Not sure how to find a technical consultant? 
Not a problem! We know what you should do. Hire a technical recruiting firm! They’ll make sure that you have the right technical and personality fit for your needs. All you need to do is make sure that you find the right company.
And how do you go about doing that? Follow these three steps and you’ll be able to determine whether or not your technical recruiting firm is the best fit for finding for your IT staffing needs.
1. Find a firm that not only knows technology but listens
It sounds like a no-brainer, but, when hiring for a technical position, you should go with a technical recruiter. They not only understand application development but everything that surrounds it. As a result, technical recruiters understand what skills you need to fulfill a certain project and who will be the best fit.
This knowledge alone doesn’t qualify a technical recruiting firm as the one for you, however. You need to make sure that your technical recruiter listens and observes.
Why these two specific characteristics?
A sales guy that was peddling bundled software last week isn’t going to take in the whole picture. It’s no fault of his; he just doesn’t know the ins and outs of software development. Lacking this knowledge, a non-technical recruiter may give you a Java developer they think will rock the position. However, because he can’t tell a good Java developer from a bad one, there’s a good chance that the one he gave you won’t fit the bill.
If you choose a technical recruiting firm that listens, you won’t have to worry if they’ll give you the right candidate. They will know just what skills you need and what type of person has those skills. They’ll be able to give you the right person the first time because they’ve been in your shoes.
2. Find an agency that thoroughly screens candidates
A good recruiting agency will use the information they gathered from listening and observing to thoroughly screen candidates for each role. And when we say screening, we’re not talking about making sure they pass the background check. We mean making sure that the candidate is both a technical and personal fit.
How is that done? The best technical recruiting firms do a technical test, which may entail asking the candidate questions specific to their specialty, asking them to program, or a combination of both. This process allows the technical recruiter to see if the candidate can do what they say they can. If you know that your recruiting firm is going through this process, you can be confident that they will be giving you a technically savvy individual. You won’t have to guess if they are the right technical fit or not.
A good technical recruiting firm will also make sure that the personality is a good match for the role. They’ll ask you about the personality of your team, and what you are looking for in an individual. If you’re hoping for someone who will work around the clock, the recruiting firm needs to know this. They’ll make sure that they don’t give you someone who only wants to work 9 – 5. Why? A good recruiting firm knows that personality can make or break a team, and will look for someone who will mesh well.
3. Find an agency that only sells what it has
While it’s important to make sure that the company is doing this kind of technical and personality screening, it only helps if the recruiting firm shares this information with you. Be weary if, after the screening, they only give you resumes with no further information.
A good technical recruiter will share the stellar and not-so-stellar aspects of every candidate. They’ll tell you where they are strong and where they could use some improvement. They’ll be honest with you, so that you know what you are getting. They won’t want you to have any surprises.
A bad technical recruiter will try to sell more than he or she has. If every candidate he or she gives you only comes with a resume, or is a supposed superstar with no apparent weaknesses, be leery. They aren’t telling you the truth and you could be surprised (and not in a good way) when the candidate actually arrives at the office.
At first glance, it may appear that every technical recruiting firm is equal. This isn’t the case. To determine whether or not you have the best firm available, check to see if the recruiters have technical backgrounds and whether or not they are screening and disclosing the resulting information. If they are, bravo! You’ve got a good technical recruiting firm. Hold onto them! If they’re not, it may be time to move on. After all, there are other technical recruiters in the sea.
How do you determine a good from a bad technical recruiting firm? Let us know in the comments section below or join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn!
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Thanks to quinn.anya for the use of their respective photographs.
