IT Recruitment - 8 Hiring Tips from CIOs

Aug. 14, 2012 - PRLog -- Global CIO, a publication of Information Week, ran an interesting article on hiring tips employed by 8 top CIOs. These CIOs shared their approach and philosophy used to improve the quality of their staff during the hiring process. Below is a summary of the CIO’s approach to hiring along with suggestions for better interview preparation by a candidate.

CIO Tip # 1 – CIOs need to take a personal role in the hiring process.
Lesson for job seekers: Be ready to talk about the company’s goals at the highest level. Could you handle an impromptu strategy chat with the CIO?

CIO Tip # 2 – Hire people who can handle constant change.
Lesson for job seekers: Find a shop that fits your style, or you won’t last.

CIO Tip # 3 – Hire from your vendors or consultants.
Lesson for job seekers: IT pros can parlay their skills, as more companies are embedding IT into their products and giving IT more of a customer-facing role.

CIO Tip #4 – Hire people who “Get” your customers.
Lesson for job seekers: Be ready to talk knowledgably about a company’s end customers, not just technology. And if the industry bores you, so will the job.

CIO Tip # 5 – When you can’t hire, partner
Lesson for job seekers: Stock options aren’t the only reason to work at startups. It could be the best place to break into a cutting-edge tech segment, one that larger employers may value as the tech matures.

CIO Tip #6 – Good people know good people.
Lesson for job seekers: You know this one, but it can’t be said enough in a job search–your own network and reputation matter more than anything.

CIO Tip # 7 – Know why people want to work at your company.
Lesson for job seekers: Know how much the company’s mission matters to you, and focus on industries accordingly. And know that every company takes its mission seriously–if you can’t take diapers seriously, don’t even talk to Procter & Gamble.

CIO Tip #8 – Talk about your company.
Lesson for job seekers: Stay on top of business and tech publications, anticipate who might need your set of skills, and craft a message directly to them.

As you can tell, approaches with IT Recruitment vary widely, but all are intended to improve the quality of the IT workforce.

As an executive of a Dallas IT recruitment company ( http://www.insourcegroup.com/ ), here is a personal impression I took away from reading this short article; the lack of what many like to call “techno-speak” and the increasing importance of business knowledge. Each of these CIOs focused on qualities important to enhancing the value of the business, with the implied message being technical knowledge and excellence is still a prerequisite just to get to the interview.

If you would like to read the full Global CIO article you can do so by following this link:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/global-cio/...

About The InSource Group
The InSource Group is a software-product development, technical consulting and a Dallas IT recruitment and staffing company that provides a complete spectrum of flexible solutions for IT staffing needs, including contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire options. More information on IT staffing and IT jobs in Dallas, Tx can be found at http://www.insourcegroup.com/