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JOB14141: Senior Infrastructure Cloud Engineer
JOB14140: System Design Manager
JOB14122: IT Solutions Architect
JOB14135: Application Analyst
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Trick Or Treat
Trick or Treat?
LJ Halloween3
Halloween can be an enjoyable time of year or a very scary time for others… a lot like recruitment! The uncertainty of not knowing if your new hire is going to be a trick or a treat can be a worrying time for many.
As a Recruitment Agency we hope that they are all sugary filled sweets or interesting stickers as many are suggesting. However, embarking on a recruitment campaign without fully vetting your candidates can lead to a nightmare situation further down the line.
To avoid any ghastly surprises we have some top tips to help you work out if your new hire has any skeletons lurking in their closet.
Interviews
Don’t just conduct an interview because it’s the “done thing” to do, the parameters of interviews are constantly changing and are becoming less and less of the old corporate and let’s be honest occasionally boring interview style.
Revamp your interview techniques, something new and exciting because the age old question of “What is your weakest skill” has been batted around for far too long!
Use the time to get to know your candidate, even if you aren’t working with them directly. Get to know their personality, as we all know everyone is on their best behaviour for an interview.
We’re not saying go all out and ask Taboo Interview questions but take the time to understand how they tick, their likes and dislikes.
Scenario based questions are a fantastic way of seeing how your potential new hire would handle a situation- Does their answer send shivers down your spine or make you want to shout joy from the rooftops?
Meet the Team
A vital part of a recruitment campaign is your candidate meeting the rest of the team. Your current team are the heart of what you do ensuring that the ghost train keeps on moving. Is this new hire going be a chink in the track or that extra bag of much needed coal to help you steam on ahead?
Your candidate will feel more relaxed around a team environment as these current aliens will show your new hire the ropes. With any luck ET may have finally made it home in your team.
By meeting the team you can see how they interact with colleagues and how well they fit in.
Trial Day
Trial days generally go one of two ways, brilliantly or a complete disaster. This is because it allows you to see how the candidate reacts to real life situations in your business. It can be hard for a candidate to get the time off for a trial day. If they can go for it, what have you got to lose?
On the rare occasion a new hire turns into a disaster, don’t knock your own judgement, they could be one of the best actors you have ever met!
(Queue ghostbusters music) Who you gonna call? Langley James and let us find you “Someone Worth Recruiting”.
Should you hire the Grim Reaper?
Grim Reaper
What’s really scary? Making the wrong hire.
It not only costs the company money but also reflects poorly on your ability as a hiring manager. So how can you see behind the disguises that so many candidates put forward?
A qualified recruitment partner not only knows the industry, but also takes the time to get to know your company and specific recruitment needs.
At Langley James our detailed testing and vetting process takes a critical assessment of candidates skills, experience, abilities and personality so that we know they can not only do the job, but will also be a good fit and add value to your business.
We specialise in IT and HR recruitment, finding people worth recruiting.
Skip the trick, score the treat
LJ Halloween2
It’s all great fun until you’re the one who ends up with the trick instead of the treat. The hire that went wrong, the person who can’t do the job after all.
If you want to skip the trick and score the treat, then you need a recruitment partner who not only knows the IT industry and how to identify a high calibre candidate, but also someone who gets to know your business well enough that they can help you clearly define your IT recruitment needs.
We test, evaluate, vet and interview thoroughly so that the candidates we present as a shortlist are qualified and suitable. We eliminate the tricksters from the list and present only the treats. People worth recruiting!
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How to Write the Perfect Job Description for IT, Tech or AI roles
When it comes to writing a Job Description for IT, Tech or AI roles, it’s important to follow a few ground rules.
Not only should each employee have a clear job description as part of the HR process, crafting the perfect job description can actually help you to secure the best talent. But it’s not just that! A poor job description, or none at all could actually be preventing you from hiring the best IT, Tech or AI talent.
Here’s our top tips to make your next IT job description the best yet.
Job title – stay away from buzzwords
Ensure that you keep your job title simple by using keywords that accurately describe the role. Keep away from using complicated jargon. For example, stick to using standard experience levels such as ‘senior’ rather that ‘VI’. Whilst it’s important to stand out when recruiting, keep the job description as factual as possible to avoid room for confusion.
To begin with, focus on the job title. A job title is the start of the process and will be used to advertise your role. Consider the level of expertise you want for the job, not just the role itself. If you are looking for a 2nd Line Support engineer, but the experience you need is more Systems Analyst, you’ll need to remember that the job title may put some people off. It’s the age of LinkedIn and people are proud of their achievements and their career. Do bare this in mind when writing your job description.
Job summary – the start of a IT, Tech or AI job description
Standing out in a crowded market can be hard. The demand for talent for IT, Tech or AI jobs is rising each month. Begin by capturing a candidate’s attention with a short and engaging summary. This should include the expectations of the role and a brief overview of your company. Why are you unique and why is working for you such a fantastic opportunity? Think of the job description as another step in the journey. Remember that it’s usually what a candidate sees before they come for an interview. Don’t lose their interest at this stage. Remember to still sell the opportunity!
Here’s a top tip to help you stand out –
In the current market more and more that candidates are looking to give something back and this could be your chance to shine. Ask yourself ‘How does this role contribute to making people’s lives better, or solve existing problems?’ then fill in the blank – ‘come and join a team dedicated to…..’ You may be surprised how effective this can be.
Include clear responsibilities and duties for your role
Less is most definitely more! Whilst you want to clearly define the main responsibilities of the position, make them detailed yet concise. If there is a lot of responsibilities with the role, why not group them into categories? This will make them much easier to read and absorb.
It’s also important to think long-term too. We advise thinking about how this position will contribute to the goals and business objectives of the company. Is there the potential for advancement for candidates? By presenting the whole opportunity, you will attract the best candidates.
Refresh often
When you look to hire, do you go to HR and dust off that old job description again? Has the experience needed changed? Is the culture different now? It’s important to make sure that you review and even re-write your job descriptions regularly. Make sure that it is still fit for purpose!
One of the things that has changed for most companies is flexibility with working from home. In fact, there was an article in The Times that showed how software engineers in particular we in control of working arrangements due to the candidate shortage. If you have a work from home policy, it’s important to include reference to this in the job description.
TOP TIP: – get your employees involved when writing your job description! No one knows the job better than those that already do it.
Things to avoid when writing your IT, Tech or AI job descriptions
- Discrimination – Be aware of unconscious bias’s
- Asking too much – Unrealistic expectations could prevent star candidates from applying
- Negativity – Be sure to write the description in a positive tone
- Forgetting about structure – Make the job description easy to read. Bullet points are always a good idea!
- Being mysterious – Be intriguing without holding back crucial information
- Mistakes – Check and check again for mistakes. Candidates will be quick to judge if there are spelling mistakes!
Following these 5 steps to writing a fabulous job description could help you secure your ideal IT, Tech or AI candidates.
If you are looking for experienced IT experts for your business, whether permanent or contract get in touch with the team at Langley James today!
8 Reasons to Hire an IT, Tech or AI Contractor
Is it time for your business to hire an IT, Tech or AI contractor? With a continuously shrinking talent pool and an increasing demand for talent, it can mean that recruiting the perfect permanent candidate takes longer than before. But your business still needs to succeed. What isn’t being achieved whilst you are waiting for the right candidate. What impact is that having on your business. In a perfect world, you’d wait for the right IT, Tech or AI candidate, but if we’ve learnt anything from the past few years, we do not live in a perfect world.
However, there are positives. The changing needs of organisations and employees alike has resulted in more IT, Tech or AI candidates moving to non-standard employment. The quality and diversity of IT, Tech or AI talent makes the contract market an attractive prospect for many employers. So if you are still waiting to find the perfect candidate, or have a need for a specific talent as soon as possible, it may be time to hire an IT, Tech or AI contractor.
8 key reasons to hire an IT, Tech or AI contractor
- Less risk. As many as 60% of new hires are not working out to some degree, according to the latest research! And when a bad hire costs businesses, on average, around £114,000 per employee, it’s a risk a lot of businesses can’t afford to take. Especially in the current market. When you hire an IT contractor, it mitigates the risk of bringing in a poor hire and the associated costs.
- Perfect for projects. Most projects, whether one off, or ongoing, need access to a particular set of skills. If you don’t currently have the skills in house and you are unable to secure the right permanent candidate, it’s time to hire an IT, Tech or AI contractor. It may be that you have a short-term project and don’t have the budget, or the on-going work to hire a permanent. More on budget later.
- Specialist skills. If there is a skills gap in your current team, you can hire an IT, Tech or AI contractor to plug that gap. By hiring a contractor, you can maintain the quality of work while an employee is away from the business. Whether that be extended sick leave, parental leave, or resignation. Hiring an IT, Tech or AI contractor is a quick way to enable you to continue with business as usual.
- Ease workload. When someone leaves your team, who picks up the additional workload? Your current team. This can put additional strain on your existing team members and can even result in additional resignations. Reduce the likelihood of this when you hire a contractor.
- Tap into a fresh perspective. Most of the time, when you hire a contract, you tap into a huge amount of expertise. Having someone in your team who has a lot of experience working for multiple companies can really be more beneficial than you realise. Using their past experiences, they can bring new and exciting things to your business, meaning you could be in a position to tap into this a fast-track certain areas of growth.
- Flexibility. If you have a project that needs completing, or you are experiencing a temporary increase in work, an IT, Tech or AI contractor could be the perfect answer. Also, if you suddenly have a drop in demand, you don’t have to continue to use the services on a contractor. This can save your business money by only paying for the services of a contractor when you need them.
- Cost savings. Yes, it’s true that contractor rates are usually more expensive than a permanent salary. However, it can still work out cheaper to hire a contractor. With a contractor, the daily rate is all you pay. There’s no paying into pensions or other benefits. It gives a certainly of cost so works particularly well if you have a set budget.
- Speed. Most IT, Tech or AI contractors are available at short notice and are ready and prepared to start work. No more waiting for notice periods, where literally anything can happen. With the market as it is, there are many candidates being offered multiple jobs in IT and this makes the notice period an unnerving time. Reduce that risk and get someone in place quickly when you hire an IT contractor.
Using Langley James to hire an IT, Tech or AI contractor.
We can supply you with an expert IT, Tech or AI contractor, within budget, to carry out your project to a strict timeframe. Giving you peace of mind by knowing the exact cost of the project from the outset. And allowing day to day IT, Tech or AI operations to carry on as seamlessly as possible.
Let us find you an expert IT, Tech or AI Contractor who not only has the t-shirt but is going back to remake the film. Now is a great time to get on with those projects that have been hanging around and getting specialist contractors has never been cheaper than it is now. You can buy in an expert who can turn a project around to a set schedule and budget.
We have been recruiting IT, Tech contractors and permanent IT, Tech staff since 1999. We have an extensive network of experienced contractors as result. Get in touch with our expert team today to find out more about hiring an IT, Tech or AI contractor today.
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3 Tips to Attract IT, Tech or AI Talent
To attract IT, Tech or AI talent is becoming harder. However, there is some great IT, Tech or AI talent out there, it’s just a case of attracting them to your role.
Our team share their top tips to help you to attract IT, Tech or AI talent.
What’s your elevator pitch to attract IT, Tech or AI talent?
People are no longer looking for a job. They are looking for a sense of purpose and something that resonates with their own personal values. Therefore, simply writing a job spec that’s a list of requirements simply won’t cut it in today’s jobs market. It’s a medically proven fact that our happiness depends on many things in life, but one in particular is alignment. What we do has to align with our values to make us truly happy in our work. Now, you don’t have to be saving the world, one mouse click at a time! But what values does your company represent? It’s critical to understand what your ‘target market’ are looking for and what appeals to them. With candidates still feeling some trepidation when it comes to moving jobs, you need to give them a reason to move.
Know your market
Are you going to market with the same job, same salary, same location as you were 2 years ago? Times have changed and if you haven’t kept up, then it’s likely you’ll be disappointed when it comes to hiring. Unless you are really able to offer something truly attractive; like the latest technology, flexible working, career development etc. it’s unlikely that you’ll attract IT talent at the level you need to. So, unless your IT, Tech or AI role isn’t urgent, we strongly advice that you research the market, or ask an experienced recruiter for their insight. We understand that it’s not always possible to simply offer a higher salary. Although, you always need to know how far off the mark you are. So instead, you may have to drop some of the requirements from the essential list. Speak to our team today to get all the insight you need.
Is your recruitment process right to attract IT, Tech or AI talent?
A drawn-out recruitment process is a problem. It’s as simple as that! In a market that is saturated with jobs, time is of the essence if you want to attract the best. There’s a popular phrase in the sales world – ‘time kills all deals’ and the same is true when it comes to recruitment. If your process is longer than 2 weeks, then it’s too long! Candidates will go elsewhere, and it will take you a lot longer to complete the process – sometimes over 3 months! So take a look at your process and decide if it’s still fit for purpose. Work with a recruiter that can work within your timescales, and you’ll soon have that IT, Tech or AI role filled.
How we can help
We live and breathe everythingIT, Tech or AI. We know that market and know what it takes to attract the very best IT, Tech or AI talent. Why not work with us on your next IT, Tech or AI vacancy and experience the difference of working with a specialist who really does know the market. Get in touch with our expert recruiters today and let’s help you to recruit someone worth recruiting.
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