The Nerdy IT Manager

The Nerdy IT Manager tried to order a life sized iron cast of Han Solo. The purchasing department caught it. It was rejected. An uprising occurred. Corporate HR surge was sent in to quell the unrest. You were caught in the middle. Now the Nerdy IT manager hates HR; therefore he hates you, the Recruiter.

As you recruit, the manager shoots down all your candidates. He despises every candidate you send him. Everything you do just sucks.

New recruiting plan: Infiltrate the group and become a trusted partner. Doesn’t work. You’re an outsider. You don’t belong.

You try to buy your way with Donuts. Who cares, they get free donuts already from all the staffing agencies. “Just add it to the pile”, one snotty IT developer says.

You go with them to a Karaoke bar. You sing Cindi Lauper’s Time After Time with a Developer named Huang who can barely speak English. Good try. Entertaining, but nothing gained.

You’re almost over. Everything is a colossal failure until one day the Nerdy IT Manager calls you to schedule an interview with one of your candidates.

WTH! You are shocked, but elated at same time. You go through the notes on your candidate and there it is. Bam! The candidate is not only certified but also publicized some papers on Java Design Patterns.

IT Recruiting is all about finding candidates that are serious about what they do. Certifications make that statement for you. And, if they have been publicized, that’s money in the bank. Search on certifications, and specific websites always uncover the rising star that picky manager wants to interview.

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Comment by Hassan Rizwan on October 8, 2009 at 5:09am: A suggestion worth a million. Recruiters will have their jobs in jeopardy if these smart moves are not made. Pertnering with the company cannot help the recruiters unless the right candidates are delivered to them. In addition, the concept that we use, Occupational DNA can help the recruiters to understand the real talent and ability of the candidates.

Comment by Asher Saeed on October 8, 2009 at 5:39am: G'day Michael.... i like how you expressed the feelings of the I.T manager.... but.........

Bottom line - does Certification+Bank Account = Personal Traits ??
if so... How ?

Comment by Michael Glenn on October 8, 2009 at 11:04am: Asher,
I don't fully understand your question.

But, "money in the bank" is just a figure of speech.

Certification is a process, right? Once a group of "experts" in the field compose a certification process then you are at their standards.

Writing in trade mags, blogs, or giving speechs at conference is another way that shows how "serious" you are about your profession. It's an example of maturity in your trade.

Combine the certification and your publications separates the experts from the rest...IMHO