With the tech industry’s unemployment rate at historic lows, opportunities abound for IT professionals – with no end in sight. According to Raj Mukherjee, senior vice president of product at job search site Indeed, “Demand for tech workers continues to grow at a pace that’s unmatched in other industries.” So, if you’re on the market as an IT professional looking for a job, don’t fret, there’s plenty out there. They won’t just fall into your lap, however (at least without some preparation first). IT professionals must still be strategic as to where they look and where they post their resume so that employers can locate them.
In this blog post, we’ll address the strategic areas where IT professionals should market themselves, where they can find job opportunities, and how best they can secure a job once a desired position has been identified.
Strategic Areas Where IT Professionals Should Market Themselves
LinkedIn – If, as a job seeker, you don’t have an active profile on LinkedIn, you’re doing yourself a disservice. As the world’s largest professional networking site, LinkedIn connects industry professionals with each other and helps those actively seeking employment discover job opportunities. More than three quarters (77%) of recruiters utilize the site to locate talent and whether you’re actively seeking a position, or not, it’s a great way to passively stay on the job market.
Job Boards – While LinkedIn is a great site to host your resume, and network with professionals in your space, IT professionals who are actively seeking employment should also post their resume on one of the leading job boards. Whether that be on CareerBuilder, Monster, Dice, or Indeed (to name several), employers will scour these sites searching for professionals whose skills match their current job openings.
Partner with an IT Staffing Firm – Establishing a relationship with an IT staffing firm, especially when seeking contract employment, is a must. Not only does it give the IT professional a leg up on competition (many hiring managers will consider resumes via staffing firms before those submitted elsewhere), it’ll also help make them aware of jobs that were not posted elsewhere (i.e. job boards, LinkedIn, or even on the company’s website). To partner with PSCI, you can contact us here.
Where to Find and Apply for an IT Job
LinkedIn – From entry-level to executive, LinkedIn has a job posting for nearly every job in the market. To date, there are more than 20 million jobs posted on the site! Using LinkedIn’s job search filters, job seekers can narrow their search by industry, function, experience, location, salary or nearly any other unique identifier.
Job Boards – Yes, IT professionals can post their resume on the job boards and then await to be contacted; or, they can proactively search for positions and apply to them directly. Some of the best job sites are traditional job boards, like Dice and CareerBuilder. As one of the largest job boards, CareerBuilder provides job listings as well as career advice and other resources to assist job seekers. Dice is much more tech centric. As the leading site for tech job seekers, tech workers can search by company, job title, keyword, employment type, and location.
Glassdoor – Launched as a company review website, where current and former employers could leave anonymous company reviews, Glassdoor also displays company ratings, company information, salaries, CEO approval ratings, competitors, other various company details, and yes jobs. In fact, Glassdoor has become one of the world’s largest job and recruiting sites, with IT coming in as one of their top performing verticals.
The PSCI Job Search Page – As an IT staffing firm that’s been in business for over 25 years, PSCI provides consultants and IT permanent placement services to Fortune 500 and middle-market companies throughout the Delaware Valley. Our IT job search page, where IT professionals can search job listings via job title or geographic location, hosts all our open roles and makes it easy for the job seeker to submit their application with no hassle at all.
Landing the Job Once It’s Been Identified
Once an opportunity has been identified, either through reach out via a recruiter or direct application, there are 3 things each applicant must do in order to put themselves in the best possible position to secure the job. They are:
- Make Themselves Available – If a candidate is serious about a position, they need to prove it. That means making themselves available for phone, video, and in-person interviews; even if it might mean traveling or taking PTO to do so.
- Prepare, Prepare, Prepare – Nothing will get a candidate dismissed faster than being unprepared. Thankfully, the PSCI blog has listed advice on how to prepare for, and ace, phone, video, and in-person interviews.
- Act Professional – This should be a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised. There are many out there who need reminders on what to and what not to do during an interview as well as on how to dress. And as a final note, leave the ghosting for Halloween.
So, there you have it. Follow this advice and you’ll be starting your next IT job in no time.
