If you’re a hiring manager, sourcing IT consultants can be a bit daunting. All those acronyms, the qualifications, coding languages and modules you’ve never heard of! We’re here to help but these are our top tips for hiring IT consultants quickly and efficiently.
Nail the person specification
As a recruitment agency we see a wide variety of specifications from the ultra specific (seriously does this person exist?) to the vague beyond words (so you’re looking for pretty much anyone with a heart beat?). Most, of course, are safely in between and as experienced specialists we can be pretty confident of the requirements. Where there are errors is normally when the writer of the specification requires too much of one candidate. When a wide-ranging set of skills are listed as ‘essential’ it is often unrealistic and becomes difficult for us to prioritise. Tell us what the minimum requirements are and we’ll find the very best candidates for you!
Soft skills count
IT consultants are not always too strong on the soft skills side of things, which means it’s important to take them into consideration. You don’t need a charismatic guru but you do need candidates with the communication skills to work with a team and take on board the company objectives. In our experience there have been more successful hires based on strong soft skills (and sacrificing non-essential experience) than the other way around. Spend a bit of time analysing the company culture and team metrics and communicate to us the personality required. We can do the rest!
Trust recruiters
Okay recruiters are not high on lists of trustworthy professions – we’re under no illusions! However successful specialist recruiters do know what they’re talking about. We’ve sourced more candidates than the average hiring manager and our salaries come from successful placements. A good recruiter will be very willing to provide input throughout the process – it makes our jobs easier and increases the likelihood of a successful placement. Give us a call, ask for advice if you’re unsure and give us feedback too. It’s about building relationships and when it works everyone benefits.
Be realistic
Sometimes that ideal IT consultant is actually two different people or even a whole team. By their nature consultants are specialists and IT can get really specialist! It’s unlikely that your hire will be an effective multi-tasker and the more diluted a role, the less likely it is that you’ll find a satisfying fit. Keep it simple and accept that you may be looking for a whole team rather than one person!