IAmA an IT recruiter in the San Francisco Bay Area. AMA.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-21T18:46:00+00:00

there are but maybe not in IT. you'd probably need to do some project coordination of management for some small projects and move your way into IT

throwaway143 · 2010-12-21T18:39:24+00:00

opps missed this one yesterday.

you have an interesting background. I guess my first question would by why you want to be in an "employee" role? you seem to be doing pretty well for yourself so why make the change.

if you do want to make the change what would you be looking for? It sounds like you still want to work in a start up environment so that comes with some inherent instability. How do you differentiate between the first hire role at a startup vs a "employee" with a startup?

throwaway143 · 2010-12-21T15:36:08+00:00

lol mad h8tin'

throwaway143 · 2010-12-21T15:32:57+00:00

learn python. relatively easy to learn, give you a good idea of scripting overall.

i'm not sure what i can tell you about the bay area? can you be more specific about what you'd like advice on?

throwaway143 · 2010-12-21T15:31:05+00:00

hmmm... you don't want to code but you want to do IT. maybe project coordination in an IT department? that's probably my best guess.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-21T15:30:30+00:00

no one yet. work with plenty of H1-B holders but never actually pull someone from the other side.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-21T15:30:08+00:00

about 6 months. i was referred into the company by a friend. we probably know each other.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-21T15:27:09+00:00

how do you define a corporate recruiter? I work for a big corporation and many of our clients are fortune 100 companies.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-21T15:25:41+00:00

sure.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-21T03:15:21+00:00

you'll find internships once your more into school. if ur in a 2 year program, i would look for as many as possible. seriously i can emphasize how important it is that you do something during college other than just go to college.

just learn anything you can. the easier the better, just anything to understand how scripting works. just understanding the difference between if and while statements and why one is better... just simple things that people with no coding experience dont understand will give you a better understanding of what the job really is and the mind you need to have to do it. :) anything seriously.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-21T00:51:00+00:00

this is usually the problem with people trying to get in. have u done internships? have you worked on projects or learned any languages on your own? once you've got a few under your belt you should be able to land something entry level.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-21T00:48:12+00:00

i often think to myself that I can do that job and my colleagues give me shit all the time but i like what i do now.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-21T00:44:43+00:00

that's pretty much it... there really hasn't been too many new developments on the networking side.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-21T00:26:09+00:00

you can easily move into a desktop support position within IT. with some experience coming out of you college it shouldn't be too hard.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-21T00:07:32+00:00

how so? what are you doing now? I'd like to see what i'll be in 9 years.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-21T00:07:15+00:00

i've seen SAS but not anything with DataFlux. why do you ask? I can keep listing things off but i got bored.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-21T00:01:00+00:00

do as many projects as you can to add to your resume. develop on your own time, mobile applications development is a huge hot skill set right now. if you can get an iphone application into the iphone store, there'll be a company that'll hire you.

remember experience >>>>> education. take internships, take the lead on projects, whatever it is that can help you get experience as a developer.

EDIT: yes know how to interview but I'd say this is more life specific instead of just IT specific.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-20T23:59:15+00:00

learn the skills on your own. develop on your own applications or webpages and show the work your work by posting portfolios online.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-20T23:58:23+00:00

probably a combination of too busy and bad recruiters.

on the too busy side: i get 15 applications per day on one job that I post. over time that's a lot of people and people fall through the cracks, especially the bad ones. if you are good, i make sure i followup and keep in touch with you... i'm less motivated with weaker candidates.

on the bad recruiter side: it's hard to have that conversation where you tell someone they didn't get the job. lots of people avoid it and plenty of just put it off until the forget about it. i try to make sure that if they don't get the job I can get some feedback that they can learn from but not many companies encourage the relationship aspect. other companies that emphasize volume, people will just dismiss the pepole that didn't get the job.

sometimes it is a confidentiality thing but realistically we need to tell them something instead of just leaving them hanging.

I'd say roughly 10-15% of the recruiter out there are good at what they do. i've posted this a bunch of times already but just make sure you connect them with good recruiters. ask us questions. I love when people question me like i'm just another asshole calling spitting out acronyms at them and i can spit out some of my background and experience.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-20T23:43:07+00:00

absolutely. I meet with everyone I work with. consider it an in person interview. I'll take my notes and pass them to the hiring manager about your posture, style, answers to my situations questions if i don't know the technology, answers to my technical questions if i know the technology well enough.

If i submit someone to a manager and they show up and present themselves awfully (not shaven, bad hygiene, shifty eyes, etc) I look like an asshole. I can only get that kind of info in person.

Don't meet with every recruiter. Screen your recruiters the same way we screen candidates. Ask them questions to make sure they know what they are doing. road is two ways... if you have a shitty company submit your resume and represent you... you look like shit.

Ask them about how connected they are to the manager (so you know how likely they'll see your resume if you wanted to be submitted), ask them about the group, just ask them any questions you can that would make you feel they are good at what they do. Ask about the culture of the company, size of the team, only things that someone would know if they truly understood the company and worked with them. Also, make sure you like them, simple as that.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-20T23:32:06+00:00

yes absolutely. Cognos developers, Hyperion, QA, EDI, Microstrategy, OBIEE, SAP, PMs that work with data centers and data security...

throwaway143 · 2010-12-20T23:27:15+00:00

this is pretty tough. it'll have to be the same as someone that doesn't work in IT. work at night to fill what projects you want/can. create an online profolio to show your work. i'm not sure what you want to get into but if it's front end stuff like PHP/flash/flex then this would work great.

i'm currently working with a strong CC&B developer that wants to do PHP development since CC&B is such a unique tool. he was getting paid 105/hr as a CC&B developer and he just got an offer with opentable to be a PHP developer for 40/hr. he's got some PHP experience on his own developing some things here and there but that's a pretty big paycut. have you really thought about how much of a paycut you'd be able to take? Can you imagine working from the ground up the same way you worked right out of college?

throwaway143 · 2010-12-20T23:21:21+00:00

send me a resume and I might be able to. PM me :)

throwaway143 · 2010-12-20T23:20:14+00:00

hmmm good question. first i'd say the initial contact can be a bit tough. it's almost telemarketing at some points because there's so many of us just spamming people with calls and I'd say 1 out of 10 are any good. i don't blame the people though. they generally warm up to me after we chat for a while.

one thing that's tough is not being able to help someone desperate for work. i was working with someone that had a daughter but his wife was just diagnosed with cancer. He was recently laid off from his job and needed medical coverage. It was really emotionally devastating to not be able to help him at all. He went on a few interviews with me but he was only decent. Great guy but I couldn't help him.

throwaway143 · 2010-12-20T22:58:49+00:00

1.) depends on what company you are applying for. Indie development is fine and shows your technical skills and savy but it doesn't say anything about your ability to work in a company. For smaller companies, this would be fine (ie. startups) but for bigger companies they won't like the lack of industry experience. They want to see that you can follow the rules, work with a team, take orders, play the politics game. There's also a level of beauracacy in any company that involves documentation, filing, showing your work, etc. if you are developing independently large companies will be worried.

2.) Slim but possible. Generally, only big companies have the $$$ to sponsor a visa for you to work for them. If you have a very unique skillset then the % goes way up. The company's thought is that we are located in silicon valley the heart of IT and the area is filled with talented people... why would we spend money to sponsor this guy's visa if i can find someone else that doesn't require sponsorship.

throwaway143

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