting, then receive various resumes and pointless cover letters, even links to social profiles (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Quora, Youtube, etc.).
You literally have to sift through countless applicants to potentially get to the right one you want to hire. That’s a serious waste of valuable time.
So, how do we combat this issue with time (note: because that’s the real problem we are all combating, let’s face it already)?
By creating a new way. What way is that?
My answer: a matchmaking service based on a series of relational data points that fit both what the employer and the candidate are looking for in one another (think: Match.com, Zappos.com, Cars.com, etc.).
What does this solve? No more resumes, no more pointless cover letters, side-steps opportunities/employers who aren’t a fit, candidates and employers can remain confidential and most of all…you guessed it: TIME.
Don’t worry, we are already in the process of re-inventing the way employers and candidates find one another through uShowcase.me. We are pre-beta now, but hope to launch within late 2012.
How great will it be to get your time back?
Looking Ahead – Top 10 IT Technologies For 2012
Gartner Inc. has identified 2012’s top corporate IT technologies and this list should be on par to your expectations with a few new additional insights. Gartner says trends will include hybrid clouds, enterprise mobile, business intelligence, enterprise-facing apps stores and in-memory technologies.
Gartner analysts presented their Top 10 list during this month’s Gartner Symposium/Itxpo.
“These top 10 technologies will be strategic for most organizations, and IT leaders should use this list in their strategic planning process by reviewing the technologies and how they fit into their expected needs,” said David Cearley, vice president and Gartner fellow, in a statement.
In fact, the latest list of 2012 top technologies and trends could prove “strategic,” because over the next three years they could: (a) disrupt long-term IT (or business) plans, (b) require companies make a major financial investment, or (c) put companies at risk of adopting these technology too late.
Notable among Gartner’s Top 10 strategic technologies for 2012 are:
- Enterprises Mobile. IT will need two mobile strategies—one to address the business to employee (B2E) scenario and one to address the business to consumer (B2C) scenario. As part of this focus, Gartner advised IT to be prepared to embrace smartphone tablets and other devices. Beyond devices, IT will get more involved with what it called “Mobile-Centric Applications and Interfaces. UIs will change in 2012, Gartner said, to the point that “traditionally UIs with windows, icons, menus, and pointers will be replaced by mobile-centric interfaces emphasizing touch, gesture, search, voice and video.” The trend will continue for years, so that by 2015 mobile web technologies will enable applications that would be written as native apps in 2011 to be delivered as web apps.
- Next Steps in Cloud Computing. Still in early days, cloud computing is on the rise, according to Gartner’s report. In 2012, enterprise IT will begin to focus more on “hybrid” clouds, bringing together external public cloud services and internal private cloud services. The key here will be more options to secure, manage and govern end-to-end operations across an on-premise and public cloud. Private cloud projects will mature to bring operations and development groups closer together using “DevOps” concepts in order to approach the speed and efficiencies of public cloud service providers, Gartner added.
- BI, Big Data and Next-Generation Analytics. “Analytics is beginning to shift to the cloud to leverage cloud resources for high performance and grid computing,” Gartner said. One implication will be that big data, which promotes huge growth in data, will let users distribute useful data beyond a single data warehouse and set the stage for “logical data warehouses” to bring together information from multiple data sources.
- In-Memory Computing. In-memory application platforms include in-memory analytics, event processing platforms, in-memory application servers, in-memory data management and in-memory messaging. According to Gartner, in 2012 and 2013, the in-memory approach will become more prevalent as the cost and availability of memory intensive hardware platforms increase.
- App Stores and Marketplaces. By 2014, Gartner predicts there will be more than 70 billion mobile apps downloaded from app stores every year—turning a consumer-only phenomena to one focused on the enterprise. That means enterprises should focus on app store efforts and segment apps by risk and value.
Among its other Top 10 technologies for 2012, Gartner listed: extreme low-energy servers, context aware computing, social media and expansion of internet-based networks for devices or what Gartner called the “Internet of Things.”
