What it takes to be an IT Recruiter

Do you have what it takes to be an IT recruiter?

First you might be wondering what the heck an IT recruiter does?

Sourcing, recruiting, interviewing, references, background checks, contract negotiations, client/candidate account management, social media outreach, presentations/meetings...

That doesn't sound so bad. It might even sound fun (because it is fun!) But let me tell you, it's not always fun and sometimes it's downright heart-breaking. Somedays it can be a non-stop rollercoaster ride.

One minute you're presenting a job offer to a great candidate who's thrilled to get the job. The next your trying to find out and explain to a client why a great candidate failed to show up for an interview.

Sometimes you call people who forget that they posted their resume and they treat you like you're calling them in the middle of dinner to sell windows. Then the next person you call treats you like you're calling to inform them that they just won the lottery (and they make up for the not so great calls!).

That's just the candidates. Clients are a whole different ball game.

As a Hiring Manager, it can sometimes be forgotten that the "perfect" candidate may have two or three other job offers. This is when you have to be creative and use your negotiation skills!

It's not only people that make the job challenging. The job is inherently difficult because it is our job to fill the "hard" job orders (but nothing is impossible!). Easy jobs are the jobs that companies can easily fill themselves. We get the challenging job orders for people with niche skills sets and specialized experience.

Day in, day out, we are looking for people that are difficult to find because the few people who do meet the job requirements are happily employed or not easily found. That's when you have to think outside the box and do some serious headhunting (which is my favourite part - you get to be a candidate detective!) You have to search high and low to find the right candidate for an opportunity that also meets their needs/career aspirations - and you have to find them before your competition finds them (I like to think it's similar to "The Amazing Race")

So do you have what it takes to handle the rollercoaster ride? There are up's and down's but trust me the hills are the best part!

• Do you thrive on challenge?
  



• Are you willing to work whenever you have to connect with people to fill the job?




• Do you love to help people hire the right people and find the jobs that will make them happy?




• Do you love to learn?
  



• Do you love to hunt?




• Do you love to solve difficult problems?




• Do you love to network?




• Do you love, love, love technology!!!

Then you just might love being an IT recruiter as much as I do :-)

Other Posts by Michelle De Rubeis

Where are the Women? Connecting Women and Technology
iPad versus Playbook Debate Revisited
Steve, Mark and Jim: Who Made 2010's Nice List?
How to Sparkle in a Room Full of Diamonds

About the Author

Michelle De Rubeis
Technical Recruiter, StaffLink Solutions
Website: http://www.stafflink.ca/
Email: michelle@stafflink.ca
Twitter: Twitter.com/stafflink1
LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/mmderubeis

The Inside Scoop on IT Jobs in Toronto

According to Stats Canada, over the month of June 2011, there were 28,000 new jobs created in Canada versus 18,000 new jobs created in the United States. In a recent quarterly survey, the Bank of Canada reported that 57% of Canadian companies surveyed are looking to hire over the next year. These stats are great news for the Canadian workforce, and particularly exciting if you are involved in the IT sector of Silicon Valley North, a.k.a. the tech hub of downtown Toronto.

Tech startups in Toronto experiencing fast growth
As an IT staffing agency in Toronto, we have the pleasure of seeing many startups reaching lift-off status, first-hand. Many of our clients recently ranked on Deloitte's radar, and one company was recently acquired by a prominent game manufacturer:

• Nexj Systems: placed fourth on Deloitte's 2010 Canadian Technology Fast 50 Ranking. Out of the 50 companies on this list, 11 were from Toronto.

• Polar Mobile: was awarded Deloitte's 2010 Companies-to-Watch award. Out of the list of 10 companies, 4 were from Toronto.

• Five Mobile: a mobile development company from Toronto, was recently purchased by Zynga, a social game development company, for an undisclosed amount. They are now known as 'Zynga Toronto.'

Access to refunds and tax credits make Toronto attractive to tech start ups
Part of the reason tech business is booming in Toronto is due to a government initiative called the Scientific Research & Experimental Development (SR&ED) program. SR&ED provides millions of dollars in cash refunds and/or tax credits for small business expenditures on research and development work done in Canada. Companies such as Polar Mobile are happy to take advantage of these credits rather than outsource work to India or China, creating job opportunities for local technology professionals.

Lucrative tech careers at the moment
It's great to see companies investing in local talent, and it's great to see that IT professionals have more options today. Many developers and programmers we've placed are reluctant to take contract positions for less than three months as they know their services are in high demand at the moment, and they're right for thinking this way. It's a profitable time to be in an IT profession.

To give you a range of salaries for hot tech jobs in Toronto at the moment:

• Mobile App Developers: We're seeing people with J2ME skills, Objective C, and Android developer skills that have been placed at companies for an average salary of 60k+ starting salary as a Jr. Developer, and upwards of 80+ with about 5 years experience. These developer skills are in high demand at the moment.

• M-commerce or Mobile Commerce: Experience with this as a developer will easily net 70k+. Leading companies in this field include PayPal, Square (started by Twitter Founder, Jack Dorsey), and local Toronto company, EnStream.

• Object Oriented Programming Skills in Banking or Software (OO): These skills almost guarantee you are going to get a job in Toronto right now. With 5-7 years experience, you could earn an average of 60-75k a year.

• Banking Skills in Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Business Analyst Derivatives, or Derivatives Programming: This area of IT is experiencing a lot of growth right now. You can net about 80k+ with less than 5 years experience at the moment.

• Regulation Processes (Sarbanes Oxley & Basel I, II, III): This is another growing market. This is quite an advanced field in Canada at the moment, so if you go into this profession, it's not unusual that you would be asked to travel all over the world.

If you're in college or university at the moment, and you want to make money quickly out of school, one of the jobs mentioned above might be just what you're looking for. Whether you're just entering the workforce as an IT professional, you've built a startup, or you're part of an established company, this is an exciting time to be part of Silicon Valley North.

Related Articles

• IT Job Market 2011: Who's Hot?
• IT Job Market 2011: Is This a Candidate's Job Market?
• Canada's Summer Job Market is Sizzling
• Welcome to Toronto, Silicon Valley North
• Top 10 IT Skills in Demand 2010

Written by:

Tim Collins, President and Owner, Stafflink Solutions

Stafflink.ca

timc@stafflink.ca

www.twitter.com/stafflinks

www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins