Need to convince someone you are willing to relocate for an opportunity in IT? Here’s what you need to do

So, you are a consultant who works in IT and are interested in moving from one geographic locale to another for your next opportunity.

But there’s one problem. The people you have been interviewing with are reluctant to hire you, because they are unsure of how sincere you are in your willingness to actually make the move.

How can you overcome their trepidations, and convince them that you do want to make the move?

• Indicate on your resume that you are willing to move. Don’t hide your intention, publicly state it. That will show that you are serious about making a move.
  
• Ask if the company offers any type of relocation expenses to its employees. But ask this question gracefully. You do not want the hiring manager to think you are looking for a benefit that is not afforded to everyone else who joins the company.  You do not want the hiring team to perceive you as thinking that you “are special,” even though you are.
• If you are seriously committed to making a move and are selected for an interview, pay your own travel expenses. Such a gesture would be a great example of how genuine you really are.
• Ask, during the course of your interview, where some of the best places are to buy a home, or rent if that is your preference.
• Use statements in the course of your interview (BUT MEAN THEM) like, “I’ll be living here by X date,” or “I’m moving no matter what.”
• Mention in the course of the interview that you have family in the area. Or if you are moving back to an area that is near where you went to school, say that during your discussion. 
• Explain to your prospective employer that you are looking to move because you have exhausted the local area for work and need to expand your professional horizons. Be very detailed if this is the case. Explain that where you are currently located, companies are stuck in older skill sets, or the glut of technically trained consultants has made your search for work impossible.  If you can, and/or are allowed, to get into that much detail in the course of your interview, that will demonstrate you have a wonderful demand of what is going on in the space in which you work.
• If you have relocated before, say that in the course of your interview, and politely explain you know all the challenges that come with making such a move.

Do you like these suggestions?

Let us know what you think!

Thanks to all of our employees for making us a six-time “Best Places to Work” winner!

Last Thursday night, Eliassen Group was honored by the Boston Business Journal at its annual “Best Places to Work” extravaganza, which was conducted at the Wang Center in Boston. The celebration feted the top 80 companies with headquarters in Massachusetts that have created a high level of workplace satisfaction for their employees.

To make the list, employees working in Massachusetts had to complete a 38-question online survey that looked at a company’s work environment,  job satisfaction, advancement opportunities, management, compensation and benefits.

As a six-time winner, we checked in at #13 as a “Best Place to Work” honoree for companies with 100 to 500 employees working in Massachusetts.

“I am grateful to all of our employees and the hard work that they do on a daily basis,” said Eliassen Group CEO Dave MacKeen Jr. “Their willingness to help one another and work as ‘One Team’ is gratifying to see. It is an honor and pleasure for me to be part of the team.”

Eliassen Group’s Kerry Brennan holds the “Best Places to Work” trophy that was recently awarded to the company by the Boston Business Journal. Stop by Kerry’s desk to check out the trophy and say hi to her when you are visiting our Wakefield office!

Thirty-nine states increased their tech employment numbers in 2012

There is some pretty good information in here regarding the state of the working world for IT professionals.

One interesting tidbit: The average pay for someone who works in IT is $93,800 per year. For those who work outside of the IT space it is $47,400.

How should I fix my ‘imperfect’ resume?

By Dennis Tupper

Recently, my colleagues and I were discussing ways in which candidates can overcome those resume “imperfections” that all of us have dealt with at one point or another in our professional lives. Those periods in our careers where maybe there was a professional “gap,” or we wanted to compete for a position in which we did not have the requisite experience.

How do we show our resumes, in instances like that, and still get seriously considered for the jobs we are pursuing? What do candidates need to do, when they are re-writing their resumes, that will enable them to get the positions they are seeking?

Generally, the categories candidates are looking to mitigate in this situation are:

• Lack of Experience
• Employment Gaps
• Credentials that don’t translate to the job that is being sought
• Determining what “flaws” can be omitted from the resume

Here is what I tell them to help them overcome these hurdles:

• Lack of Experience –  How can you get a job without ever having a job?  The key would be writing up a great cover letter describing the best personal attributes which relate to the position you are competing for. For instance, if the job demands lots of hours, a team player attitude and the company is looking for people long-term, you can show them that is YOU they are looking for in a cover letter. You write that you can work more than 40 hours, have a flexible schedule, and you can be there when they need you most. People can be dedicated to lots of things, and possess a work ethic and ability they don’t realize they have, until they need to use it. When they are faced with describing why they are right for a position, they should describe who they are and their characteristics as a person, which would be attractive to an employer knowing that THEY are the type of person that employer needs.

• Employment Gaps - It happens to most people from time to time. You focus on what you did during that time. It can vary greatly depending on the person, but showing you were actually DOING something during that time other than watching TV shows you have initiative and seek responsibility and activity all the time. That is attractive to an employer. Explain what you did if this happens. Were you on maternity leave? Studying? Caring for a family member? Exploring a new vocation? There are educational, family and overall life experiences going on most of the time. These are all examples of legitimate things people do while in between jobs. If you were doing something, describe what you did in detail. Life counts!

• Credentials that don’t translate to the job that is being sought –  When it comes to degrees and a different employment field than their specification, there are times where it does not matter. If it is a new graduate and they are seeking an entry-level position in a company, but they had a degree unrelated to that field, it may not matter. Only specific fields require related degrees for entry-level work (engineering, graphic design, healthcare/medicine, pharmaceutical, automotive to name a few). Otherwise, companies are seeking someone who is coachable, will work hard and have a vested interest in the company or industry. This issue can also crop up when someone is applying for a position in another company, but the job description has a requirement for a degree that the candidate does not have. Many times, work experience trumps education. If the candidate got an aeronautical degree 10 years ago, but has been in the accounting field for the past eight, they should not be deterred by the position saying it requires a degree in accounting. In cases like this candidates should not be deterred or intimidated by this “requirement.” It usually turns out to be a “nice-to-have” on the resume, but if someone has been doing that position somewhere else more recently, experience trumps education.

• Determining what “flaws” can be omitted from the resume - Spelling and grammar errors are flaws and demonstrate a lack of attention to detail. Incorrect dates of employment show –  potentially – that you are hiding something, or a lack of attention to detail. Formatting of resumes, style-wise, does not matter, as long as they are in an actual format, and are easy to read and follow. What can be omitted is if you are in an industry unrelated to one you worked in more than 10 years ago. It is ok to omit that detail.  However, you should note the years and industries worked in, so it does not show you are hiding the experience from your potential employer.  That could be seen as deceitful upon a background investigation. Complete disclosure is advised, just notate it in the event that it comes up, even though it may not be entirely relevant.

EDITOR’S NOTE – Today’s entry comes from the fertile pen of our own Dennis Tupper, who oversees our Consultant Advocate Program. Dennis’ professional vocation is putting people to work in positions that benefit both his consultants’ desires and clients’ needs. Paul Fleming Jr., Editor, Eliassen Group Blog

 

Eliassen Group is opening its doors on June 19th! Stop in and say hello!

Are you on the hunt for an exciting career opportunity?

Does financial reward for your hard work motivate you?

Have you considered a career in technical recruiting?

If so, please join us at the Eliassen Group headquarters in Wakefield, MA to learn more about our exciting career opportunities. This is a great chance to network and interview with our hiring managers who are looking to add talented individuals to our technical recruiting team.

Not looking for a full-time job quite yet? That’s ok! If you are a college junior and looking for a 2013-2014 Internship opportunity, we’d like to meet with you!

When:
Wednesday, June 19th 3:00pm – 6:00pm

Where:
Eliassen Group
30 Audubon Road
Wakefield, MA  01880

Position:
Technical Recruiter

Who:
Recruiting Management Team

No appointment necessary; simply come prepared with a copy of your resume!

Have a friend interested in a recruiting career? Bring them along!

 

Eliassen Group
Eliassen Group is all about connecting highly skilled people who have the desire and ability to contribute to helping our clients successfully address the many challenges that arise in the course of running their businesses. We have decades of experience and continuity in our own staff that allow us to really know our clients and the consultants we provide; creating good culture and skill fits for both.

Named “Best Place to Work” for several years and one of the fastest growing private companies, a “BBJ Pacesetter” by Boston Business Journal, Eliassen Group is also ranked in the “Inc. 5000″.

Education/Skills

Presentation Skills, Internal Communications, Verbal Communication, Closing Skills, Prospecting Skills, Meeting Phone Skills, Recruiting, Interviewing Skills, People Skills, Results Driven, Organization, Judgment . Four year Bachelor’s Degree strongly preferred.

RSVP:
Please email eschifano@eliassen.com and your name, phone number, school name, and guest information if applicable.

We look forward to seeing you!

Heading out to interview for a new job? You remembered the name of the company, right? Seriously, did you remember the name?

Our own Dennis Tupper provides some sage advice in this story posted at CareerBliss.com.

Check it out. It’s worth a chuckle or two.

Paul Fleming, editor, Eliassen Group Blog

Trending in Healthcare IT right now? The use of mobile apps by doctors to transmit and record patients’ data

A new survey conducted by the research firm Black Book Rankings and reported at  HealthcareIT News has found that doctors and physicians in the medical community are enthusiastically in favor of mobile EHR applications. The survey found that they especially favor apps that are compatible for their iPads.

The mobile application market in healthcare is expected to grow 500 percent by the end of 2014, the survey showed, primarily because of the government’s “meaningful use” incentive program. Right now, the marketplace is quite crowded, and overall physician usability and approval are the factors that will keep vendors competitive.

In a news release, Doug Brown, managing partner of Black Book Research said, “A mandate has been issued and progressive vendors are reacting. A full 100 percent of practices participating in the poll expect EHR systems that allow access to patient data wherever physicians are providing or reviewing care.”

Black Book received 122 vendor responses, indicating vendors planned to introduce fully functional mobile access and/or iPad native versions of their EHR products by the end of 2013. Another 135 EHR product vendors said they are close to unveiling their own series of mobile applications.

As the healthcare community continues to change their record-keeping practices to an all-electronic model, the Black Book survey found that of all the physician specialties, the highest anticipated use of mobile applications came from:

• Hospitalists
• Primary care/General practice physicians
• Internal medicine physicians
• Office-based physicians
• Rheumatology physicians
• Nephrology physicians

The most popular mobile devices used by the physicians, according to the survey, were:

• iPhones
  
• iPads and tablets
• smart/android phones

Keeping the “Strategy” in Your Corporation’s Strategic Plan – By CEO Dave MacKeen Jr.

This column, written by Eliassen Group CEO Dave MacKeen Jr., was posted on TheStaffingStream.com blog today.

What do you think of Dave’s premise?

 

Here are the current challenges faced by consultants and the companies who hire them in the world of IT

TechServe Alliance and Inavero have just published a comprehensive study that looks at how IT and engineering staffing firms, clients and consultants can understand and address the plethora of issues faced by everyone involved in the acquisition of talent.

The report is unique in that it is one of the first to ever examine the flexible IT and engineering workforce from the unique perspectives of the clients, candidates and staffing firms.

“…With fierce competition for top talent and intensified demand for specialized skill sets, it’s vital that all the players understand each   other’s thinking and respond with collaborative, targeted initiatives that take into account the different perspectives,” TechServe Alliance CEO Mark Roberts said in a news release.

Highlights of the study show:

• That clients want value over cost savings. Clients want staffing providers to help them reduce risk, increase flexibility and supplement their core competencies with consultants who have specialized skills.
• Clients want staffing companies to be expert at understanding what it is that they do in their industry.
• The need for clients and staffing firms to work together to improve VMO/VMS programs.
• Staffing firms need to continue to work with their clients throughout the totality of the onboarding process.
• Staffing firms and clients need to act fast to secure top IT and engineering talent. The study showed that 84 percent of the consultants surveyed found their current job in less than three months.
• IT staffing and engineering consultants value the opportunities project work gives them to expand their professional horizons.

Great Work Everyone!

Some of our teammates recently spent a day volunteering at the Greater Boston Food Bank. Pictured, L to R, are Chris Hickey, Lori O’Keefe, Robert Wingrove, CJ Parziale, Chris Rupert, Peggy Murphy, Joe Horan, Tim Biscoe, Greg Jones and Matt Richard. Kneeling is David Peterson.
“It was a good time,” said Peggy, who organized the outing. “The Greater Boston Food Bank does great work. We were happy to lend a hand.”
There’s another picture floating around of Mr. Horan stacking some pallets. He asked us not to use it at this time. We agreed to his request.
HOWEVER, that could change in the future.